Increases in water resistance of MDF composites

The subject of the diploma thesis is the study of moisture resistance of macrodefect-free (MDF) cements based on calcium-aluminate cement and polyvinylalcohol used as polymer. MDF cements are perspective materials providing unique properties relative to traditional cement pastes with great potential to incoming constructional utilization. But it is known that MDF cements exhibit sensitivity to water, with swelling and reduction of strength. Therefore the work is aimed in monitoring of an organic polymer effect on the moisture resistance of MDF materials and phase changes. Aluminate cement (SECAR 51) and polyvinylalcohol/acetate copolymer have been used for the MDF cement preparation. The moisture resistance of model MDF cement samples was investigated at two different curing conditions: in the moist atmosphere and immersed in water. The influence of composition and individual curing on the properties of model MDF cement samples was observed. The characterization of MDF samples was based especially on test of flexural strength, FT-IR, EDAX and optical microscopy analyses