Abstract
•Different Polymer Concrete systems were subjected to elevated temperatures.•The effects of addition of two types of flame-retardant were examined.•After exposure, PC (ATH) system has the lowest decrease of mechanical properties.•The incorporation of flame-retardants increase the rigidity of the polymer concrete.
The use of the resin in the civil engineering applications for repair applications, precast elements, etc., was well-developed in the last decade. Polymer concrete (PC) is strongly prescribed for applications where chemical resistance, strength and stiffness are required.
When exposed to high temperatures, PC losses significantly its strengths as a consequence of the matrix degradation mainly. Durability concern after exposure to high temperatures is investigated here. A comparison between the physical and mechanical characteristics of an optimized PC before and after adding flame retardant (FR) is undertaken in this study.
Mechanical and ultrasonic propagation waves testing were performed on polymer concrete based on epoxy resin with 6, 9, 13 and 16% of resin show that the higher performances are obtained for polymer content of 13%. Two types of FR, consisting on Ammonium Polyphosphate (APP) and aluminium hydroxide (ATH) compounds, are then introduced to this formulation and the three types of concretes were exposed to thermal cycles.
Porosity, thermal conductivity and mechanical resistance were measured and their evolution as a function thermal amplitude was studied. It appears that adding ATH improves considerably the mechanical properties of PC vs. Temperature rise. But the second has inversely influence on properties while increasing the effect of temperature.