If developing concrete were easy, the world wouldn’t need professionals to tackle the job. However, a big problem facing some in the industry is cement-admixture incompatibility.
For the record, when discussing admixtures, we’re referring to air-entraining admixtures, water-reducing admixtures, plasticizers, accelerating admixtures, retarding admixtures, hydration-control admixtures, corrosion inhibitors, shrinkage reducers, alkali-silica reactivity inhibitors, coloring admixtures and other miscellaneous admixtures.
Here are two of the best methods for approaching any compatibility issues in your products.
Delay adding admixture
Research shows that waiting until water and cement have effectively mixed before the addition of admixture produces a more favorable chemical reaction. Waiting decreases the likelihood of the admixture dissolving in the mixing water. If admixture dissolves in mixing water, which the final product will have workability loss.
Run trial mixtures
If you’re not testing your batches before official runs, you’re setting your company up for failure. When using admixtures, test your mixture recipe by running a trial in the conditions you anticipate having for the job. This includes making considerations for temperature and humidity. While these variables are often difficult to predict, the optimum performance of your concrete depends on the outcomes of these tests.
You should also retain samples of your concrete products for performance specifications organized by method and materials used, in addition to frequently verifying the quality of the ingredients you’re using in your batches. A subpar ingredient will lead to subpar results.
To maintain workable, durable, strong, watertight and wear-resistant concrete, ensure your ingredients are high quality, consistently test your batches and use and maintain superior equipment.
We have you covered in the superior equipment category. If you think your problem might be old equipment, we can design a retrofit custom to your plant. Our plant designs ensure consistency from batch to batch, which cuts down on human error.
To find out more, contact us at sales@standleybatch.com or call (800) 325-8084.
