CHAPTER 2 ADMIXTURE Introduction Chemical admixtures are the ingredients in concrete other than Portland cement, water, and

aggregate that are added to the mix immediately before or during mixing. Added to concrete mix in order to modify/improve the specific properties of concrete. Successful use of admixtures depends on the use of appropriate methods of batching and concreting. Most admixtures are supplied in ready-to-use liquid form and are added to the concrete at plant or at the jobsite. Certain admixtures, such as pigment, expansive agents, and pumping aids are used only in extremely small amounts and are usually batched by hand from premeasured containers. The effectiveness of an admixture depends on several factors including : type and amount of cement, water content, mixing time, slump, temperatures of the concrete and Temperature of the air. Some time, effects similar to choose achieved through the addition of admixtures, can also be achieved by: altering the concrete mixturereducing the water-cement ratio, adding additional cement, using a different type of cement or changing the aggregate and aggregate gradation.

Commonly used admixture Accelerators Water-reducing admixture Air entraining admixture Retarder Superplasticizer All other varieties of admixtures fall into the specialty category whose functions include: corrosion inhibition, shrinkage reduction, alkali-silica reactivity reduction, workability enhancement, bonding, damp proofing and coloring. Purpose of admixture To reduce the cost of concrete To modify the properties of hardened concrete To ensure the quality of concrete during mixing, transporting, placing, and curing. To overcome certain emergencies during concrete operation. Improve workability of fresh concrete. Improve durability Reduction water required Accelerate setting time & hardening obtain high early strength Aid curing Having water proofing properties Cause dispersion of cement particles can be pumped easily Retard setting Reduce shrinkage Reduce bleeding Reduce evolution of heat

2. Water Reducing Admixture

Accelerator Retarding Admixture Superplast icizer

TYPES OF ADMIXTURE
Water Reducing Admixtur e Air Entrainment Admixture

1. Accelerator Accelerating admixtures increase the rate of early strength development. Accelerating admixtures are especially useful for modifying the properties of concrete in cold weather. Addition of this accelerator will:a. Increase the rate of hydration increase the rate of early strength development and heat evolution. b. Reduce the time required for proper curing and protection (shorter the setting time) c. Speed up the start of finishing operations Increase in rate of early strength development will result:a) Early removal of form work. b) Reduce curing period. c) Early placement of structure to carry load at early age. Salt used as accelerator admixture are; a) Chloride of calcium, sodium and aluminium. b) Sulphates of sodium and potassium. c) Caustic soda and Caustic potash. Common salt used as accelerator is calcium chloride (CaCl2)

Is used to reduce the amount of water but still obtain the same workability, consistency, slump and strength. Water-reducing admixture usually reduce the required water content for a concrete mixture by about 5% -10%. Consequently, concrete containing a water-reducing admixture needs less water to reach a required slump than untreated concrete. The treated concrete can have a lower water- cement ratio. This usually indicates that a higher strength concrete can be produced without increasing the amount of cement. Recent advancement in admixture technology have led to the development of mid-range water reducers. These admixture reduce water content by at least 8% and tend to be more stable over a wider range of temperatures. Mid-range water reducers provide more consistent setting times than standard water reducers. Surface active agent/ chemical in water reducing admixture having property of inducing repelling forces between cement particles & act as dispersing agent in fresh concrete. Dispersed particles require less water to lubricate them increase the cohesiveness & allow the required workability at reduced water cement ratio. Some reducing admixture will show significant increase in drying shrinkage. Typical salt use for water reducing: Metallic salts such as calcium chloride Lignosulphonic acids such as calcium lignosulphate (sodium)

