Water reducers are special chemical products added to a
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...
mixture before it is poured. They are from the same family of products as
retarders. The first class of water reducers was the
lignosulfonates which has been used since the 1930s. These inexpensive products were derived from wood and
paper industry
The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood, specifically pulpwood, as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard, and other cellulose-based products.
Manufacturing process
In the manufacturing process, pulp is intro ...
, but are now advantageously replaced by other synthetic
sulfonate
In organosulfur chemistry, a sulfonate is a salt, anion or ester of a sulfonic acid. Its formula is , containing the functional group , where R is typically an organyl group, amino group or a halogen atom. Sulfonates are the conjugate bases of ...
and
polycarboxylate, also known as
superplasticizer
Superplasticizers (SPs), also known as high range water reducers, are Concrete additive, additives used for making high strength concrete or to place Self-consolidating concrete, self-compacting concrete. Plasticizers are chemical compounds enabli ...
s.
Water reducers offer several advantages in their use, listed below:
* reduces the water content by 5-10%
* decreases the concrete
porosity
Porosity or void fraction is a measure of the void (i.e. "empty") spaces in a material, and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, between 0 and 1, or as a percentage between 0% and 100%. Strictly speaking, some tests measure ...
* increases the
concrete strength by up to 25% (as less water is required for the concrete mixture to remain workable)
* increases the workability (assuming the amount of free water remains constant)
* reduces the water
permeability (due to less water being used)
* reduces the
diffusivity
Diffusivity is a rate of diffusion, a measure of the rate at which particles or heat or fluids can spread.
It is measured differently for different mediums.
Diffusivity may refer to:
*Thermal diffusivity, diffusivity of heat
*Diffusivity of mass: ...
of aggressive agents in the concrete and so improves the durability of concrete
* gives a better finish to surfaces (due to all of the above)
See also
*
Plasticizer
A plasticizer ( UK: plasticiser) is a substance that is added to a material to make it softer and more flexible, to increase its plasticity, to decrease its viscosity, and/or to decrease friction during its handling in manufacture.
Plasticizer ...
*
Superplasticizer
Superplasticizers (SPs), also known as high range water reducers, are Concrete additive, additives used for making high strength concrete or to place Self-consolidating concrete, self-compacting concrete. Plasticizers are chemical compounds enabli ...
*
Cement
A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...
*
Admixture
Top Water Reducer Manufacturers
*
Sika AG - A Swiss multinational specialty chemical company that supplies to the building and motor vehicle industries, headquartered in Baar, Switzerland.
* Master Builders Solutions - A leading global manufacturer dedicated to revolutionising the construction industry with sustainable solutions that inspire people to build better.
* GCP Applied Technologies - A Focused Construction Products Technologies Company.
* NOVASTAR - NOVASTAR is a trademark of Shandong Landu New Material Co., Ltd, offering quality-certified additives for building materials along with comprehensive services and tailored solutions.
References
Building materials
Cement
Concrete
Concrete admixtures
{{Material-stub