Polymer and Concrete Composites in Industrial and Infrastructure Applications

Composite materials have a wide range of applications in civil and structural engineering due to their advantages in mechanical properties and higher strengths than the base materials alone. Polymer-concrete composites are particularly attractive for use in industrial and infrastructure applications from combining the higher mechanical properties of the concrete in tension and the high tensile strength and ductile properties of the polymeric materials. However, these materials tend to be more expensive than typical concrete composites. This thesis explores the mechanical properties of two different polymer-concrete composites and their effectiveness in civil and structural applications: polymer concrete for rapid repair and 3D printed plastic-concrete composite members for energy absorption.