3. Superplasticizer Imparts very high workability & allow large decrease in water content but very workable concrete. Reduce water content by 12-30 % and can be added to concrete with a low-to-normal slump and water-cement ratio to make high-slump flowing concrete. Flowing concrete is a highly fluid without segregation but workable concrete that can be placed with little or no vibration or compaction. Is a powerful deflocculating agent & act by dispersing effect. Cement particles becomes negatively charge & hence repulsive to each other. The effect of super plasticizers lasts only 30-90 minutes, depending on the brand and dosage rate, and is followed by a rapid loss in workability. As a result of the slump loss, super plasticizers are usually added to concrete at the jobsite. Useful when placing concrete in difficult location e.g. where reinforcement is heavily congested. Also suitable such as floor slab, where concrete flow to self leveling position reduces effort required for placing and finishing. 4. Air Entrainment Admixture To improve resistance to freezing when exposed to water and deicing chemicals. However, there are other important benefits of entrained air in both freshly mixed and hardened concrete. Air-entrained concrete contains billions of microscopic air cells. These relieve internal pressure on the concrete by providing tiny chambers for the expansion of water when it freezes Causing small % of air in the form of very minute bubbles are trapped in concrete and are uniformly distributed throughout the concrete. Bubble size ~0.02 mm to 0.2mm. The amount of entrained air is usually between 5% and 8% of the volume of the concrete, but may be varied as required by special conditions.

The use of air-entrained agent result in concrete that is highly resistant to severe frost action and cycles of wetting and drying or freezing and thawing and has a high degree of workability, increase durability, improve flow in concrete pump lines and reduction in bleeding.

Common type of agent / chemical used for air entrainment are: a) Natural wood resins b) Various sulfonated compounds c) Some animal & vegetable fats & oils d) Synthetic detergents or gas generated e.g. sink powder.

5. Retarding Admixture Slow the setting rate of concrete Generally used when: a) In hot weather b) High temperature, low humidity and windy. High temperature often cause an increased rate of hardening which makes placing and finishing difficult Retarders keep concrete workable during placement and delay the initial set of concrete. Most retarder also function as water reducers and may entrain some air in concrete.

Will cause premature stiffening, rapid evaporated of water leading to loss of workability & cracking to concrete surface. It hold back the hydration process, leaving more water for workability Retard settling time and allow concrete to be hauled long distance from mixer truck to site ensure it reach its destination in a plastic and placeable conditions Common retarders agent are: a) Carbohydrate derivatives b) Calcium lignosulphonic c) 0.2% sugarretard setting to 3 days

ADMIXTURES ACCELERATORS

FUNCTIONS More rapid gain of strength More rapid setting

TYPICAL COMPOUNDS Calcium chloride Sodium nitrite Sodium sulphate Sodium aluminate

APPLICATIONS Normal rate of strength development at low temperature Shorter stripping times Plugging of pressure leaks Sprayed concrete Maintain workability at high temperature Reduce rate of heat evolution Extend placing times Water reducers with faster strength development Water reducers with slower the loss of workability Higher workability with strength unchanged Higher strength with workability unchanged Less cement for same strength and workability Water- reducers but over a wider range Facilitate production of flowing concrete Increase durability to frost without increasing cement content

DISADVANTAGES Possible cracking due to heat evolution Possibility of corrosion of embedded reinforcement

RETARDERS

Delay setting

Hydroxycarbonxylic acids, sugar

May promote bleeding

ACCELERATORS WATERREDUCING RETARDING WATERREDUCING PLASTICIZERS (WATERREDUCERS)

Increase workability with faster gain of strength Increase workability and delay setting Increase workability

Mixtures of calcium chloride and lignosulphonate Mixture of sugars or Hydroxycarbonxylic acids and lignosulphonate Calcium and sodium lignosulphonate

Risk of corrosion

Retardation at high dosages Tendency to segregate Premature stiffening under certain conditions Tendency to segregate May increase rate of loss of workability Careful control of air content and mixing time necessary

SUPERPLASTICIZERS (WATERREDUCERS)

Greatly increase workability

AIR ENTRAINING ADMIXTURE

Entrainments of air into concrete

Sulphonate melamine formaldehyde resin Sulphonated naphthaleneformaldehyde resin Wood resins, fats, lignosulphonates