COMPRESSIVE AND ENERGY ABSORPTION PROPERTIES OF POLYUREA-COATED CONCRETE UNDER QUASISTATIC OR DYNAMIC LOADINGS

When subjected to a quasistatic or dynamic loading that far exceeds the strength limit, a concrete structure may crush or collapse catastrophically. An elastic polymeric material such as polyurea, having high elongation and low modulus, can be sprayed on the concrete structure surface to prevent the structure from collapsing. In this study, we conducted quasi-static compression tests and drop hammer impact tests to study the mechanical behavior of the polyurea-coated and uncoated cylindrical concrete specimens. We compared the differences of the compressive strength, the failure process, and the energy absorption properties of the polyurea-coated and uncoated specimens. The experimental results confirmed that the concrete has an apparent strain rate effect, with the dynamic failure strength higher than the quasistatic failure strength. Although failure strength is hardly affected by the coating, the sustainable compression deformation of the polyurea-coated concrete was significantly greater than that of the uncoated concretes. The polyurea coating increased the energy absorption ability of the concrete subjected to drop hammer impacts.