CONSTRUCTION CHEMICALS
The battle against hydration
Dave Beresford of Sika focuses on how
concrete workability retention times
can be increased and why we need to
constantly strive to improve in this area.
here are many parameters that are important
In basic terms,
T in the design and formulation of ready-mixed
concrete and one of the most important and
difficult to achieve is workability retention. Contractors
increasing need concrete as workable as possible to aid placement
carboxylate and consolidation without compromising strength or
functionality durability when hardened. Producers constantly look
increases the to manufacture and deliver a consistent material that
complies with the workability specified from point of
absorption onto
production to the point of placement, while still meeting
the cement all other performance requirements.
particles and When the constituents of concrete are mixed
increases the together, the water reacts with the Portland cement and
workability hydration begins. This process affects the rheology and,
retention. in turn, the workability of the concrete. This retention
of the appropriate initial rheological properties for the
time required to transport, place and finish concrete is a
real challenge faced daily by the industry.
Why workability retention is so important
When water is added to Portland cement, a rapid initial
hydration reaction begins, holding all the composite
materials together and creating a crystal structure
between the particles, binding the mix and preventing
Relationship between
water/cement ratio and segregation. After this initial reaction has occurred,
compressive strength. there is little further formation of hydrates for typically
16 concrete MARCH 2012 www.concrete.org.uk
two to three hours. The exact time is dependent on
cement type and ambient temperatures. This period is
termed the dormant period and is the time in which the
concrete is workable and can successfully be placed and
finished. It is generally agreed that workability retention
can be defined as the ability of the concrete to maintain
its consistency level throughout this dormant period.
With an ever-changing climate and overburdened
road network, it is vital to have a maintained consistence
over longer periods. Delays due to traffic jams and other
associated issues mean that extended workability is
essential for almost all concretes. If concrete arrives
on-site and does not meet the specification, it can
be returned causing problems for both contractor
and producer. The producer would be burdened with
disposal costs and potential claims from the contractor
and could face problems with other customers waiting
to receive concrete on that same day. The contractor
could face an over-run in construction times, causing a
knock-on effect across other trades and again be hit with
costly penalties from the client.
Due to limits in space and current economic
constraints, engineers and architects are designing
taller buildings and contractors are looking to reduce
the time it takes to carry out the concreting phase of
projects, so limiting costs. Larger pours are scheduled,
reducing the number of man hours and increasing the
use of pumped concretes. This change in the method
of construction again lends itself to greatly extended
concrete workability. Larger pours do reduce time and
man hours and do save money but they also increase
the chances of cold joints being formed. Cold joints
are formed when fresh concrete is placed onto existing
concrete that has already passed initial set, preventing
homogenisation into a single monolith. Cold joints
can again cause huge cost to all parties involved in the
construction process.
Coupled with these extra demands, due to economic
pressures, producers have reduced their capabilities as a
result of plant closures, which has increased road miles
and journey times, again requiring much extended
periods of workability.
Without the correct level of retention, concrete may
need to be retempered on-site and this process of adding
water and reworking can lead to an increase in the
water/cement ratio, reducing strength and durability.
Producers in the past tried to manage workability loss
by starting from a much higher consistence but this can
reduce the efficiency of the concrete by increasing the
cement content and have an impact on costs/margins
and ultimately the environment. So how can retention
be increased and limit the problems discussed above?
Engineering concrete
performance using admixtures
There are many ways in which workability retention
can be increased but this article will concentrate on the
methods associated with admixtures. Over two millennia
ago the Romans were altering the properties of
cement-based materials to enhance performance using
admixtures such as blood, used animal fat, milk and
horse hair. Skip forward two millennia and admixtures
in modern concretes, specifically low- and high-range
water reducers, have become ubiquitous. The three most
common admixtures used to increase retention are:
 CONSTRUCTION CHEMICALS

Graph showing the

potential consistency
retention times of a
concrete that can be
achieved using a product
from the Sika ViscoFlow
range.

retarders, plasticisers and superplasticisers. The latter structure and number of polyether side chains affects
two might seem strange choices as their primary the dispersion power (water reduction). The side chains
functions are to increase fluidity or reduce water act as a physical barrier between the cement particles
demand but they can exert secondary retention effects and significantly reduce flocculation by the mode of
within the plastic concrete. action known as steric hindrance.
Using this method to increase workability retention
Retarders is widely accepted as optimum as these chemicals are
Compounds commonly used as the basis of retarders are engineered for specific
generally based on phosphates, sugars or carbohydrates cement chemistries and
and their derivatives. are also less prone to other
The setting mechanisms of cements are not yet fully externalities.
understood and this has an impact on understating A good example of this
how retarding admixtures work. It is believed that after can be seen when using
absorption onto the cement particle they form a physical Sika ViscoFlow 1000, which
film or barrier and act as a blocking mechanism, slowing is engineered to have high
the formation of the crystal hydrates. levels of water reduction
The major problems with using retarders as a way and also increased stability
to increase slump retention are their susceptibility to and extended workability
changes in temperature. Even a small change of 5C can retention.
have a huge impact on retardation levels.
Demanding battle
Plasticisers The fight against
There are many different chemicals that can be used hydration is one of the
to plasticise concrete but lignosulfonates are the most truly demanding battles
commonly adopted by the industry. They are water- in concrete production
soluble anionic polyelectrolytes, by-products of sulfite and transportation. As
bleaching during paper manufacturing, which act on the economic and environmental
surface of cement particles. Their primary function is to pressures increase, along
uniformly disperse cement particles using the action of with limitations on space
electrostatic repulsion. and reduced capacities,
Lignosulfonates, depending on the level of refinement more technically demanding
and reprocessing, contain different levels of natural projects become the norm
sugars. At higher doses these natural sugars determine and increased retentions are
the level of retardation but again changes in ambient vital.
temperature can significantly impact the time hydration With continued
is retarded. investment in admixture
R&D, this battle will be
Superplasticisers won, allowing even more
There are many chemicals that can be used as demanding specifications
superplasticisers but the must commonly adopted are and technically advanced
polycarboxylate ethers. Their basic structure consists concretes to be produced.
of a carboxylate backbone with attached polyether side
chains. Unlike older generations of superplasticisers Concrete containing
Sika admixtures being
based on sulfonated melamine and naphthalene
successfully pumped to a
formaldehydes, these polymers can be chemically high-rise floor slab.
engineered with extreme precision to have different
levels of dispersion and workability retention.
In basic terms, increasing carboxylate functionality
increases the absorption onto the cement particles
and increases the workability retention. Changing the
www.concrete.org.uk MARCH 2012 concrete 17