Study of the performance of four repairing material systems for hydraulic structures of concrete dams

Abstract

Four types of repairing materials are studied as function of either a conventional concrete or a reference-concrete (RefC), these are: polymer-modified cement mortar (PMor), steel fiber concrete (SFco), epoxy mortar (EMor) and silica fume mortar (SFmo), to be applied in hydraulic structures surfaces subjected to a high velocity water flow. Besides the mechanical requests and wearing resistance of hydraulic concrete dam structures, especially the spillway surfaces, the high solar radiation, the environmental temperature and wet and dry cycles, contribute significantly to the reduction of their lifespan. RefC and the SFco were developed based on a usual concrete mixture used in slabs of spillways. The average RefC mixture used was 1: 1.61: 2.99: 0.376, with Pozzolan-modified Portland cement consumption of 425 kg/m³. EMor and PMor mixtures followed the information given by the manufacturers and lab experience. Tests on concrete samples were carried out in laboratory simulating normally found environmental situations in order to control the mechanical resistance and the aging imposed conditions, such as solar radiation and humidity. Also, physicochemical characterizing tests were made for all used materials. From the analyzed results, two of them presented a higher performance: the EMor and SFmo. SFco presented good adherence to the RefC and good mechanical performance. However, it also presented apparent metal corrosion in humidity tests, being indicated for use, with caution, as an intermediate layer in underwater repairs. In a general classification, considering all tests, including their field applications, the better performance material systems were EMor- SFmo> SFco> PMor.