Construction and Building Materials 205 (2019) 175–185

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

An investigation on the effect of styrene-butyl acrylate copolymer latex

to improve the properties of polymer modified concrete
Zahra Bahranifard a, Farshad Farshchi Tabrizi a,b,⇑, Ali Reza Vosoughi c
a
Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
b
Institute of Process Engineering and Environmental Technology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden 01062, Germany
c
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

h i g h l i g h t s g r a p h i c a l a b s t r a c t

 Using SBA latex to investigate

mechanical properties of polymer
modified concrete.
 Investigating the mechanism and
microstructure formation process of
the concrete.
 Investigate interactions between SBA
latexes and cement in the concrete.
 Significant improvement in
compressive and flexural strengths of
the concrete.

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

Article history: The effect of adding styrene-butyl acrylate (SBA) nano copolymer latex on the mechanical properties of
Received 4 October 2018 concrete is investigated via performing scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray
Received in revised form 22 January 2019 spectroscopy (EDX) analyses. For decreasing entrapped air content and increasing workability of the SBA
Accepted 27 January 2019
modified concrete, silicone-based antifoam and superplasticizer were added to the mixture, respectively.
Samples with different weigh proportions of SBA to cement, antifoam, and superplasticizer were fabri-
cated to obtain proper ratios of these materials which had better effects on the mechanical properties
Keywords:
of the concrete. Obtained results indicated that adding SBA along with antifoam and superplasticizer
Nano polymer modified concrete
Nano styrene-butyl acrylate copolymer
improved mechanical properties of the concrete significantly. On the other hand, the SEM analysis on
latex the microstructure of the samples with the proper proportions showed that three-dimensional crystalline
Surfactant structures are forming in the structure of concrete and this can improve mechanical properties and dura-
Antifoam bility of the sample.
Microstructure studies Ó 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

1. Introduction been applied for improving properties of the cement concrete

Concrete is one of the most frequently used materials in the
construction of large industrial projects, such as refineries, petro-
chemicals, reservoirs of reactors and sewage systems, bridges,
dams, and etc. Nowadays, variety of materials and approaches have
⇑ Corresponding author at: Department of Chemical Engineering, School of
Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.
E-mail address: farshchi@shirazu.ac.ir (F. Farshchi Tabrizi).
(Portland cement concrete) and/or finding a replacement for
cement in the concrete [1–4]. The required mechanical properties
of concrete, durability, structural performance, environmental con-
ditions, and economic concerns play important roles for choosing
proper added materials for construction of different structures,
such as dams, hydropower, bridges, tunnels, wharfs, and buildings.
Therefore, obtaining proper proportions of materials in concrete in
the presence of admixtures is of interests of researchers [5–7].
Adding polymeric materials to the concrete can be a solution for

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.01.175
0950-0618/Ó 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
176 Z. Bahranifard et al. / Construction and Building Materials 205 (2019) 175–185

improving its mechanical properties and durability. As a result,
using them in the concrete have drawn many attentions among
researchers in recent years [8–10]. Different methods and poly-
mers have been utilized and added to investigate the properties
of concrete or cement mortar [11-15].
Among polymers, latexes have been taken into consideration to
study their effects on the properties of concrete. Using polymer
latex in the modified concrete can be divided into two categories
[16]. The first one concludes polymer latex without active groups
in polymer chains and this may modify physical properties of the
cement by covering the surface of hydration crystals and porous
areas of the cement [17]. Benzene butyl is a kind of this category.
However, latexes like styrene butadiene carboxylate can be catego-
rized in the other group of polymer latexes which has active groups
contributing to the formation of 3D network structures in the
modified concrete, respectively. Interactions between Styrene-
Butyl Acrylate (SBA) latex, antifoam agent, superplasticizer,
cement, and aggregate in concrete were investigated with the
emphasis on properties of copolymer particles by scanning elec-
tron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy
(EDX), and examined the durability and mechanical properties of
polymer modified concrete.
2. Materials and method
2.1. Materials
To prepare the concrete mix design, Portland cement, fine and coarse aggre-
gates, SBA latex, antifoam agent, and superplasticizer were used. Characteristics
of these materials are studied in the following sections.

