Effect of methyl cellulose/poly(acrylic acid) blends on physico-mechanical properties of Portland cement pastes

Abstract

The paper deals with the influence of blend polymers on the physico-mechanical properties of Portland cement pastes including, W/C ratio, setting time, workability, density, porosity and compressive strength. Blend polymers were used based on methyl cellulose (MC) of different molecular weight (4×104 and 8.3×104 g/mol) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA). The result showed that, the physico-mechanical properties of the cement pastes are dependent on molecular weight of MC. However, the addition of MC/PAA blend into cement, the W/C-ratio, setting time and density decrease while the compressive strength and flow increase. Also blend polymer containing MC (8.3×104 g/mol) is more effective than that containing MC (4×104 g/mol).