Concrete Admixtures

Introduction
 Definition (ACI 116 R-00)
 A material other than water, aggregates, hydraulic
cement, and fibre reinforcement, used as an
ingredient of a cementitious mixture to modify its
freshly mixed, setting, or hardened properties
and that is added to the batch before or during its
mixing

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Concrete admixtures
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

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Concrete admixtures
 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 admixtures
Water Reducer and Superplasticizers

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Concrete admixtures
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

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Concrete admixtures
 Water Reducer and Superplasticizers
Without superplasticizer With superplasticizer

1- Lower W/C ratio

2- Higher strength and durability 1- Lower W/C ratio
3- Higher shrinkage and heat dev 2- Higher strength and durability
4- Similar workability 4- Similar workability

To increase strength To increase strength (-water)

(+cement)
To save cement
(-water, -cement) 1- Similar strength, durability
Control concrete and workability
2- lower shrinkage and heat dev.
To increase workability
(+cement, +water)

1- Similar strength and higher 1- Similar strength

workability To increase worka.
(no change in mix) and durability
2- Higher shrinkage and heat 2- Higher workability
develop.
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Concrete admixtures
Classification
 Normal water reducer (decreases the water requirements by
about 5 – 10%)
 Ca or Na salts of lignosulfonic acid

 salts of hydroxycarboxylic acids

 Carbohydrate

 Mid-range water-reducer (decreases the water requirements

by about 6 – 12%)
 Complex aqueous solution of lignosulfonates with

accelerating admixtures

 Superplasticizer (decreases the water requirements by

about 12 - 30%)
 Sulfonated melamine formaldehyde

 Sulfonated naphthalene formaldehyde

 Poly-acrylate

 Polycarboxylate ether with set and strength enhancing

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ingredients
Concrete admixtures
Water Reducer

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Concrete admixtures
Sulfonated naphthalene Sulfonated melamine
formaldehyde formaldehyde

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Concrete admixtures
 PAE
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Concrete admixtures
Water Reducer and Superplasticizers
 How they work

Without admixture With admixture

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Concrete admixtures
How they work
 Cement particles in the absence of a dispersing
admixture

(after Dodson) 13
Concrete admixtures
How they work
 Cement particles in the presence of a
dispersing admixture

(after Dodson) 14
Concrete admixtures
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.

 These interactions are of two kinds:

 Steric repulsion due to plasticizer adsorption
 Dynamic interactions involving unstable chemical
reactions during cement hydration

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Concrete admixtures
Mechanisms
 Surface adsorption
Increasing with molecular weight and
the presence of Ca+2 in solution

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Concrete admixtures
Mechanisms
 Electrostatic repulsion

Increasing with polymer charge

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Concrete admixtures
Inhibition of reactive sites

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Concrete admixtures
Mechanisms
 Steric repulsion

Increasing with molecular weight of polymer

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Concrete admixtures
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

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Concrete admixtures
Marsh Cone

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Concrete admixtures
Set modifier admixtures

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Concrete admixtures
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

 Retarder An admixture that causes a

decrease in the rate of hydration of the hydraulic
cement and lengthens the time of setting

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Concrete admixtures
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

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Concrete admixtures
Set accelerating admixture
 Isothermal conduction calorimeter - Various
calcium salts

Calcium formate
Calcium nitrate

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Concrete admixtures
 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

Ref. concrete - - 100 100

Calcium chloride 1.0% 90 136 109
(CaCl2) 2.0% 125 148 102
Calcium nitrite 1.0% 65 128 113
[Ca(NO2)2] 2.0% 95 137 112
Calcium formate 1.0% 70 123 115
[Ca(HCO2)2] 2.0% 100 133 105 26
Concrete admixtures
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 admixtures
 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

Advice: Keep concrete as cool as practicable

 Retarders do not decrease the initial temperature of the concrete

 This can be achieved by cooling the mixing water and/or the aggregates
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Concrete admixtures
Set retarding admixture
 Influence on 28 day compressive strength

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Concrete admixtures
Set retarding admixture
 Slump vs initial Setting time

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Concrete admixtures
Waterproofing and damp proofing admixtures

 Function either by making the pore entry in

concrete non wetting or by pore filling or by both
actions. by
 Include soaps, butyl stearate, mineral oil and
asphalt emulsions,

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Concrete admixtures