Chemical Admixtures for Concrete

SUPERPLASTICIZERS zge Andi akr, PhD

Superplasticizers: Definition
The superplasticizers are a special category of water-reducing agents in that they are formulated from materials that allow much greater water reductions, or alternatively extreme workability of concrete.

Superplasticizers: Main Benefits

They belong to a class of water reducers chemically different from the normal water reducers and capable of reducing water contents by about 30%. This is achieved without undesirable side effects such as excessive air entrainment or set retardation.

Chemistry
They are classified into four gropus: - sulfonated naphthalene formaldehydes (SNF), - sulfonated melamine-formaldehydes (SMF), - modified lignosulfonates (MLS), - others (sulfonic acid esters, polyacrylates, polystyrene sulfonates..) Blends of different superplasticizers have also been investigated.

Effects on the watercement system

Effect of superplasticizer on cement. A: Cement + water. B: Cement + water+ superplasticizer. (0.3% SMF )

Effects on the watercement system

Portland cement in contact with water has a tendency to flocculate due to; van der Waals forces, electrostatic interactions between the opposite charges, and surface chemical interactions between the hydrating particles. In the presence of superplasticizers, dispersion of cement particles occurs due to adsorption and electrostatic repulsion.

APPLICATIONS

Easy Placement
Superplasticized concrete enables placement in close reinforcement and in not easily accessible areas. Easy and quick placement characteristics of flowing concrete and the need for a little vibration make it suitable for placement many applications. Pumping of concrete will be much easier by the usage of superplasticizers.

Different Applications
Superplasticizers have also found successful application for placing concrete by tremie pipe, particularly in underwater locations. They have also been used for spray applications and for tunnel linings, and where special shapes are desired as in architectural work.

High Performance Concrete

Superplasticizers are used by the precast industry because strengths of the order of 40 MPa are achieved in 8 to 18 hrs, and the fuel costs and amount of cement used are reduced. They have also been used to produce concrete of strength of more than 100 MPa in combination with silica fume. Other important advantages include production of concrete with reduced permeability, improved surface finish, reduced shrinkage, and overall cost savings.

Other Benefits
The use of superplasticizers permits production of concrete at low w/c ratios and with good durability characteristics. Superplasticizers can be used advantageously in the production of fly ash concrete, blast furnace slag cement concrete, composites with various types of fibers and lightweight concrete.

Beware of..
Superplasticized concrete shows a high rate of slump loss. More investigations should be carried out on the compatibility between superplasticizers and other admixtures. Cement-superplasticizer compatibility is another problem. Though surface area, C3A, SO3, and alkali contents in cement seem to play a role in the action of superplasticizers on different cements, no definite trend has been established.

Beware of..
The proportions of cement, sand, aggregate, and the dosage of superplasticizer should be adjusted to avoid segregation. High flowing concrete generates more than normal pressures on the forms and hence they should be designed to withstand the greater pressures. Beyond a particular amount, the superplasticizer may produce undesirable effects such as bleeding, segregation, low strengths, and change in air entrainment characteristics in concrete.

Compatibility with Other Admixtures

Generally retarders, water reducers, accelerators, and air-entraining agents have been found to be compatible with superplasticizers. In some instances, the resulting effects are synergistic. It is, however, essential that each admixture combination should be evaluated before it can be practically utilized.

Methods of Using Superplasticizers

a. To produce concrete with very low water-tocement ratio. To achieve high strength concrete, water content of the mixture is reduced while maintaining the same cement content. The reduced workability is compensated for by incorporating superplasticizers. By this method, water reductions of up to 30% can be achieved and concretes with water-tocement ratios as low as 0.28 have been successfully placed.

Methods of Using Superplasticizers

b. To produce concrete with reduced cement content. Superplasticizers can be used to produce concretes with reduced cement contents while the water-to-cement ratio is maintained constant. As in method (a), the decrease in workability of concrete is compensated by incorporating superplasticizers.

Methods of Using Superplasticizers

c. To produce flowing concrete Superplasticizers have been used to produce self-compacting, self-leveling flowing concretes. In this application, no attempt is made to reduce either the water-to-cement ratio or the cement content. Instead, the aim is to increase the slump up to 75-200 mm without causing any segregation so that the concrete can be placed in heavily steel-reinforced sections.

Rheology of Superplasticized Systems

Superplasticizers reduce both the yield value and plastic viscosity of cement pastes. At higher dosages (for example 0.8% for SNF), the yield value approaches zero and the system becomes essentially Newtonian. The cement composition affects the rheological behavior of the system; There is a relationship between the amount of superplasticizer adsorbed on to the cement and the viscosity

EFFECT OF SUPERPLASTICIZERS ON FRESH CONCRETE PROPERTIES

Workability
The ability of the superplasticizers to increase the slump of concrete depends on the; type of the superplasticizer, dosage of the superplasticizer, time of addition of the superplasticizer, w/c ratio, nature and amount of cement, aggregate, temperature, etc. Generally, the superplasticizers are used at higher dosages than are conventional water reducing admixtures.

Workability- Type of s.plasticizer

The chemical nature of the superplasticizer determines its effectiveness in increasing the slump. For example, to obtain a slump of about 260 mm from an initial value of 50 mm, it may be necessary to add 0.6% SMF or MLS-based superplasticizer, whereas this could be accomplished with only 0.4% SNF.

