In the production process of steel-edged rubber waterstops, a pre-treated galvanized steel strip is inserted into the middle of the rubber and vulcanized. The strong adhesion between the two provides a significant seepage prevention and water-stopping effect. The middle rubber body of the embedded steel-edged waterstop is compressed, stretched, and deformed during structural deformation, thus achieving a sealing and water-stopping function. The galvanized steel strip has good adhesion to concrete, making it difficult to detach or loosen, allowing the waterstop to withstand greater tensile and torsional forces. During construction, the enormous vibration force and difficulty in fixing during concrete pouring can cause ordinary rubber waterstops to shift, tear, and twist, leading to loosening and detachment, resulting in leakage under high water pressure. However, when using steel-edged rubber waterstops, no new leakage joints are created between the steel strip and the concrete, or between the steel strip and the rubber. Therefore, steel-edged rubber waterstops enhance the seepage prevention performance of structural deformation, playing a crucial role in ensuring the quality of seepage prevention and water stopping for the entire project. Furthermore, they exhibit good self-stability after installation, overcoming the need for multiple fixing procedures and making construction and installation more convenient.
Steel-edged rubber waterstops are composite components consisting of general expandable rubber and galvanized steel edges on both sides. This type of waterstop primarily relies on the compression or stretching of the central rubber section within the concrete expansion joint to achieve a sealing and water-stopping effect. Generally, the adhesion between concrete and rubber is poor. In conventional construction, because rubber is a soft elastic material, it is difficult to compact the concrete during pouring. Therefore, when concrete joints expand, tear, or twist, the rubber waterstop often loosens and falls off, leading to leakage under high water pressure. This problem is even more pronounced for joints with large expansion joints. Using galvanized steel-edged rubber composite waterstops can largely overcome these shortcomings of pure rubber bridge-type waterstops. Moreover, this composite waterstop has a dual function: on the one hand, it can extend the seepage path and slow down the seepage rate; on the other hand, the galvanized steel edge has good adhesion to concrete, allowing the waterstop to withstand greater tensile and torsional forces. This ensures that the rubber waterstop will not loosen or detach within the effective deformation range of the concrete, thus improving the water-stopping effect. The steel-edged rubber waterstop uses galvanized steel edges; the rubber is typically natural rubber, neoprene rubber, or EPDM rubber. Effective bonding between the rubber and steel edge is required, with a bond strength (peel strength) of 80~10N/2.5mm to prevent them from being pulled apart under changing external conditions. Usually, there are no process holes on the steel edge. During installation and concrete pouring, the waterstop and steel edge are secured with thin iron wire to ensure compaction and effective, firm adhesion between the galvanized steel sheet and the concrete. This product is mainly used in foundation engineering projects where concrete is cast in place and placed within construction joints and expansion joints to become an integral part of the concrete structure, such as underground facilities, tunnels and culverts, aqueducts, dams, and liquid storage structures.