Polymer concrete vs B30 concrete

Compressive strength

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Splitting tensile strength

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Bending tensile strength

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Abrasion resistance

Modern construction material - POLYMER CONCRETE

1. What is POLYMER CONCRETE?
2. Properties of POLYMER CONCRETE
3. Intended use of POLYMER CONCRETE
4. Physical and mechanical properties of resin concretes

Nowadays, requirements to be met by construction materials include not only strength features, but also chemical resistance, resulting from the increasing contamination of the natural environment, leading to the need to protect and increase durability of building structures. Polymer concrete is an innovative and modern material, which excellently complies with all the strict requirements on durability, chemical resistance, and which, at the same time, offers high mechanical strength.

What is POLYMER CONCRETE?

Polymer concrete, known also as resin concrete, is a constructional composite, a variation of concrete, in which traditional binder - cement, has been completely replaced with synthetic resins with a hardening agent and filler: mixture of sand-and-gravel and quartz powder. Binder of polymer concrete is crucial for improved strength in relation to ordinary concrete, and particularly for chemical resistance. The weakest part of standard concrete - the hydraulic mineral binder was eliminated from polymer concrete.

Main components:

Properties of POLYMER CONCRETE

Using resins instead of traditional binder help us obtain a series of interesting properties such as high chemical resistance to many corrosive chemical substances or high mechanical strength. In case of ordinary concrete, the strength properties of cured cement paste are at least several times lower than the corresponding features of the mother rocks of the aggregate, and the adhesion of binder-and-aggregate is relatively small. The situation is different in case of resin concretes: the tensile strength of hardened resin binder is much higher, and the compressive strength is similar to the strength of the rocks from which the aggregate was obtained. The advantages of polymer concrete are particularly noticeable when comparing its individual properties to traditional B30 class concrete (see the table).

Other advantages of polymer concrete should be mentioned as well:

• impervious to liquids, small number of pores, absolute tightness,
• high frost resistance resulting from non (moisture) absorbing property,
• good electric insulation,
• high resistance to corrosive chemical substances, including acids and bases,
• high resistance to scratches, it does not peel, does not splinter, does not require any maintenance, no erosion, which reduces costs of maintenance and exploitation,
• it may be applied for any load class,
• due to properties of polymer concrete, products made of this material are durable and strong, are characterised by higher mechanical resistance to loads than traditional concrete which means that the cross-sectional area for comparable load classes are smaller in case of polymer concrete products - thus they are lighter than concrete products which results in easier and quicker installation,
• due to natural components it is an environment friendly material, debris may be reused - aggregate may return to the production process,
• good adhesion to essential constructional materials (steel, traditional concrete),
• good ability to dampen vibrations due to resins contained in the material,
• possibility to obtain very smooth surfaces guaranteeing many practical applications,
• possibility to design eye-catching, durable colour solutions (according to RAL - colours do not fade for a very long period of time - resistant to UV radiation),
• resistance to changing weather conditions and atmospheric factors,
• very short time to achieve installation and usage efficiency,
• easy drilling and cutting with diamond bits and saw blades,
• high abrasion resistance (comparable with granite).

Intended use of POLYMER CONCRETE

Due to its properties, polymer concrete is nowadays used in many applications:

• production of prefabricated products for bridge drainage system (bridge edge beams, bridge kerbs, bridge drainage inlets, gutters),
• production of prefabricated products for linear drainage systems (channels, linear drainage channels, linear drainage silt boxes)
• production of industrial tanks, intended for electrolysis of non-ferrous metals,
• production of catch basins and channels to drain aggressive industrial wastewater, water meter chambers, sewage pump stations,
• production of storage tanks to store corrosive substances, e.g. acids, bases,
• execution of chemical resistant cladding as chemical resistant coats made of laminates or resin composites.

Physical and mechanical properties of resin concretes