Lecture Summary - Chemical Admixtures

Admixtures are materials used in addition or in replacement of some concrete

ingredients before
or during its mixing to improve concrete construction, handling, and consolidation
of fresh
concrete, reduce production cost and enhance hardened concrete performance.
Chemical
admixtures are water-soluble admixtures added to water during mixing of concrete.
Air-entraining agents

Concrete is susceptible to the freeze-thawing cycle therefore this admixture is

added primarily
to improve its frost and thawing resistance and durability. Entrapped air are
irregularly shaped and
sized voids naturally occurring in all concrete while entrained air voids are
regularly shaped and
spaced bubbles intentionally introduced to allow for expansion during the freeze-
thaw cycle.
Spacing factor, specific surface area, bubble frequency, size, distribution, and
the amount of
admixtures added are all factors that affect the performance of the air void
system. These surface#active agents are molecules having hydrophilic and
hydrophobic ends structured in a way that
bubbles are formed more readily which are then locked into place as the concrete
hardens. Effects
on concrete. On fresh concrete, air entrainment improves workability and
cohesiveness, it can be
placed and compacted more readily than the non-air-entrained mix with the same
slump. Slump is
the measure of workability of concrete. It also reduces bleeding and segregation.
Its beneficial
effects are most seen in lean concrete. On hardened concrete, freeze-thaw
resistance is enhanced
but strength is lowered due to the presence of more voids. For every 1% entrained
air is a 5%
decrease in strength, but in lean concrete, the effect is not as much since it has
fewer cementitious
and fine particles. Optimum amount of entrained air is 2-8% by volume for concrete
depending on
maximum size of coarse aggregate, and ~9% by volume of concrete for mortar. AEA
also combats