Materials Today: Proceedings 46 (2021) 4859–4862

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Materials Today: Proceedings

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Incorporation of natural rubber latex as concrete admixtures for

improved mechanical properties
Smrithy Subash ⇑, KM Mini, M Ananthkumar
Department of Civil Engineering, Amrita School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore 641112, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The addition of admixtures into normal concrete always have favorable effect in terms of durability and
Received 29 September 2019 strength aspects of concrete. Also present construction arena focuses on sustainable methods and devel-
Accepted 13 October 2020 opment of sustainable construction materials. This work is based on the effect of addition of Natural
Available online 20 November 2020
Rubber Latex (NRL), obtained from nature by natural polymerization from Hevea Brasiliensis and are
incorporated into concrete for improving the mechanical properties of conventional concrete, thereby
Keywords: encouraging a sustainable construction method. The NRL was used as a partial replacement for water
Natural rubber latex
in this study. A latex to water ratio of 4%, 5% and 6% was used in this study. Utilizing latex in its optimum
Polymer
Field Emission Scanning Electron
dosage has shown positive results in terms of its strength and durability parameters. Characterization
Microscopy study using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) was also carried out to investigate
the microstructural properties and to compare the properties between latex modified and conventional
concrete specimens. Thus performance of natural latex modified sample in terms of compression, flexure,
split tensile and microstructural properties was investigated throughout the study. Being a renewable
material natural latex is a sustainable.
Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Confer-
ence on Advances in Materials and Manufacturing Applications.

1. Introduction
Presently properties of concrete is modified by adding locally
available and natural materials from renewable sources which
enhance the strength parameters and longevity of conventional
concrete. Use of polymer additives in cement concrete was estab-
lished in early 1920 s [1]. Incorporation of latex in optimum
amount employed better water exclusion property [2]. Unlike the
synthetic counterparts NRL is a renewable source and is more dur-
able with little or no health concerns. Generally concrete is weak in
tension and is brittle. Adding this polymeric material improves the
ability of concrete to exhibit ductile response [3]. Polymer latexes
may affect the physical, mechanical and durability properties of
conventional concrete made of ordinary Portland cement. The type
of latex and the amount of latex concentration present in the mix-
ture is ultimately responsible for varying the concrete properties
[4,5]. Therefore the idea of using natural rubber latex modified
concrete is of great concern as it can make normal concrete per-
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: smrithy.subash@gmail.com (S. Subash).
form better thus giving a new mix with multiplied benefits. Poly-
mers also provide good adhesion between the particles in
concrete and thus develops the resistance of concrete to abrasion
erosion and impact [6]. Experimental investigations carried out
on latex modified concrete samples in aggressive environment also
showed excellent results [7]. The polymers
binds the aggregates in concrete and also improves the adher-
ence to aggregates. These polymers have long chain structures
results in developing long range network structure of bonding
[8]. The increase of flexural strength of NRL modified concrete in
comparison with control was notable [9].
The properties in terms of mechanical aspects of concrete is
studied without adding admixtures. NRL specimens are prepared
by varying the latex to water ratio and compressive strength, split
tensile strength and flexural strength of hardened concrete speci-
mens are studied to get the optimum percentage to be used. Con-
crete in its fresh stage can be tested for workability by slump test.
Ordinary concrete is generally strong in compression but relatively
weak in tension and also the porosity of normal concrete makes
the concrete susceptible to chemical attacks. Thus addition of poly-
mers, which are weaker in compression with higher tensile capac-

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.10.326
2214-7853/Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Advances in Materials and Manufacturing Applications.
S. Subash, K. Mini and M Ananthkumar Materials Today: Proceedings 46 (2021) 4859–4862

ity can outcome the above shortcoming of normal concrete and

also prevents the inclusion of water and chlorides by filling the
micro pores in concrete. Thus latex modified concrete works well
against the chemical attacks also. Thus it is found that the NRL
modified concrete performs well and yield a composite with excel-
lent strength and durability properties introduce the paper, and
put a nomenclature if necessary, in a box with the same font size
as the rest of the paper. The paragraphs continue from here and
are only separated by headings, subheadings, images and formulae.
The section headings are arranged by numbers, bold and 10pt. Here
follows further instructions for authors.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Raw materials

2.1.1. Ordinary Portland cement (OPC)

Cement is the binding material in concrete and it bind together
the coarse aggregate and fine aggregate. This study uses 53-grade
OPC conforming to IS: 12269-2013. OPC with a specific gravity of
Fig. 1. Slump Test on L3.
3.15 and an initial setting time of 90 min was used.