Workability- Dosage of s.plasticizer

The dosage required to obtain a required slump depends on the initial slump: low slump mixes require higher dosages. At any particular initial slump, the slump value increases as the amount of s.plasticizer is increased.

Workability- Addition Time

The time when the superplasticizer is added to concrete affects the slump values. By adding the superplasticizer with the mixing water, the slump value is increased considerably. Even higher slump values are possible by the addition of the admixture a few minutes after the concrete is mixed with water. In the period from 5 minutes to 50 minutes after the concrete is in contact with water, addition of superplasticizer generally results in decreased slump values.

Workability-Cement Content
The cement content is also a factor that determines the slump values. Concretes containing 237, 326, and 415 kg/m3 of cement, exhibit slumps of 203, 222, and 254 mm, respectively, when using an SMF-type admixture. This trend is expected because, even in cement without an admixture, the mix becomes more fluid as the cement paste content is increased.

Workability- Temperature
In the temperature range of 5 to 30C, there is no drastic difference in the slump values attained by the addition of a superplasticizer.

Slump Loss
Higher than normal workability of concrete containing a superplasticizer is maintained generally for about 30-60 minutes, and this rapid decrease in slump is termed slump loss. Factors that determine slump loss are: initial slump value, type and amount of superplasticizer, type and amount of cement, addition time of the superplasticizer, humidity, temperature, mixing criteria, the presence of other admixtures in the mix.

Slump Loss- Addition Time

In order to control the slump loss, the superplasticizer may be added at the point of discharge of concrete. It is more desirable, for control purposes, to add the superplasticizer at the ready mix operations.

Slump Loss- Type of S.plasticizer

Among the superplasticiers types, SMF show the highest rate of slump loss, newer polyacrylate based materials show the lowest slump loss.

Slump Loss- Temperature

The loss of workability is lower at lower temperatures

How to deal with Slump Loss?

Several methods have been adopted to extend the slump retention such as addition of higher amounts of superplasticizer, use of a retarder, redosing with superplasticizer at different time intervals, use of coarser grained admixture, blends of admixtures, water soluble polymer addition, etc. Effect of redosing for SMF is given, similar results are obtained for SNFs.

Water Reduction
The amount of water reduction (15-35%) achievable with a particular superplasticizer depends on the dosage and the initial slump. There is evidence that, beyond a particular dosage, further water reduction is not possible. In all types of portland cements, water reduction occurs, but to different extents. Generally, water reduction increases with the increase in the cement content. The water reduction also depends on the type of superplasticizer.

Bleeding and Segregation

In a water-reduced superplasticized concrete, no problem with segregation or bleeding occurs. Generally, the bleeding decreases because of the decreased w/c ratio, When repeated dosages of superplasticizers are used to control the loss of slump, bleeding and segregation may occur if the repeated dosing exceeds two or three times.

Air Content
Superplasticizers based on SNF and lignosulfonates entrain some air in concrete. In fluidized concrete, the superplasticizer facilitates escape of some air. Typically 1-3% of air is lost. In the presence of lignosulfonate-based admixture, the air content may actually increase.

Setting Time
1. With a direct addition of superplasticizer to obtain highly workable concrete, initial and final setting times are increased in the order SMF < SNF < polyacrylates. At normal dosages this increase rarely exceeds two hours. 2. When the watercement ratio is reduced to give a similar slump to a control mix, the setting time is normally very similar to the control; perhaps a small decrease in the case of SMF and SNF and a slight increase in the case of polyacrylate-based materials, normally no greater than one hour either way.

EFFECT OF SUPERPLASTICIZERS ON HARDENED CONCRETE PROPERTIES

Strength Properties
For flowing concretes, when superplasticizers are added to concrete at the manufacturer's recommended dosages, the 28-day compressive strength of test cylinders cast from the superplasticized concrete are equal to or greater than the corresponding strength of cylinders cast from the reference mixture. This is true for cylinders cast with and without compaction by vibration, implying that concrete incorporating superplasticizers can be placed in forms without the need for mechanical compaction, resulting in considerable savings of time and money.

Strength Properties
If the superplasticizers are added to concrete to reduce its water content, the increase in mechanical properties, e.g., compressive and flexural strength and modulus of elasticity is generally in line with reductions in water-tocement ratio.

Strength Properties
Strength properties of high strength flowing concrete containing SMF made with 400kg/m3 ordinary PC concrete.

Strength Properties
The relationship between water cement ratio and compressive strength of concretes containing superplasticizers.

Shrinkage and Creep

Most of the studies in this area have indicated that superplasticized concrete has shrinkage and creep characteristics similar to plain concrete.

Redosing and Its Effects

To overcome the problem of rapid slump loss with time, a number of researchers have shown that large increases in slump of superplasticized concretes can be maintained for several hours by additional dosages, the amount of second and third dosage being the same as the initial. The strength of concrete does not decrease by the use of repeated dosages. The changes in the strength values are a direct reflection of the changes in the entrained air content. The concept of repeated dosages is especially suited for hot climates where rapid slump loss can occur during transportation.

EFFECT OF SUPERPLASTICIZERS ON DURABILITY OF CONCRETE

Durability
Freezethaw resistance, sulfate resistance and corrosion rate of concrete does not appear to be adversely affected in the presence of superplasticizers.

Any Questions?

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