High Compressive Strength Polymer Construction Shim

A polymer grout system for placement between a reinforced concrete foundation and a metal tower base, comprising:

• a plurality of precast polymer composite blocks to be distributed at selected points around the foundation to provide temporary support for the tower base;
• and,
• a cast-in-place polymer grout to surround the precast blocks to provide permanent support to the tower, wherein both the precast composite blocks and the cast-in-place grout are the same three-part composition comprising:
• a liquid epoxy resin;
• a liquid hardener;
• and,
• a graded particulate aggregate comprising sand and fine filler, wherein the aggregate particles are pretreated with an applied adhesion promoter in an amount of 0.1 to 5% by weight;
• the volume of pretreated aggregate particles, when mixed with the epoxy blend and the hardener, comprises at least 70% by volume of the cured composite;
• and the composite composition is characterized by a compressive strength of at least 19,000 psi in the fully-cured condition.

A tower foundation system comprising:

• a reinforced concrete foundation having upwardly facing anchor bolts on its upper surface, arranged in two concentric rings to engage holes in a tower base;
• a plurality of fully cured precast blocks disposed between adjacent anchor bolts at selected points around the circumference of the rings to form temporary supports for a tower base, wherein the blocks are cast from a three-part epoxy composite comprising:
• a liquid epoxy resin;
• a liquid hardener;
• and,
• a graded particulate aggregate comprising sand and fine filler, wherein the aggregate particles are pretreated with an applied adhesion promoter in an amount of 0.1 to 5% by weight;
• the volume of pretreated aggregate particles, when mixed with the epoxy blend and the hardener, comprises at least 70% by volume of the cured composite;
• and the composite composition is characterized by a compressive strength of at least 19,000 psi in the fully-cured condition;
• and,
• a cast-in-place polymer grout surrounding the precast blocks and the anchor bolts and extending to the same height as the top surface of the blocks to form a permanent support for a tower, wherein the cast-in-place grout comprises the same three-part epoxy composition as the precast blocks.

A method for preparing a foundation system for a tower comprising:

• forming a cast in place reinforced concrete foundation comprising two concentric rings of bolts extending a selected distance upward from its upper surface;
• placing fully cured precast shims of a polymer composite having a selected shape upon the concrete foundation at selected points around the circumference of the rings of bolts;
• placing a steel structure on the precast shims and holding it in place with nuts on the bolts;
• casting in place a polymer grout ring in the space between the top of the foundation and the bottom of the steel structure, the grout ring surrounding the precast shims and the bolts and extending a first selected distance outward beyond the outer concentric bolt ring and a second selected distance inward beyond the inner concentric bolt ring, and wherein:
• the cast in place polymer grout and the precast polymer composite shims have the same composition.