ABSTRACT
The superhydrophobic concrete has been recently developed and it is already making impact on the construction industry, particularly on highways, roads and pavements. However, these applications require high road-tire tractions; therefore, the tribological study of novel superhydrophobic concrete coatings are very important. Ceramic tiles representing concrete pavements were initially coated by a coating, approximately 15 µm thick, made of TiO2 (a photo-catalytic agent) and an inorganic binder having phosphoric acid as a base. Following this initial coating, a layer of superhydrophobic coating was applied. The water contact angle (CA) was measured on the samples which included regular tiles, TiO2 and inorganic binder coated tiles and tiles with layer of superhydrophobic coating applied above the initial coating. Characterization of all the above mentioned samples included confocal microscopy and a profilometric study of their surfaces. Tribological test of these samples with tire rubber are conducted using a tribometer to determine the coefficients of friction and wear rates. A correlation of these parameters is discussed in this poster.