Mechanism of Water Reducer

Introduction to Water Reducer

The water-reducing agent or concrete water reducer is a kind of concrete admixture that can reduce the water consumption under the condition of keeping the slump of concrete basically unchanged. It has a dispersive effect on cement particles, can improve its workability, reduce water consumption per unit, improve the fluidity of concrete mixture, or reduce the amount of cement per unit, saving cement.

Applications of Water Reducer

The water reducing agent is suitable for all kinds of industrial and civil construction, water conservancy, transportation, port, municipal engineering precast, and casting reinforced concrete;

Suitable for high strength, ultra-high-strength, and medium strength concrete, as well as the requirements of early strength, moderate frost resistance, and large mobility concrete;

Suitable for steam curing precast concrete components;

Suitable for water reduction and enhancement components of various compound admixtures (master material).

Mechanism of Water Reducer

1.Dispersion: After mixing with water, due to the hydration of cement particles, cement particles’ surface forms a double electric layer, which forms a solvation water film. And the cement particle surface with opposite charges makes cement particles between associating with cooperation, to form a slurry flocculation structure, making that the 10% ~ 30% of the mixing water is wrapped in cement particles, so that they cannot participate in free flow and lubrication, affecting the fluidity of concrete mixture. When adding water reducing agent, because the water reducing agent molecules adsorbed on the surface of cement particles can redirect, cement particle surface (usually a negative charge) with the same charge, form the electrostatic repulsion, prompting the cement particles to disperse mutually, flocculation structure collapse, release the wrapped part of the water, participate in the flow, so as to effectively increase the liquidity of concrete mixture.

2.Lubrication: Water-reducing agent in the hydrophilic base polarity is very strong, so the cement particle surface of the water-reducing agent adsorption film and water molecules can form a stable layer of solvated water film, this layer of water film has good lubrication, can effectively reduce the sliding resistance between cement particles, so that the fluidity of concrete is further improved.

3.Steric resistance: The hydrophilic branch chain in the structure of the water reducing agent is extended in an aqueous solution, so as to form a hydrophilic three-dimensional adsorption layer with a certain thickness on the surface of the adsorbed cement particles.  When the cement particles close, the adsorption layer began to overlap, that is, the cement particles produce space resistance, the more overlap, and space resistance repulsion, the greater the condensation of cement particles hinder the greater, so that the slump of concrete to maintain good.

4.Sustained release effect of graft copolymerization branch chain: New type of water-reducing agent such as poly (carboxylic acid water-reducing agent in the process of preparation, the molecules of water-reducing agent on the grafting on some of the branched-chain, the branched-chain not only can provide space steric effect, and, in the high basicity of cement hydration environment, the branched-chain can also slowly is cut off, to release more carboxylic acid with dispersion effect, so that it can improve the effectiveness of the dispersion of cement particles, and control the slump loss.

Suppliers of Concrete Additives

TRUNNANO is a reliable concrete additives supplier with over 12-year experience in nano-building energy conservation and nanotechnology development.

If you are looking for high-quality concrete additives, please feel free to contact us and send an inquiry. (sales@cabr-concrete.com)

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