Thermal and Fatigue Behavior of Polymer Concrete Overlaid Beams

Abstract

Polymer concrete (PC) has been widely used for floor and bridge overlays, but because of the differences in the coefficients of thermal expansion between Portland‐cement concrete (PCC) and PC, there is concern about possible delamination at the interface. This paper is a report of the results of two experimental studies. The first was an investigation of crack propagation, stiffness deterioration, and delamination of PC‐PCC composite members subjected to load cycles at room temperature. The second was an investigation of the interface shear stresses and longitudinal normal stresses of PC‐PCC beams under various uniform thermal loads ranging from approximately 3°F (16°C) to 140°F (60°C). A hypothesis of the thermal phase was that interface shear stresses are localized near the ends of the beams. It was observed that: (1) Test beams survived 2,000,000 load cycles without delamination and without significant loss of stiffness; (2) interface shear stresses are end bound; and (3) the effective length of the end zone in which shear stresses are concentrated is approximately equal to the depth of the composite member.