Crushing strength of concrete rings with a polyurea reinforce system
Jacek Szafran, Artur Matusiak
Abstract
The paper describes a part of studies under the research project “Polyurea coatings as a possible structural reinforcement system”. The main goal of the experimental investigation is to explore possible applications of polyurea coatings for reinforcing structures (including steel, concrete, wooden and other structures used in building industry). The paper primarily aims at assessing the crushing strength of concrete rings reinforced with a polyurea coating. A relatively easy way of application and a number of advantages of polyurea application can prove very useful when concrete structural parts are repaired or upgraded. A crushing strength test on concrete rings was performed for drawing up this paper. Failure mechanisms of concrete samples with respect to the way the polyurea coating was applied are presented and discussed. Test objects were loaded perpendicularly to their longitudinal axis. On this basis, the relation between the coating application method and the crushing strength and failure mechanism was examined and analyzed. The results show that applying the polyurea coating on both surfaces of concrete rings improves their crushing strength by 20.3% and makes it possible to use an object safely following the concrete cracking.