ADDITIVES

Additives are chemical components added to cement during manufacturing to get new properties for
cement. The raw materials used in the manufacturing of cement are lime, silica, alumina and iron
oxide. These material are ground into a fine powder and are mixed followed by roasting. Heating of
this mixture to about 1500oC will initiate a number of chemical reactions that give the final chemical
composition of cement.

The additives can be added at the manufacturing point, or at the job site.

Concrete additives are usually liquid and are only added in very small amounts whilst mixing the
concrete. They have a physico-chemical action and are classified into so-called efficiency groups
depending on their effect in freshly mixed or hardened concrete.

There are two types of additives, chemical and mineral additives. Their usage depends on what the
contractor wants to achieve.

Chemical Additives
These are used to:
 Reduce the construction cost
 Overcome emergencies at concrete operations.
 Guarantee quality during mixing all through to curation process.
 Modify the features of a hardened concrete

Mineral Additives
They are used to:
 Increase concrete strength.
 Economize on the mixture
 Reduce the permeability levels.
 Affect the nature of concrete (hardened) through the use of hydraulic activity.

Types of concrete additives

1concrete deflocculants

2 plasticising admixtures

3 air-entraining agents

4 water resisting admixtures

5 setting retarders
ADMIXTURES

Admixtures in concrete are substances added to the concrete mix to improve its properties. The
function of admixtures in concrete is to improve the physical properties of the concrete by adding
substances such as air entraining agents, water reducing agents, and superplasticizers.

Admixtures for concrete can be of two types, organic and inorganic compounds. Multifunctional
admixtures are those that modify more than one physical or chemical properties of the concrete
mixture. There is a wide variety of admixtures available for modifying different aspects of concrete.

Concrete admixtures (additives) enhances the properties of concrete for applications in construction
with special requirements. Concrete additives are used to achieve desired workability in case of low
water cement ratio, and to enhance setting time of concrete for long distance transportation of
concrete

Advantages of Admixtures in Concrete

1. Modify the property of concrete.

2. Make concrete workable.
3. Accelerate or retards the fundamental setting.
4. Increases durability.
5. Reduces segregation and bleeding
6. Concrete produced by way of including admixture is pigmented, fungicide, germicides
and insecticidal.
7. To overcome emergencies during concreting working

Types of admixtures with some examples:

 Air entraining admixtures – salts of wood resins, some synthetic detergents, salts of petroleum
acids
 Plasticizers
 Water-reducing admixtures – lignosulfonates, hydroxylated carboxylic acids, etc.
 Accelerating admixtures – calcium chloride, sodium thiocyanate, etc.
 Retarding admixtures – lignin, borax, sugars, etc.
 Corrosion inhibitors, etc.
 Mineral admixtures.
 Grouting admixture
 Underwater concrete admixture
 Shrinkage reducer admixture