INFLUENCE OF RESIN AND MICROFILLER PROPORTIONS ON STRENGTH, DENSITY, AND SETTING SHRINKAGE OF POLYESTER POLYMER CONCRETE

The effects of resin (binder) and microfiller (MF) contents on the str ength, density, and linear setting shrinkage of an unsaturated polyest er (USP) resin-based polymer concrete (PC) are reported. Calcium carbo nate was used as MF. An aggregate grading which resulted in least void content was used. The resin content was varied between 8 and 15 perce nt and that of MF between 0 and 11 percent. The shrinkage measurements were commenced from just after five minutes of casting. The strength of PC increases with resin content initially; however, it decreases be yond a particular level of resin content. For a constant resin content , there exists an MF content at which the strength of the PC is maximu m. The optimum MF content at which the strength is maximum is found to increase with an increase in resin content and a decrease in resin vi scosity. A fairly one-to-one correspondence is observed between the co mpressive strength and the density of PC. The shrinkage also increases linearly with resin content. It also increases with MF content but, r elatively, at higher MF contents it decreases. The possible influence of MF on the shrinkage is discussed. The practical significance of PC with and without MF is identified.