Fast Patch

A fast patch mix is concrete designed to set and gain strength quickly. This is essential for departments of transportation when completing repair work on interstates, highways, and busy city streets. A typical fast patch mix may be ready for traffic within a 5-hour window. These mixes rely heavily on high cement content and calcium chloride to achieve set and strength goals. However, this combination can be extremely challenging to work with. Current fast patch mixes may only allow 30 minutes after batching before the concrete becomes unworkable. These mixes have also historically had reduced long-term durability. This is a major drawback as it leads to more frequent interstate and highway lane closures for repairs.

Premiere Concrete Admixtures LLC., is heavily involved in research and development to support local and state departments of transportation. Recently, Premiere demonstrated a new fast patch mix design that drastically improves on current fast patch mixes. The design is appealing to departments of transportation due to an improvement in workability. Premiere’s fast patch more than doubled workable time without sacrificing rate of set. In other words, the concrete remained workable for over an hour but still gained its desired strength within the 5-hour target window.

The increase in work-ability isn’t the only benefit of the new mix. The design was also made to increase long term durability. This was achieved in-part thanks to the addition of Impede® IntraSeal. IntraSeal creates a water repelling barrier throughout concrete, and is known for reducing the effects of freeze-thaw damage and brine penetration on streets and roadways. This is an essential component to durability in concrete that is treated during winter months with deicing chemicals. Impede® IntraSeal has been used in municipal roadways to increase durability, but fast patch is a new application of the technology.

To see if Impede® IntraSeal could be utilized in your next concrete project, contact us. Find one of the many Ready-Mix locations that offers Impede® IntraSeal on our store locator map.