6/19/2023

AIR ENTRAINMENT IN CONCRETE

and
MIX DESIGN OF CONCRETE

By
Engr. Mustansar Hussain Jamali
Lecturer Civil Engineering Department
Balochistan University of Engineering and Technology
Khuzdar
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AIR ENTRAINMENT IN CONCRETE

Air entraining agents are used by themselves or teamed-up with

other concrete additives to enhance concrete properties. Such
as:

• Improve workability,

• Reduce bleeding, and

• Increase the freeze thaw resistance of concrete.

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AIR ENTRAINMENT IN CONCRETE

What is Air Entrainment in Cementitious Mixes?

Air entrainment is created by design. This process consists of producing air

bubbles within the concrete mix though mechanical agitation ( agitation refers to
forcing a fluid by mechanical means to flow ). But these are not common air
bubbles that are irregular and visible to the naked eye. Air entrained bubbles are
microscopic, innumerous, and spherical. Also, they have an evenly spaced
distribution. Entrained air bubbles usually maintain a distance of 0.25 mm between
each other. In addition, 4% to 6% of these well-distributed air bubbles can be
incorporated into cementitious mixtures.

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AIR ENTRAINMENT IN CONCRETE

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AIR ENTRAINMENT IN CONCRETE

Improve Workability of Concrete with an Air Entraining
Agent
• With air entrainment enabled, the air bubbles within the mixture
act as a lubricant within the concrete mix. Thus, increasing the
fluidity. The enhanced workability enables the mixture to be
pumped and transported to its intended location within the
construction site with better efficiency.

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AIR ENTRAINMENT IN CONCRETE

An Air-Entraining Agent can Decrease Bleeding of Water in Concrete

• In short, bleeding occurs when water rises to the surface of freshly poured concrete.

• Essentially, concrete is composed of four materials: cement, F.A, C.A and water.
Water is the only liquid and the least dense of these four ingredients. Thus, water that
was not absorbed into cement or sand tends to rise above the denser materials of the
mixture.

• Enabled by air-entraining agents, air bubbles increase the surface area water and
cement need to cover. The outcome is a more balanced mixture, which has less
water rising to the surface of freshly placed concrete.

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AIR ENTRAINMENT IN CONCRETE

• Increase Freeze Thaw Resistance by adding an Air Entraining Agent to the Concrete Mix Design

• Water can do amazing things for concrete, but it can also cause damage. Concrete that was not properly
prepared for climate variations can suffer from the extreme heat and cold. In regions where negative
temperatures occur, concrete needs to be able to resist the freeze thaw cycle.

• The main reason air-entraining agents are added to concrete mix design is to increase its freeze thaw
resistance. The air bubbles created through air entrainment act as “expansion chambers” for water. Why
does water need space to expand? Because frozen water occupies 9% more volume than water at room
temperature. If air entrainment did not happen, frozen water will make space for itself by creating
minuscule cracks within concrete. Over time, this repeated cycle of freezing and melting of water causes
micro fractures to become large-scale problems. Thus, by simply adding air-entraining agents to the
concrete mix design, the resistance to freeze thaw can be greatly increased.

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CONCRETE MIX DESIGN

• A concrete mix is a combination of five major elements in various
proportions: cement, water, coarse aggregates, fine aggregates (i.e. sand),
and air. Additional elements such as pozzolanic materials and chemical
admixtures can also be incorporated into the mix to give it certain
desirable properties. While a ready mix concrete design is a process of
selecting ingredients for a concrete mixture and deciding on their
proportions. When designing a mix, you should always consider the
desired strength, durability, and workability of the concrete for the project
in question.
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CONCRETE MIX DESIGN

• Concrete mix design is often mistakenly referred to as “cement

mix design.” However, cement is simply one of the ingredients
of concrete. It is a binding substance that allows concrete to set,
harden, and adhere to other materials. Therefore, it cannot and
should not be used interchangeably with concrete mix design.

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CONCRETE MIX DESIGN

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How to Design a Ready Mix Concrete

• In general, concrete mixes must follow the guidelines (ACI

Committee, 2009). A ready mix concrete can be designed using the
tables and calculations provided in the standard.

• All concrete mixes possess unique properties, the design process

can be time-consuming and challenging. The Concrete Hub app,
however, solves these challenges associated with creating a unique
ready mix concrete.

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Types of concrete mix

• Normal Performance Concrete

• A normal performance concrete mix has a performance strength

ranging between 20 and 40 MPa. It is the more used mix of the two.
Normal performance concrete has good workability if all of the mix
ingredients are in accurate proportions. When freshly mixed, the
concrete must be plastic or semi-fluid so that it can be molded.

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Types of concrete mix

• High-Performance Concrete

• A high-performance concrete mix has a performance strength above 40 MPa.

The main purpose of using high-performance concrete is to reduce the weight,
creep or permeability issues, and to improve the durability of the structure. Like
the normal performance concrete mix, this mix must be plastic or semi-fluid when
freshly mixed so that it can be molded.

• Because high-performance concrete has a high cement content, it is often sticky

and hard to be handled and placed. However, this does not cause the cement to
bleed, an issue that normal performance concrete might run into.

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Factors affecting concrete mix design

• Grade designation
• Choice of cement
• Choice of aggregate size
• Type of water
• Water to cement ratio
• Workability
• Durability

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THANKS

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