Performance of Two Thin Epoxy Overlays on New Concrete under Laboratory and Outdoor Exposure Conditions
Thin epoxy overlays are used for improving the condition and extending the service life of bridge decks. The tensile bond pull-off strength, evaluated as per ASTM C1583, is used as the performance indicator. A failure in the substrate with a tensile strength of 250 pounds per square inch (psi) or greater is considered acceptable. However, the performance of in-service bridge decks when evaluated shows inconsistent results. Such studies failed to record and correlate the parameters that influence overlay performance during testing to clarify the observed variations. Laboratory studies by several researchers have documented a distinct performance difference when the overlays are exposed to room temperatures in comparison with elevated temperatures. However, the most influential parameters, such as the variation of substrate moisture against temperature and epoxy softening under elevated temperatures, were not measured and correlated to the observed performance. This study was initiated to provide clarification of the observed performance differences by evaluating the impact of concrete age at the time of epoxy application, concrete mix ingredients, exposure conditions, concrete microstructure development, and substrate moisture and temperature on the performance of two epoxy overlays. Experimental results confirm that (i) the performance of epoxy overlays improves when the concrete mix contains slag and (ii) substrate moisture vapor pressure and epoxy softening under elevated temperature negatively affect the overlay performance.