Water effects on the bond strength of concrete/concrete adhesive joints

The paper discusses the experimental work by the authors investigating bond strength of epoxy adhesives and their efficiency when joining to concrete elements; the epoxies studied were those currently used in the construction industry. Flexural tests were undertaken to determine the mechanical properties of the exposed and the control specimens of three different epoxy adhesives. In addition, the water resistance of concrete/concrete epoxy joints was investigated by comparing bond strength with those of control samples; the maximum period of immersion was one month. A reduction in the glass transition temperature and the stiffness at short immersion time was found for all the adhesives employed, with a subsequent slight increase for prolonged immersion, while the effects on the strengths resulted almost proportional to their initial values. The effect of water on the adhesion of the joints was found to be significant, especially at longer immersion times; the bond strength of concrete–adhesive specimens reduced by 30% after one month of immersion in water.