FILLING BULK VOIDS
BENEFIL, a multi-purpose, super-lightweight, engineering filler grout, is a unique, pre-expanded structural resin. It is produced on-site from a liquid base, with the raw materials generating many times their own volume of BENEFIL, thus avoiding numerous deliveries to site.
BENEFIL is:
- Poured or injected into holes or voids – upwards, downwards, or laterally.
- Can be pumped over long distances
- Fast application
- Environmentally harmless
- Alleviates site access problems
- Economical
BENEFIL has a wide variety of applications, including:
- Pipelines
- Tanks
- Shafts, tunnels and caves
- Retaining walls and culverts
- Seawalls
- Embankments
- Backfilling
Environmentally neutral
BENEFIL is environmentally neutral, and is safe for wildlife, plants, and insects. It is solvent-free, non-toxic and non-flammable. Testing involving immersing BENEFIL in water undertaken by LGC Ltd in 2005 concluded that the material does not present a risk to the environment in terms of leachate. Benefil can also be safely recycled for agricultural purposes, or disposed of in landfill.
Compressive properties
Testing by TNO Testing and Consultancy in The Netherlands investigated the compressive properties of various grades of BENEFIL. Tests were conducted in accordance with the method described in ISO 844:2001. The results in terms of kPa are expressed below:
Generic testing of aminoplastic foams
In addition to specific testing of BENEFIL, properties of the material can also be determined from generic testing of aminoplastic foams.
A report by Carl Hanser Verlag (Munich & Vienna) in 1988 outlined the properties and characteristics of aminoplastic foams.
Properties include being amongst the lightest of solids, able to preserve their cellular structure even after several cycles of compression and relaxation. Despite low bulk density, mechanical resistance to vibration is also excellent: testing this, the walls of a lorry were filled with foam, and after 50,000km, no mechanical damage to the foam could be detected.
Resistance to ageing and rotting
Even under extreme climatological circumstances, rigid uf foam is resistant to ageing and rotting. Even prolonged exposure to water does not affect the structure, and collapse or deterioration due to the influence of moisture do not occur.
Dried rigid uf foams only very slowly absorb water, even when in direct contact. The foam is also resistant to all organic solvents, gasoline, mineral oil and domestic fuel oil, as well as many aqueous solutions.
