On 1/20/16 9:20 AM, Grant Saviers wrote:
I don't think the Erico Ground Enhancement Material (GEM) is betonite
based, given the dark black color. I suspect a conductive carbon filler
of some sort, coke byproducts were mentioned in one article I skimmed.
Betonite shrinks on drying so perhaps it was the "competitive material"
in the Erico video.
Betonite has the same conductivity sensitivity to moisture as concrete,
so it seems like a stretch to expect it to improve concrete conductivity
much when dry. If the concrete stays moist then the betonite isn't
needed. As in a Ufer ground. This article has readable information
http://www.electrochemsci.org/papers/vol8/80911429.pdf although the
"dried out" condition of concrete with betonite filler is not adequately
addressed.
of course, it's a lot easier to dump dry bentonite (maybe mixed with
cement) in a smallish hole than it is to make a real UFER. If it gives
comparable performance with easier installation (in some cases), then
maybe it's worth thinking about. Unlike dumping salt, the bentonite
won't leach, won't crack, etc.
Fly ash added to concrete is primarily to make "greener" concrete -
recycle a waste material and improve the concrete properties.
http://www.ashgroveresources.com/showcase4.html I read the previously
referenced article re fly ash and conclude that "F Grade" fly ash with
high carbon content makes negligible improvement in concrete
conductivity without additional carbon fibers added to the mix.
After perusing some of the literature, it seems to me that if a GEM is
required to achieve adequate grounding then use a commercial product
that has predictable results rather than some ad hoc backyard chemistry.
There are a lot of articles about carbon fiber conductive concrete if
you google it, but that sounds like an expensive additive and difficult
to source. Snow melt seems to be a target application as well as EMI
shielding of structures.
Grant KZ1W
On 1/19/2016 11:06 AM, jimlux wrote:
On 1/19/16 8:22 AM, Grant Saviers wrote:
There is also the conductive material from Erico for pouring around
conductors https://www.erico.com/category.asp?category=R2387
Interesting videos.
Fillers of something carbon increase the conductivity. I think others
may supply fillers for adding to your concrete but I haven't found
sources/references.
yeah, that's the bentonite/cement mix, I think.
It looks pretty interesting, for those wanting a "better" ground, but
not interested in the full on UFER. According to the literature on
their site, you can either do it as a slurry (like the videos) or just
dry, and let soil moisture do it's work.
I don't know if it's dark because of the material (bentonite that I've
seen is very light tan color.. cat litter color, without the colored
pieces).
Maybe they also add fly ash or carbon to it?
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