Don’t let soil erosion and water penetration lead to the collapse of your erosion control installation projects. Improve the stability and lifetime value of your channel and ditch projects using Concrete Canvas. Concrete Canvas® is a flexible, composite, concrete-filled geosynthetic that hardens on hydration to form a thin, durable, and waterproof concrete layer. Identifying how your projects can benefit from using Concrete Canvas.
What is Concrete Canvas®?
Concrete Canvas® is part of a revolutionary new class of construction materials called Geosynthetic Cementitious Composite Mats (GCCMs). It is a flexible, composite, concrete-filled geosynthetic that hardens on hydration to form a thin, durable, and waterproof concrete layer. Essentially, it’s concrete on a roll™. The following blog post provides helpful information for installers, customers, and specifiers of Concrete Canvas® and provides an overview of the material’s technical data, applications, and properties.
How does Concrete Canvas® work?
Concrete Canvas is unrolled into position and secured in place. The material is then hydrated. There is a 2-hour working window before the setting begins, and in 24 hours, the material hardens to service performance specifications.
What are the properties of Concrete Canvas?
Concrete Canvas has gained global acceptance as an alternative to conventional concrete for erosion control and other applications. ASTM has established international performance standards which Concrete Canvas exceeds across all categories. Compressive strengths range from 6500 to 9400 psi and flexural strength is greater than 580 psi. Concrete Canvas provides better freeze thaw resistance and is less affected by abrasion than traditional concrete.
What is the lifespan of a properly installed Concrete Canvas®?
Concrete Canvas is BBA certified with the durability of over 120 years when used for erosion control applications. For advice on specific climates, please contact Concrete Canvas Ltd.
How is Concrete Canvas® manufactured?
Concrete Canvas is manufactured on bespoke machinery that was created specifically for this product. The manufacturing process combines the geosynthetic top layer, the fiber reinforced cementitious layer and the waterproof backing layer in a way that allows for the product to remain flexible throughout the shipping and installation process while ensuring that the cementitious material remains evenly distributed throughout the material even in vertical applications. Concrete Canvas is manufactured under an ISO.
How waterproof is Concrete Canvas®?
The level of waterproofing that materials provide is typically referred to in geotechnics using a measure of permeability called the k-value. Concrete Canvas has been tested to BS1377 and has an average k value of between 10-8 and 10-9 m/s, similar to clay, a range commonly referred to as impervious. The permeability of a Concrete Canvas-lined structure can be adjusted by selecting an appropriate method for joining the material.
Is it possible to lay Concrete Canvas® in wet conditions?
Yes. One of the critical features of Concrete Canvas is that the fixed internal volume and control during manufacture ensures void space is set within carefully prescribed bounds and subsequently limits the Water: Cement ratio achieved in the field. It is therefore not possible to over hydrate Concrete Canvas; it will set underwater and can, therefore, be installed in adverse weather conditions. Once wet, Concrete Canvas has a working time of approximately 1-2 hours.
In what formats are Concrete Canvas® available?
Concrete Canvas can be supplied as either palletized bulk rolls or man-portable batched rolls. Type I bulk rolls are 2153ft², Type II are 1346ft², and Type III are 861ft². Type I batched rolls are 108ft², and Type II are 54ft². Due to its relative weight, Type III is not available in batched rolls.
What are the weights of the different thicknesses of Concrete Canvas®?
Concrete Canvas® GCCM has nominal dry weights of 1.43lbs/ft², 2.46lbs/ft², and 3.89lbs/ft² for Type I, Type II, and Type III, respectively.
How should Concrete Canvas® be stored before use?
Concrete Canvas is packaged in heavy-duty, waterproof wrapping at the manufacturing facility and should be stored under cover in dry conditions, away from direct sunlight.
What is the shelf life of properly stored Concrete Canvas®?
When stored in the manufacturer’s packaging in the right conditions, Concrete Canvas can be kept for up to 24 months from the manufacture date without significant degradation in performance. After the 24-month point, Concrete Canvas will continue to function but may take longer to reach the values specified on the Concrete Canvas Data Sheet.
What is the shelf life after opening Concrete Canvas®?
The performance values of Concrete Canvas will decline once opened; the Concrete Canvas should, therefore, be used within a few days to prevent any significant degradation. It is best practice to reseal any packaging after opening to extend this period as much as possible.
Are there different colors and widths of Concrete Canvas® available?
Concrete Canvas is stocked and supplied in its natural color (mottled gray) as standard. There are several options for coloring Concrete Canvas, including dying the surface fabric fibers or applying colored surface treatments, such as painting the fiber surface of Concrete Canvas with a good quality exterior masonry paint. It is recommended to seek advice from a Concrete Canvas representative before painting or dying. In terms of available widths, our standard roll width is 3.28 ft. Custom widths can be made available for special order on large quantity projects by contacting your local Ferguson expert.
Is it possible to over-hydrate Concrete Canvas®?
One of the critical features of Concrete Canvas is that the fixed internal volume and control during manufacture ensures void space is set within carefully prescribed bounds and subsequently limits the Water: Cement ratio achieved in the field. It is therefore not possible to over hydrate Concrete Canvas; it will set underwater and can, therefore, be installed in adverse weather conditions.
