Thermo-mechanical properties of commercially available epoxy resins for structural applications

Abstract

Externally bonded (EB) or Near-Surface-Mounted (NSM) composite reinforcements are often bonded to a cementitious substrate by means of commercially available epoxies. These twocomponent- resins are generally ‘cold-curing’ (at room temperature), having however the ability to cure faster under elevated temperatures. One application requesting such an accelerated curing process is the gradient anchorage for strengthening of concrete structures with prestressed CFRP laminates, based on a purely concrete/epoxy/CFRP connection without any mechanical devices. This paper resumes the investigation on several crucial thermo-mechanical parameters of different epoxy resins, such as glass-transition temperatures, directional tensile strength and elastic modulus. It is for instance demonstrated that an accelerated curing process or an increasing specimen age implicate a higher glass transition temperature. Strength and stiffness development is faster in case high temperatures are applied; the final values with growing age however are below the ones for specimens cured only at room temperature. Initial mixing under vacuum on the other hand induces higher strength and stiffness values. Eventually, it is shown that an accelerated curing of a cold-curing epoxy increases the porosity of the latter, possibly implying durability issues.