2.1.2. Fine aggregates

Fine aggregates corresponding to Zone II and based on IS: 383-
2016 was used. It has a specific gravity of 2.5 with 2% water
absorption.

2.1.3. Coarse aggregates

The coarse aggregate used for the study is in compliance with
IS: 383-2016. 20 mm sized aggregate with 2.45 as specific gravity
and a 0.75% water absorption was used for this study.

2.1.4. Water
Water free from any deleterious substances conforming to IS:
456-2000 are used for concreting.

2.1.5. Natural rubber latex (NRL)

NRL is a naturally available polymer obtained from Hevea
brasiliensis tree and is a dispersion of poly-isoprene. It is preserved
using ammonia–tetramethylthiuram disulphide. The particle size
usually ranges between 0.1 and 4.0 mm in diameter with specific
gravity varies between 0.974 and 0.986. The NRL used in this study
is obtained from Kerala Latex Pvt Ltd, Punalur, Kerala.
2.1.6. Specimen preparation
Cubes of 150
150
150 mm are prepared for the compres-
sion testing. 100
100 mm concrete beams with a span of
500 mm is used as the flexural testing specimen. 100
200 mm
concrete cylinder is used for split tensile testing. Concrete cubes,
cylinders and beams are prepared for compression, split tensile
and flexural testing respectively. Cubes of 150x150x150mm, cylin-
ders of 100x200mm and beams of 100
100
500 mm are casted.
Specimens were demoulded 24 h after casting and are kept for
28 days water curing. A M25 concrete mix calculated based on
IS:10262 (2009) was used in this study. All tests were done on
control specimens (CS), samples with 4%, 5% and 6% latex to water
ratio (L1, L2 and L3 respectively).
Fig. 2. Compressive Strength Test on Specimen.
2.2.2. Compressive strength test on concrete
The cubes after a curing period of 28 days is tested to determine
compressive strength as per IS 516-2004 using compression test-
ing machine as shown in Fig. 2.
Compressive strength of concrete = P/A,
Where, P = maximum load taken by specimen in newton,
A = cross sectional area of the cubes in mm2
2.2.3. Split tensile strength of concrete
The cylindrical samples were tested as per Indian standards IS
516-2004 and is tested for the determining the splitting tensile
strength as depicted in Fig. 3.
Split tensile strength of specimen = p2P
LD
P is load at failure in kN
L is the length of cylinder in mm
D is the diameter in mm of the cylindrical specimen

2.2. Tests on concrete 2.2.4. Flexural strength of concrete

Casted concrete beams after curing was tested for flexure as
2.2.1. Workability tests on fresh concrete shown in Fig. 4 according to IS 516-2004. The flexural strength is
The ease with which a concrete can be mixed, placed and com- determined by following formula
pacted is its workability. Workability is measured by slump test as
PL
shown in Fig. 1. Workability of the concrete was conducted as per fs ¼ 2
IS 1199-2004. bd
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S. Subash, K. Mini and M Ananthkumar Materials Today: Proceedings 46 (2021) 4859–4862

fresh stage. The dry rubber particles in polymer fills the voids
and obstruct the formation of slump by concrete. The values of
slump are given in table 1.

3.2. Compressive strength

Addition of latex in concrete gives a concrete with high internal

strength due to latex filling the pores in the concrete. Therefore at
optimum dosage level strength increases compared to control
specimen and above optimum dosage level strength reduces
because of ZnO and the volatile fatty acids present in NRL. L2 gives
the best compressive strength and has shown an increase of 20%
when compared with control specimen. The result obtained was
given in Fig. 5.

3.3. Flexural strength of concrete

NRL specimens will have high flexural strength compared to

conventional concrete because addition of latex in the mix is
advantageous as it provides additional elastic capabilities.

Fig. 3. Split Tensile Strength on Specimen.

Fig. 5. Compressive Strength After 28 days.

Fig. 4. Flexural Strength Test.

