TABLE OF CONTENTS Polymers have been used as cement additives for modification of a variety of cementitious materials on a regular basis since the 1950s [1, 44]. With regard to mortars and renders, polymers (powder or dispersion) were primarily incorporated to alleviate the main problems noted with non-modified materials such as durability, workability and flexibility [28, 45]. However, it was important that the polymer utilised was not adversely affected by the alkaline nature of the cementitious environment [9, 10]. Equally the polymer should not influence the alkalinity of cement [45]. A few examples of the types of polymers used as cement additives in various construction materials is listed in Table 4.2.
| Chemical composition of polymer | Material description |
|---|---|
| Acrylic | Self-smoothing floor screeds, repair mortars, primers, sealing compounds |
| SA | Self-smoothing floor screeds, primers, ceramic tile adhesives, sealing compounds |
| SBR | Repair mortars, primers, ceramic tile adhesives, grouts, adhesives |
| VAE | Plaster, repair mortars, self-smoothing floor screeds, ceramic tile adhesives, tile grouts |
| Chloroprene | Primers |
| VeoVa | Ceramic tile adhesives, tile grouts, joining compounds |
| Vinylidene chloride | Repair mortars |
Polymer modified Portland cement concrete is suitable for use as a bridge decking overlay or as a general concrete repair mortar [4, 30, 45, 65]. By incorporating SBR, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyvinylidene dichloride into...
