Quantifying the Influence of Surface Roughness on Concrete Overlay Bonding in Sulfuric Acid Environments

Nurdeen Mohamed Altwair; Younis Omran Yacoub; Alhussin Faraj Aliwan; Waled Faraj Alnaas; Saleh Elmahdi Abdulsalam; Abdualhamid Mohamed Alsharif

doi:10.46604/peti.2024.14713

Authors

Nurdeen Mohamed Altwair Department of Civil Engineering, El-Mergib University, Al-Khums, Libya
Younis Omran Yacoub Department of Civil Engineering, El-Mergib University, Al-Khums, Libya
Alhussin Faraj Aliwan Department of Civil Engineering, El-Mergib University, Al-Khums, Libya
Waled Faraj Alnaas Department of Civil Engineering, El-Mergib University, Al-Khums, Libya
Saleh Elmahdi Abdulsalam Department of Civil Engineering, El-Mergib University, Al-Khums, Libya
Abdualhamid Mohamed Alsharif Department of Civil Engineering, El-Mergib University, Al-Khums, Libya

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46604/peti.2024.14713

Keywords:

sulfuric acid, surface roughness, bonding strength, mass loss, UPV

Abstract

This study examines the impact of sulfuric acid on the concrete bond interface, emphasizing surface roughness variation. Three surface treatments: control surface (CS) defined as as-cast without surface preparation, drilled holes (DS), and grooved surfaces (GS). Specimens are immersed in a 5% sulfuric acid solution for 15 and 30 days. Bond performance is assessed through slant shear tests, splitting tensile tests, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) measurements, mass loss evaluation, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and visual inspections of the degraded specimens. The results show that DS and GS significantly enhance shear and splitting tensile strength compared to CS. Among the treatments, GS specimens exhibited the highest shear strength and superior resistance to debonding under sulfuric acid exposure. While sulfuric acid exposure had minimal impact on UPV, roughened surfaces maintained higher UPV due to improved contact area. Visually, the GS specimens retained structural integrity after 30 days in 5% sulfuric acid, outperforming DS and CS specimens, as corroborated by XRD analysis.

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