hydration process of the cement. Mechanism of this type of poly-

mer latex can contribute to the modified physical and chemical 2.1.1. Cement
properties of cement. The second category is the most frequent Portland cement type II (produced by Farsnov cement factory, Fars/Iran) was
used latex for modification of concrete properties [9,17,18]. For used and its chemical and mineralogical compositions are presented in Table 1
facilitating the process of mixing fresh concrete, different types
of latexes with low viscosities should be utilized [19–22]. In addi-
2.1.2. Aggregate
tion, common criteria of polymers or copolymers, such as costs,
Fine and coarse silica aggregates were used to fabricate samples. ASTM C-136,
resistance to destruction, high solubility, environmental conse- C127, and C128 [47–49] were used to obtain fineness modulus (FM), water content,
quences, volatility, degree of toxicity, and flash point play impor- and saturated surface dry (SSD) bulk specific gravity of the used aggregates. The
tant roles for selecting the latexes [23–25]. Considering these obtained FM of the fine aggregates was 4.04. SSD bulk specific gravity and water
absorption of the fine and coarse aggregates are tabulated in Table 2. Additionally,
concerns along with the polymer type, polymer to cement ratio,
grading curves of fine and coarse aggregates are plotted in Fig. 1.
air content, and etc have a yield to use a few number of latexes
for improving properties of mortar and concrete [26–28].
Emulsion copolymerization is a free radical polymerization 2.1.3. Styrene butyl acrylate (SBA) latex
method in which the monomers are mainly located in dispersed SBA copolymer is a type of latex that can be obtained by emulsion or suspension
droplets of an aqueous phase and are stabilized by an excess of sur- polymerization of styrene (S) and butyl acrylate (BA) monomers. Here, the ratio of
styrene to butyl acrylate was set to be 70–30. The solid content of milky fluid latex
factant [29,30]. Surfactants increase the structure pores and void is about 49%, as is shown in Fig. 2. SBA mechanical properties are also presented in
size in the concrete and accordingly can reduce mechanical Table 3 and in this table, particle size and polydispersity index (PDI) were deter-
strength of the concrete [31,32]. As a result, using latex in the con- mined by dynamic light scattering (DLS) with a Horiba SZ- 100 (Japan). Presence
crete will lead to the formation of bubbles and consequently of surface-active agents in the latex causes the formation of large amounts of bub-
bles in the concrete. Therefore, antifoam agents were added to the concrete for
decrease the density and compressive strength of the concrete.
decreasing entrapped air in the concrete [50].
To avoid this problem, antifoaming agent can be used to reduce
the formed bubbles in the concrete mixture [33,34]. Among Table 2
antifoaming agents, silicone-based type seems to be an appropriate Specific gravity and absorption of coarse and fine aggregates.
choice for using with the styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) latex
Type of aggregate Bulk SSD Specific Gravity (g/cm3) Water absorption%
[35]. On the other hand, superplasticizer can play an important role
coarse aggregate 2.64 1.3
in workability and strength of concrete in the presence of latex
fine aggregate 2.62 1.6
[36].
Polycarboxylate superplasticizers (PCEs) disperse particles by
forming a steric obstacle, reducing water-cement ratio, and
increasing the workability of fresh concrete [37–41]. Beside, styr-
ene (S)-butyl acrylate (BA) nanocomposite, as familiar emulsion
copolymers with many specific properties like good film-forming,
gloss, transparency, and mechanical properties have been widely
used in many industrial applications [42–45]. This nanocomposite
is an interesting material because of the differences between its
monomers physicochemical properties (polarity, water solubility)
and the corresponding homopolymers (glass transition tempera-
ture, solubility parameters, and etc.) [42,46].
In this research, SBA copolymer latex, silicone-based antifoam
agent, and polycarboxylate superplasticizer were used to investi-
gate mechanical properties, mechanism, and microstructure for-
mation process of polymer modified concrete. The antifoam
agent and superplasticizer were added to reduce the effect of sur-
factant on the latex and to increase strength and workability of the Fig. 1. Aggregate grading curves for fine and coarse aggregates (Aggs.).

Table 1
Composition of the used Portland cement (wt %).

L.O.I Na2O K2O SO3 CaO MgO Al2O3 Fe2O3 SiO2 Analysis (%)
0.1 0.1 0.8 1.9 64.4 1.4 5.1 4.0 21.5 cement
 Z. Bahranifard et al. / Construction and Building Materials 205 (2019) 175–185 177

Fig. 2. SBA nano copolymer latex.

