Evaluating the Efficiency of Epoxy Injection Technique for Repairing Normal and High Strength Concrete Beams - A Critical Review

Abstract

Concrete deficiency is a very common issue and has several forms, including cracks in a plastic or hardened state. Various materials and methods are used nowadays for repairing because repairing is cost-effective, can rehabilitate deteriorated structures, and increases the overall structural life cycle. Epoxy injection is one technique used for repairing cracks with 0.05mm width. The main objective of this review is to evaluate the efficiency of this technique for normal and high-strength concrete beams and investigate the factors that affect the improvement ratio of repaired samples, such as; the depth of the beam, the number of drilled holes for injection, reinforcement distribution, the viscosity of the epoxy and width of the crack. The results proved that epoxy injection is an effective method for restoring the original structure and stiffness if sufficient repairing procedures are followed. A low viscosity epoxy is preferred as it can penetrate easily into the crack depth and restore strength. On the other hand, beams with smaller depth had a higher percentage of improvement, and the number of drilled holes for injection directly affects the results, fewer holes better the strength improvement.