ABSTRACT
Polymer usage in the construction industry is more than 100 years old. Polymers are used in this sector under a new terminology named “admixture,” which means something which is added to the cementitious mix or concrete from outside. Polymers or admixtures in concrete have multifold functions, namely water-reducing, increasing workability, and increasing mechanical properties like compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength, shear strength, torsional strength, elasticity, etc. In the construction sector, they are hydrophilic and form solvent with water having 35–40% active chemicals, and the amount added is generally a minuscule amount by weight of cement. In the market, they are as follows: water reducers; set-controlling admixtures; air entertainers; specialty admixtures; shrinkage-reducing admixtures; SBR latexes, and others.
