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Eclipse shrinkage-reducing admixture

Staff

February 1, 2006

Building Design and Construction

Eclipse is a liquid admixture for concrete (or virtually any portland cement-based material) that can reduce the material's drying shrinkage by up to 80% within the first 28 days and up to 50% after a year, according to its maker, Grace Construction Products. As a result, the finished concrete surface is less vulnerable to cracking, curling, and de-bonding, which extends its life and reduces maintenance.

Paul Kelley, principal with Simpson Gumpertz and Heger, recently specified Eclipse for an exposed polished concrete topping slab at a 50,000-sf industrial manufacturing building that is being converted into office space for SGH's Waltham, Mass., office. Kelley also specified the product for a bonded concrete overlay on the ground level of a 10-story, 180,000-sf college dormitory in the Boston area.

Why Paul Kelley specifies Eclipse

"This product offers multiple benefits to varied building problems by reducing cracking and curling of slabs-on-grade."

"The reduced shrinkage not only minimizes the risk of cracking and curling, but also reduces the bond-line stresses due to restraint of shrinkage and curling tendency, thereby reducing the risk of de-bonding of concrete overlays."

"Eclipse is particularly effective in appearance- or performance-critical applications such as exposed architectural floors, bonded overlays, and applications where cracks can adversely affect the performance of the structure."

The Professional

Paul Kelley, Senior Principal, Simpson Gumpertz and Heger, Waltham, Mass.

Paul Kelley, senior principal with Waltham, Mass.-based consulting engineer Simpson Gumpertz and Heger, has more than 25 years of experience with projects that range from office complexes and university buildings to airports and parking garages.

Kelley is a member of the American Concrete Institute, the American Institute of Steel Construction, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Boston Society of Civil Engineers, and the International Concrete Repair Institute.

He holds a bachelor's in civil engineering and a master's in structural engineering from Tufts University, Medford, Mass.

More information

Grace Construction Products

www.na.graceconstruction.com

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