Admixtures are those ingredients in concrete other

than Portland cement, water, and aggregates that

are added to the mixture immediately before or

during mixing.
 Why Are They Used?
• To modify properties of fresh & hardened
concrete.
• To ensure the quality of concrete during
mixing, transporting, placing & curing.
• To overcome certain unexpected emergencies
during concrete operations (ie, set retarders).
• One must remember that addition of excess
water, will only improve the fluidity or the
consistency but not the workability of
concrete.
 Effectiveness

• Factors effecting results of use:

– Type & amount of cement:
• Chemistry effects due to Portland components
– Water content & Slump
• Flowability will effect how well admixtures are
activated due to internal agitation actitivity
– Mixing time
• Effects of admixtures are dependent on time allowed
to react.
 Beneficial effects of admixtures on concrete properties

Concrete property Admixture

Workability‡ Super plasticizer

‡Air-entraining agents

Setting Accelerators
‡Retarders

Strength Silica fume

‡Polymers

Durability Air-entraining agent

‡Silica fume
‡Corrosion inhibitors
 Advantages of use of admixtures
• In the fresh state
1. Increases workability reducing the slump loss.
2. High strength through reduced waste to cement ratio.
3. Improves rheology by controlling segregation and bleeding .
4. Accelerates or retards the setting time as per requirement.
5. Improves freeze thaw resistance .
6. facilitates high early strength/performance of the concrete.
 Advantages of use of admixtures
• In Hardened state
1. Retards or reduces heat evolution.
2. Early strength development
3. Increases durability
4. decreases permeability
5. Improves impact and abrasion resistance
6. Inhibits corrosion of steel
 Reasons for using admixtures

1. To reduce the cost of concrete construction

2. To achieve certain properties in concrete more
effectively than by other means
3. To maintain the quality of concrete during the stages
of mixing, transporting, placing, and curing in
adverse weather conditions
4. To overcome certain emergencies during concreting
operations
 Classification of admixtures based on usage
1. Accelerating
2. Retarding
3. Water Reducing
4. Air Entraining
5. Waterproofing
6. Pumping
7. Super plasticizers
8. Corrosion inhibitors
9. Miscellaneous such workability, bonding, damp
proofing, permeability reducing, grouting, gas-
forming, and pumping admixtures
 Classification of admixtures based on usage

8. Shrinkage reducers
9. Alkali-silica reactivity inhibitors
10. Colouring admixtures
11. Miscellaneous admixtures such workability,
bonding, damp proofing, permeability reducing,
grouting, gas-forming, and pumping admixtures
 Accelerating Admixtures

• Purpose
• Permit early removal of formwork.
• reduce time required for curing.
• reduce the time required to structure be in use.
• In emergency repair work.
 Accelerating Admixtures

• They are added to t he concrete to either to

increase the rate of early strength
development or to shorten the time of setting
or both.
• Typical Materials are:
– Calcium chloride: most commonly used for plain
concrete. ( should be avoided) leads corrosion
– Triethanolamine.
– Calcium formate.
– Calcium nitrate.
– Calcium nitrite.
 Accelerating Admixtures

• Use of chloride free accelerators

1. Faster setting.
2. High early strength.
3. Faster rate of strength development.
4. reduced loss of final strength.
5. ability of apply large thickness up to 300 mm at
one time.
6. better durability.
 Retarding Admixtures

• The typical materials used as retarders are:

– Lignin,
– Borax,
– Sugars, ( 0.05 % by wt leads to 4 hours retardation and 0.2
% to 1% sugar virtually prevents setting )
– Tartaric acid and salts.
– Carbohydrates,
– Soluble zinc salts
– soluble zinc borates
–
 Retarding Admixtures

• Used to retard the rate of setting of concrete at high

temperatures of fresh concrete (30°C or more).
• One of the most practical methods of counteracting this
effect is to reduce the temperature of the concrete by
cooling the mixing water or the aggregates.
• Retarders do not decrease the initial temperature of
concrete.
• The bleeding rate and capacity of plastic concrete is
increased with retarders.
 Retarding Admixtures

• Some reduction in strength at early ages (one to three

days) accompanies the use of retarders.
• The effects of these materials on the other properties
of concrete, such as shrinkage, may not be predictable.
• Therefore, acceptance tests of retarders should be
made with actual job materials under anticipated job
conditions.
• Usually it is observed that rate of strength development is normal.
 Retarding Admixtures

• Retarders are used to:

1. offset the accelerating effect of hot weather on
the setting of concrete,
2. delay the initial set of concrete when difficult or
unusual conditions of placement occur,
3. delay the set for special finishing processes such as
an exposed aggregate surface.
 Water-Reducing Admixtures
The basic products constituting plasticizers are as follows:
• (i ) Anionic surfactants such as lignosulphonates and their
modifications and
• derivatives, salts of sulphonates hydrocarbons.
• (ii ) Nonionic surfactants, such as polyglycol esters, acid of
hydroxylated carboxylic
• acids and their modifications and derivatives.
• (iii ) Other products, such as carbohydrates etc.
• Materials:
• Lignosulfonates. (natural product derived from wood processing
industries)
– Carbohydrates.
– Hydroxylated carboxylic acids.
 Plasticizers

 Consist of Ca, Na or NH4 salts of lignosulfonic acid, Na, NH4 or

triethanolamine salts, hydroxycarboxylic acid, and
carbohydrates.

