How to Calculate Polymer
Dose for GFRC
The minimum effective dose of polymer solids in GFRC is 6% by weight of
cementitious material. Polymer is most often in a liquid form, so the calculations
to figure the right amount of liquid polymer require knowledge about the solids
content of the liquid polymer. Most commercial GFRC polymer is about 50%
solids (two widely used brands have 51% solids and 47% solids). If we use an
example of polymer with 50% solids, half of the weight of the liquid is polymer
solids, and the other half is water. And this water counts as part of the mix water
used in the GFRC.
Graphical breakdown of a commercial GFRC polymer with 51% solids content
I will step through the calculations since this gets a bit complicated.
Let’s start with a typical commercial GFRC mix design that will make 10 sq ft of
¾” thick backer for GFRC:
Sand: 33.4 lb
6% Polymer at 51% solids: 3.9 lb
Water (.32 w/c): 8.8 lb
Portland Cement (80%): 26.7 lb
Pozzolan (20%): 6.7 lb
3% AR Glass Fibers: 2.5 lb (3% of total weight of non-fiber materials)
Total weight per batch 82.0 lb
This mix design has 33.4 lb of sand and 33.4 lb (26.7+6.7) of total cementitious
material. All admixtures (polymer solids, pigments, superplasticizer, etc.) are
dosed based on the total cementitious material weight.
A 6% polymer solids dose means we need 33.4 lb * 0.06 (or 6%) = 2.0 lb of
polymer solids (not liquid polymer). To calculate how much liquid polymer (what
is poured out of the bucket) is needed, perform this calculation:
2.0 lb polymer solids / 0.51 (or 51% solids content) = 3.9 lb of liquid polymer
If you think about it, about half of the liquid polymer is water and the other half is
solids, so about 2 lb of solids is contained in about 4 lb of liquid polymer.
Now to calculate the mix water:
1. Calculate the total amount of water needed: 33.4 lb cementitious * 0.32 =
10.7 lb of water
2. However, some of that water comes from the liquid polymer. So now we
need to calculate how much water will come from the polymer we’re adding.
We’ve already calculated that 3.9 lb of liquid polymer is needed, and that
contains 2.0 lb of polymer solids, leaving 1.9 lb of water being contributed by
the liquid polymer. (3.9 – 2.0 = 1.9)
3. Now subtract that water from the total amount needed. 10.7 lb – 1.9 lb = 8.8
lb water to add.
Changing the w/c ratio alters only how much water we must batch out (more or
less than 8.8 lb), it does not change the amount of liquid polymer needed.
How to Calculate Fiber Load
for GFRC
Unlike other admixtures, fibers are not dosed based on dry cementitious weight. A
3% fiber load means there are 3 lb of fibers added to 97 lb of non-fiber
material to make 100 lb of GFRC backer. The minimum effective fiber load
for GFRC is 3%.
We first have to determine how much non-fiber material we have. Adding up our
ingredients (everything but the fibers), we have:
33.4 lb sand + 26.7 lb cement + 6.7 lb pozzolan + 3.9 lb liquid polymer + 8.8 lb
water = 79.5 lb of non-fiber material
So rather than having 97 lb of material, we have 79.5 lb of material. We can use
ratios to find the amount of fibers to add:
In English: 79.5 lb is to 97 lb as (unknown fiber quantity) is to 3 lb.
In mathematical terms: 79.5 / 97 = x / 3.
To find x, just multiply both sides by 3 to cancel out the 3 on the right.
79.5 / 97 * 3 = 2.458 lb of fibers needed. (Rounded up to 2.5 in the example
above.)
The total amount of backer would be 79.5 lb + 2.5 lb = 82.0 lb.
Another Way to Calculate
GFRC Mixes
These calculations are complex but essential for correct GFRC mix design. I’ve
included them to give you a full understanding of GFRC mix calculations. It is
easier to present GFRC mixes in 10 sq ft batches, which you can then multiply by
the number of 10 sq ft units you have.
For example, if you need to make 52 sq ft of GFRC, you can simply multiply your
10 sq ft batch by 5.2. Alternatively, I have a GFRC mix calculator that allows
you to enter only the square footage (or meters), and it prints a batch report.
How to Check Your GFRC
Mix Design for Correctness
There are GFRC mix designs being published for concrete countertops that do not
contain adequate amounts of polymer and fibers. But how do you know if you’re
simply presented with a mix in terms of “use this many pounds of each
ingredient”? Here is how to back-calculate the percentages, using 2 examples.
Example 1: Liquid Polymer
Suppose you were given the following mix design:
Cement: 23.5 lb
Pozzolan: 2.6 lb
Sand: 21.5 lb
Water: 7 lb
Liquid polymer (50% solids): 1.5 lb
Glass Fiber: 1 lb
To determine the polymer content:
1. Add up your cementitious content: 23.5 lb + 2.6 lb = 26.1 lb. (Note that this
mix has more cementitious material than sand, and it is supposed to have 1 to 1
cement to sand.)
2. Determine the amount of polymer solids: 1.5 lb * 0.5 (50%) = 0.75 lb
3. Divide polymer solids by cementitous: 0.75 lb / 26.1 lb = 2.9% polymer
solids
This is far below the 6% required for GFRC!
To determine the fiber content:
1. Add up all your materials including the fibers: 23.5 + 2.6 + 21.5 + 7 + 1.5 +
1 = 57.1 lb
2. Divide your fiber weight by the total weight: 1 lb / 57.1 lb = 1.8% fibers
This is far below the required fiber minimum of 3%! It is over 33% less!
Example 2: Dry Polymer
Suppose you were given the following mix design:
Cement: 30 lb
Sand: 30 lb
Water: 9 lb
Dry polymer (100% solids): 0.45 lb
Glass Fiber: 1.8 lb
To determine the polymer content:
1. Take your cementitious content: 30 lb.
2. Take your polymer solids: 0.45 lb
3. Divide polymer solids by cementitous: 0.45 lb / 30 lb = 1.5% polymer
solids
Again, far below the 6% required for GFRC! This is 1/4 of the amount you need!
Unless the publisher of this mix advocates 7-day wet curing, this will result in
weak, brittle GFRC.
To determine the fiber content:
1. Add up all your materials including the fibers: 30 + 30 + 9 + 0.45 + 1.8
= 71.25 lb
2. Divide your fiber weight by the total weight: 1.8 lb / 71.25 lb = 2.5% fibers
Again, this is below the required minimum fiber dose of 3%.
Conclusion
Even if you never actually do the formulas because you’re using a mix calculator
or a 10 sq ft batch method, it is important to understand the following points:
The minimum effective dose of polymer solids in GFRC is 6%.
Polymer dose is calculated by weight of cementitious materials.
The minimum effective fiber load for GFRC is 3%.
A 3% fiber load means there are 3 lb of fibers added to 97 lb of non-
fiber material to make 100 lb of GFRC backer.
