Engineering:Polymer concrete
Polymer concrete is a type of concrete that uses a polymer to replace lime-type cements as a binder. One specific type is epoxy granite, where the polymer used is exclusively epoxy. In some cases the polymer is used in addition to portland cement to form Polymer Cement Concrete (PCC) or Polymer Modified Concrete (PMC).[1] Polymers in concrete have been overseen by Committee 548 of the American Concrete Institute since 1971.
Composition
In polymer concrete, thermoplastic polymers are often used,[2] but more typically thermosetting resins are used as the principal polymer component due to their high thermal stability and resistance to a wide variety of chemicals. Polymer concrete is also composed of aggregates that include silica, quartz, granite, limestone, or other material. The aggregate should be of good quality, free of dust and other debris, and dry. Failure to fulfill these criteria can reduce the bond strength between the polymer binder and the aggregate.[3]
Uses
Polymer concrete has historically not been widely adopted due to the high costs and difficulty associated with traditional manufacturing techniques. However, recent progress has led to significant reductions in cost, meaning that the use of polymer concrete is gradually becoming more widespread.[4][5]
Polymer concrete in the form of epoxy granite is becoming more widely used in the construction of machine tool bases (such as mills and metal lathes) in place of cast iron due to its superior mechanical properties and a high chemical resistance.[citation needed]
Properties
The exact properties depend on the mixture, polymer, aggregate used etc.[6] Generally speaking with mixtures used:
- The binder is more expensive than cement[citation needed]
- Significantly greater tensile strength than unreinforced Portland concrete (since polymer plastic is 'stickier' than cement and has reasonable tensile strength)[1]
- Similar or greater compressive strength to Portland concrete[1]
- Faster curing[citation needed]
- Good adhesion to most surfaces, including to reinforcements[citation needed]
- Good long-term durability with respect to freeze and thaw cycles[1]
- Low permeability to water and aggressive solutions[7]
- Improved chemical resistance[7]
- Good resistance against corrosion[7]
- Lighter weight (slightly less dense than traditional concrete, depending on the resin content of the mix)[7]
- May be vibrated to fill voids in forms
- Allows use of regular form-release agents (in some applications)[8]
- Product hard to manipulate with conventional tools such as drills and presses due to its density. Recommend getting pre-modified product from the manufacturer[9]
- Small boxes are more costly when compared to its precast counterpart however pre cast concretes induction of stacking or steel covers quickly bridge the gap.
Specifications
Following are some specification examples of the features of polymer concrete:
| Material | Density kg/m3 |
Compressive strength |
|---|---|---|
| Urea formaldehyde polymer concrete | 2260[10] | 37 MPa (5,400 psi)[11] |
| Polyester concrete | N/A | 95 MPa (13,800 psi)[12] |
| Epoxy concrete | N/A | 58 MPa (8,400 psi)[13] |
| Polymer Modified Concrete | N/A | 31 MPa (4,500 psi)[14] |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Page 37". https://books.google.com/books?id=Ebd-hSpIjUgC&pg=PA37. in Kim, D-H (1994). "Properties of composites". Composite Structures for Civil and Architectural Engineering. pp. 35–75. doi:10.1201/9781482271430-7. ISBN 978-0-429-25707-0.
- ↑ Figovsky, Oleg; Beilin, Dmitry (2013). Advanced Polymer Concretes and Compounds. doi:10.1201/b16237. ISBN 978-0-429-16848-2.[page needed]
- ↑ L J Daniels, PhD Thesis, University of Lancaster, 1992 Polymer Modified Concrete[verification needed][page needed]
- ↑ "Polymer Concrete Manholes & Precast Concrete | Armorock". Genevapolymerproducts.com. 2020-03-23. http://genevapolymerproducts.com. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
- ↑ "Home". http://napsco.co/.
- ↑ Ramachandran, V. S. (1996). Concrete Admixtures Handbook: Properties, Science and Technology. William Andrew. ISBN 978-0-8155-1654-5.[page needed]
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "Polymer concrete" (in en-us). https://www.ulmaarchitectural.com/en-us/polymer-concrete.
- ↑ "Concrete Form Release Agent - Walttools" (in en-US). https://www.walttools.com/product/form-shield-form-release/.
- ↑ "Polyester concrete, if not concrete, what else?" (in en-US). 2007-07-18. https://materialdistrict.com/article/polyester-concrete-if-not-concrete-what-else/.
- ↑ Suh, Jung Do; Lee, Dai Gil (June 2008). "Design and manufacture of hybrid polymer concrete bed for high-speed CNC milling machine". International Journal of Mechanics and Materials in Design 4 (2): 113–121. doi:10.1007/s10999-007-9033-3. Bibcode: 2008IJMMD...4..113S.
- ↑ Alzaydi, A. A.; Shihata, S. A.; Alp, T. (June 1990). "The compressive strength of a new ureaformaldehyde-based polymer concrete". Journal of Materials Science 25 (6): 2851–2856. doi:10.1007/BF00584892. Bibcode: 1990JMatS..25.2851A.
- ↑ Polymers in Concrete. 2003. doi:10.1201/9781482271829. ISBN 978-0-429-07765-4.[page needed]
- ↑ "Power-Patch Concrete Epoxy Kit (Grey)" (in en). https://store.interstateproducts.com/products/Parking_Lot_-_Traffic_Safety/Power-Patch-Gray-1-Kit.
- ↑ "10 Minutes Concrete Mender" (in en). https://reparationbeton-com.translate.goog/services?_x_tr_sl=fr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc.
Further reading
- Mehta, P. Kumar; Paulo J. M. Monteiro (2013). "12.7 Concrete Containing Polymers". Concrete: Microstructure, Properties, and Materials. McGraw Hill Professional. p. 505to510. ISBN 978-0-07-179787-0. http://www.ce.berkeley.edu/~paulmont/241/Polymer_concrete.pdf.
External links