2.1.4. Silicon-based antifoaming agent

Antifoam is a chemical agent is used to reduce and prevent the formation of Table 5
foams during the chemical process. Foams will cause serious problems in chemical Physical and chemical properties of the used
processes and will also prevent utilization of the whole capacity of container. superplasticizers.
Developing conveniently and rapidly on the surface of the foam is one of the main
features of antifoams. These materials usually tend to move toward the interface of Chemical content Poly carboxylate-based
water and air to eliminate the foams. This behavior causes bursting of bubbles and Form Liquid
removing foams from the surface [34]. As a result, silicon-based antifoam agent was Color Light Brown
also used besides the latex to prevent the formation of foams and accordingly, to pH 6.5 ± 1.5
increase the density and compressive strength of the concrete. The properties of Density (1.18 ± 0.02) g/cm3
the antifoam are shown in Table 4. Chlorine % <0.1%
Alkali % <2.5%

2.1.5. Plasticizer admixtures

2.3. Method
For increasing the workability of fabricated concrete, poly carboxylate based
superplasticizer was used and its physical and chemical properties are shown in
2.3.1. Mechanical properties of the proposed concrete
Table 5. The superplasticizer with 1 wt% with respect to the weight of cement
Concrete samples were prepared in accordance to the defined scenarios in
was added to the fabricated samples.
Table 6 and their compressive, tensile, and flexural strengths were tested. In the fol-
lowing, mentioned properties are reported via performing tests with three repeata-
2.2. Concrete mix design, sample preparation, and curing condition bility for each one and their error bars are also shown in the related figures. 150 mm
cubical mold [54] was used to study the effects of the polymer on compressive
In this research, weighting method of ACI 211 [51] was utilized to obtain con- strength of proposed concrete. A cylindrical mold with the diameter of 150 mm
crete mix design with 60 mm-80 mm slump, 0.5 water to cement ratio. 28 days and height of 300 mm was used to fabricate samples for splitting tests [55]. In addi-
compressive strength of cylindrical samples were assumed to be 30 MPa. The speci- tion, prismatic molds with the dimension of 150  150  600 mm were used to
fic gravity of used cement was 3.05 g/cm3, dry rodded unit weight of the coarse investigate flexural strength of the concrete [56].
aggregate was 1.6 g/cm3 and the other needed parameters are already mentioned
in previous sections. Obtained proportions of the concrete mix design are presented
2.3.2. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopies
in the first row of Table 6. Suggested ratios for adding latexes, antifoam agent, and
(EDX) tests
superplasticizer in performed researches (presented in the introduction section)
Coupled EDX analyzer with TESCAN-Vega 3 SEM machine was used to study
were used to define different scenarios in this study. Therefore, 16 scenarios (see
morphologies, microstructural characteristics, and the elemental composition of
Table 6) were selected to prepare samples and investigate the effects of SBA to
proposed concrete. Morphologies of the particles of samples were analyzed with
cement, antifoam agent to SBA, and superplasticizer to cement ratios on the prop-
a machine at +10 kV and under low vacuum conditions. For each samples, working
erties of proposed concrete. It should be noted that the water content in latexes
distance (WD) of the lens of the machine and samples were varied from 5 to 9 mm.
were considered to modify the needed water content of the mixing design in each
For the convenience of observing the formation of polymer–cement co-matrix, all
scenario.
samples were crushed into small pieces and were polished to obtain highly
For each scenario, needed materials were weighed and mixed in a mixer. At
smoothed surfaces. Furthermore, obtained samples were coated with a thin layer
first, coarse and fine aggregates with water were mixed and cement was then added
of gold before performing SEM and EDX analyses.
to the mixture. Secondly, the SBA latex, antifoam agent, and superplasticizer were
poured in a mixer, respectively. Total time of mixing for each scenario was less than
five minutes [52]. The slump of prepared mixtures were found to be in accordance 3. Results and discussions
with ASTM C231 [53] and the air content of samples were determined. Molds for
compressive, splitting, and flexural tests were filled and put in a climatic controlled
cabinet. Temperature and humidity of the cabinet were set to be 23 0C and 95 per-
The results of mechanical properties and microstructure analy-
cent, respectively. After 24 h, samples were put in a curing tank with the same tem- ses of fabricated samples by adding the latex, antifoam agent, and
perature as the cabinet. superplasticizer are presented in this section.

