Mineral And Chemical Admixtures

Advanced Concrete Technology

CE 612

Presented by-
Kasturi Bhuyan
156104001

Department of Civil Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology
Guwahati, Assam
Definition of Admixture

• A material other than water, aggregates, and

hydraulic cements.
• Used as an ingredient of concrete or mortar or
grout.
• Added to the batch immediately before or
during mixing.
• To modify the properties in the wet state or
after the mix has hardened.
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Significance

ACI Committee 212 lists 20 important purposes for which

admixtures are used. Some are –
 To increase the plasticity of concrete without increasing the
water content.
 To reduce bleeding and segregation, to retard or accelerate
the time of set.
 To accelerate the rates of strength development at early
ages.
 To reduce the rate of heat evolution.
 To increase the durability of concrete to specific exposure
conditions.
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Mechanism of Action
Admixtures work by one or more of the following actions:
• Chemical interaction with the cement hydration process,
typically causing an acceleration or retardation of the rate of
reaction of one or more of the cement phases.
• Adsorption onto cement surfaces, typically causing better
particle dispersion.
• Affecting the surface tension of the water, typically resulting
in increased air entrainment.
• Affecting the rheology of the water, usually resulting in an
increased plastic viscosity or mix cohesion.
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Classification of Admixtures

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Mineral Admixtures
Improves qualities of concrete, such as –
 Lower the heat of hydration and thermal shrinkage.
 Increase the water tightness.
 Reduce the alkali-aggregate reaction.
 Improve resistance to attack by sulphate soils and sea
water.
 Improve extensibility.
 Lower susceptibility to dissolution and leaching.
 Improve workability.
 Lower costs.
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Pozzolanic Materials
• Also known as Supplementary Cementitious Material (SCM).
• Pozzolanic materials are siliceous or siliceous and aluminous
materials.
• They themselves possess little or no cementitious value.
• But when finely divided, in the presence of moisture
chemically react with calcium hydroxide at ordinary
temperature, to form compounds, possessing cementitious
properties.
• This reaction is called pozzolanic reaction.
Pozzolan + Calcium Hydroxide + Water → C-S-H (Gel)
• Pozzolanic materials can be divided into two groups:
Natural pozzolana and Artificial pozzolana 7
Natural Pozzolana
• Natural pozzolans are that materials which are available in
nature and possesses pozzolanic properties.
• Based on the principal reactive constituent present they can be
classified as –
– Volcanic glasses: Quick cooling of the magma composed mainly
of aluminosilicates results in the formation of glass.
– Volcanic tuffs: A product of hydrothermal alteration of volcanic
glass.
– Calcined clays or shales: The crystalline structure of the
aluminosilicate hydrates in clay is converted into anamorphous or
disordered structure by heat treatment .
– Diatomaceous earth: It is hydrated amorphous silica composed
of skeletal shells from the cell walls of microscopic aquatic algae.
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Artificial Pozzolana

• Artificial pozzolans are the industrial byproducts that can

be used as mineral admixtures.

• This group contain admixtures such as –

– Fly ash
– Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS)
– Silica Fume
– Rice Husk ash (RHA)

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Fly Ash
• A byproduct from burning of coal in thermal power
plants.
• The quality of fly ash is governed by IS 3812 (Part I):
2003.
• ASTM broadly classified fly ash into two classes –
 Class F: Produced by burning anthracite or bituminous
coal (<5% CaO). It has pozzolanic properties and a
little or no cementitious properties.
 Class C: Produced by burning lignite or sub-
bituminous coal (>10% of CaO). It possesses
pozzolanic properties as well as cementitious
properties. 10
• Effect of Fly Ash on Fresh Concrete
► Improves the workability and pumpability.
► The heat of hydration is reduced, thus the temperature
rise.
► Economical as can replace cement.
• Effects of Fly Ash on Hardened Concrete
► Improved long term strength or ultimate strength.
► Reduced permeability.
► Reduction of the expansion due to alkali-aggregate
reaction.
► Improves the resistance of concrete to sulfate attack. 11
Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS)
• GGBS is a waste product in the manufacturing of pig iron.
• The quality of slag is governed by IS 12089:1987.
• It is a non metallic product consisting essentially of silicates and
aluminates of calcium and other bases.
• Reduce the unit water content necessary to obtain the same slump
when used content and fineness is high.
• The major advantages recognised are:
o Reduced heat of hydration
o Refinement of pore structures
o Reduced permeability of concrete.
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o Increased resistance to chemical attack.
Silica Fume

• Byproduct from electric arc furnace in the manufacture of

silicon or ferrosilicon alloy.
• It is very highly Pozzolanic material.
• Essentially silicon dioxide (> 90%) in non-crystalline form.
• Mean particle size between 0.1 and 0.2 micron.
• Creates dense packing and acts as pore filler of cement
paste.
• Reduces in bleeding and segregation.
• Used for production of high strength and durable concrete.

