Ricardo Antonio Barbosa

The Effects of Moisture and Temperature Variations on the Long Term Durability of Polymer Concrete

The use of polymer concrete to precast products in construction presents normally many advantages compared to traditional concrete. Higher strength, lower permeability, shorter curing periods, better chemical resistances and a better durability is normally predicated, however this is a research field where published data are scarce. Durability and constantly high and good physical properties are some of the most important properties of the materials used in the building industry. Thermal durability, i.e. the ability of a material to retain its original physical-mechanical properties during and after exposure to different thermal conditions is very important. In this paper, an experimental study concerning the influence of temperature and moisture in cyclic conditions on the durability of polymer concrete based on an unsaturated polyester resin is described and the results are presented. The change of some physical-mechanical properties before, during and after exposure to different thermal conditions is measured. This study was initiated by an in-situ investigation on failures which have occurred on a number of steps on some heavily trafficked public outdoor stairs.