Materials Science Forum, Vol.455-456, 810-813, 2004
Fracture energy of polymer concrete reinforced with short carbon and glass fibers
Polymer Concrete is a mixture of mineral aggregate and a polymer binder, in which the polymeric resin, e.g. epoxy resin, replaces the Portland cement/water binder of conventional concrete. In comparison with conventional Portland cement concrete, polymer concrete offers many advantages, such as higher strength, better chemical resistance and improved fracture toughness. In this present paper the fracture energy of epoxy polymer concrete is presented in comparison with epoxy polymer concrete reinforced with short carbon and glass fibers. The interaction between the fiber and matrix is the fundamental property that affects the fracture performance of fiber reinforced polymer concrete. The carbon fiber has an epoxy sizing and the glass fibers were pre-treated with silane to improve the adhesion between fibers and resin. The results show that carbon fiber reinforcement produces 3.4 times improvement and glass fiber reinforcement produces 1.4 times improvement in the fracture properties. Carbon fiber polymer concrete (CFPC) is lighter than glass fiber polymer concrete (GFPC). As fracture energy takes into account the specimen weight, carbon fiber polymer concrete has even more advantage in fracture properties in relation to glass fiber reinforced polymer concrete.
Keywords:polymer concrete;fracture energy;carbon fiber polymer concrete;glass fiber polymer concrete