Behavior of concrete with polymer additive at fresh and hardened states

Abstract

Discarding waste materials from factories to landfills is becoming difficult lately as public awareness on their effects on earth is getting better. One of such material comes from paint factory (waste latex paint), which at the moment being tried as additive by many researchers. This paper presents results of laboratory work carried out on emulsion by-product polymer in order to evaluate its performance as an additive in concrete. Series of concrete mixes containing 1%, 2%, 3%, 5% and 10% polymer contents by weight of cement were prepared, cured and tested for workability, mechanical and durability properties at 7, 28 and 60 days. Test parameters include compressive, indirect tensile and flexural strengths, water absorption and chemical resistance. Results indicated that workability of the modified concrete reduced with increasing amount of polymer content. In addition, specimens mixed with 2% polymer performed better than other percentages. However, higher polymer content is necessary for better performance in durability aspects. Thus, while 2% of polymer is the optimum quantity for mechanical strength, durability is at best when this percentage is exceeded.