Effects of DMT and TMPTMA on working life of acrylic polymer concrete exposed to low curing temperatures

Abstract

Ensuring an appropriate casting time window is of great importance for achieving desired quality and performance of aging materials. In this paper, the effects of promoter and cross-linking agent on the working life-the period a mixture stays in a workable condition-of low-temperature-cured acrylic polymer concrete (PC) are investigated in order to develop mixture proportions that can be effectively applied in cold weather conditions. The experimental variables included in this study are: (1) curing temperatures (-20, -10 and 0 °C); (2) N,N-dimethyl-p-toluidine (DMT) contents (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 phr (parts per hundred parts of resin)); and (3) trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TMPTMA) contents (0, 2.5 and 5 phr). Results indicated a strong relevance between binder's setting time and PC's working life. Additionally, it was observed that the working life of acrylic PC was substantially shortened as the curing temperature and contents of DMT and TMPTMA increased. Results of a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that TMPTMA had a greater impact on the working life than DMT. Finally, this study developed an equation that can be used to estimate PC working life, based on the binder's setting time. The findings of this study will be used as valuable information for cold weather applications of acrylic PC.