3.1. Compressive strength

Table 3
Physical and chemical properties of the used SBA.
Compressive strength of the samples were measured based on
Polymer Type Styrene butyl acrylate (SBA)
Bs1881 standard [54] and their mean values are reported in the fol-
Appearance Milky white liquid emulsion lowing sections. These values were obtained by calculating the
Viscosity (RVT 10 rpm 20 °C) 235cps mean compressive strength of three fabricated samples. The effects
Solid content 49.0% ± 1%
pH 8.5–9.5
of adding SBA latex on 7 and 28 days compressive strength of the
Glass transition temperature (Tg) 7 °C concrete are shown in Fig. 3. Results indicate a reduction in com-
Particle size 115 nm pressive strength of the concrete by increasing the SBA to cement
ratio. This reduction may be due to the increase of air content and

Table 4
Composition and properties of the used antifoam agent.

Type Main Composition Solid Content % pH Physical appearance

Emulsion Antifoaming Modified Silicone 30% Neutral Clear colorless liquid
178 Z. Bahranifard et al. / Construction and Building Materials 205 (2019) 175–185

Table 6
Concrete mix design with water-cement ratio = 0.5, coarse aggregate = 400 kg/m3 and fine aggregate 900 kg/m3 in the saturated surface-dry (SSD) condition.

Material(s) Mass (kg/m3)

Specimens Cement SBA latex Water* Antifoam agent superplasticizer
0%SBA 390 0 195 0 0
3% SBA/cement 378.57 11.43 189 0 0
5% SBA/cement 370.57 19.43 185 0 0
7%SBA/cement 362.72 27.28 181 0 0
3% SBA/cement 8%Antifoam/SBA 378.57 11.43 189 0.91 0
5% SBA/cement 8% Antifoam/SBA 370.57 19.43 185 1.55 0
7%SBA/cement 8% Antifoam/SBA 362.72 27.28 181 2.18 0
3% SBA/cement 16% Antifoam/SBA 378.57 11.43 189 1.83 0
5% SBA/cement 16% Antifoam/SBA 370.57 19.43 185 3.11 0
7%SBA/cement 16% Antifoam/SBA 362.72 27.28 181 4.36 0
3% SBA/cement 8% Antifoam/SBA 378.57 11.43 189 0.91 3.9
5% SBA/cement 8% Antifoam/SBA 370.57 19.43 185 1.55 3.9
7%SBA/cement 8% Antifoam/SBA 362.72 27.28 181 2.18 3.9
3% SBA/cement 16% Antifoam/SBA 378.57 11.43 189 1.83 3.9
5% SBA/cement 16% Antifoam/SBA 370.57 19.43 185 3.11 3.9
7%SBA/cement 16% Antifoam/SBA 362.72 27.28 181 4.36 3.9
*
These values are varied according to the amount of water in SBA

porosity of the concrete. Therefore, air content of the fresh concrete
for different SBA to cement and Antifoam to SBA ratios were deter-
mined based on ASTM C231 [53] and their results are tabulated in
Table 7. As it can be detected from this table, raising the latex to
cement ratio increases air content of the fresh concrete. As a result,
the silicone- based antifoam agent was used to decrease the voids.
3.1.1. Compressive strength of the polymer modified concrete (PMC)
with antifoaming agent
To decrease the formed bubbles and foams in the PMC, 8% and
16% of antifoam agent to cement ratios were used to study the
effects of this agent on 7 and 28 days compressive strength of
the concrete (Figs. 4 and 5, respectively). Presented results in these
figures clearly show that raising SBA to cement ratio contribute to
the decrease of compressive strength of the concrete, while raising
the antifoam to cement ratio increased the compressive strength
for specified SBA to cement ratios. In addition, the antifoam agent
had more effects on 7 days compressive strength of the concrete
than that of 28 days in the presence of SBA. This means that the
latex accelerated rate of hardening of the concrete. To control the
effect of SBA to cement ratio on the compressive strength of the
concrete, picture of a broken sample with 3% of SBA to cement ratio
and its SEM image are shown in Fig. 6. This figure indicates that
formed bubbles in the concrete can be a reason of the strength
reduction which is in accordance with the results of Table 7. Addi-
tionally, the slump test result of the sample with 0%, 3%, 5% and 7%
of SBA to cement ratio are depicted in Fig. 7. It is clear this figure
that raising the SBA to cement ratio decreased workability of the
concrete. According to the reported results for the slump in Table 8,
one percent of superplasticizer with respect to the cement weight
was added to increase the workability of the concrete. Pictures of
fabricated fresh concrete with 3% of SBA latex to cement ratio with
and without using of superplasticizer are also shown in Fig. 8. It
can be detected from this figure that adding superplasticizer to
the concrete caused the increase of its workability and decrease
of bubbles. Effects of superplasticizer on the compressive strength

