Hilti Development

Fastening Systems

Hilti HIT-RE 500

for
Underwater Fastenings

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August 31, 2001
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Hilti HIT-RE 500

Hilti HIT-RE 500 Injection Adhesive for "Underwater Fastenings
General information:
Hilti HIT-RE 500 injection adhesive performs well in wet or water-filled holes.
With this in mind, several test series were carried out to evaluate the performance of HIT-RE 500 in
water at depths of up to 50 metres.
The test programme consisted of:
- short-term pull-out test with 2 different anchor sizes and 2 different types of fasteners,
i.e. threaded rods and rebars.
- long-term creep tests with threaded rods and rebars.
- simulation run in a pressure chamber up to 50 m under water to check the handling
and proper functioning of all components of the HIT-RE 500 injection system, i.e. foil
pack, jumbo cartridge, manual dispenser and pneumatic dispenser.
By means of the pressure chamber simulation run, it was proven that the HIT-RE 500 foil pack
system and the jumbo cartridge system work properly at depths of at least 50 m.
The short-term tests and the long-term creep tests showed that Hilti HIT-RE 500 injection
adhesive works well if used for anchor fastenings under water.
The HIT-RE 500 underwater system differs from the existing Hilti underwater system:
HIT-RE 500 does not need an adhesive capsule in addition to the injection adhesive.
The HIT-RE 500 adhesive simply has to be injected into a well cleaned hole and the fastener then
inserted, i.e. HAS threaded rod, HIS-N internally threaded sleeve or a rebar.
Additional advantages of HIT-RE 500 for underwater fastenings are:
- Due to the unique adhesive formulation with its low dispensing force at low adhesive
temperatures and the unique foil pack system, HIT-RE 500 can easily be used at water
temperatures as low as 5C / 40F.
- Due to the long working / gel time of HIT-RE 500, underwater applications can be carried
out very conveniently.
- The red colour of the adhesive is a great advantage from the point of view of contrast
and visibility in the rather difficult site conditions.
- Regarding environmental aspects, the HIT-RE 500 injection adhesive is listed by NSF for
potable water applications.
Tests in fresh water as well as in salt water showed that HIT-RE 500 injection adhesive cures
properly if the adhesive is used according to the conditions recommended in this paper and in the
Instructions for use, distributed with the product.
Fastenings made with HIT-RE 500 were tested for water impermeability up to 7 bar water
pressure.
The tests proved that fastenings made in concrete with HIT-RE 500 are as water tight as the
concrete itself.
This procedure informs you how threaded rods, internally threaded sleeves and reinforcing bars can
be designed for and installed in underwater applications using Hilti HIT-RE 500 injection adhesive.

For internal use only!

Hilti Development
Fastening Systems

Hilti HIT-RE 500

for
Underwater Fastenings

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August 31, 2001
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Corrosion aspect:
Even if anchor fastenings are designed and installed properly, how long a fastening will last, i.e. its
life expectancy, depends on the resistance to corrosion of the metal fastener.
Careful selection of the right grade of steel for a metal fastener and its protection against corrosion
are therefore essential for the fastening life expectancy.
In this respect, please refer also to Hiltis Corrosion-resistant Fastenings brochure, edition 2000.

Setting procedure:
The quality of a fastening is mainly depending on the bond between the adhesive and the base
material.
Proper hole cleaning and correct adhesive injection from the bottom of the hole upwards- is,
thus, essential for the right quality of the final fastening.
Due to the different setting conditions when fastening underwater compared to normal fastening, the
following specific setting procedure should be observed with underwater applications:
1.

Drill the hole.

Normally this is done by using a pneumatic hammer drill.

2.

Flush dust and debris out of the hole using water

3.

Clean the hole using a steel brush. The diameter of the steel
brush should more or less match the hole diameter (approx.
2 to 5 mm larger) to achieve good cleaning quality. Move up and
down the full hole depth 5 times with the steel brush.

4.

Flush the hole with water again until the emerging water is clear.

For internal use only!

Hilti Development
Fastening Systems

Hilti HIT-RE 500

for
Underwater Fastenings

5.

Insert the foil pack into the holder.

6.

Screw the mixer / mixing nozzle onto the foil pack or cartridge.

7.

Insert the foil pack holder assembly into the dispenser and begin
to dispense the adhesive.

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August 31, 2001
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MD 2000

Insert a jumbo cartridge into the pneumatic dispenser and begin

to dispense the adhesive.
8.

Foil packs: Discard the first 3 trigger pulls that emerge from
the mixer. This part of adhesive may not be used for fastenings.

00

Jumbo cartridge: Discard a pile of adhesive approx. 50 mm in

diameter and 25 mm in height. This part of adhesive may not be
used for fastenings.
9.

Inject the adhesive until the hole is completely filled with

adhesive. Start filling from the bottom of the hole and slowly
withdraw the mixer / dispenser while filling the hole with
adhesive. Displace the water in the hole completely with the
injected adhesive.

20

MD 2000

For deep holes use mixer extensions.

10. Insert the fastener.
Please refer to the "Instruction for use" regarding the working /
gel time twork / tgel, initial curing time tcure,ini and full curing
time tcure,full

See "Instruction for use"

on pages 2 and 3.

For more information regarding the setting details, cartridge handling, safety aspects and waste
handling, please refer to the "HIT-RE 500 instructions for use" which are enclosed with each foil
pack or jumbo cartridge.

For internal use only!

Hilti HIT-RE 500

for
Underwater Fastenings

Hilti Development
Fastening Systems

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August 31, 2001
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Anchor fastening design:

Water-saturated concrete, which is normal with underwater conditions, has less mechanical strength
than dry concrete. The lower mechanical performance of water saturated concrete and the behavior
of bonded systems in such base material must be taken into consideration when designing
underwater fastenings.
The design of underwater fastenings when using HAS, HAS-R and HAS-HCR threaded rods, HIS-N
and HIS-RN internally threaded sleeves and rebars can be carried out easily if the design procedure
and technical data published in the Fastening Technology Manual (TM), issue 2001, from the Hilti
Corporation, Schaan, FL, are observed.
As mentioned above, the concrete (base material) is always water saturated when fastening
underwater.
In view of this, the reduction factor fw,sat = 0.7 has to be taken into account in each case.
Please make sure that the minimum concrete grade of at least C20/25 specified by Hilti for
underwater fastenings made with HIT-RE 500 is kept to.

We hope this technical information enables HIT-RE 500 users to design and install high-quality
fastenings in underwater conditions.

Hilti Anchor BU, Development, Kaufering

H. Ginter
R. Neuerburg

Enclosure: Photos from an underwater creep test

For internal use only!

Hilti Development
Fastening Systems

Photos 1 and 2:

Hilti HIT-RE 500

for
Underwater Fastenings

From:
Date:
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DMPg
August 31, 2001
5/5

Sustained loading test (creep test) with HAS M12 threaded rods and rebars
12 mm dia. set and tested underwater

For internal use only!