Concrete Technology

Admixtures

Prof. Dr. Tek Raj Gyawali

School of Engineering
Pokhara University
 Admixtures
Admixtures for concrete are those ingredients in concrete other than Portland cement, water, and aggregates that are added to
the mixture immediately before or during mixing.
Water Retarder, Plasticizer, Superplasticizer
Accelerator, Retarder
Air content agent, Water proof agent
Chemical
Hydration control agent, Shrinkage reducers
Admixtures Corrosion inhibitors, coloring agents
Alkali-Silica reaction inhibitors
Viscosity agent……..etc.
Admixtures
Pulverized Fly Ash (PFA)
Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS)

Mineral Silica Fume

Admixtures Metakaolin
Rice Husk Ash (RHA)
Stone/Brick Dust……….etc.
 Chemical Admixtures

Water reducers (ASTM Type A):

-Also called plasticizers, these admixtures are used for three purposes:
 To achieve a higher strength by decreasing the w/c ratio at the same workability.
 To achieve the same workability by decreasing the cement content as to reduce the heat of hydration in mass concrete.
 To increase the workability without increasing the water content.

-The water reducers contain surface-active agents. When added to concrete these agents are absorbed on the cement particles
giving them a negative charge, which lead to a repulsion between the particles and results in stabilizing their dispersing. In
addition, the negative charge causes the development of a cover of water oriented molecules around each water thus separating
the particles and because the water is no longer restrained by the cement particles and it becomes available to lubricate the mix
which increases the workability.
-The reduction of water when water reducers are used varies between 5-15%.
 Chemical Admixtures

-The air content is increases because the surface-active agent lowers the surface tension of water and also makes it harder to the
air bubbles to stick to the cement particles. Sometime it is necessary to use Air-detraining agent to avoid over-air entrainment.
-Setting is retarded.
-The rate of loss of workability is not reduced (the higher the initial workability, the higher the rate)
-Early age strength is increased because of the increased surface area available for hydration as a result from the cement
particles dispersing.
-Long-term strength is increased because of the more uniformed distribution of the dispersed cement throughout the concrete.
-Does not improve the cohesiveness of the concert like the air-entrainment agents.
-Also available with as water reducing and retarding admixture (ASTM Type D) and water reducing and accelerating
admixture (ASTM Type E).
-With time the admixture is removed from the concrete by being incorporated into the hydrated materials without changing the
properties of those materials.
 Chemical Admixtures

Superplasticizers (ASTM Type F):

-A more effective type of water reducers. Also known as high range water reducers.
Superplasticizers are (sulphonated melamine formaldehyde condensates) or (sulphonated naphthalene formaldehyde
condensates) the latter is more effective in dispersing the cement particles with some retarding effects.
-The dispersing action happens when the adsorption of the sulphonic acid on the surface of the cement particle, causing them
to become negative in charge and repulse from each other.
-The dosage is usually higher than water reducers with higher reduction in water content.
-Less side effects (less bleeding at higher workability, more cohesive)
-Don’t entrain much air because they don’t lower the surface tension of water
-Can raise the slump from 75mm to 200mm for a constant w/c ratio.
 Chemical Admixtures

-Used to produce higher workability (flowing concrete) or higher strength concrete as much as 100 MPa. As it can reduce the
water content by 25-35% about twice as much as water reducers.
-Gives better result when very angular, flaky or elongated aggregates are avoided and the fine aggregate raised by 4-5% but
exert high hydrostatic pressure of the formwork.
-High rate or slump loss after 30-90 minutes the workability is back to its original degree.
-Adding a additional dose of superplasticizer to concrete mixed with the same admixture after it lost its workability maybe
cause segregation.
-Don’t affect the setting expect cement with a very low C3A content.
-The use of superplasticizer with air entraining agent could reduce the entrapped air, and improve the air-voids system. Some
modified superplasticizers are available which are compatible with air entraining admixture.
-Also available as superplasticizer and set-retarding admixture (ASTM Type G)
 Chemical Admixtures

Accelerators (ASTM Type C):

-Accelerate the hardening or development of early strength.
-Not intended to affect the setting time (in practice they do!).
S-et-accelerators (quick setting) admixtures, which reduce the setting, time like sodium carbonate (washing soda), which
causes a flash set usually, used in shotcrete. These admixtures lower the strength other set-accelerators include: aluminum
chloride, potassium carbonate, sodium fluoride, sodium aluminate and ferric salts.
-The most common accelerators is calcium chloride (CaCl2), accelerates the early strength development.
-Accelerators are helpful when concrete is to be placed at low temperatures (2-4 C°) or when it’s loaded at an early age.
-Calcium chloride acts as a catalyst in the hydration of C3S and C2S or reduces the alkalinity of the solution, which increases
the hydration of the silicates. Also delays the hydration of C3A a little.
-The greater the rate of hydration of the cement the more are the effects of the accelerators especially in Type I and Type III
cements.
-Not to be used with high alumina cement.
-Also raises the 28-days strength a little.
 Chemical Admixtures