Fig. 4. 7 days compressive strength of concrete for different SBA to cement and
Fig. 3. Compressive strength of the concrete for different SBA to cement ratios. antifoam to latex ratios.

Table 7
Effect of SBA latex and antifoam dosage on the air content percent.

Type of fresh concrete SBA to cement ratio

0% 3% 5% 7%
Antifoam to latex ratio
0% 0% 8% 16% 0% 8% 16% 0% 8% 16%
Air content % 2.2 5.5 4 2.6 7.3 5 3 8.7 6.5 4.1
 Z. Bahranifard et al. / Construction and Building Materials 205 (2019) 175–185 179

Fig. 7. Slump of the concrete with different SBA latex to cement ratios.

Fig. 5. 28 days compressive strength of concrete for different SBA to cement and
antifoam to SBA ratios. Table 8
Mean compressive strength and slump of concrete by using the 1% superplasticizer.

7 days 28 days Slump(cm)

of the polymer modified concrete are already studied and the
0% latex + 0% antifoam 24 35 6–8
related results are presented in Table 8 and Fig. 9.
3% latex + 8% antifoam 28 39 6–8
According to the obtained results from Fig. 9, adding 1% of 5% latex + 8% antifoam 27 36 6–8
superplasticizer to the cement with 16% of the antifoam to SBA, 7% latex + 8%antifoam 26 35 6–8
3%, and 5% of the SBA to cement ratios in the concrete mix led to 3% latex + 16% antifoam 35 41 6–8
an increase in the compressive strength of the concrete. In general, 5% latex + 16% antifoam 30 36 6–8
7% latex + 16%antifoam 27 35 6–8
applying superplasticizers to construct the SBA modified concrete
caused the effective distribution of cement particles in water and
latex. Polycarboxylates, which are classified in the category of had a positive effect on microstructure of the concrete by filling
comb polymers, have some chains contributing to synthesize with its porous media and forming a polymeric network in the concrete
used latex chains, as the copolymer and consequently, increase of and cement. This generated network along the cement will cause
the polymeric chains. Formed chains will diffuse cement grains its constituent materials to be distributed uniformly and accord-
from each other and prevent from being aggregated by absorbing ingly, increased compressive strength of the cement. On the other
them. Hence, all materials used in the concrete will diffuse uni- hand, using high values of SBA to cement ratio in the concrete
formly and grains with the cement and latex will also distribute caused the formation of accumulated grains. Because of the lower
in a way to improve compressive strength of the concrete (see modulus of elasticity of SBA than that of the concrete, segregation
Fig. 10). As can be seen in Fig. 9, the best result for 28 days com- can be occurred in the concrete and caused its compressive
pressive strength of the concrete was obtained for the sample with strength to be reduced (see Fig. 10).
3% of SBA to cement, 16% of antifoam to latex, and 1% of superplas-
ticizer to cement ratios. Adding SBA nanoparticles to the cement, 3.2. Flexural strength
antifoam to SBA, and superplasticizer to cement by 7%, 16%, and
1%, respectively caused no changes in 28 days compressive The four-point bending flexural strength test of SBA modified
strength of the concrete. It is obvious that increasing SBA to concrete is shown in Fig. 11. Adding different SBA latex to cement
cement ratio in the concrete led to reduce compressive strength ratios to the concrete without the use of superplasticizer and
of the concrete. Adding low SBA to cement ratio in the concrete antifoam led to the reduction in flexural strength of the concrete

Fig. 6. a) Created porosity in modified concrete with 3%SBA to cement ratio after 7 days without using antifoam, b) its SEM image.
180 Z. Bahranifard et al. / Construction and Building Materials 205 (2019) 175–185

Fig. 8. Modified polymer concrete (a) with superplasticizer (b) without superplasticizer.

