ABSTRACT
It is generally recognised by practising engineers as well as researchers that the performance during the early stages of a surface dressing is of vital importance to its survival. This is due primarily to the fact that most of the reactions that occur leading to the build-up of strength do so in this early stage. It is therefore considered that the knowledge of the changes in engineering and rheological
properties of the binders/systems during this critical stage is essential to the understanding of the behaviour of the surface dressings. The rheological properties considered in this work include the stiffness, viscosity and phase angle, while the mechanical property is the ability of the system to resist fretting.
