Micro-silica Mixed Aqua-epoxy for Concrete Module Connection in Water : Part 2 - Structural Application and Evaluation

ABSTRACT Recent studies to develop Very Large Floating Structure(VLFS) has shown that the construction procedure of the structure needs to acquire precast concrete module connection sy stem using prestressing. Howeve r, the loads occurring on water are complex combinations of various condition, so the safe and stable performance of the module joints and bonding materials are ke y to the success of the construction. Therefore, micro-silica mixed aqua-epoxy development was introduced in Part 1 using a bonding material developed in this study. The performance of the micro-silica mixed aqua-epoxy(MSAE) applied joint of concrete module specimens connected by prestressing tendon was evaluated to verify the usability and safety of the material. RC beam, spliced b eam connected by prestressing tendon and MSAE, and continuous prestressed concrete beam were tested for their initial cracking and maximum loads as well as cracking procedure and pattern. The results showed that the MSAE can control the stress concentration effect of the shear key and the crack propagation, and the maximum load capacity of MSAE joint specimens are only 5% less than that of continuous RC specimen. The details of the study are discussed in detail in the paper.