Part 2 of a 4-part series

Air bubbles in fresh concrete

By Ken Hover

Obtain and retain bubbles for effective air-void system in hardened concrete

The small air bubbles that improve

frost resistance in hardened concrete
are formed in the ready mix truck or
central mixer during mixing. Air-en-
training admixtures make the air bub-
bles stable while the concrete is trans-
ported, placed, and consolidated.

blended with a salt that is attracted to

ir bubbles added to fresh
bubbles than the air trapped as the
water. The most common resin comes
from boiling down the stumps of pine
trees. Because this material has so lit-
tle attraction for water it is known
chemically as a very insoluble resin, or
commonly by its original trade name,
Vinsol Resin. Other oils and resins are
used, mostly by-products from the

A concrete improve workabili-

ty and frost resistance. Frost-
resistant concrete requires an
adequate number and volume of
closely spaced, microscopic air voids.
This is best accomplished with a
minimum total air content and mini-
mum impact on strength provided
by a fine gradation of air voids. A
desirable air-void system is devel-
oped when bubbles formed during
the mixing process are stabilized
through the use of an air-entraining
admixture. Concrete’s total air con-
tent can increase or decrease during
handling and placing, but most
changes occur to the coarser bubbles.
How does the air get there?
Air voids form when concrete hard-
ens around bubbles in the fresh mix.
Air bubbles are trapped in fresh con-
crete during mixing, handling, and
placing. The uniform, repeated action
of a ready mix truck or central mixer
traps smaller and more uniform air
concrete is placed into the forms. The
amount of air incorporated by mixing
depends on the fluidity of the concrete,
and on the mechanics of the mixing
and tumbling action. Mixing action not
only puts air into the fresh concrete but
knocks air out as well. The trick is to
create and retain bubbles of the right
size, shape, and number.
Air-entraining admixtures
Many mistakenly think that air-en-
training admixtures create or gener-
ate air bubbles just by being added to
the mix. However, these inexpensive
but effective chemicals are detergents
with no ability to make air bubbles.
Instead, they stabilize bubbles creat-
ed and trapped in the mixing
process. They work at the surface be-
tween air and water, with one end of
the molecule attracted into the mix
water, and the other end repelled by
the water and sticking up into the air.
An air-entraining admixture is an
organic oil or resin that repels water,
paper and petroleum industries.
Air-entraining admixtures spread
out on the surface of the mix water
and become the linings or “walls” of
the bubbles as the water surface folds
over itself during mixing. Mixing
splits many of the largest bubbles into
smaller, less fragile ones. Without an
air-entraining admixture, the strong
surface tension of the water causes the
large bubbles to collapse. Also, many
bubbles would do what comes natu-
rally to air bubbles in water: rise and
be lost from the concrete. The ends of
the admixture molecules that are at-
tracted to water and form the outside
(or water-side) of the bubble wall also
are attracted to the cement and fine
sand grains. This linkage prevents the
loss of many bubbles. In addition to
this chemical anchorage, many bub-
bles are blocked from rising by coarse
and fine aggregates. The air-entrain-
ing admixture also reduces the ten-
dency for smaller bubbles to combine
into larger, less effective bubbles.
 The admixture effectiveness in sta-
bilizing a good air bubble system de-
pends on many factors. In fact, the
characteristics of the air bubbles in
the concrete delivered to the site de-
pend on the air-entraining and other
admixtures, the mix proportions,
mixing equipment and procedures,
and mix temperatures. The dosage of
air-entraining admixture depends on
the cement chemistry and fineness,
and on the cement factor, water con-
tent, and water chemistry. In one ex-
periment, the total air content more
than doubled when the same dose of
admixture was used with two differ-
ent cements. Also, it can be difficult
Some air bubbles can break when con-
crete drops from a bucket. At the same
time, large air bubbles and pockets can
be trapped.
to establish a good air content when
using hard mix water with some air-
entraining admixtures.
Admixture effectiveness depends
on the chemistry of the cement and
water, as well as that of the other
chemical and mineral admixtures.
Admixtures that modify the surface
of the cement grains either can change
the required admixture dosage or af-
fect the stability of the air-void system
by interfering with the bubble attach-
ments to the cement. For example,
