Testing and modeling the young age compressive strength for high workability concrete modified with PCE polymers

Abstract

This study was focused on the impact of three types of polycarboxylate polymer (PCE) on the setting time of cement, workability, density and compressive strength (CS) of concrete until 28 days of curing. The percentage of the polymer was ranged between 0 and 0.25% (by dry weight of cement). Slump test and CS results of concrete modified with polymers were compared with the plastic and hardened properties of concrete modified with silica fume used in the literature. Based on the statistical analysis, the range of silica fume used in different research studies varied between 0 and 25%. The w/c initially was 0.60 and decreased gradually to 0.46 with increasing the polymer contents. The CS of concrete modified with only 0.25% of polymers increased by 24%–97% based on the types of polymer, polymer content, w/c, and curing time. Non-linear model (NLM) was used to model the compressive strength of concrete modified with three types of the polymer and silica fume, the CS of modified concrete was modeled as a function of polymer content, w/c, and period of curing. Depending on the NLM parameters, it was found that the polymers are more effective than silica fume on improving the workability and CS of concrete.