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PROPERTIES AND USES OF CONCRETE

ADMIXTURES
Home/ Concrete / PROPERTIES AND USES OF CONCRETE ADMIXTURES

What are Concrete Admixtures?

Ingredients other than cement, water, and aggregates that impart a

specific quality to either plastic (fresh) mix or the hardened concrete
(ASTM C496) is called concrete admixture.

Why use Concrete Admixtures?

1. Reduce cost of concrete construction

2. Achieve specific concrete properties more effectively

3. Ensure quality of concrete during mixing, transporting, placing, and curing

in adverse weather condition

4. Overcome emergencies during operations

Classification of concrete admixtures:

1. Air entrainers

2. Water reducers

3. High-range water reducers-superplasticizers

4. Retarders

5. Accelerators

6. Fine minerals

7. Specialty admixtures

Air entraining concrete admixture:

Air entraining concrete admixtures produce tiny air bubbles in the hardened
concrete to provide space for the water to expand upon freezing.

How do they work?

They are anionic (water hating) agents that form tough, elastic, air filled bubbles. These bubbles
reduce stresses caused by movement or freezing of water. They provide more volume for
expansion and shorter flow path.

Benefits of air entraining admixture:

Increases workability of fresh concrete

Increased durability; Better resistance to freeze thaw cycles, de-icers,
salts, sulfates, and alkali-silica reactivity

Difficulties:

Decreases strength
Effect can be reduced in moderate strength concrete by lowering water
cement ratio and increasing cement factor

Composition of Air Entrainers:

 Salt of wood resins (Vinsol resin)
Synthetic detergents
Salts of sulfonated lignin (by product of paper production)
Salts of petroleum acids
Salts of proteinaceous material
Fatty and resinous acids
Alkylbenzene sulfonates
Salts of sulfonated hydrocarbons

Usually liquid meets ASTM C260 specifications.

Water Reducing concrete admixture:

Water reducers can result in 3 things:

1. Increased slump at constant w/c

2. Increased strength, by lowering the water content

3. Reduced cost of the cement

How do they do this?

Water reducers increase the mobility of the cement particles in the plastic
mix, allowing same workability to be achieved at lower water contents.

Superplasticizers:

Superplasticizers are high-range water reducers. Superplasticizers are

used when placing:

1. Thin sections or around tightly spaced reinforcing steel

2. concrete underwater

3. concrete by pumping

4. consolidating the concrete is difficult

Note: When super plasticizers are used, the fresh concrete stays workable
for only a short period of time (30 min to 60 min), which is why they are
usually added at the site

Retarding concrete admixture:

Used to delay the initial set of concrete. Why do we use them?

1. To offset the effect of hot weather

2. Allow for unusual placement or long haul distances

3. Provide time for special finishes

Possible adverse effects of retarders

1. Reduce early age strength

2. Reduction of time between initial and final set

Possible advantages of retarders

1. Air entrainment

2. Increased workability

3. Reduction of time between initial and final set

Note: The use of retarders must be evaluated experimentally before

incorporation in mix design

Accelerating concrete admixture:

Used to reduce the time required to develop final strength characteristics in

concrete

Possible reasons for using accelerators:

1. Reduce the amount of time before finishing operations begin

2. Reduce curing time

3. Increase rate of strength gain

4. Plug leaks under hydraulic pressure efficiently

5. Offset effect of cold weather

Calcium Chloride is the most widely used accelerator. Initial and

final set times reduced
CaCl2 by Initial Set Time in
weight Hrs.
0% 6
1% 3
2% 2

The PCA (Portland Cement Association) recommends against using

calcium chloride when:

1. concrete is prestressed

2. concrete contains embedded aluminum such as conduits

3. concrete is subjected to alkali-aggregate reaction

4. concrete is in contact with water or soils containing sulfates

5. concrete is placed during hot weather

6. Mass application of concrete

Alternatives to CaCl2

1. high early strength cement (type III)

2. increase cement content

3. cure at higher temperature (if feasible)

4. triethanolamine, sodium thiocyanate, calcium formate, calcium nitrite, or

calcium nitrate

Fine Minerals as concrete admixtures:

Fine mineral admixtures added in large amounts (20% to 100% of

cement weight) to improve the characteristics of plastic and
hardened concrete. Classification based on chemical and physical
properties

1. Cementitious

Have hydraulic cementing properties Example: blast furnace

slag, natural cement and hydraulic hydrated lime
2. Pozzolanic

Siliceous and aluminous material

Little or no cementitious value
In presence of moisture, will react with calcium hydroxide to form
compounds with cementitious properties 15% of PC weight is hydrated
lime. Addition of pozzolan could make the hydrated lime into a
cementitious material

Classification of fly ash and natural pozzolans

Class N: Raw or calcinated natural pozzolans, e.g. diatomaceous

earths, opaline cherts and shales, ruffs and volcanic ashes, & some
calcined clays and shales
Class F: Fly ash with pozzolan properties
Class C: Fly ash with pozzolan and cementitious properties

Fly ash is the most commonly used pozzolan in civil engineering structures

Special concrete admixtures:

Other admixtures are available to improve concrete quality in a number of

ways, such as workability agents, bonding agents, etc.

Table: Effect of Mineral Admixtures on Fresh Concrete

Quality Measure Effect

Water Fly ash reduces water requirements

Requirements Silica fume increases water requirements

Fly ash and silica fume reduce air content

Air Content
It can be avoided by increasing air entrainer.

Fly ash, ground slag, and inert materials generally increases workability.
Workability
Silica fume reduces workability; compensate by using super-plasticizers.

Fly ash reduces heat of hydration. Silica fume may not affect, but
Hydration
superplasticizers used with silica fume can increase heat.

Fly ash, natural pozzolans, and blast furnace slag increase set time; Can
Set Time
compensate by using accelerator.

Table: Effect of Mineral Admixtures on Hardened Concrete

 Quality Measure Effect

Strength Fly ash increases the ultimate strength but reduces rate of strength gain.
Silica fume has less effect on rate of strength gain than pozzolans.

Drying shrinkage and Low concentrations usually have single effect. High concentrations of
creep ground slag or fly ash may increase shrinkage. Silica fume may reduce
shrinkage.

Permeability and Generally reduced permeability and absorption.

absorption
Silica fume is especially effective.

Alkali-aggregate Generally reduced reactivity, extend of improvement depends on type of

reactivity admixture.

Sulfate resistance Improved due to reduced permeability.

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