Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Concrete
Introduction
Major reasons for using admixtures are:
To reduce the cost of concrete construction
To achieve certain properties in concrete more effectively
than by other means
To maintain the quality of concrete during the stages of
mixing, transporting, placing, and curing in adverse
weather conditions
To overcome certain emergencies during concreting
operations
It should be borne in mind that no admixture of any
type or amount can be considered a substitute for
good concrete practice
Concrete
Introduction
Admixtures can be used to modify various fresh
and hardened concrete properties:
Fresh state Hardened state
decrease water content
improve impact & abrasion
increase workability resistance
reduce segregation inhibit expansion due to AAR
reduce the rate of slump loss inhibit corrosion
improve pumpability improve frost resistance
improve placeability & reduce shrinkage cracking
finishability
reduce permeability
modify the rate of bleeding
produce coloured concrete
retard or accelerate setting
produce cellular concrete
time 4
Concrete
Water Reducer and Superplasticizers
Concrete
Water Reducer and Superplasticizers
Definition (ACI 116)
Admixtures that either increase slump of freshly-
mixed mortar or concrete without increasing water
content OR maintain slump with a reduced amount
of water, the effect being due to factors other than
air entrainment
Concrete
Water Reducer and Superplasticizers
Without superplasticizer With superplasticizer
Concrete
Classification
Normal water reducer (decreases the water requirements by
about 5 – 10%)
Ca or Na salts of lignosulfonic acid
Carbohydrate
accelerating admixtures
Poly-acrylate
Concrete
Sulfonated naphthalene Sulfonated melamine
formaldehyde formaldehyde
10
Concrete
PAE
11
Concrete
Water Reducer and Superplasticizers
12
Concrete
How they work
Cement particles in the absence of a dispersing
admixture
(after Dodson) 13
Concrete
How they work
Cement particles in the presence of a
dispersing admixture
(after Dodson) 14
Concrete
Mechanisms
Many authors have proposed a variety of effects
or mechanisms to explain the combined
dispersion-fluidification properties of water
reducers and superplasticizers in concrete.
15
Concrete
Mechanisms
Surface adsorption
Increasing with molecular weight and
the presence of Ca+2 in solution
16
Concrete
Mechanisms
Electrostatic repulsion
17
Concrete
Inhibition of reactive sites
18
Concrete
Mechanisms
Steric repulsion
19
Concrete
Effects on Properties of Hardened Concrete
When using water reducer / superplasticizer
Compressive strength increases
Permeability decreases
- Chloride resistance increases
- Frost resistance improves
- Increases sulfate resistance
Increases resistance to abrasion
20
Concrete
Marsh Cone
21
Concrete
Set modifier admixtures
22
Concrete
Set Modifiers Admixtures
Definition (ACI 116)
Accelerator An admixture that causes an increase
in the rate of hydration of the hydraulic cement and
thus shortens the time of setting, increases the rate
of strength development, or both
23
Concrete
Set accelerating admixture
Used to compensate the effect of low temperature in
cold weather concreting on early strength
Help to increase productivity in prefabrication by
increasing very early strength
Compensate for slow strength gain when SCM are
used
Increase early strength in repair materials (e.g. patch
repairs in pavements) Most often used is calcium
chloride CaCl2 (cheap & efficient)
When added to concrete:
increase the rate of hydration of hydraulic cement
shorten the time of setting
increase the rate of early strength development
24
Concrete
Set accelerating admixture
Isothermal conduction calorimeter - Various
calcium salts
Calcium formate
Calcium nitrate
25
Concrete
Set accelerating admixture
Influence on compressive strength development
W/C = 0.55 ; 310 kg/m3 cement
Increase in compressive
Decrease in strength - % / Ref.
Addition
final time of
Admixture rate (weight
setting -
of cement) 3 - day 28 - day
min
Concrete
Set retarding admixture
Offset the accelerating effect of hot weather that
makes placement and finishing difficult.
Delay the initial set of concrete when the conditions
of placement are difficult (long transport time,
placement in large piers or foundations, oil well
cementing…).
Delay the set for special finishing processes such as
an exposed aggregate surface
Most often used are lignosulfonate, hydroxycarboxylic
acid, sugars and tartaric acids and salts
When added to concrete:
delays the rate of hydration of hydraulic cement
delays the time of setting
delays the rate of early strength development 27
Concrete
Effect of high concrete temperature
Slump loss- worngly
Hydrated cement paste
compensated by adding
affected at later ages
more water at the jobsite
Lower strength
This can be achieved by cooling the mixing water and/or the aggregates
28
Concrete
Set retarding admixture
Influence on 28 day compressive strength
29
Concrete
Set retarding admixture
Slump vs initial Setting time
30
Concrete
Waterproofing and damp proofing admixtures
31
Concrete