COMPATIBILITY ANALYSIS OF CEMENT WITH SUPER-PLASTICIZER

Abstract

Super-plasticizers have made concrete to reach very high strength and fluidity. Apart from the multitude of chemical admixtures, a number of different types and brands of cement are also available in the market today. With the increasing number of types and brands of cement, as well as variants of the water-reducing chemicals, there are issues that arise related to the compatibility between these two ingredients of concrete. Consequence upon the above; various manufacturers from both the fields have emerged with wide variety of products to serve different purposes of clients of construction world. Admixtures with many desirable characteristics to serve varied requirements are available in market has created confusion among the users, as there are varied cements with different composition. The cement composition and its properties vary broadly in the world; it has not become an easy task for admixture manufacturer to ‘match’ its brand products with any specific type of cement. At the same time, no cement manufacturer suggests any specific brand of admixture, which will be most suitable and compatible with their product. As such, it has become very tedious job for users/ clients to select the appropriate combination of cement and admixture to serve his purpose. Moreover, during the use of super-plasticizers in concrete, there may exist some problems of incompatibility of cement- super-plasticizer; irregularity of slump and loss in workability. Therefore, it becomes an essential part that each admixture combination with cement should be evaluated before it can be practically utilized. All the above problems create a need for research and test of various super-plasticizers with the renowned brands of cement. This study is a step to determine the solution against this difficulty to select the most efficient couple of cement- super-plasticizer. The cement or super-plasticizer compatibility has not yet been thoroughly understood. Most users apply a trial-and-error approach to these chemicals, often resulting in an unfortunate negative experience and/or low cost-effectiveness, which produce a bias against admixtures in general. This is basically due to an incomplete understanding. Up to now, there have been very few incentives to invest time, effort and money to solve this kind of problem. This study will provide ready to use data and reference to the industries and construction world.