A preliminary study of watertightness and salt water resistance of spray-applied membrane

The leakage of tunnel causes the long-term durability of the structures such as concrete lining to deteriorate. The cause of durability degradation can be various substances contained in groundwater such as chloride, sulphate, water, and gas. In this study, a series of test were carried out to determine the watertightness performance and the resistance to salt water of the spray-applied membrane used as non-structural rock support or as a waterproof material for tunnels. As a result, it was found that the penetration of water could occur in a specimen, and the reason was that the internal pores generated by the mixing of the liquid polymer and the powder material and the internal pores were connected by the water pressure. The tensile strength of the test specimens immersed in distilled water and saline water was found to be reduced to less than half of the tensile strength in normal condition. In addition, The elongation was measured to be higher in distilled water than in salt water. However, this result will require further investigation.