Joule heating as a smart approach in enhancing early strength development of mineral-impregnated carbon-fibre composites (MCF) made with geopolymer

Abstract

The article at hand presents a novel approach to accelerating the early strength development of mineral-impregnated carbon-fibre composites (MCF) by electrical Joule heating. MCF were produced with a metakaolin-based geopolymer suspension and subsequently cured using Ohmic heating under systemically varied voltages and durations.The MCF produced were characterised in respect of their mechanical and morphological properties. Three-point-bending and uniaxial tension tests yielded significant enhancement of MCF mechanical properties due to curing within only a few hours. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) as well as micro-computed tomography (µCT) confirmed advanced geopolymerisation by the electrical heating process and a strong sensitivity to parameter selection. After only two hours of resistance heating MCF could demonstrate tensile strength of up to 2800 MPa, showing the great potential for applying the Joule effect as a possibility to enhance the strength development of geopolymer-based MCF. Moreover, the applied method offers a huge potential to manufacture automated fast out-of-oven cured MCF with a variety of shapes and dimensions.