Graduate student, Paul Imbrock, applies SME sealant to a pavement joint for a field trial on US 231 in Lafayette, IN
Graduate student, Paul Imbrock, applies SME sealant to a pavement joint for a field trial on US 231 in Lafayette, IN.

A soy methyl ester (SME) based concrete sealant has been in development within the research group for several years. SME is topically applied to dry concrete and is absorbed into the pore network forming a hydrophobic barrier to mitigate water and salt ingress.

Testing of this material has begun the transition into real world applications. Backed by promising laboratory data, SME has been applied to several pavements including segments of US-231 in Lafayette, IN and 126th street in Fishers, IN. Along with these field trials, an extensive outdoor test has begun with a local ready mixed concrete producer in order to investigate the use of SME in higher water to cement ratio and early age applications seen in residential concrete construction.