CONCRETE Advice

CONCRETE ADVICE No. 18

Delamination of concrete
floor surfaces

Tony Hulett BSc MICT & John Plimmer BSc CEng MICE MICT

Delamination is a common problem affecting power-finished concrete floor slabs,

although it must be stressed that many thousands of square metres of high-
quality concrete floors are built each year without this problem. Delamination is
characterised by thin layers of surface mortar becoming detached from the main
body of the slab. The delaminated layer can vary from being paper-thin up to
about 8 mm thick, and its area can vary from a centimetre or two across up to
several square metres. This document overviews the causes of delamination in
concrete floors.

1 Floating and trowelling There are two primary causes of surface

loss on new concrete slabs. These are
caused by over-layering and by true delam-
ination.
For successful finishing, the concrete at the
surface of a slab must behave uniformly in
terms of its stiffening characteristics. It 2 Over-layering
must therefore be thoroughly mixed, with
close control over the consistence between
successive loads. Warm conditions and Over-layering results primarily from
particularly drying winds, can affect the problems encountered while finishing
stiffening rate adversely and significantly concrete slabs. It is often associated with vari-
reduce the 'window' available for finishing. ability in the concrete setting characteristics.
Conversely, cold and damp extend the Over-layering arises from the spreading of
setting time and reduce evaporation, soft mortar over already hardened adjacent
extending the period until finishing can areas of floor surface. This mortar layer sub-
sequently becomes detached.
take place. Both these extremes can cause
difficulties for the floor-layer.
There are a number of variants to over-
layering, some quite subtle and difficult to
Power finishing, the combination of relate to a precise cause unless the finishing
floating followed by trowelling, requires process is being very closely watched.
considerable skill, not just in working the Sometimes the finisher may not realise that
equipment to produce a dense uniform the equipment is spreading thin layers of
finish but also in 'reading' the concrete to mortar onto already stiffened or hardened
know when to carry out the various stages areas.
of the finishing operation.
2.1 Causes of over-layering smears of material can be trans- it is ready for the finishing oper-
ported over the harder surface. ations while the underlying concrete
There are three main causes of over- is still relatively plastic and still
layering: capable of bleeding. The densifi-
1. Sprinkling water over the surface 2.2 Identifying over-layering cation of the surface by floating and
of a fresh concrete slab, which trowelling can then seal the surface
has stiffened to the extent of With all types of over-layering, the and trap the bleed water still rising
making finishing difficult, can surface of the delaminated area of to the surface.
cause problems. This 'livening mortar in contact with the underlying
up' is to reduce the friction concrete is characteristically
beneath the float and sometimes 'moulded'. The contact (under) The bleed water becomes trapped in
includes the scattering of cement surface of the delaminated layer is pockets beneath the surface, as
on the surface to assist in the for- usually slightly open in texture but is shown in Figure 1a. As further trow-
mation of slurry. Problems arise smooth and reproduces the features elling takes place, these pockets of
if the mortar slurry is spread over of the surface of the concrete below. water are consolidated into a layer
areas where the power-finishing This surface usually has a grey forming a plane of weakness as
has already been completed. mortar finish with markings and shown in Figure 1b. The floor
Minor amounts of water, shaken characteristics present at the time it finisher is unlikely to realise that
on to the surface by brush to was over-layered. There may be a this is happening unless blistering
provide 'lubrication' at the slight lime bloom. There will gen- occurs under the action of trowel
surface for the power-trowelling erally be no torn surfaces or exposed blades, as illustrated in Figure 1c.
stage, should not cause aggregate surfaces and no signs of The pressure exerted by the blade
problems. the fine particle separation that tends to spread the lens of trapped
occurs if water was present. bleed water completely separating
2. Over-layering can occur when the mortar layer from the concrete.
the concrete surface has not been Under the action of the blade the
sufficiently well flattened before In the case of cause 1, the mortar mortar layer is squeezed thinner and
floating. The action of the float, forming the delamination layer is the dragging effect and the sub-