 Flowing concrete is defined as a concrete having a slump

greater than 190 mm yet maintaining cohesive properties.

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 Plasticizers – Mechanism of action

 Growth of hydration products will cause stiffness and LOSS OF

WORKABILITY

Addition
of water

 Attractive forces between cement grains will give flocculation

with LOSS OF FLUIDITY
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 Plasticizers
 60% of admixtures are dispersing admixtures – plasticizers,
super plasticizers and hyper plasticizers.

 Plasticizer (Water reducers): 15% > Water reduction > 5%

 Dosage: 0.2% to 0.6% of cement.

 Ligno-sulphonate: Natural polymer from wood, after

removal of sugar.

 Poly-carboxilate: Ether based plasticizer.

 Used for: Low to medium slump concrete.

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 Plasticizers
Dispersant
molecules

Reaction

Cement
particles

 Dispersion caused by electrostatic repulsion decrease of the

W/C ratio
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 Plasticizers
 Lignosulfonates containing (OH), (COOH) and (SO3H) groups
are more widely used than others.

 Gluconic acid-based admixtures are used extensively.

Carbohydrates include glucose, sucrose or hydroxylated
polymers obtained by partial hydrolysis of saccharides.

 Hydroxycarboxylic acids such as citric acid, tartaric acid,

salicylic acid, heptonic acid, saccharic acid and gluconic acid-
based admixtures contain (OH) and (COOH) groups.

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 Plasticizers

The effect of certain

plasticizers in increasing
workability or making
flowing concrete is
short-lived, 30 to 60
minutes; this period is
followed by a rapid loss
in workability or slump
loss

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 Action of Plasticizers

 Fluidity the mix.

 Improve the workability of concrete, mortar or grout.

 Rheological characteristics of cement water paste is related to

the forces of attractions and repulsions.

• Dispersion (Portland cement, being in fine state of division, will have a tendency
to
• flocculate in wet concrete. These flocculation entraps certain amount of water used in
the mix
• and thereby all the water is not freely available to fluidity the mix

 Retarding Effect
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 Plasticizers – Dispersion Mechanism

 OPC – general tendency to flocculate in wet concrete.

 Flocculation – entraps water used in the mix, all water is not

freely available for fluidifying the mix

 Plasticizer addition – adsorbed on cement particles, results in

repulsive forces between particles thereby overcoming the
attractive forces. Cement particles are dispersed/deflocculated.

 Moreover, in the flocculated state, inter-particle friction exists.

 In the dispersed state, due to presence of water in between the

particles, the inter-particle friction is reduced.
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Plasticizers – Dispersion Mechanism

Flocculation and Dispersion of Cement Particles

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 Plasticizers – Retarding Effect

 Reduction in surface tension of water.

 Induced electrostatic repulsion between cement particles.

 Lubricating film between cement particles.

 Dispersion of cement grains, releasing water trapped with flocs.

 Change in the morphology of the hydration products.

 The quantity of available plasticizers progressively decreases as

the polymers get trapped in the hydration products.

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 Plasticizers – Effectiveness
Effectiveness is measured in %age of water reduction for a dosage.

 If 180 kg. of water is required for a certain slump (w/o

admixture) and a certain admixture can reduce water by 20%,
then same slump can be obtained with 154 kg water

 Vice versa, what should be dosage of admixture for getting a

reduction of 15% in water use in concrete.

 Typically an initial slump in the range 25-75 mm can be

increased by 50-60 mm.

