Long-Term Durability of Inorganic Matrix Composite (IMC) Systems under Sustained Tensile Loading

Inorganic Matrix Composite (IMC) systems have been extensively studied in recent years as an effective alternative to the most known organic Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) systems, especially for strengthening applications on masonry. Despite intensive research has been conducted to study mechanical properties and bond mechanisms of such systems, also under different environmental conditions, little information is available on their long-term behaviour under sustained load. In the framework of a large assessment plan for the analysis of fabric reinforced inorganic matrix composites, long-term tensile tests have been performed on different systems in a newly developed test setup. The paper will aim at describing the proposed setup and instrumentation, as well as the results in terms of measured displacements for different combination of fabrics and matrices. Results in terms of retained tensile strength will also be presented, showing the little influence of the long-term loading on the performance of the studied composite systems.