water reducers, superplasticizers, and
air-entraining admixtures often are
used as a powerful combination to
make strong, durable concrete. The
air-void system resulting from this
combination can be sensitive to the
order in which chemicals are intro-
duced into the batch, as well as to the
composition of each admixture. Ask
admixture manufacturers for specific
recommendations and information on
product compatibility.
As another example, the organic
nature of the molecules in air-en-
training admixtures makes them
strongly attracted to carbon. There-
fore, carbon impurities from cement
or fly ash in the mix can tie up a lot
of the admixture, leaving less avail-
able to stabilize bubbles. Adjust-
ments can be made without much
difficulty if the carbon content is fair-
ly uniform from batch to batch.
Aggregates make a difference as
well, with increased amounts of sand
in the No. 30 to No. 50 sieve range
important for improving bubble sta-
bility. Changes to the sand batch
weight or gradation can change the
total air content and gradation of the
air bubbles. Finer air-void gradations
are stable in lower water-cement-ra-
tio mixes, which is good news for
casting dense, durable concrete.
Total water content, and particu-
larly added water, can have a strong
influence on air content. Air content
increases when water is added to in-
crease workability onsite. This is
largely because the increased worka-
bility allows a better blending action
and capture of air bubbles in the mix-
er. For this reason, the mixing equip-
ment and mixing procedures are im-
portant. Clean, sharp mixer blades
lead to a better mixing and tumbling
action so more air is gulped into the
fresh concrete with every turn of the
drum. Generally, more air is incorpo-
rated at faster drum speeds.
Adding water to concrete also al-
lows air-entraining admixture not yet
attached to bubbles to come into play.
Because air bubbles exist in water,
more water usually means more bub-
bles for the admixture to stabilize.
Temperature is important in devel-
oping and maintaining effective air-
void systems, especially in hot weath-
er. Effectiveness of some admixtures
depends on water temperature, and
warmer concrete may lose air bubbles
more easily.
Vibration removes large air bubbles and
pockets trapped during placement. The
volume of air bubbles removed depends
on the mix, the vibrator, and distance of
the bubbles from the vibrator head.
Most air-entraining admixtures sta-
bilize the air-void system after a few
minutes of mixing. Differences in air
content can be observed with the
same materials depending on type of
mixer (central or ready mix), haul
time, and relative duration of mixing
and agitating periods. When varia-
tions from mixing equipment and ef-
fects of slump loss are included, it is
not surprising to find a considerable
variation in air content with essential-
ly the same materials, all in a day’s
operation. If the air-entraining admix-
ture gains effectiveness with mixing
time, measured air contents vary sig-
nificantly depending on when the
concrete is sampled and tested. This
is particularly true for transit-mixed
concrete that arrives at the site after a
short haul time, but sits for some time
before discharge. The hardened con-
crete air content may be higher than
indicated by initial testing, especially
when water is added.
How handling affects air voids
By including air-entraining admix-
tures in a good concrete mix and fol-
lowing sound batching, mixing, and
transporting practices, it’s possible to
deliver concrete with an acceptable
air bubble system to the jobsite. This
is verified by sampling the concrete
as delivered, before modification of
the material by adding water, plac-
ing, or handling. After the concrete
has been discharged, fine, effective
air voids are rarely created. Howev-
er, construction operations can create
coarser, less-effective bubbles and
lose small and large bubbles.
During handling, placing, consoli-
dating, and finishing some additional
air probably will be trapped in the
fresh concrete. Some of this extra air
will be lost, along with some air
trapped during mixing. The air content
and air-void system in the hardened
concrete is the result of the air bubbles
developed in mixing at the time of dis-
charge, and subsequent gains or losses.
ASTM C 231, the standard test
method for measuring air content by
the pressure method, warns that the
air content measured in hardened
concrete may be “higher or lower
than” the air content measured in
fresh concrete. One problem in esti-
Air bubbles developed in mixing
Air bubbles gained in handling
Air bubbles lost in handling
Air voids in hardened concrete
mating volume and characteristics of
the air-void system in hardened con-
crete is that changes to air bubbles
during handling are far less uniform