and perhaps later the trowel, will invariably fine-grained and may be sequent pressure relief once it has
tend to remove mortar from the weak. With causes 2 and 3 the mortar passed produces a lifting action,
high spots to fill the hollows. layer, unless very thick, also tends to allowing it to dome upwards to form
Where the concrete has stiffened be fine-grained. If it is thick, it may a blister.
to some degree, the lower undis- be stratified with an upper region
turbed surface may be already densified by trowelling and a less
partially closed and not very con- well-compacted region beneath. The Air and water from within the
ducive to bonding with the over layer is usually quite hard and brittle. concrete partly fill the void. Addi-
layer of mortar slurry. In effect, a tional air may be drawn down
cold joint is formed. through the mortar layer imme-
3. Over-layering can occur when an diately behind the blade. The
3 Delamination dragging action of the blade across a
area of concrete reaches a con-
dition where it is ready for dry concrete surface may cause the
floating while an adjacent area is blister to split. This lets out water,
not. It is therefore necessary to limiting the size of the blister.
Delamination is more complex than However, air will be sucked in to fill
start work on the area that is over-layering and results from the
ready and return later to work on the void.
development of a layer of water and
the adjacent area. Sometimes it or air just beneath the top surface of
may be possible to marry the the floor. This creates a plane of
boundary between the two areas 3.2 Causes of delamination
weakness resulting in the in air entrained concrete
without blemish. However, if the detachment of the top surface.
delay is too great, the harder area
Air entrainment should be avoided
is difficult to trowel and becomes 3.1 Causes of delamination
in power-finished floors and is not
scored and too damaged for the in non-air entrained
required even in cold stores and
trowel to subsequently polish. concrete
blast freezers. (These facilities are
The temptation therefore is to
In some conditions, the top surface not subjected to freeze thaw cycles
work on the softer area as soon
of the concrete can stiffen such that in saturated conditions and so air
as possible, and it is then that
entrainment is not required.) passage of the trowel blades causes cement paste. There will be some
Entrained air has a marked effect on the air bubbles to coalesce to create clean surfaces of aggregate due to
bleeding. The tiny air bubbles, a layer of flattened elongated voids the presence of water and there may
introduced into the mortar by the with weak mortar walls. Where the be evidence of lime bloom and silty
air-entraining admixture, form in the air content is high, say 8%, large material on the exposed concrete
spaces between solid particles and sheets of surface mortar can slide surface. In severe cases, the surface
have a plasticising affect. The free of the underlying concrete will still have a granular texture but
concrete requires less water and sed- during trowelling. washout will be more evident, with
imentation is much lower. As the more washed surfaces and clean silt
bleeding can be significantly and fine sand present. In the case of
reduced, the surface dries and With fine sands, blistering may delamination in air entrained
stiffens faster, such that the process occur, as described in Section 3.1. concrete the surfaces of the fracture
of finishing must begin earlier. With lower air contents, the surface plane are also generally granular
However, the body of the concrete may apparently finish quite well and grey but with flat bubble sites
below behaves normally and with delamination occurring days or just detectable.
remains plastic, stiffening gradually weeks later, when drying shrinkage
through the chemical reaction of the of the surface causes the breakdown
cement. of the small pockets of air.

A possible explanation of delami- 3.3 Identifying delamination

nation in air entrained concrete is
that the surface can become very dry The surface characteristics of the
during the trowelling process, underside of the delaminated layer
causing considerable drag within the vary depending upon the severity of
surface mortar layer, whereas the the problem, as illustrated in Figure
lower part of the layer 2 or 3 mm 1. The surface will be granular and,
down is still plastic and cohesive. in marginal cases as in Figure 1a,
The shearing action due to the the particles will be covered with

Fig 1a.

Fig 1b.
 Fig 1c.

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Issued: July 2003

CONCRETE Advice Sheets are produced and published by The Concrete Society. The information and advice contained in the
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