(Fig. 12). However, adding 5% of SBA to cement ratio to the con-
crete resulted in less reduction in its flexural strength than that
of other two percentages of the latex used in samples. The reason
for this reduction in the flexural strength of the concrete can be
due to the decrease in workability of the SBA modified concrete
and generated bubbles resulted from the SBA latex. Furthermore,
8% and 16% of antifoam agents to latex ratios without superplasti-
cizer are used to study flexural strength of the polymer modified
concrete (see Fig. 13). Among the fabricated samples, those of
which with the same SBA to cement ratio, 16% of antifoam to
SBA ratios had more effects on the increase of flexural strength
of the concrete (see Fig. 13). Applying 5% of SBA latex to cement
ratio along contributed to the stronger adhesion between the

Fig. 9. 7 and 28 days compressive strength of the concrete for different SBA latex to
cement ratios using 1% superplasticizer to cement weight. Fig. 11. Four-point bending test of the concrete.

Fig. 10. a) Uniform distribution of 3% SBA to cement, 16% antifoam to SBA and 1% superplasticizer to cement ratios in the cement matrix and aggregate of concrete, b) SEM
image from the distributed particle in the cement matrix.
 Z. Bahranifard et al. / Construction and Building Materials 205 (2019) 175–185
cement and grains and accordingly, better improvement in the
properties of the cement than that of other used ratios (see Fig. 14).
Utilizing higher percentages of antifoam in the mix design of
concrete led to the elimination of pore and empty spaces between
components of the concrete and also helped these places to be
filled with SBA copolymer particles. As a result, a significant
improvement in properties of the concrete was attained with
16% of antifoam to latex ratio. It is obvious in Fig. 13 that raising
percentage of the antifoam can increase flexural strength of the
concrete. On the other hand, copolymer chains along with the
superplasticizer compound will be mixed with each other and will
absorb cement particles. Consequently, a 3D structural network
Fig. 12. Effects of SBA latex to cement ratios on flexural strength of the concrete
without using antifoam and superplasticizer.
Fig. 13. Effects of different antifoam to SBA ratios on flexural strength of the SBA
concrete without using superplasticizer.
Fig. 14. Comparison of percentage of antifoaming agent in the percentage of
increase in flexural strength compared to control sample.
181
will be formed preventing cement particles from aggregating and
eliminating free spaces of the concrete by applying more percent-
ages of antifoam agent and filling with nanoparticles of SBA. High
adhesive property between generated networks, cement paste, and
nanoparticles is the result of mentioned changes enhancing the
strength of bonds in the concrete structure. According to the
obtained results in this research, as can be seen in Fig. 15, applying
5% of the SBA latex to cement, 1% of superplasticizer to the cement
and 16% of antifoam to SBA ratios to the polymer-modified con-
crete will improve its flexural strength more than the control sam-
ple and therefore, give us the best combination for the polymer
modified concrete.
Fig. 15. Flexural strength of SBA modified concrete containing different antifoam to
SBA ratios and 1% of superplasticizer.
Fig. 16. The splitting tensile strength of SBA modified concrete without antifoam
and superplasticizer.
Fig. 17. The splitting tensile strength of SBA modified concrete.
182 Z. Bahranifard et al. / Construction and Building Materials 205 (2019) 175–185

3.3. Splitting tensile strength
Averages of ultimate tensile strengths for different SBA to
cement ratios in the concrete are determined and shown in
Fig. 16 Adding just SBA latex to the mixture cannot increase
the splitting tensile strength of the polymer modified concrete.
Low slump, generation of bubbles and porosity, and not com-
pletely distribution of grains in the concrete structure are
some reasons why results were not improved (Fig. 16). Adding
3% of SBA to the concrete led to the reduction in tensile
strength of the concrete. However, raising the ratio of SBA
latex to cement caused less reduction in splitting tensile
strength of the concrete. Like the results of compressive
strength of the concrete, reducing workability and increasing
air content contributed to more decrease in the splitting
strength of the concrete.

