Flowcable 

Flowcable is a product in powder form.  It is added at the rate of about 6% by weight of cement to produce a flowable, pumpable, non-shrink, non-segregating, impermeable grout providing high strength and high bond to steel.  The most important property Flowcable imparts to filling grout is the protection of cables against corrosion from aggressive agents and against stress corrosion.

The inadequate protection against corrosion offered by normal grouts is due to:

• High capillary microporosity due to high water/cement ratio.  Using Flowcable the water/cement ratio is about 0.3;

• High macroporosity caused by bleed water collecting under strands and in the upper part of the sheath.  When bleed water evaporates or is reabsorbed by the cement paste, big cavities form thus providing easy access for corroding substances.  With Flowcable the volume of bleed water is considerably lower: it ranges from 0 to a maximum of 0.2% depending upon the type of cement used;

• Shrinkage of cement paste and consequent cracking.  With normal cement grouts final shrinkage varies from 2000 to 3000 microstrain.  Flowcable allows not only shrinkage to be eliminated completely, but also slight expansion to occur during setting and hardening