Mechanical performance of epoxy coated AR-glass fabric Textile Reinforced Mortar: Influence of coating thickness and formulation

Abstract

The mechanical performance of epoxy coated AR-glass fabric reinforced composite is investigated. A three-stage manufacturing process is considered, which involves fabric surface functionalization, liquid coating deposition and long-term setting and finally fabric embedment in the mortar matrix. Two epoxy coatings are considered, which differ only by the hardening agent. However, coating thickness is significantly diverse as a result of modified viscosity during liquid deposition. Performance is assessed in uni-axial tension as well as in threepoint bending and it is expressed in terms of strength curves, data dispersion, crack pattern and failure mechanism. Remarkably, despite being very similar, the analyzed coatings produce a significantly different performance, especially when data dispersion is incorporated and design limits are considered. Indeed, although both coatings are able to consistently deliver fabric rupture at failure, only the thinnest is associated with small data scattering and an almost plastic post-peak behavior in bending. The associated design elongation limit reaches the maximum allowed value according to the ICC guidelines. In fact, it appears that coating thickness plays a crucial role in determining mechanical performance and fabric flexibility. The proposed manufacturing process proves extremely effective at enhancing matrix-to-fabric adhesion and thereby prevent

Mechanics and durability of lime-based textile reinforced mortars

“…Combination of these test methods with microstructural physical and chemical test methods allow further understanding of the bonding mechanism in the TRM system under investigation and development of innovative approaches for enhancing it (e.g. application of coating or surface modification technologies for enhancing the bond [13,14]). At the composite scale (TRM level), tensile, flexural and shear tests are essential for understanding the nonlinear response and cracking behaviour of these composites under different loading conditions and for validation/development of macro-scale damage models.…”

Effect of high temperature exposure on epoxy-coated glass textile reinforced mortar (GTRM) composites

“…ARG fabric is subjected, as received, to a preliminary sizing treatment to enhance chemical compatibility with the epoxy coating. Following the procedure described in [19], fabric is functionalized by immersion in a 2 % vol. aqueous solution of (3-Aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (99 %, Sigma-Aldrich), which takes on the role of coupling agent.…”

“…On the other hand, the bond strength between the fabric and the inorganic matrix is generally weak and this leads to poor mechanical performance and a generally inconsistent failure pattern [2,21]. Improvement in the matrix-tofabric bond may be obtained by adopting inorganic [13,31] or organic [29,9,19] coatings. Consequently, investigation of the effect of temperature exposure on TRM is complicated by the need to consider the whole composite package, which consists of the matrix, the fabric and the coating.…”

“…In this work, we focus on the role of epoxy coating on the thermal deterioration of the matrix-to-fabric interface. To this aim, the same pair of epoxy resins considered in [19] are adopted, which differ only by the hardening agent. This feature, however, leads to important differences in terms of thermo-physical properties that exert a profound influence on the behaviour upon high temperature exposure [12].…”

One-Step Preparation of Hyperbranched Polyether Functionalized Graphene Oxide for Improved Corrosion Resistance of Epoxy Coatings

“…Epoxy coating is widely used in various applications due to its excellent adhesion properties, low-shrinkage, good corrosion resistance, and chemical resistance [1,2]. However, their wider application is limited due to its unsatisfactory corrosion resistance.…”