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 Super plasticizers (High-Range Water Reducers)

• Applications where flowing concrete is used:

1. thin-section placements,
2. areas of closely spaced and congested reinforcing steel,
3. pumped concrete to reduce pump pressure, thereby
increasing lift and distance capacity,
4. areas where conventional consolidation methods are
impractical or can not be used, and
5. for reducing handling costs.
 Super plasticizers (High-Range Water Reducers)
Superplasticizers can produce:
• " at the same w/c ratio much more workable
concrete than the plain ones,
• " for the same workability, it permits the use of
lower w/c ratio,
• " as a consequence of increased strength with
lower w/c ratio, it also permits a
• reduction of cement content.
 Site Problems in the use of Superplasticizers
Some of the practical site problems in the use of Superplasticizers are listed below:
1. " Slump of reference mix. (i.e., concrete without plasticizer)
2. " Inefficient laboratory mixer for trial.
3. " Sequence of addition of plasticizer.
4. " Problem with crusher dust.
5. " Problem with crushed sand.
6. " Importance of shape and grading of coarse aggregate.
7. " Compatibility with cement.
8. " Selection of plasticizer and Superplasticizers.
9. " Determination of dosage.
10. " Slump loss.
11. " How to reduce slump loss.
12. " Casting of cubes.
13. " Compaction at site.
14. " Segregation and bleeding.
15. " Finishing.
16. " Removal of form work.
 Superplasticizers vs Plasticizers
Plasticizers Superplasticizers
Main Lignosulphonat Melamine Condensates (SMF)
Constituent es Naphthelene condensates
Selected (SNF)
carbohydrates Modified lignosulfonates
(MLS)
Acrylic Polymers (CAEC)
Typical Dose 0.3 to 0.5% 0.6 to 1.6%
Cost 2 times cost of Plasticizer
Not economic for cement cost
savings
Overdose Retardation Little effect till 2x overdose.
Air Without water reduction, mix
entrainment may segregate.
Water 8 to 15% 16 to 30%+
Reduction
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Flow able concrete with high slump
Is easily placed
Even in areas of heavy reinforcing steel congestion
• Low water to cement
ratio concrete with low
chloride permeability---
easily made with high-
range water reducers- is
ideal for bridge decks
• Plasticized, flowing
concrete is easily placed
in thin sections
 Air-Entraining Admixtures
• Air-entraining admixtures cause small stable bubbles of air to form
uniformly through a concrete mix. The bubbles are mostly below 1
mm diameter with a high proportion below 0.3 mm. The benefits
of entraining air in the concrete include increased resistance to
freeze-thaw degradation, increased cohesion (resulting in less
bleed and segregation) and improved compaction in low-
workability mixes.
• The volume of air entrained depends on the application and the
mix design. After mixing, air can be lost during transport and
pumping. Allowance should be made for this so that the correct
level of air is obtained in the hardened concrete. This may mean
testing at the point of discharge rather than at the batching plant.
Air entrainment reduces the density of the mix and increases yield.
This needs to be taken into account when batching and mixing .
 Air-Entraining Admixtures
• For every 1% of additional air entrained, concrete strength
will fall by around 5%. At normal air entrainment levels, most
other properties of the concrete including drying shrinkage
and creep are not significantly affected.
• The main reason for using entrained air is to improve freeze-
thaw and scaling resistance and so prolong service life. The
improved cohesion and compaction can also enhance quality
and durability.
• Used to purposely introduce and stabilize microscopic air
bubbles in concrete. Air-entrainment will dramatically
improve the durability of concrete exposed to cycles of
freezing and thawing .Entrained air greatly improves
concrete's resistance to surface scaling caused by chemical
de-icers
Frost damage at joints of a pavement
Frost induced cracking near joints
Scaled concrete
surface resulting
from lack of air
entrainment, poor
finishing and curing
practices
• Air entraining agents
The following types of air entraining agents are
used for making air entrained concrete.
( a ) Natural wood resins
( b ) Animal and vegetable fats and oils, such as
tallow, olive oil and their fatty acids such as stearic
and oleic acids.
( c ) Various wetting agents such as alkali salts or
sulphated and sulphonated organic compounds.
( d ) Water soluble soaps of resin acids, and animal
and vegetable fatty acids.
( e ) Miscellaneous materials such as the sodium
salts of petroleum sulphonic acids, hydrogen
peroxide and aluminium powder, etc.
Corrosion Inhibitors
 Corrosion Inhibitors

• The chlorides can cause corrosion of steel

reinforcement in concrete.
• Ferrous oxide and ferric oxide form on the
surface of reinforcing steel in concrete.
• Ferrous oxide reacts with chlorides to form
complexes that move away from the steel to
form rust. The chloride ions continue to attack
the steel until the passivating oxide layer is
destroyed.
 Corrosion Inhibitors

• Corrosion-inhibiting admixtures chemically arrest the

corrosion reaction.
• Commercially available corrosion inhibitors include:
– calcium nitrite,
– sodium nitrite,
– dimethyl ethanolamine,
– amines,
– phosphates,
– ester amines.
 Shrinkage-Reducing Admixtures

• Shrinkage cracks, such

as shown on this bridge
deck, can be reduced
with the use of good
concreting practices and
shrinkage reducing
admixtures.