Behaviour of epoxy filled flat-face joints in concrete for wave energy converters
type: CreativeWork
description: The need and demand for renewable energy is widely understood but there has been equally vociferous opposition to the capital and operational costs of these technologies. While wind energy has developed extensively in the offshore environment over the past decade, problems with intermittent generation means that more reliable technologies are necessary. Of these wave power is particularly attractive as it can be reliably predicted. Although wave energy convertors (WEC) have existed for decades none has achieved significant commercial adoption. Wave energy is diffuse, and this means WECs must be both large and used in arrays. Existing types have generally been constructed in steel and this has proven too expensive. The need for cost reduction and rapid construction of WECs has stimulated interest in structural concrete. However, while marine concrete is well established, WEC will require joints and there is limited data regarding the performance and behaviour of epoxy bond lines in concrete structural elements exposed to the marine environment. In particular, there is a need to understand the macro and micro mechanical behavior of jointed systems under static and cyclic loading in seawater salt solution and under cycles of wetting and drying. Therefore, this research was aimed at undertaking an extensive experimental programme to determine how concrete elements joined by epoxy bond lines function. The work required innovative testing rigs to be designed and constructed and novel monitoring techniques to be developed. The experimental programme was divided into three main phases. Phase I addressed the macro scale performance of epoxy bonded concrete under shear/compression, flexure, and torsion. The failure mode and the joint strength were found to be sensitive to the experimental setup, the thickness of the joint, surface preparation, the mechanical properties of the epoxy and concrete, and the exposure to seawater. Digital Image Correlation (DIC) analysis showed tha…
abstract: The need and demand for renewable energy is widely understood but there has been equally vociferous opposition to the capital and operational costs of these technologies. While wind energy has developed extensively in the offshore environment over the past decade, problems with intermittent generation means that more reliable technologies are necessary. Of these wave power is particularly attractive as it can be reliably predicted. Although wave energy convertors (WEC) have existed for decades none has achieved significant commercial adoption. Wave energy is diffuse, and this means WECs must be both large and used in arrays. Existing types have generally been constructed in steel and this has proven too expensive. The need for cost reduction and rapid construction of WECs has stimulated interest in structural concrete. However, while marine concrete is well established, WEC will require joints and there is limited data regarding the performance and behaviour of epoxy bond lines in concrete structural elements exposed to the marine environment. In particular, there is a need to understand the macro and micro mechanical behavior of jointed systems under static and cyclic loading in seawater salt solution and under cycles of wetting and drying. Therefore, this research was aimed at undertaking an extensive experimental programme to determine how concrete elements joined by epoxy bond lines function. The work required innovative testing rigs to be designed and constructed and novel monitoring techniques to be developed. The experimental programme was divided into three main phases. Phase I addressed the macro scale performance of epoxy bonded concrete under shear/compression, flexure, and torsion. The failure mode and the joint strength were found to be sensitive to the experimental setup, the thickness of the joint, surface preparation, the mechanical properties of the epoxy and concrete, and the exposure to seawater. Digital Image Correlation (DIC) analysis showed tha…
author: Khosravi, Noushin
language: eng
date published: 2018
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:08:39Z
provider: University of Dundee
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Dundee