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Rice Husk ash (RHA)

• It is obtained by burning or combustion of rice husk.

• Essentially consist of amorphous silica (90% SiO2), 5%

carbon and 2% K2O.

• The specific surface of RHA is between 40-100 m2/g.

• Also sometimes called Agrosilica.

• It greatly enhances the workability.

• Results in high impermeability of concrete.

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Chemical Admixture
• These are the chemical compounds that when mixed in
concrete gives different desirable effects.
• Surface-active chemicals : Acts on the cement-water system
instantaneously by influencing the surface tension of water and by
adsorbing on the surface of cement particles.
– Plasticizers & Super Plasticizers
– Air-entraining Admixture
• Set-Controlling Chemicals: Influence either the rate of ionization
of cement compounds or the rate of crystallization of the hydration
products.
– Accelerating admixtures
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– Retarding admixtures
Water Reducing Admixtures (Plasticizers)
Following Mechanisms may take place simultaneously:
• Reduction in the surface tension of water.
• Induced electrostatic repulsion between particles of cement.
• Lubricating film between cement particles.
• Dispersion of cement grains, releasing water trapped within
cement flocs.
• Inhibition of the surface hydration reaction of the cement
particles, leaving more water to fluidify the mix.
• Change in the morphology of the hydration products.
• Induced steric hindrance preventing particle-to-particle contact.
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Effects of Plasticzers are:
• Reduction in the water-cement ratio, a concrete having the
same workability as the control concrete can be obtained.
• A concrete possessing similar strength development
characteristics is obtained, yet having a greater workability
than the control concrete.
• A concrete with similar workability and strength can be
developed even at lower cement contents than a control
concrete without adversely affecting the durability or
engineering properties of the concrete.
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Super Plasticizers
• Also called High Range Water Reducers
• Commonly used superplasticizers are:
 Sulphonated malanie-formaldehyde condensates (SMF)
 Sulphonated naphthalene-formaldehyde condensates (SNF)
 Polycarboxylate ester Based (PCE)
• Superplasticizers can produce:
o At the same w/c ratio much more workable concrete than
the plain ones,
o For the same workability, it permits the use of lower w/c
ratio,
o Increased strength with lower w/c ratio.
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o Reduction of cement content.
Air-entraining Admixture
• Dispersing large number of microscopic air bubbles (diameter
ranging from 20-2000 rpm.
• Some air entraining agents –Natural wood resins, Animal and
vegetable fats, Petroleum acids & Synthetic detergents.
• Factors affecting amount of air entrainment –
 The type and quantity of air entraining agent used.
 Water/cement ratio and type of cement.
 Type and grading of aggregate.
 The temperature & Mixing time.
 Admixtures other than air entraining agent used.
 Influence of compaction. 19
Effect of Air Entrainment on the Properties of Concrete

→ Increased resistance to freezing and thawing.

→ Improvement in workability.

→ Reduction in strength.

→ Reduces the tendencies of segregation and bleeding.

→ Decreases the permeability.

→ Permits reduction in sand content.

→ Reduces the unit weight.

→ Reduces the alkali-aggregate reaction. 20

Accelerating Admixture

– Accelerate the setting time.

– Develops early strength.
– Permit earlier removal of formwork.
– Reduce the required period of curing.
– Reduces the time needed for construction.
– Partially compensate for the retarding effect of low
temperature during cold weather concreting.
– In the emergency repair work.
– Calcium chloride is very commonly used accelerator.
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Retarding Admixture

→ Delay the setting time.

→ Keep concrete workable throughout the entire placing
period.
→ Permits proper placement and finishing.
→ Eliminates of cold joints and discontinuities in large
structural units.
→ Used in concreting in hot weather to reduce accelerating
effects of high temperature.
→ Calcium sulphate is very commonly used retarder.
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Thank you
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