Cold-Cured Bisphenolic Epoxy Adhesive Filled with Low Amounts of CaCO(3): Effect of the Filler on the Durability to Aqueous Environments

The effects of aging exposures to three non-saline aqueous environments on the compressive mechanical properties of a calcium carbonate-filled bisphenolic epoxy adhesive, cold-cured with the addition of two curing agents suitable for the cure at ambient temperature (i.e., Mannich base and triethylenetetramine), were assessed. The amount of the added filler (CaCO(3)) varied from 1 to 3 g per 100 g of resin; the immersion times in each of the selected medium varied from 1 to 10 months. It was found that the mechanical properties measured in compression mode on cylindrical specimens of unfilled and CaCO(3)-loaded epoxy were scarcely influenced by the kind of curing agent employed; only the compressive modulus was limitedly affected by this parameter. Referring to the behavior when aged in water, the CaCO(3)-filled epoxies displayed noticeable growths in modulus, small reductions in strength, and limited variations in strain, with a certain influence of the exposure time, especially when comparing the properties at the lowest time with those at medium–long times. On the basis of the results of statistical MANOVA analysis, it can be concluded that among the compositional factors (i.e., the type of curing agent employed to cure the epoxy compounds and the micro-filler content), only the amount of CaCO(3) filler significantly affects the compressive modulus.