-The typical dosage is 1-2% as a fraction of the cement content. A dosage of 1%of CaCl2 gives the same effect as a rise in
temperature of 6 C° and an overdose can cause flash setting.
-Better results when it’s dissolved in the mixing water to ensure better distributing, especially if it was in a flaky not granular
shape (dissolves slowly). The flakes are CaCl2.2H2O and each 1.37 g of it equals 1 g of CaCl2.
-Can cause corrosion of steel and reduces the resistance to Sulphate attack especially in lean mixes and increases the risk of
alkali-silica reactivity. When reactive aggregates are used. also increases shrinkage and creep and reduced the resistance of
air entrained concrete to freezing and thawing at later age. However, it increases the resistance of concrete to erosion and
abrasion.
-When acceleration without the steel corrosion is preferred, chloride-free accelerators could be used which are based on
calcium formate blended with corrosion inhibitors. This kind of accelerator got lower effects than calcium chloride.
- With time the admixture is removed from the concrete by being incorporated into the hydrated materials without changing
the properties of those materials.
 Chemical Admixtures
Set-retarders (ASTM Type B):
-Delays the setting of concrete
-Useful when concrete is casted in hot temperatures also in preventing the formation of cold joints.
-Delays the hardening of the cement.
-Set-retarders include: sugar, carbohydrates, derivatives, soluble zinc salts and soluble borates.
-Usually used when also water reducing (ASTM Type D).
-A dose of 0.05% of sugar by mass of cement will delay the setting time by 4 hours. When dosage up to 0.2-1% the concrete
can no more set.
-The setting time is increased by delaying the addition of the admixture because once some of the C3A has hydrated, it no
longer absorb the admixture so more is available for the calcium silicates.
-The admixture improves the crystal growth so that here is a more efficient barrier to further hydration.
-Reduces the early strength but later, the rate of strength development is higher, the long-term strength is not affected.
-Increases the plastic shrinkage because the plastic stage is extended no effect on drying shrinkage.
-With time the admixture is removed from the concrete by being incorporated into the hydrated materials without changing
the properties of those materials.
 Chemical Admixtures
Air-entraining admixtures:

-Admixtures used to entrain air bubbles into the concrete to protect it from freezing and thawing.

-When mixed with water, air-entraining admixtures produce separate bubbles cavities which when hardened become incorporated within the
paste.

-These admixtures contain surface-active agents, which lower the surface tension of water to ease the formation of bubbles. They do this by
concentrating on the air/water interfaces and have water-repelling and water-attracting properties which are responsible for the dispersion and
stabilization od the bubbles.

-Those bubbles are separate from the capillary voids system and will never be filled with hydration products as the hydration only happen in
water filled voids.

-Air-entraining agents includes:

 -Animal and vegetable fats and oils and their fatty acids.

 -Natural wood resins, which react with lime available in the cement to form a soluble resinate, NaOH can also be used here to form a
water-soluble soap.

 -Wetting agents such as alkali salts of sulphated and sulphonated organic compounds.

-A typical dosage is 0.005-0.05% of the cement weight premixed with the mixing water.

-Should provide a minimum air volume of 9% o of the volume of the mortar with less than 0.25 mm between air bubbles.

-Air-entraining admixtures reduces the required water content, increase the workability and improve the cohesiveness of the concrete.
 Chemical Admixtures
Waterproofing Admixture
Normally used where water impermeability is desirable.
Mainly two types:
Pore-filler: Reduce permeability by its pore-filling action. Normally used materials are Chalk, Talc, Silicates, Aluminium
power.
Water repellent: Prevent water penetration by its water repellent action. Normally used materials are: Resin, vegetable oil,
waxes, calcium soap, soda etc.
 Mineral Admixtures

These are the admixture basically obtained from various natural or artificial minerals. Normally available in finely divided
power form. Its dose is relatively higher than chemical admixture ranging from 10 – 80% by wt of cement. Eg: Fly ash, blast
furnance slag, silica fume, brick dust, stone dust etc. In many case, admixtures are used as cement replacement ingredient due
to its pozzolana property.

Pozzolans:
-Pozzolans are siliceous or siliceous and aluminous materials, which have no cementing, affect. But when finely divided and
in the presence of moisture, will react with lime CH from the hydration of the cement at ordinary temperatures to compounds
with cementitious properties.
-The original pozzolans are volcanic ashes. Pozzolans include pumicite, opaline shales and cherts. Also calcined
diatomaceous earth, burnt clay and fly ash (PFA: pulverized fuel ash)
The pozzolanic activity index is the ratio of the compressive strength of the mixture with a specified replacement of cement
with pozzolans to the strength of a mix without replacement.
 Mineral Admixtures
Pulverized Fly Ash (PFA):

The most common artificial pozzolan is fly ash (PFA) obtained by mechanical means from the flue gases of furnaces in coal-
fired power stations. PFA particles are spherical and of at least the same fineness of cement.

 Cementitious material, replacing a portion of the cement content.

