Effect of polymer concentration as well as impregnation time on physico-mechanical properties of cement-polymer composites

Polymer impregnated concrete is a significant example in the field of building industry. The present investigation was carried out to study the influence of polymer concentration and impregnation time as well as curing time of hardened cement pastes on the physico-mechanical properties of the hardened Portland cement-methyl methacrylate composites. The results showed that the values of polymer loading decreased with hydration time, which is associated with the discontinuous pore structure. The formation of these pores leads to an increase in the accessibility of the pore system towards MMA impregnation. This effect leads to increasing the polymer loading during the initial stages of hydration up to 28-days. The impregnated cement pastes with 70% MMA for 4hr gave higher values of mechanical strength than those of other samples.