International Concrete Abstracts Portal

As we have become more and more concerned with the con-servation of energy and materials, interest has grown in improv-ing the strength, toughness, ductility, and durability of port-land cement concrete or in finding replacements that exhibit a superior cost-property balance. Thus one approach has been to im-prove the properties of concrete itself; another-the subject of this paper-is to combine the two technologies of concrete and high polymers, using not only familiar kinds of concrete but also less familiar ones. It should be noted that combinations of siliceous materials with polymers require in many cases lower energy inputs per unit of performance than either component alone. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of current re-search and unsolved problems with the various classes of polymer-concrete materials. While a comprehensive review of the litera-ture is not within the scope of the paper, the general state-of-the- art is described, principal areas of research are illustrated with typical examples, and areas needing further research are suggested. Indeed, significant progress has been made recently in both fun-damental and applied research on all kinds of polymer/concrete systems. It is suggested that further progress to achieve sophisticated understanding, design, and materials selection will still require much work in combining the science, technology, and economics involved.

Every segment of the transportation industry is experiencing maintenance problems with rapidly deteriorating portland cement concrete structures. The Federal Highway Administration, aware of such problems, has sponsored research and development work to find a rapid-setting durable composite that can be used to repair deteriorated concrete and/or to effectively reduce chloride and moisture penetration into concrete.

Problems such as raised edges, "blow-ups" or even cracking have been observed in concrete overlays cast on precast concrete elements. These failures are due to the shrinkage, creep and thermal effects in the new concrete. To improve the perfor-mance of concrete in such slabs the tensile and shear strain ca-pacity of concrete has to be improved. This report gives the results of different tests made to study the effect of polymer modification on the properties of concrete. Both the strength and deformation characteristics of concrete under different kinds of loading were significantly improved by polymers. With its higher tensile and shear strength, and lower shrinkage, polymer-modified concrete should be a viable and attractive alter-native for concrete overlays and similar constructions.

Concrete polymer materials are a series of composite materials which have strength and durability characteristics far superior to those of portland cement concrete. In the USA, a number of hydrotechnical rehabilitation projects have used polymer impregnated concrete (PIC) in order to repair cavitated or eroded stilling basins. Examples of these projects are Dworshak Dam and Libby Dam. Although both of these projects used polymer-impregnated fiber-reinforced concrete, indi-cations are that the fibers do not increase the resistance of the concrete to normal erosion. It is reasonable to assume that the fibers may help to resist cavitation forces since fibers increase the tensile strength of the PIC. Epoxy resins have been used for many years and if applied correctly, results have been found to be excellent when used in the repair of hydraulic structures. In 1977, the Water and Power Resources Service (formerly the Bureau of Reclamation) used polymer concrete (PC) containing vinyl ester in test repairs on two concrete drop structures on the Madera Canal, Central Arizona Project, in California, where erosion dam-age resulting from abrasive sediments carried by flowing water was evident. In the USSR, much experimental work is being performed on new hydrotechnical structures; precast PC and PIC slabs are being used in high velocity water and sediment passages. With the help of the construction industry, new inexpen-sive techniques could be developed; and concrete polymers could become the construction material of the near future.

The U. S. Electric Power companies purchase over $500 million insulators per year for outdoor and indoor use. A variation of polymer concrete appears to have the necessary characteristics to replace a large proportion of the insulation presently in use. Over four years of development and testing by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and its counterpart in Mexico indicate the material is now suitable for commerciali-zation. A wide range and variety of applications are expected.