Flexural behaviour of reinforced concrete beams repaired with styrene—butadiene rubber latex, silica fume and methylcellulose repair formulations

Abstract

The use of plain cement mortar in repair works is limited to unimportant works because of its poor adhesive bond to the substrate and its performance from the point of view of durability. Polymer-modified cement mortar has replaced plain mortar for these reasons. Also, the incorporation of silica fume and methylcellulose in repair systems has been found to provide a better durability and overall performance. This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation of the flexural behaviour of six reinforced concrete beams. Five beams were repaired using five different repair systems, namely plain cement mortar and mortars modified with latex (L), latex and silica fume (L—S), latex silica fume and methylcellulose (L—S—M), and silica fume and methylcellulose (S—M). The sixth beam was an unrepaired control beam. The repair procedure was carried out while loading the beams, to match the on-site practice. The size of the beams was 100 X 150 X 1200 mm and they were reinforced with two 10 mm diameter steel rods with a yield strength of 551 MPa. The test results showed that beams repaired with L, L—S and L—S—M mortars successfully restored the structural capacity of the unrepaired beam, besides improving the durability, crack pattern and toughness characteristics of these beams. The use of plain or S—M mortars showed a poor structural performance since they exhibited early separation along the contact interface with the substrate, as well as reduced ductility and toughness.