El envejecimiento de las pastas de cemento reforzadas con fibras de vidrio

Abstract

Cement pastes reinforced with glassfibre, popularly called GRC ("Glassfibre Reinforced Cements") are compound materials which have been widely used in the construction field for the last 30 years. Their good mechanical properties, lightness and resistance to corrosion and fire make them suitable in the process of replacing the fibrocements with asbestos base in numerous applications. For that reason, their use has been extended in recent years and they have mainly been used to manufacture panels for facades and interior decoration as well as, to a smaller extent, for plumbing installations, roofs, lost formwork and even for "fingers" at the airports (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Nevertheless, it has been known for over 25 years that GRC suffer deterioration with the time which affects their mechanical properties and especially their tenacity; they become fragile and crack under small deformations. The research carried out to determine the causes of the phenomenon and look for possible solutions has been intense and it would be impossible to give more details here due to the lack of space. We will try, nevertheless, to summarize some more relevant aspects of the problem and the solutions that have reached the highest point of development so far.