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ConcreteChemicals(Admixtures)andApplications

Admixturesarematerialsotherthancement,aggregateandwaterthatareaddedto
concreteeitherbeforeorduringitsmixingtoalteritsproperties,suchasworkability,
curingtemperaturerange,settimeorcolor.Someadmixtureshavebeeninusefora
verylongtimeinconcreteconstruction,suchascalciumchloridetoprovideacold
weathersettingconcrete.

Basedontheirfunctions,admixturescanbeclassifiedintothefollowingfivemajor
categories:

Retardingadmixtures

Acceleratingadmixtures

Superplasticizers

Waterreducingadmixtures

Airentrainingadmixtures

Amongotherimportantadmixturesthatdonotfitintothesecategoriesareadmixtureswhosefunctionsinclude
bonding,shrinkagereduction,dampproofingandcoloring.Thefollowingparagraphsprovidesdetailsonthe
abovementionedcategoriesofconcreteadmixtures.

RetardingAdmixtures

Retardingadmixturesslowdownthehydrationofcement,lengtheningsettime.Retardersarebeneficiallyused
inhotweatherconditionsinordertoovercomeacceleratingeffectsofhighertemperaturesandlargemassesof
concreteonconcretesettingtime.Becausemostretardersalsoactaswaterreducers,theyarefrequently
calledwaterreducingretarders.AsperchemicaladmixtureclassificationbyASTMASTMC494,typeBis
simplyaretardingadmixture,whiletypeDisbothretardingandwaterreducing,resultinginconcretewith
greatercompressivestrengthbecauseofthelowerwatercementratio.

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Retardingadmixturesconsistsofbothorganicandinorganicagents.Organicretardantsincludeunrefined
calcium,sodium,NH4,saltsoflignosulfonicacids,hydrocarboxylicacids,andcarbohydrates.Inorganic
retardantsincludeoxidesofleadandzinc,phosphates,magnesiumsalts,fluoratesandborates.Asanexample
ofaretardantseffectsonconcreteproperties,lignosulfateacidsandhydroxylatedcarboxylicacidsslowthe
initialsettingtimebyatleastanhourandnomorethanthreehourswhenusedat65to100degrees
Fahrenheit.Theconcretecontractor,however,neednotmemorizethesechemicalspecificresults.Giventhe
specificjobrequirementsandgoals,theconcretesuppliershouldofferappropriateadmixturesandconcrete
mixesfromwhichtochoose.

Acceleratingadmixtures

Acceleratorsshortenthesettimeofconcrete,allowingacoldweatherpour,earlyremovalofforms,early
surfacefinishing,andinsomecases,earlyloadapplication.Propercaremustbetakenwhilechoosingthetype
andproportionofaccelerators,asundermostconditions,commonlyusedacceleratorscauseanincreaseinthe
dryingshrinkageofconcrete.

Calciumchlorideisacommonaccelerator,usedtoacceleratethetimeofsetandtherateofstrengthgain.It
shouldmeettherequirementsofASTMD98.Excessiveamountsofcalciumchlorideinconcretemixmayresult
inrapidstiffening,increaseindryingshrinkageandcorrosionofreinforcement.Incolderclimates,calcium
chlorideshouldnotbeusedasanantifreeze.Largeamountofcalciumchlorideisrequiredtolowerthe
freezingpointoftheconcrete,whichmayruintheconcrete.

Superplasticizers

Superplasticizers,alsoknownasplasticizers,includewaterreducingadmixtures.Comparedtowhatis
commonlyreferredtoasawaterreducerormidrangewaterreducer,superplasticizersarehighrange
waterreducers.Highrangewaterreducersareadmixturesthatallowlargewaterreductionorgreater
flowability(asdefinedbythemanufacturers,concretesuppliersandindustrystandards)withoutsubstantially
slowingsettimeorincreasingairentrainment.

Eachtypeofsuperplasticizerhasdefinedrangesfortherequiredquantitiesofconcretemixingredients,along
withthecorrespondingeffects.Theycanmaintainaspecificconsistencyandworkabilityatagreatlyreduced
amountofwater.Dosagesneededvarybytheparticularconcretemixandtypeofsuperplasticizerused.They
canalsoproduceahighstrengthconcrete.Aswithmosttypesofadmixtures,superplasticizerscanaffect
otherconcretepropertiesaswell.Thespecificeffects,however,shouldbefoundfromthemanufactureror
concretesupplier.

Waterreducingadmixtures

Waterreducingadmixturesrequirelesswatertomakeaconcreteofequalslump,orincreasetheslumpof
concreteatthesamewatercontent.Theycanhavethesideeffectofchanginginitialsettime.Waterreducers
aremostlyusedforhotweatherconcreteplacingandtoaidpumping.Awaterreducerplasticizer,however,isa
hygroscopicpowder,whichcanentrainairintotheconcretemixviaitseffectonwaterssurfacetension,
therebyalso,obtainingsomeofthebenefitsofairentrainment(seebelow).

Airentrainingadmixtures

Airentrainingagentsentrainsmallairbubblesintheconcrete.Themajorbenefitofthisisenhanceddurability
infreezethawcycles,especiallyrelevantincoldclimates.Whilesomestrengthlosstypicallyaccompanies
increasedairinconcrete,itgenerallycanbeovercomebyreducingthewatercementratioviaimproved
workability(duetotheairentrainingagentitself)orthroughtheuseofotherappropriateadmixtures.As
always,admixturesshouldonlybecombinedinaconcretemixbyacompetentprofessionalbecausesomeof
themcaninteractinundesirableways.

Bondingadmixtures

Bondingadmixturesincludingadditionofcompoundsandmaterialssuchaspolyvinylchloridesandacetates,
acrylicsandbutadienestyrenecopolymers,canbeusedtoassistinbondingnew/freshconcretewithold/
setconcrete.

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Coloringagentshavebecomemorecommonlyused,especiallyforpatiosandwalkways.Mostaresurface
appliedandoftenhavetheadditionaleffectofsurfacehardening.Suchsurfaceappliedcoloringadmixtures
generallyshouldnotbeusedonairentrainedconcrete.Integrallycoloredconcreteisalsoavailable.

Waterproofinganddampproofingadmixtures

Waterproofinganddampproofingadmixturesincludingsoaps,butylstearate,mineraloilandasphalt
emulsions,areusedtodecreasetheamountofwaterpenetrationintothelargerporesofconcrete.Antifreeze
admixturestypicallyareacceleratorsusedinveryhighdoses,withacorrespondinghighprice,toachievea
veryfastsettime,thoughtheydonothavepropertiestoprotectagainstfreezingontheirown.However,in
general,thesearenotusedforresidentialwork.

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