Influence of Water-Repellent Treatment with Silicon Resin on Properties of Concrete

Abstract

Although studies on water-repellent properties of silicon resin (SR) on cement-based materials have received tremendous attention around the world in recent years, they mainly focus on individual properties of water-repellent concrete treated with SR such as strength and water permeability resistance. However, to date, a systematic and comprehensive investigation is missing. The current study therefore investigates the influence of SR on the durability properties of cementitious materials by adding SR emulsion into integral concrete mixture and coating concrete surface with SR. The microscopic and mechanical properties and the durability performance were tested on the integral SR water‐repellent concrete (C-ISR) and SR surface water-repellent concrete (C-SSR). The obtained results indicate that SR application has no impact on hydration reaction and corresponding composition of cement-based materials, while SR addition leads to a reduction in strength and early shrinkage of cement mortar because the added SR delays the hydration reaction. Water-repellent treatment via SR can significantly reduce the water permeability of concrete, which is more apparent for surface water-repellent treatment (SSR). Furthermore, the durability properties were investigated, and the results indicate that integral SR water-repellent treatment (ISR) possesses better properties than SSR, which suggests water-repellent treatment via surface coating as an effective means to improve concrete durability.