How to choose a concrete additive and reduce cement consumption during construction?

Today, concrete is a universal material, and every builder is confident that they know everything about how to prepare a high-quality construction mixture.

However, technological development does not stand still, and therefore new types of additives are constantly appearing, the purpose of which is not only to improve the performance properties of concrete, but also to reduce cement consumption and, as a consequence, reduce financial costs. This is also facilitated by professional construction equipment.

We all know what concrete consists of – it is a mixture of sand, water, cement, and crushed stone in certain proportions. But what else is added to concrete? A wide variety of additives have been present on the building materials market for quite some time.

Let's try to figure out today which additives are most often added to concrete and what they are needed for. So, let's go!

Main Functions of Concrete Additives

All additives, without exception, are designed to improve the quality of concrete and reduce the level of construction costs. Based on this, additives are capable of:

• increasing or decreasing the hardening time of the mortar;
• expanding the temperature range for using concrete (this will allow construction work to be carried out at lower temperatures);
• increasing the plasticity of concrete;
• increasing the strength, water resistance, or chemical resistance of concrete.

Now about what these very additives are and what types they come in. It is worth starting with the fact that these are chemical substances, which in their composition can be liquid, solid, or paste-like. In fact, there are very many types of additives, and in order to figure them out, let's try to resort to classification.

Main Types of Concrete Additives and Their Characteristics

1. Anti-frost additives – designed to preserve the plastic properties of concrete at sub-zero temperatures. They prevent the liquid in the mortar from freezing, and the concrete acquires strength and rigidity at the usual time. Thus, there is no need to stop production work, and financial losses are reduced.
2. Plasticizers – help avoid the formation of voids and cavities in concrete and increase moisture-retaining properties. Construction concrete acquires additional strength, while cement consumption is reduced.
3. Mobility-enhancing additives – with reduced hydration, concrete is easier to transport to the construction site, while its performance properties are not lost. This means that the risks of supplying low-quality material are minimized, again, without unnecessary cement consumption.
4. Modifying additives – their scope of application is extensive. It depends on where the concrete is used – in the construction of swimming pools, residential buildings, or parking lots. Additives entrain a larger amount of air, gas, or liquid and help achieve the required looseness of concrete depending on the task.
5. Additives to reduce the time for gaining strength – if the technology requires multi-layer pouring, these very additives help save time, cement, and consequently, money. After all, schedules can sometimes be quite tight.
6. Special additives and modifiers for so-called "self-compacting" mixtures – indispensable when strong reinforcement is needed or when pouring structures with thin load-bearing walls or complex architectural forms.

As we can see, the choice of a concrete additive will directly depend on the object of application, the purpose, and the required characteristics of the concrete. The optimal solution would be to turn to professionals for consultation, who will help you choose what to add to the concrete, as well as buy concrete additives from trusted manufacturers.