Optimal Epoxy Dilution for Epoxy-Coated Textile Reinforced Mortar (TRM): An Experimental Perspective

Abstract

The effect of epoxy dilution with acetone on the mechanical performance of epoxy-coated alkali-resistant glass (ARG) fabric embedded in a lime-based mortar is studied experimentally. The mechanical behaviour of the composite system is assessed in uni-axial tensile tests, according to the ICC guidelines. Epoxy is diluted in acetone and several concentrations, namely 10%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 90%, are considered in an attempt to define a decay law for strength, ductility and dissipated energy at failure. Although epoxy-coating promotes a striking improvement of the mechanical performance with respect to the uncoated specimens, epoxy dilution appears to little affect the global response, even at very low epoxy-to-solvent ratios. Actually, a notable increase in the ultimate strength and strain as well as dissipation capacity are evidenced for 75% dilution. Indeed, epoxy resin is able to uniformly impregnate the bundles of the yarns in a very thin layer, still preserving its contribution to the mechanical performance. In fact, wettability of the yarns plays a fundamental role in the mechanical performance of the laminate for it limitates telescopic failure. A threshold of viscosity is identified. Above this limit, the high quality of impregnation overcomes the issue of the reduction of the amount of epoxy resin in the coating. Besides, dilution strongly promotes the ease of application, as a result of the resin viscosity being sharply reduced. Most remarkably and contrarily to common expectation, the specific energy dissipated at failure exhibits a maximum point, whence an optimal dilution ratio exists which best balances interphase strength and ductility.