 Filler add to the concrete at mixing.
-PFA is used to replace a portion of the cement content and can reduce the water content at least to 95%
-Concrete with PFA gains strength slowly and requires longer curing periods.
-Low early strength but a higher long-term strength.
-Slower hydration therefore reduces the rate of heat generation
-PFA got a lower specific gravity (1.9-2.4) than the cement so replacement by weight will increase the cementitious materials
volume. PDF can be added without replacing the cement content when early strengths are required.
-Fly ash increases the percent of fines thus reduces permeability, increases workability and improves the pumping of the
concrete.
-Fly ash reduces bleeding because it reduces the required water content to produce a specific workability.
 Mineral Admixtures

Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS)

 GGBS contains silicates and alumino-silicates of calcium and is a by-product of iron manufactured in a blast furnace.
 GGBS has been used as partial replacement to cement in many researches in various forms to develop high-strength and
high-performance concrete.
 The use of pelletised blast furnace slag greatly effects on the freeze and thaw durability characteristics.
 Concrete made with slag cement has higher long-term compressive and flexure strengths compared to PC concrete and it
varies for different curing conditions, mix proportions and age of testing.
 GGBS replacement reduces heat of hydration, enhances durability, including higher resistance to sulfate and chloride
attack, when compared with normal concrete. On the other hand, it also contributes to environmental protection because it
minimizes the use of cement during the production of concrete.
 With GGBS, the setting time will be extended slightly, perhaps by about 30 minutes.
 The differences in rheological behavior between GGBS and Portland cement may enable a small reduction in water
content to achieve equivalent consistence class.
 While concretes containing GGBS have a similar, or slightly improved consistence to equivalent Portland cement
concrete, fresh concrete containing GGBS tends to require less energy for movement.
 Concrete containing ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) is less permeable and chemically more stable than
normal concrete. This enhances its resistance to many forms of deleterious attack, in particular: Disintegration due to
sulphate attack Chloride related corrosion of reinforcement Cracking caused by alkali silica reaction
 Mineral Admixtures
Silica Fume
Silica fume is a by-product of the manufacture of silicon metal and ferro-silicon alloys. The process involves the reduction of
high purity quartz (SiO2) in electric arc furnaces at temperatures in excess of 2,000°C. Silica fume is a very fine powder
consisting mainly of spherical particles or microspheres of mean diameter about 0.15 microns, with a very high specific
surface area (15,000–25,000 m2/kg). Each microsphere is on average 100 times smaller than an average cement grain. At a
typical dosage of 10% by mass of cement, there will be 50,000–100,000 silica fume particles per cement grain.
Silica fume is a highly reactive pozzolana that converts all or most of the liberated calcium hydroxide to C-S-H.
Silica fume can be expected to produce an increased water demand, which is normally countered by the use of admixtures.
Fresh concrete containing silica fume is more cohesive and less prone to segregation than concrete without silica fume.
Unlike other SCM’s such as slag and fly ash, silica fume does not significantly affect setting time.
Concrete containing silica fume shows significantly reduced bleeding. As silica fume dosage is increased, bleeding will be
reduced.
Silica fume has effectively a similar heat of hydration to OPC.
Use of silica fume as replacement of cement significantly increases the strength.
Silica fume can produce very large reductions in water permeability of up to one order magnitude or more, depending on the
mix design and dosage of silica fume.
silica fume can substantially increase the resistance to sulfate attack.
Numerous investigators have shown that it is possible to produce freeze thaw resistant, air-entrained concrete containing silica
fume.
The use of silica fume in sufficient quantity and properly dispersed in concrete, either on its own or in combination with other
pozzolans or GGBS, can be an effective means of combating Alkali Silica Reaction (ASR)
 Mineral Admixtures
Metakaolin
Metakaolin is a highly efficient pozzolana and reacts rapidly with the excess calcium hydroxide resulting from OPC
hydration, via a pozzolanic reaction, to produce calcium silicate hydrates and calcium aluminosilicate hydrates. The physical
and chemical properties of metakaolin viz-a-viz, OPC are presented in Table
 Mineral Admixtures

 Metakaolin is the anhydrous calcined form of the clay mineral kaolinite. Minerals that are rich in kaolinite are known as
china clay or kaolin, traditionally used in the manufacture of porcelain. The particle size of metakaolin is smaller
than cement particles, but not as fine as silica fume.
 Metakaolin is quite useful for improving concrete quality, by enhancing strength and reducing setting time, and may thus
prove to be a promising material for manufacturing high performance concrete.
 Wild et al. (1996) reported that workability of concrete at 0.45 water cement (w/c) decrease with increase in replacement of
cement by metakaolin. It is found that slump loss was in the range of 2 mm–32 mm when replacement level of cement was
in the range of 5%-35%.
 Wild et al. (1996) reported that on inclusion of metakaolin upto 30%, compressive strength at 28 d increase in the range of
1.53%-35%. However, maximum increase is reported at 20% replacement level.
 The higher surface area metakaolin yielded the highest strength and the fastest rate of strength gain.
Mineral Admixtures
Thank You !