| he mechanical properties of methyl methacrylate (MMA) based polymer concrete (PC) were studied by means of various mechanical tests and microscopic observation. It was found that the casting and curing process is one of the most important factors influencing the strength of PC.;Tension-tension fluctuating fatigue tests were performed to determine the behavior of PC under repeated loading. In fatigue tests with a maximum tension less than 50% of the ultimate tensile strength, failure did not occur even after ;Various microscopes were used to characterize the cracking behavior and fracture surface of PC. The cracking pattern of PC is noticeably different from that of regular portland cement concrete. In PC, many cracks in the matrix pass through the aggregate particles, while cracks in regular concrete tend to go around the aggregate particles. The difference in behavior is owing to the much tighter bonding between the aggregates and binder in the PC than in regular concrete. Low-stress (high cycle) fatigue fracture surfaces of matrix phase were smoother than high-stress (low cycle) surfaces due to the merging of new cracks instead of propagation. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.).;Since the compressive strength of PC gives a general indication of its overall quality, and since PC materials are likely to be utilized mainly as compressive members, the present work gave prominent emphasis to the performance and evaluation of compression tests. It was found that the compressive strength is directly proportional to the logarithm of loading rate, corresponding to the equation... |
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