Textile reinforced mortar (TRM) as a barrier for concrete structures subjected to carbonation and chloride attack: experimental investigation and analytical modeling

Textile Reinforced Mortar (TRM) overlays have seen widespread usage in recent years for the strengthening of existing structures including reinforced concrete ones. However, little is known about the behavior of these materials in various harsh environments and their ability to serve as barriers against the ingress of chemicals harmful to concrete and steel. In this paper, plain concrete, plain mortar, and composite TRM/concrete samples are subjected to accelerated carbonation as well as to a high chloride concentration environment. It was observed that TRM delayed the penetration of harmful substances into concrete, but the diffusion mechanisms may change during specimens' exposure to these aggressive environments due to resulting physicochemical changes. Finally, analytical models were developed, and their results were found to be in good agreement with the experimental data.