Hydroblasting uses high pressure water to clean and cut through dense materials like steel and concrete, making it more environmentally friendly and energy efficient than abrasive blasting. It is used in various industries, including demolition, construction, and surface preparation. Hydroblasting can be used indoors or outdoors and has vacuum recovery for both water and debris. It is also effective in removing flexible coatings like rubber and semi-soft plastics.
Hydroblasting is an industrial method that uses high pressure streams of water up to a level of 40,000 pounds per square inch (PSI), or 2,812 kilograms per square centimeter (kg/cm2), to clean and cut through dense materials such as steel and concrete. It is an alternative method to that of abrasive blasting used in sandblasting, and tends to better preserve the surface of a material. The recovery of the water used in the process makes it more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. The many uses for high pressure water blasting include the removal of surface materials such as paints and corrosive chemicals, preparing surfaces for bonding in construction, and cutting and shaping materials.
Water blasting is also sometimes used to cut away old concrete to make it easier to remove in the demolition industry. This particular industry niche in waterjet blasting sees significant advantages in the process over the traditional method of breaking up concrete with jackhammers and excavators. The use of hydroblasting reduces the damage to good chunks of concrete that need to be retained if only part of a building is demolished, limiting fracture and damage to steel reinforcement. Environmental conditions for workers are also improved when using hydro sandblasting, as much less dust and noise is generated during the process. Side effects of removing the deteriorated concrete also include cleaning up exposed rebar that has been impacted by water as well as creating a rough surface with the retained concrete making it more suitable for bonding with new replacement concrete that is being subsequently thrown.
Many companies that provide hydroblasting services often refer to them as power washing or pressure washing services. This is because while hydroblasting can be used to cut concrete, it will not cut steel effectively, so it is often used as a preparatory cleaning process before painting a structure or otherwise coating it. The use of hydroblasting to clean a surface is done at pressure volumes below a maximum of 25,000 PSI (1,758 kg/cm2). In cleaning a steel surface, however, hydroblasting will clean out fine cavities in the steel that slurry or abrasive blasting cannot reach. This gives clean steel a distinctly different appearance that can look dull and dirty instead of an overall shiny surface that has been abraded by sandblasting but has left fine holes in the uncleaned steel.
Due to its clean nature, hydroblasting can be used indoors or out with little need to cordon off an area or protect your surroundings while working. Many modern systems using water blasting also have vacuum recovery for both the expelled water and the surface debris that has been removed. Because it doesn’t abrade a surface but simply breaks it down into tiny particles, hydro sandblasting works well for removing a variety of flexible coatings, such as rubber and other semi-soft plastics that naturally resist abrasion.
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