Title: Tensile characterisation of semi-cured epoxy-impregnated FRCM using digital image correlation technique

Authors: Nikhil Holsamudrkar; Sauvik Banerjee; Asim Tewari

Addresses: Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Mumbai, 400076, India ' Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Mumbai, 400076, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Mumbai, 400076, India

Abstract: The progress made in developing FRCM over the past two decades has demonstrated that epoxy coating before embedding fibres in a mortar matrix enhances the mechanical properties of the composites by preventing fibre-fibre slippage. However, this epoxy makes the fabric stiff; unsuitable for curved surfaces. The previous attempts made by researchers to introduce prepreg fabric into concrete/mortar reduce the fabric exploitation ratio and also raise durability concerns. In this study, an on-site impregnation approach is proposed, which involves semi-curing the fabric with epoxy to achieve a certain degree of cure before incorporating it into a cementitious matrix without affecting bendability. The parameters considered in the study include the type of fibre mesh and the degree of epoxy cure at the time of placement. A direct tensile characterisation of both pristine and impregnated fibres, as well as FRCM composites, is conducted. The results indicate that semi-cured methodology shows improvement in tensile strength over uncured ones, by 16.5% and 6.4% for leno and plain weave, respectively.

Keywords: fibre-reinforced cementitious matrix; FRCM; TRM; tensile characterisation; semi-cure; on-site repair; differential scanning calorimetry; DSC; laser Raman spectroscopy; LRS; degree of cure; DOC.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTRUCTE.2024.136896

International Journal of Structural Engineering, 2024 Vol.14 No.1, pp.84 - 111

Received: 28 Aug 2023
Accepted: 13 Nov 2023
Published online: 26 Feb 2024 *

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