Alpha Pro Polymer

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Alpha Pro Polymer is a powerful curing additive that maximizes early concrete strength development by eliminating the need for a lengthy 7-day wet cure. It is an all-acrylic powdered dry polymer blended with a powerful defoamer, and is specifically designed for making the strongest GFRC, ECC and UHPC. It reduces pinholes, shrinkage, and cracking, and increases concrete density. Alpha Pro Polymer simply makes your concrete better, faster.

Polymer’s Function in Concrete

Polymer's primary purpose is to preserve the internal moisture within the concrete by reducing the porosity of the concrete. This eliminates lengthy wet curing, thus achieving 7-day strength equivalent to wet cured concrete and speeding production turnaround. This is especially important with thin concrete castings such as countertops.

Polymer also has many other functions in concrete:

Polymer improves casting and workability.

• Improves workability
• Aids in pigment suspension, which improves color dispersion and results in more intense and uniform color
• When sprayed, helps the mist coat cling to the forms

Polymer improves the concrete after it has hardened.

• Helps reduce drying shrinkage cracks, surface crazing, curling and efflorescence
• Improves the ductility
• Provides freeze-thaw resistance
• Increases flexural strength and helps it tolerate more bending (strain) before failure

For a more technical explanation of how polymer works, please see this article.

Alpha Pro Polymer includes a potent defoamer for reduced pinholes and increased concrete density. It is highly effective at low doses, economical to ship and store, and it is fully compatible with both Portland cement and CSA cement based mixes.

With all of these benefits, why wouldn't you use polymer? If you don't use polymer and are not wet curing for 7 days, then you are not getting the strength or physical properties that you expect.

The only drawbacks of polymer are related to liquid polymers:

• The cost of shipping water
• The risk of freezing during shipping
• Can become moldy if stored for a long time
• Some tend to make the concrete foamy and require extra defoamer
• Some make the concrete sticky and difficult to work with

Dry polymers have no such drawbacks, other than some dry polymers having a fishy smell. Alpha Pro Polymer does not have any objectionable smell.

Alpha Pro Polymer eliminates the problems of liquid polymers and other dry polymer blends and has the following benefits:

Benefits of Alpha Pro Polymer

• Easy to dose and mix
• Eliminates the need for a 7-day wet cure
• Increases flexural strength
• Well suited for use in the production of GFRC, ECC and UHPC
• Well suited for many casting and finishing techniques, such as spraying, wet casting and troweling
• Can be added to blended mixes that lack polymer, to eliminate the need for long curing times in the mold and to improve concrete properties
• Contains a powerful defoamer that helps significantly reduce pinholes and eliminate foaming
• Can be stored indefinitely with no mold issues
• Reduces shipping cost because you are not paying to ship water
• Eliminates the exorbitant overnight shipping costs during winter of liquid polymers
• Unaffected by freezing temperatures during shipping or storage
• Suitable for all interior and exterior applications in all climates because it is UV stable and provides freeze/thaw resistance
• Improves color dispersion and intensity
• Helps reduce drying shrinkage cracks, surface crazing and curling
• Not sticky like liquid polymers
• No unpleasant smell

Dosage

• Dose: 3.5% by weight of cementitious materials
• Important: In the CCI GFRC Mix Calculator set Polymer Solids to 100% (Forton is 51%).
• Use ice to chill the mix to 55°F to 65°F (13°C to 18°C) for best results.
• 4 lbs (1.8 kg) of Alpha Pro Polymer, using the CCI GFRC Mix Calculator, makes about 33.3 sq ft (3.1 sq m) of backer at 3/4” (19 mm) thick
• 30 lbs (13.6 kg) of Alpha Pro Polymer, using the CCI GFRC Mix Calculator, makes about 245 sq ft (22.75 sq m) of backer at 3/4” (19 mm) thick

Mixing Instructions

Alpha Pro Polymer is most effective when pre-blended into your dry ingredients before adding your mix water and then cement.

Use ice to chill the mix water to greatly increase working time and improve flowability. Use the CCI GFRC Mix Calculator for determining ice quantities needed.

From-scratch mixes:

1. Dry blend together all your sand, pozzolan, and all dry admixtures (pigments, Alpha Pro Fluidizer, etc.), including Alpha Pro Polymer.
2. Add the sand/admixtures blend to all of the mix water plus ice. Mix until all dry material is wetted out.
3. Gradually add all the cement and blend until fully mixed.
   1. Add about half of the cement and blend until the mix wets out.
   2. Add half of the remaining cement and blend further until the mix wets out.
   3. Add remaining cement and blend until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated. Scrape the bucket and the mixing paddles well.
4. Mix continuously on medium to high speed for no less than 2 full minutes. This is most important for flowable SCC/direct cast mixes.
5. Add fibers last. Gradually add the fibers to prevent clumping and mix slowly to prevent whipping air into the mix. Ensure the fibers are fully wetted out and well dispersed throughout the mix. Do not mix on high speed.

Bagged / pre-blended mixes (including Cement All):

1. Dry blend roughly 1/2 of your blended mix  and all of your dry admixtures including Alpha Pro Polymer.
2. Add these dry ingredients (1/2 of blended mix + admixtures) to all of the mix water plus ice (if used). Mix until all dry material is wetted out.
3. Gradually add remaining 1/2 of blended mix/admix and blend until fully mixed.
4. Mix continuously on medium to high speed for no less than 2 full minutes.
5. Add fibers last. Gradually add the fibers to prevent clumping and mix slowly to prevent whipping air into the mix. Ensure the fibers are fully wetted out and well dispersed throughout the mix. Do not mix on high speed.