Rheological, mechanical, and abrasion characteristics of polymer-modified cement mortar and concrete

The settlement of fresh concrete or improper operation during construction usually makes the water to cement (w/c) ratio of the cement mortar on the concrete pavement surface higher than designed, which may influence the abrasion resistance of concrete pavement. This study firstly tried to establish relationships between abrasion of hardened cement mortar and rheological characteristics of fresh cement mortar in the laboratory. Secondly, a polymer-modified cement mortar was developed with carboxyl styrene butadiene rubber latex added to the cement mortar. Its rheological properties in mixing, mechanical properties, and abrasion were investigated. It is found that the polymer-modified cement mortar has a much better abrasion resistance and flexural strength while lower compressive strength than cement mortar. A stronger correlation was observed between flexural strength rather than compressive strength and abrasion resistance of cement mortar. The proposed polymer-modified concrete also exhibited good abrasion resistance.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author