Title:
Review of Test Methods for the Assessment of the Movement Capability of Building Sealants
Author(s):
J. C. Beech
Publication:
Symposium Paper
Volume:
94
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
203-222
Keywords:
buildings; elastic properties; evaluation; exposure; tests; joint sealers; plastics, polymers, and resins; Construction
DOI:
10.14359/3477
Date:
9/1/1986
Abstract:
The movement capability of a sealant may be considered the most important performance characteristic. Test methods for its assessment appear in numerous national and international standards for sealants. These are reviewed together with other methods under development that typically involve cycles of extension and compression with variable temperature. The paper also considers the influence of the state of cure of the sealant upon performance in such tests and reviews some longer-term methods of testing sealants by exposing them simultaneously by cyclic movements and to weather. It is proposed that extension at low temperature represents the most onerous condition a sealant must withstand in service; this must be adequately simulated in any effective test method for movement capability. To obtain a realistic assessment of the movement capability of slow-curing sealants, it may be necessary to use both well-cured samples, as well as samples in a condition of cure that corresponds to the state of the sealant immediately after installation in the joints.