Fig. 18. Polymer modified concrete sample after splitting strength test.

Fig. 19. Scanning Electron Microscopy images of (a) control sample (b-c) SBA modified concrete without antifoam and superplasticizer (d-e) SBA modified concrete with 16%
antifoam and 1% superplasticizer.
 Z. Bahranifard et al. / Construction and Building Materials 205 (2019) 175–185
Adding superplasticizer to the concrete for improving workabil-
ity and efficiency of the concrete and addition of antifoam agent to
that for eliminating bubbles and formed porosity resulted in the
following conclusions. As can be seen in Fig. 17, applying 8% of
antifoam to SBA ratio with 1% of superplasticizer to cement ratio
led to the decrease in tensile strength of the concrete. While an
increase in the antifoam to SBA ratio resulted in the increase of
tensile strength for the concrete with 5% of SBA latex to cement
ratio and 1% of superplasticizer to cement ratio. As it is clearly
illustrated in Fig. 17, the optimum percentage of antifoam agent
was 16%. It can also be seen in Fig. 18 that after breaking the
sample into two halves and if this break was taken place in grains,
it could be claimed that used components and materials in the con-
crete are distributed uniformly in all dimensions of the concrete
leading to the enhancement in its strength (see Fig. 18).
Investigations and conducted tests on the polymer modified
concrete samples to determine the tensile strength of splitting into
two halves showed that employing 5% of latex to cement ratio
caused improvement in results with respect to the control sample.
On the other hand, after generation of networks between nanopar-
ticles of the latex and other materials and then mix with the
cement, the strength of adhesion between the cement and grains
was increased. In addition, particles were posed between each
other properly and the completely free space in the concrete was
filled with SBA copolymers in a way to create a strong and dense
concrete. Applying 5% of SBA to cement, antifoam to SBA and
superplasticizer to cement ratios led to increase of adhesive prop-
erties of nanoparticles among other particles. That’s why the split-
Fig. 20. Monolayer adsorption and dispersion of copolymer particles on the surface of cement grains observed by the EDS mapping of element (b) control sample Ca
combination of morphology element C distribution, and (d) element Ca 2+ distribution.
183
ting tensile strength of polymer modified concrete was improved.
While the concrete had some weaknesses in the tensile strength
and had also low resistance to the tension, using this latex can
not only improve its tensile strength, but can also overcome the
problem of these weaknesses.
3.4. Microstructure characterization
3.4.1. SEM and EDX observations of SBA modified concrete
The static and dynamic mechanical properties of polymer-
modified concrete are related to its microstructural characteristics
and the elemental composition of copolymer–cement co-matrix in
SBA modified concrete. The properties of concrete and cementi-
tious condition system are impacted by adding copolymer latex.
A polymer latex consists of two phases, polymer particle phase
and an aqueous phase containing free surfactants [29]. Fig. 19(b)
shows that the use of surfactants in the hydrolysis of styrene and
butyl acrylate groups and during emulsion polymerization could
have effect on the coherence of components and structures of
copolymer particles on the polymer modified concrete. As it can
be seen in Fig. 19(c), the amount of porosity was increased in the
microscopic structure of concrete leading to a reduction in
mechanical properties of the concrete. Accordingly, all of the spec-
imens containing 16% of antifoam led to decrease in the porosity
and pores. Therefore, through SBA and antifoam, cement hydration
produced C-S-H colloids and this ultimately caused compactness of
the concrete between aggregate and cement in the concrete to be
increased (Fig. 19(d)). Antifoam partially filled the voids becoming
2+
(c)
184 Z. Bahranifard et al. / Construction and Building Materials 205 (2019) 175–185
a part of the structure of the system. This led to a higher degree of
flexibility and coherence of the system because of the presence of
SBA in cement grains. Fig. 19(e) illustrates the bond between SBA
copolymer, cement, and crystal phase in the presence of 16% anti-
foam and 1% superplasticizer. When the nanocopolymer particles
were added along with the antifoam and superplasticizer, cohesion
of the concrete components were linked together. Three-
dimensional crystalline structures had a high degree of coherent
and flexibility and were linked with chemical bonds. These struc-
tures increased the durability and mechanical properties, espe-
cially the flexural properties of polymer-modified concrete.
Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) patterns of the
control concrete and samples with 3% of SBA to cement ratio is
