Durability characteristics of polymer-modified glass fiber reinforced concrete

The main thrust of this research was to assess the effectiveness of polymer emulsions in enhancing the durability characteristics of GFRC materials. Polymer modification led to significant improvements in the flexural strength and toughness characteristics of GFRC materials. Aging in air in interior conditions had no significant effects on the flexural performance of GFRC materials with or without polymer emulsion. Accelerated aging in hot water led to major drops in flexural strength and particularly toughness of GFRC. Although polymer-modified GFRC materials had higher flexural strength and toughness at all periods of hot water immersion, polymer modification could not prevent the loss in flexural performance of GFRC with accelerated aging. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) observations suggested that the loss in flexural performance with accelerated aging was caused by the penetration of cement hydration products in between the glass filaments.