Airbus Nantes Roof Waterproofing
The Airbus production centre in Nantes had its roof waterproofed and refurbished with Impermax.
Overview
The Airbus production centre in Nantes had its roof waterproofed and refurbished with Impermax.
| Place | Nantes, France |
|---|---|
| Site | Airbus production centre |
| Work | Roof waterproofing and refurbishment |
| Membrane | Impermax |
Challenge
A large industrial roof in Nantes takes Atlantic weather and the movement of a wide deck. Refurbishment means the new film goes over a roof that has already worked. Preparation is the job, not a preamble. Dust, failed laps and a damp board will let the new film peel, and the leak returns inside a hall that cannot take a drip.
Nantes, the production centre and Impermax are the job. A drip in that hall stops more than a ceiling tile.
Solution
Impermax is Krypton Chemical’s cold-applied liquid polyurethane membrane. It goes on by roller, brush, spreader or airless equipment, in two coats of about 1 kg per square metre each. The coats are different colours, so a missed patch shows while the work is still open. A spiked roller is run while the coat is wet, to break bubbles before they set. A mesh is not required across the field. It is used at edges and corners, the places a liquid film is asked to turn.
Elongation is 450 to 600 percent and tensile strength is 2.5 to 4.3 MPa. Those figures are typical product data, measured on the product under stated conditions. They are not a cut taken from this job. On a surface that moves with heat, that elongation is why the film can stay with the substrate instead of cracking where the plane changes.
The substrate wants to be between 5 and 40 degrees C. Above 45 degrees C the work needs extra measures. Pot life is about 4 to 6 hours for 1 kg at 20 degrees C and 50 percent relative humidity. People can usually walk the film in one or two days. It reaches about 90 percent of its properties in three days. Final hardness takes 10 to 15 days, and standing water should wait for that. The European Technical Assessment is 06/0263, with CE marking for the 10-year and 25-year working-life categories. The system also carries a BBA agrément.
Cold application lets the work proceed without a torch over a live factory. Two coloured coats show that the outlets and the old laps were actually covered. That inspection matters more here than on an empty shed, because the cost of a miss is a stopped line.
Application
Stir the pail slowly so settled solids come back and bubbles can leave. Do not thin it with a solvent that is not the Rayston PU solvent. The surface is cleaned, cracks and weak spots are dealt with first, then the two coats go down, including upstands and outlets in the same passes. Details are not left for a leftover tin at the end of the day.
On this job the same rule applies at every edge. the hall under the roof is making aircraft parts. Water on that floor is a stop, not a stain. A holiday in the second coat is a path. The colour change is how that path is seen before the surface is handed back. Outlets, upstands and fixings take the same two coats as the field, because water does not fail in the middle of a bay. It fails where the plane changes.
Results
The Airbus Nantes production centre roof carries an Impermax liquid polyurethane membrane, details included. The cure and the strength are the product’s.
Products
Impermax
Cold-applied liquid polyurethane. Two coats at about 1 kg per square metre each. Elongation 450 to 600 percent. Those figures are typical product data.
FAQ
How is Impermax applied?
By roller, brush, spreader or airless equipment, in two coats of about 1 kg per square metre each. The coats are different colours so a holiday shows. On this roof that matters because the hall under the roof is making aircraft parts. Water on that floor is a stop, not a stain.
How long before the film can be walked?
Usually one or two days. About 90 percent of the properties are there in three days. Final hardness takes 10 to 15 days, and standing water should wait for that. On this roof a film that is walked or flooded early is still soft.
What temperature does the substrate need?
Between 5 and 40 degrees C. Above 45 degrees C the work needs extra measures. A surface in full sun can pass that even when the air feels moderate, and this roof is no exception.
What do the strength figures mean here?
Elongation is 450 to 600 percent and tensile strength is 2.5 to 4.3 MPa. Those are typical product data, not a test cut from this job. They are why the film can follow movement at upstands and outlets on this roof.
Where do the cure times come from?
From the Impermax technical data sheet, measured on the product under stated conditions. They are not a stopwatch reading from this roof. The ETA for the system is 06/0263.