Performance Analysis of Styrene Butadiene Rubber-Latex on Cement Concrete Mixes

To improve the performance of concrete, polymers are mixed with concrete. It has been observed that polymer-modified concrete (PMC) is more durable than conventional concrete due to superior strength and high durability. In this research, effect of Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (SBR) latex on compressive strength and flexural strength of concrete has been studied and also the optimum polymer (SBR-Latex) content for concrete is calculated. This research was carried out to establish the effects of polymer addition on compressive and flexural strength using concrete with mix design of constant water-cement ratio at local ambient temperature. The mixes were prepared with Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (SBR) latex -cement ratio of 0 %, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%. Slump test was conducted on fresh concrete while compressive strength and flexural strength were determined at different age. A locally available Perma-Latex is used as SBR Latex. It has been observed that SBR latex has negative effect at early age while at 28 days, the addition of SBR latex in concrete results in enhancement of compressive strength and Flexural Strength. Based on the results of this study, latex modified concrete made using Perma-Latex may be recommended to be used with various types of concrete structures. However, for the mixes rich in cement, the dosage of SBR latex needs to be adjusted to maintain required workability of concrete.