P is load at the time of failure in kN L gives specimen length in

mm
b is the width of sample in mm d is the specimen height in mm

Fig. 6. Flexural Strength After 28 Days.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Workability Test

Natural rubber latex (NRL) replacement with water into con-

crete decreases the workability of concrete. Increasing latex to
water ratio makes the concrete more viscous and fills the voids
in concrete and makes hardened paste due to high amorphous nat-
ure. NRL particle reduces the mobility of mix by disabling the free
dispersion of concrete at its

Table 1
Workability by Slump Test.

Specimens Latex Water Ratio Slump test

Control specimen(CS) 0% 95 mm
Latex 1 (L1) 4% 80 mm
Latex 2 (L2) 5% 75 mm
Latex 3 (L3) 6% 55 mm
Fig. 7. Split Tensile Strength After 28 Days.

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S. Subash, K. Mini and M Ananthkumar
Fig. 8. SEM image of a) Control Specimen (CS) b) 5% Latex (L2).
Increased fineness of the UGGBS is also an added advantage in this
case. Thus the combination of L2U1 gives higher flexural strength.
The flexural strength of L2 is 42.8% more than control concrete. The
result obtained were plotted in Fig. 6.
3.4. Split tensile strength of concrete
The result of splitting tensile strength of the L2 and L3 is 33.33%
more than control and also split tensile strength increases on
increase of NRL from L1 to L2 and then the strength remains the
same. The concrete generally weak in tension shows a brittle beha-
viour. Addition of latex improved the tensile strength of concrete
and it behaves in a ductile manner. The split tensile strength of dif-
ferent mixes are given in Fig. 7.
3.5. Microstructure study
FESEM (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy) imaging
has been done (Carl Zeiss Sigma 300 microscope) to find out the
microstructural morphology of the concrete specimens. From the
Fig. 8.b particles of polymer are found dispersed throughout the
sample. Also the formation of ettringate as needle shaped crystals
and CH crystals near to the interfacial zone of aggregates occurs in
L2. NRL particles is seen as lumps and seen deposited on hydrated
products. The microstructure of NRL is dense as the polymer parti-
cles is seen filling pores in capillary. This closely packed NRL micro
particles in pores and on hydration product forming a membranous
film as in the micrograph. It is this mebranous layer that prevents
the entry of chlorides and water and is responsible for durability
of the concrete. The SEM image of CS as shown in Fig. 8.a have micro
cracks, the pores are visible and the particles are mostly irregular
shaped also without a dense microstructure when compared to L2.
4. Conclusion
The properties of NRL modified concrete with conventional con-
crete are investigated throughout this study. The performance of
concrete with respect to workability and mechanical properties
are studied in this work.
 There is a decreasing trend in workability with increase in poly-
mer because the addition of NRL as it forms passive layer
around calcium silicate hydrate and calcium aluminate making
the concrete more viscous.
 High compressive strength is due to the polymerization of latex
monomer in concrete and also due to NRL particles filling the
pores in concrete.
 High tensile and flexural strength is due to reduced brittleness
due to addition of polymer in modified phase and as a result
the ductility of the specimen has improved.
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Materials Today: Proceedings 46 (2021) 4859–4862
 NRL particles lining the voids and pores as seen in microstruc-
ture makes the concrete impermeable and denser.
Of all the specimens casted best result was given by the speci-
men with 5% latex to water ratio This performs best in the tests
conducted on hardened phase like compressive strength, flexural
and split tensile strength.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
References
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[8] Dr.Vaishali.G.Ghorpade, Sri. K Munirathnam, Dr.H Sudarsana Rao. ‘Effect of
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Further Reading
[1] M.P. Kumar, M. Rangarajan, K.M. Mini, Enhancement of mechanical properties
and corrosion behaviour of concrete due to addition of ultrafine GGBS, in:RILEM
International Conference on Advances in Construction Materials and Systems ,
(2017) 221-226.
[2] Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Plain and reinforced concrete-code of practice
(fourth revision), IS 456:2000, New Delhi, 2000.
[3] Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Methods of tests for strength of concrete
(eighteenth revision), IS 516:2004, New Delhi, 2004.
[4] Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Specification for 53 grade ordinary Portland
cement (fourth revision), IS 12269:2013, New Delhi, 2013.
[5] Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Specification for coarse and fine aggregates
from natural sources for concrete (second revision), IS 383:2016, New Delhi,
2013.
[6] Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Methods of sampling and analysis of concrete
(eleventh revision), IS 1199:2004, New Delhi, 2004.