Water-Reducing Admixtures

These polymers enhance workability by increasing the slump or reducing water demand
to
attain desired workability. This is taken into consideration and applied in several
ways. (a)
Achieving desired slump with less water in which by adding WRA, water no longer
needs to be
added which then lowers the w/c ratio thereby improving the strength, durability,
and
impermeability. (b) Achieving desired slump without changing the w/c ratio by
lowering cement
and water content and cutting back costs. Lowering cement content lowers the heat
of hydration
of concrete and reduces thermal cracking in mass concrete. (c) Increasing the slump
may be
possible without increasing cement and water contents by using WRA (called
plasticizer). This
facilitates difficult placements and ensures good compaction. Normal concrete has a
slump of 2-
4 inches (50-90mm) but it can be increased up to 10 inches with the use of WRA. WRA
is classified
into three: Low Range reduces water demand by 5%, Mid-Range yields slump of up to 5
to 8 inches
(125-200mm), and High-Range (called superplasticizers - SP) can produce high-
strength concrete
with w/c ratios well below 0.4, water reduction (12-30%) and slumps of over 8 in.
It works by
electrostatic repulsion. For low range and mid-range WRA, negatively-charged
molecules
neutralize the positive or negative surface charges on cement particles causing
them to have
uniform charges and repel each other. In turn, water is now free to mix. For
superplasticizers,
utilizing negatively-charged polymers, the bulky nature of the adsorbed molecules
causes an
additional steric repulsion which enhances the repulsion between the particles
thereby achieving
complete dispersion. Effects on Concrete. On fresh concrete, high slump and
workability without
excessive segregation and bleeding can be achieved with SP. Flowability is improved
with
changing the w/c ratio which reduces the need for vibration of concrete when
placed. WRA reduces
the required amount of AEA when given at the same time, but the AEA must be added
before the
SP because of the latter’s air-detraining properties. Significant slump loss can
happen especially
if SP is added. Some mid-range WRA can act as a retardant which sufficiently
improves workable
time for mixing, transportation, and casting. Delaying its addition after water
increases water
reduction, enhances air entrainment, and further delays setting. However,
retardants may cause
workability problems and flash sets which are irreversible. On hardened concrete,
strength is
increased because of lower water requirements. Compressive strength is increased up
to 25% more
than usual and can even be more than 80 MPa because of the more homogeneous
microstructure
and decrease in w/c ratio (< .40). Permeability is reduced and density and
shrinkage are increased.