What is the price of Concrete Canvas®?
The price of Concrete Canvas is volume-dependent, and the price/m² drops when ordering large volumes. Contact your local Ferguson expert for a quote specific to your requirements and delivery location.
How does Concrete Canvas® compare environmentally with conventional poured concrete ditch lining?
Concrete Canvas typically replaces 4-6in of poured, sprayed, or precast concrete, resulting in typical material savings of 95%. This directly results in a reduction in the carbon footprint of construction works. A recent Life Cycle Assessment found that CC8™ contains 45% of the embodied carbon when compared to a 6in ST4 poured concrete channel before the transportation and installation carbon savings are also considered.
What level of chemical resistance does Concrete Canvas® provide?
Concrete Canvas has excellent resistance to chemical attack and is generally much more resistant to aggressive compounds than conventional OPC based concrete. Concrete Canvas has been successfully tested by 56 day immersion in acid down to pH 1.0 and alkaline up to 13 with no loss of strength. Concrete Canvas also has excellent resistance to sulfates, sulphated water, ground, and sea water, and has good resistance to many compounds that attack OPC, including; sewage water, chlorides, tanning oils, vegetable oils, and most mineral salts.
What are the most common applications for Concrete Canvas®?
Concrete Canvas® GCCM is typically used to replace conventional concrete for various erosion control and weed suppression applications. Typical examples include canal/ ditch lining, slope protection, berm lining, remediation works, culvert lining, gabion covering, and pipe protection.
Canal Lining:
Concrete Canvas can be used to provide a hard-wearing erosion control surface for lining channels for drainage and irrigation. Concrete Canvas is typically used as an alternative to conventional concrete drainage where vegetated or earth-lined ditches are unsuitable due to high flow rates, containment requirements, or the need to reduce maintenance. For full details of how to line a channel with Concrete Canvas, please see the Concrete Canvas Installation Guide: Channel Lining.
Slope Protection:
Concrete Canvas can be used to provide a hard-wearing erosion control surface to protect slopes from environmental degradation. Concrete Canvas is typically used to replace shotcrete where vegetated slopes are unsuitable due to groundwater, arid climate or poor soil conditions. For full details of how to line a slope with Concrete Canvas, please see the Concrete Canvas Installation Guide: Slope Protection.
Berm Lining:
Concrete Canvas can be used to provide hard armor capping of secondary containment berm around petrochemical tank farms, munitions depots, and flood defenses. Concrete Canvas is typically used to protect the bund from environmental degradation and animal damage, improve impermeability, and prevent weed growth. For full details of how to line a bund with Concrete Canvas, contact your local Ferguson expert.
Concrete Remediation:
Concrete Canvas can be used to reline concrete infrastructure which has become cracked and damaged and requires remediation. Concrete Canvas is used to extend the life of existing infrastructure, reduce leakage and improve flow characteristics. Concrete Canvas can be used as an alternative to rebuilding or where lining with a flexible membrane is unsuitable due to the flow conditions or durability concerns. For full details of how to remediate with Concrete Canvas, please see the Concrete Canvas Installation Guide: Remediation
Culvert Lining:
Concrete Canvas can be used to reline steel and concrete culverts that have degraded due to scour and corrosion. Concrete Canvas is used to extend the life of culverts and provide a hard-wearing erosion control layer with improved impermeability and flow characteristics. Concrete Canvas can be used as an alternative to relining with bitumen, GRP, polyurethane, or sprayed concrete. For full details of how to line culverts with Concrete Canvas, please see the Concrete Canvas Installation Guide: Culvert Lining
Weed Suppression:
Concrete Canvas can be used to provide long-term weed growth prevention in areas where maintenance is complex such as around sensitive infrastructure or in remote locations. Concrete Canvas is typically used as a replacement for precast concrete slabs where conventional geotextiles do not provide sufficient durability. For full details of how to suppress weed growth with Concrete Canvas, please see the Concrete Canvas Installation Guide: Weed Supression
Outfalls/Spillways:
Concrete Canvas can be used to protect surfaces in high-flow areas prone to erosion, such as underneath culvert outlets, spillway surfaces, and over-toppings. Concrete Canvas is typically used to replace conventional concrete solutions and is applied in the same manner as Concrete Canvas slope protection. Thickness selection should be made based on the maximum expected flow rate.
Gabion Protection:
Concrete Canvas can be used to cover steel baskets and geotextile gabions to prevent damage from corrosion, UV damage, and vandalism. Concrete Canvas significantly extends gabions’ life, providing a hard-wearing surface that will last for decades. Concrete Canvas can also be used to cap earth-filled gabions to prevent FOD (foreign object damage) in military applications and prevent water ingress, which can lead to a slump.
Conclusion
There’s a faster, easier, and less expensive way to apply concrete. Concrete Canvas® is a flexible, composite, concrete-filled geotextile that hardens on hydration to form a thin, durable, and waterproof concrete layer. The technology is easy to install, saving you time and money on labor costs. It’s also environmentally friendly, using 95% less material for most applications. Concrete Canvas introduces a longer lifespan than traditional concrete, meaning less maintenance and replacement costs down the road.
