OVERVIEW

SHIELDJOINT is an innovative, patent pending, leave-in-place joint system designed speci cally to meet the demanding needs of today’s industrial concrete oors. SHIELDJOINT surpasses the requirements of TR34 3rd Edition. SHIELDJOINT is a ‘sealant-free joint system’.

SHIELDJOINT offers superior performance through innovative design.



SLAB PANEL EDGE SHIELDING

NO IMPACT ACROSS THE JOINT! NO JOINT SEALING REQUIRED!

Traditional joint systems feature two straight steel edges which are anchored in to the edges of the slab panels and basically armour the slab panel edges. As the slab panels shrink during the curing process, a gap occurs between the adjacent slab panels. This gap should be lled with a suitable joint sealer at building handover, after a further 12 months and whenever necessary thereafter, throughout the life of the building, in order to maintain an adequate sealed joint. Joint sealing is costly and sealed joints must be maintained for them to be effective. Mechanical handling equipment (MHE) such as forklifts traverse this gap and an impact load is generated between the armoured edges and the forklift wheels, even if sealant is in place. These impact loads are absorbed by the slab and the MHE, invariably leading to expensive oor repairs with associated facility downtime and higher MHE maintenance costs. SHIELDJOINT comprises ‘asymmetric top plates’ tted to ‘opposing asymmetric support angles’. This patent pending innovation provides a ‘sealed joint’ at all times, so no sealant is required, ever. SHIELDJOINT therefore eliminates costly joint sealant, reduces expensive facility down time otherwise required for joint sealant repairs or ongoing re-sealing, and improves pest control by virtue of a ‘sealed joint’. SHIELDJOINT’s ‘asymmetric top plates’ feature a speci c trapezoidal split line, designed with a wave-length suitable for the narrowest of MHE wheel widths such that even when the joint has achieved 30mm maximum perpendicular joint opening, the MHE wheel is always in contact with both halves of the top plates. This design virtually eliminates impact loads as the joint is traversed. SHIELDJOINT therefore signi cantly reduces oor repairs throughout the life of the building, reduces expensive facility down time otherwise required for oor joint repairs and signi cantly reduces MHE maintenance costs resulting from impact loads. SHIELDJOINT negates the need for joint sealant and virtually eliminates any impact loads.

DOWEL DESIGN

SHIELDJOINT leads the way with a unique and revolutionary ‘asymmetrical dowel’. Other traditional joint systems have an inherent design weakness such that the dowel is positioned centrally across the joint when the joint is closed. From the moment the joint opens, dowel engagement on the free side reduces, thus moving away from a condition of equal dowel engagement on both sides of the joint. Ultimately, with large joint openings there is a risk of the dowel becoming totally disengaged on the free side, the complete loss of load transfer across the joint and a failed oor. SHIELDJOINT works differently. As the joint opens, SHIELDJOINT moves towards a condition of equal dowel engagement. Even at a maximum joint opening of 30mm, each side of the joint has a class leading 60mm of dowel engagement. SHIELDJOINT dowels are made from a high grade S355 steel (355N/mm2 yield strength).

SLEEVE DESIGN

The sleeve’s purpose is to form a barrier between the steel dowel and the concrete and allow the concrete to release in two horizontal planes (parallel and perpendicular to the joint) on the free side of the joint. Vertical displacement between adjacent slab panels is undesirable as this can lead to a reduction in oor and joint life. SHIELDJOINT sleeves are designed to facilitate up to ± 20mm of parallel movement along the joint before the joint opens up. Other joint systems allow zero parallel movement between slab panels (i.e. along dock levellers) and can cause slab lock-up. SHIELDJOINT can be speci ed with factory pre-set top plates to cater for even greater parallel movement – SHIELDJOINT DL. The long term performance of a concrete oor is highly dependent upon the quality and performance of the joint system.

5mm thick steel x 110mm wide x 1950mm long asymmetric top plates with trapezoidal split line.
5mm thick steel asymmetric support angles.
Diameter 10mm x 100mm long, shear studs for anchorage into concrete.
Frangible fastening system temporarily holding steel support and top plates in place during concrete casting.
Unique asymmetric dowel, high grade 355N/mm2 steel for superior load transfer and maximum 30mm joint openings. Available in 8mm or 12mm thickness at 6 50mm centres.
Cold rolled steel plate.
High density plastic sleeve for release of dowel in concrete, with ± 20mm parallel movement along joint and 30mm movement perpendicular to joint.
Other Features:
Overlapping, joint-to-joint, joining arrangement with simple fastening system.
Full range of intersections and precision height adjustment using SHIELDFIX Jack.
Also available in stainless steel.