Laboratory Investigation of Factors Affecting Bond Strength in Joint Sealants

Abstract

An experimental program was carried out to study the factors that affect the bond of joint sealants to concrete substrate. The factors investigated included the preparation technique, aggregate type in concrete substrate, temperature and humidity during curing period, and sealant type. A series of analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were conducted to analyze the data. This study clearly demonstrated that not all sealants are affected by the same factor and that the influence depends on the material type and interactions among the variables studied. Silicone-based sealants were found to be highly influenced by preparation type and curing temperature, whereas asphaltic-based material was significantly influenced by the aggregate type used in the concrete substrate. This suggests that the additional cost of priming may be justified because of gain in bond strength for silicone sealants. Higher substrate temperature was found to be beneficial to the asphaltic sealant materials.

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