and predictable than the develop-
ment of air bubbles during mixing.
Handling and placing. Concrete
may acquire large air bubbles and
pockets as it drops off the truck chute
or is placed by bucket into the forms.
These voids increase the total air vol-
ume, but have essentially no value in
increasing frost resistance, and will be
detrimental to concrete strength,
porosity, and water-tightness. The pur-
pose of consolidating fresh concrete by
vibration is to reduce the likelihood
that large voids remain in hardened
concrete. If concrete is consolidated
uniformly and thoroughly, most air
pockets and some large bubbles devel-
oped during mixing will be removed
or broken into smaller bubbles.
Handling and placing operations
also can knock bubbles out of the
concrete mix. Air bubbles can break
when vibrated or impacted, and both
can happen as a result of shaking or
dropping the concrete. Dropping the
concrete vertically, from a bucket or
through a tremie, elephant trunk, or
vertical pipe of a concrete pump, can
reduce the air content by 11⁄2%. Others
have evaluated the air loss resulting
from free fall in a steeply descending
concrete pump pipeline (Ref. 1).
Dropping the concrete through a wall
or column form without use of an
elephant trunk may cause even more
air loss as the concrete crashes against
the forms and rebar. Air loss general-
ly is greater in mixes with a higher
water content, since bubbles are lost
more easily from fluid mixes.
Fortunately, the larger or coarser
bubbles are most likely to break and
be lost during handling. Their limit-
ed contribution to frost resistance is
outweighed by their detrimental in-
fluence on strength and density. Un-
fortunately, the loss of a few large air
bubbles can be recorded as a signifi-
cant decrease in total air content, al-
though a large number of fine bub-
bles may remain to provide adequate
frost protection.
Consolidation. Concrete is con-
solidated to remove pockets and larg-
er bubbles trapped primarily during
placing. Vibration accomplishes this
in at least two ways. First, it liquefies
the concrete in a small zone around
the vibrator head, breaking the fric-
tion between aggregate particles, and
giving the bubbles a clearer path to
the surface. With the aggregates tem-
porarily out of the way, buoyant bub-
bles rise and appear at the surface
just before they break. Other bubbles
are removed during consolidation be-
cause the vibrator causes them to ex-
pand and contract. Low-frequency
vibration can cause the larger bubbles
to expand and contract until they
break, in some cases creating smaller,
more stable bubbles. As frequencies
get successively higher, the size bub-
ble that can be broken by this mecha-
nism gets smaller.
Since the effects of vibration are
limited to a small zone around the
vibrator head, changes in the air-
void system vary with distance from
the point of vibrator insertion. For a
11⁄2- or 2-inch vibrator, the influence
on the air-void system may be negli-
gible at 8 or 10 inches from the head,
while dramatic losses in air content
may be measured at the point of in-
sertion (Ref. 2). When comparing the
air-void system of hardened concrete
with measurements of air content
made at the truck chute, the location
of the cores relative to the points of
vibrator insertion can make a lot of
difference.
Finishing. Air voids can be re-
moved from the concrete at the sur-
face as a result of over-finishing. Air
bubbles appear, then break, as the fin-
ishing tool makes a pass. This is easier
to see with wetter mixes. There may
be little harm in losing the coarser and
less effective bubbles, but as succes-
sively finer bubbles are lost through
over-finishing, frost resistance decreas-
es in the exposed concrete surface.
References
1. James Yingling, Gary M. Mullings,
and Richard D. Gaynor, “Loss of Air
Content in Pumped Concrete,” Con-
crete International, October 1992, Vol.
14, No. 10, pp. 57-61.
2. M. J. Simon, R. B. Jenkins, and K. H.
Hover, “The Influence of Immersion Vi-
bration on the Air Void System of Hard-
ened Concrete,” Durability of Concrete,
Proceedings of the Idorn Symposium,
ACI SP-131, 1992, pp. 99-126.
Ken Hover is a professor of civil engi-
neering at Cornell University, Ithaca,
N.Y. He also is a Fellow of the Ameri-
can Concrete Institute and chairman
of ACI Committee 308 on Curing.
This is the second article of a four-
part series on air entrainment in con-
crete. The first article “Why is There
Air in Concrete?” appeared in the
January issue (pp. 11-15). Part 3 will
discuss testing fresh and hardened
concrete to evaluate the air-void sys-
tem, and Part 4 will suggest practi-
cal specifications.
PUBLICATION #C930148
Copyright © 1993, The Aberdeen Group
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