shown in Fig. 20. The adsorption and dispersion of SBA particles
can be one of the significant processes determining the interaction
behavior of latex and cement hydration in concrete.
Fig. 20 shows the interaction and widespread distribution
between calcium cations and copolymer particles throughout
the concrete structure. It is also obvious that copolymer particles
were completely adsorbed and disturbed onto the surface of
cement grains and aggregate in the concrete. Because of the prop-
erties combination of each individual copolymer particles compo-
nent, a coherent structure and configuration in concrete was
formed improving ultimately properties of the concrete. In gen-
eral, SBA particles will widely distribute in the concrete because
of the reactions between copolymer particles and cement hydra-
tion products. In addition, superplasticizer can form a complete
polymer network with cement grains and SBA copolymer parti-
cles, as well as improved dispersion in the concrete. This can
physically and chemically enhance the connection between
copolymers particles and cement hydrates as strengthening
nodes. The monolayer adsorption and dispersion of polymer par-
ticles surrounding cement grains can be clearly seen in Fig. 20.
The composed of carbon, oxygen, calcium, silicon, and other ele-
ments are shown in Fig. 21. The element mapping of C and Ca2+
are illustrated in Fig. 20 confirming the formation of C and Ca2+,
since the shape and position of Ca2+ and C distribution are consis-
tent with the polygons in Fig. 21. The statistical element analysis
in Fig. 20 also supports the element mapping results. The
amounts of C species were highly correlated with the degree of
hydration and produced 3D structure enhanced the material
strength. These results indicated that the addition of SBA to be
concrete can promote hydration reactions in the cement matrix.
Hence, the presence of copolymer particles in the concrete com-
ponents increased the storage modulus of the cement paste. This
was in good agreement with the results of dynamic mechanical
properties of the polymer modified concrete.
Fig. 21. EDS element analysis of polymer modified concrete at 28 days of curing.
4. Conclusions
The effects of SBA copolymer latex, silicone-based antifoam
agent, and superplasticizer were investigated and their effects on
the microstructure and mechanical properties of modified con-
crete, such as compressive, tensile and flexural strength were
studied.
At the first stage, different SBA to cement ratios were added to
prepare the samples. The results showed the reduction in worka-
bility and mechanical properties of the concrete because of the
resultant air content of the concrete in the presence of latex surfac-
tant. Therefore, the silicone-based antifoam agent was added to
decrease air content of the concrete. Tests indicated that adding
this agent improved the mechanical properties of the concrete
and their air contents were reduced. It was also found that the
optimum antifoam agent to latex ratio in the concrete could be
16%.
Despite the use of antifoam agent, the workability of the mod-
ified concrete was reduced because of the high adhesion properties
of added latex. SEM analysis and slump tests showed that cement
particles were agglomerated and it was already found that adding
SBA to their ingredients increased the required volume of water,
considerably. Hence, superplasticizer was used to increase the
workability of the modified concrete in the second stage.
According to our findings, raising SBA latex to cement ratio in
the concrete to 3% contributed to the increase in compressive
and flexural strengths of the concrete. Comparing the improve-
ments of compressive and flexural strengths of the concrete in dif-
ferent samples gave the optimum values as, 3% latex to cement, 1%
superplasticizer to cement, and 16% antifoam to latex ratios for the
SBA modified concrete, with increasing values of 15.7% and 22.6%,
respectively. In addition, the sample with 5% latex to cement, 1%
superplasticizer to cement, and 16% antifoam to latex ratios were
resulted in the optimum splitting tensile strength. In addition, it
was also found that nanoparticles of SBA could be extremely
adsorbed and dispersed on cement surface with homogeneous
charge distribution on the surface of cement grains and formation
of the copolymer particles surrounding the cement grains. This was
because of the adhesive properties of SBA latex playing a promi-
nent role to improve mechanical properties of the modified
concrete.
Conflict of interest
None declared.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their special thanks and grat-
itude to Mr. Karimzadeh for his assistance and cooperation during
the experimental work. The support from the Technical, Mechani-
cal and Soil Laboratory of Shiraz/Iran is highly appreciated.
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