Concrete cutting: oxygen-spear drilling. hydroabrasive

As is known, concrete is a very hard and durable material, as a result of which its mechanical processing is associated with some difficulties. An operation such as cutting concrete requires the use of special equipment and adherence to a certain technology. Therefore, in this article we consider in detail how and how to cut concrete.

Types of concrete cutting

To date, builders used several ways to cut concrete:

• Oxygen-spear drilling;
• Diamond cut;
• Hydroabrasive cutting.

Now let's take a closer look at the features of each technology.

Oxy-spear drilling

This method of cutting consists in using an oxygen spear - a thick-walled iron pipe into which oxygen is supplied. The oxygen spear is heated to a high temperature (1350-1400 degrees) with the help of extraneous sources, for example, a welding arc or a torch flame. As a result, one end of the pipe is ignited, after which the heat source is removed.

With a constant supply of oxygen, the end of the pipe is intensely lit and heated to 2000 degrees. To increase the heat output, a steel bar is often inserted into the pipe.

In the process of drilling, the spear is pressed against the surface of the concrete with great force, which allows to overcome the resistance of dense melting slag.

Among the features of this method are the following points:

• During the drilling process, the concrete is not oxidized by the oxygen stream and does not release its heat.
• When you remove the oxygen spear, the surface immediately hardens.

For these reasons, there are no reciprocating movements in the cutting process. However, in order to increase cutting efficiency, the pipe must be rotated during the cutting process, while avoiding flame extinction. Therefore, this technology is called drilling.

As a rule, oxygen-spear drilling is used to make openings in concrete walls.

Hydroabrasive method

Hydroabrasive cutting of concrete is almost as common as diamond. Most often it is used in the dismantling of concrete structures, however, this technology also allows to obtain openings in the wall with high accuracy.

Another such method is called cold cutting. It consists in supplying a jet of water with an abrasive under high pressure to the concrete surface. Most often, fine sand is used as an abrasive.

A feature of this method is that it allows you to cut concrete without damaging the reinforcement. But, if you give a jet under high pressure, the cutting of reinforced concrete structures with reinforcement also occurs very successfully.

Compared with the previous method, this technology has several advantages:

• Does not produce mechanical and thermal effects on concrete.
• There are no sparks, as a result of which the process is fireproof, which in some cases is an important condition.
• In the process of cutting there are no harmful fumes, and there are no gases and fine dust, as a result of which environmental standards are observed.
• Work takes place without much noise.
• Cutting reinforced concrete is carried out without vibration.
• Concrete can be cut at any angle.
• With the machine is not difficult to work with your own hands.
• The width of the cut is about one millimeter.

As for the shortcomings, they include large dimensions of the installation, as a result of which work in residential areas is excluded.

Diamond cut

Diamond cut бетона на сегодняшний день является самой популярной, так как она обладает рядом неоспоримых достоинств, таких как:

• Versatility;
• Availability, as for cutting concrete, you can use an ordinary angle grinder (grinder) and a diamond wheel.
• Compact equipment;
• High speed;
• No vibrations.

Professional equipment for cutting with diamond discs, as a rule, is equipped with a vacuum cleaner to collect dust, as well as a water supply system. This allows you to cool the disc during operation and also reduce dust emissions.

This method can be used to cut concrete walls and floors. The maximum cutting depth depends on the type of equipment and the diameter of the disc.

When using this method, it is important to choose the right diamond disc, depending on the type of concrete. If the structure is reinforced, it is necessary to use turbo-diamond discs with a wave housing. Of course, the price of such circles is the highest, but for that they are the most reliable, efficient and durable.

Tip! Not all types of concrete require special tools for machining. For example, cutting aerated concrete can be done with a regular hacksaw.

Cutting the concrete surface of the grinder

Now let's take a closer look at the process of cutting concrete with a grinder, since this method is the most common and the only one available in everyday life. Of course, the easiest way to use the services of specialists, but first you need to know the cost of cutting concrete.

Given the relative simplicity of this process, it is much more profitable to do the work yourself. The only thing is that you first need to familiarize yourself with the technology and some rules of cutting, on which not only its efficiency, but also your safety depends.

This work consists of several stages:

• Determining the type of concrete;
• Diamond disc selection;
• Concrete cutting.

Concrete Type Definitions

Concrete is of different types, it can be reinforced or without reinforcement. Sand, granite chips or crushed stone can be used as its filler.

In addition, over time, the structure of concrete changes somewhat. Young concrete is more abrasive, and old concrete is more durable. To determine the type of concrete, you can chop a small piece of material and study its structure, or give it to a specialist.

Drive selection

When choosing a disc, pay attention to the following points:

Cutting technology

Concrete cutting can be done in two ways:

• Dry;
• Wet using water.

In the second case, there is a cutting of concrete without dust, moreover, water increases the efficiency of work and increases the resource of the disk. However, not always near the place of work there is a water source, therefore in some cases cutting is performed dry. In this case, the work is performed intermittently, so that the disk is periodically cooled.

So, the instruction for cutting concrete is as follows:

• First you need to draw a cut line. To make the cut even, along this line you can fix wooden bars.
• Next, you need to turn on the tool and make a cut with a depth of 0.5-1 centimeter.
• After that, you can remove the wooden bars and make a cut to the desired depth. In the process of work, water should be sprayed onto the disk.

Note! Before you start work, you must wear safety goggles, and you must protect your respiratory system with a respirator.

In this way, cutting seams in concrete floors, cutting tiles, etc. is most often performed. If the operation is carried out correctly, it will not take much time.

Conclusion

Cutting concrete can be done in several ways. The most popular technology is cutting with diamond discs. Perform this operation, as we found out, it is quite possible and at home, the only thing you need to strictly follow the technology and safety regulations.

From the video in this article, you can get more information on this topic.