Investigation on Abrasion Resistance of Hydraulic Structures with Various Repair Mortars

Abrasion of concrete is caused by the abrasive effects of floating silt, gravel, ice sand, boulders, and other debris being circulated over a concrete surface, which is one of the fundamental challenges in hydraulic structures. Concrete deteriorates as a result of abrasion, which may eventually expose the reinforcing to corrosion. Apart from section loss, the endurance of hydraulic structures composed of reinforced concrete could be a great issue.  Surfaces that have been abraded are restored with repair mortars. This research looks into the suitability of several types of repair materials for usage as a repairing layer on concrete surfaces. An experimental approach is used in this work, which involves applying various available repair mortars to concrete specimens and subjecting them to abrasive forces. The specimens treated with repair mortars were abrasion tested under water in accordance with the ASTM C 1138 standard. The study used two types of repair mortars: silica fume mortar and polymer modified mortar. Three cylindrical concrete specimens were cast for each type of repair mortar, along with their control specimens. As a result, a total of twelve cylindrical concrete samples were used in this research. Abrasion volume loss was quantified in order to quantify the impact of abrasion and, as a result, to evaluate the effectiveness of various repair materials. The research makes important observations about the resilience of each type of repair material to underwater abrasion. The results reveal that polymer modified mortar outperforms silica fume mortar in terms of abrasion resistance under water.