Evaluation of styrene-butadiene latex as a vibration damping admixture for concrete: a micromechanical analysis

Abstract

The styrene-butadiene latex as an admixture for Portland cement concrete is evaluated in this study using a numerical simulation approach aided by a series of laboratory experiments conducted for material parameter determination and numerical model validation. Using the discrete element method (DEM), a three-dimensional (3D) beam of concrete was built with due consideration of the concrete microstructural features. The beam was employed to simulate the cyclic three-point flexural test at three loading frequencies: 0.2, 1 and 5 Hz and a representative in-service temperature: 25 °C. The effects of admixture usage and loading frequency on the overall damping properties of concrete were evaluated to explore the vibration-reduction mechanisms of the latex-admixtured concrete. Results show that a 20 percent usage of styrene-butadiene latex (by weight of cement) was found to significantly enhance the storage and loss moduli and the loss tangent of concrete. The developed 3D DEM model realistically accounts for the micro-structural features of concrete matrix and can potentially be used for evaluating and designing high performance concretes against detrimental dynamic loads.