ABSTRACT:The polymer systems of vinyl latex, epoxy latex/resin, and phenol formaldehyde were used to modify sand-cement mortar at room temperature. The compressive strength increased with an increase of the latex/resin concentration, with the addition of CaCl 2 or CaCO 3 , and with the addition of superplasticizer. Tensile and flexural strengths also increased with polymer incorporation. The porosity of the modified mortar decreased with the addition of resin. The percentage of water absorption and acid solubility were found to decrease for the latex/resin modified samples.

Studies on the changes in compressive strength, split tensile strength, acid resistance, and percentage water absorption are reported for systems of plaster of paris and plaster of paris blends upon impregnation with monomer (MMA) followed by polymerization (in situ), as well as for systems of plaster of paris-epoxy resins with subsequent monomer impregnation.