Experimental Study on the Behaviour of Modified Concrete

Abstract

There is great demand for construction materials due to Infrastructural development across the world. Concrete is one of the widely used construction material in the world. Concrete preparation requires ingredients like cement, aggregates, water and admixture(s). The problems of concreting in cold weather arises from the action of frost on fresh concrete. When water in wet concrete freezes, it increases the overall volume of concrete. As there is now no water available for hydration of cement, setting and hardening of concrete are delayed. This damages the concrete and makes it unfit for use. An accelerator admixture is used to accelerate the rate of hydration (setting) and strength development of concrete at an early age. This paper investigates the behaviour of concrete using accelerator admixture. The study is set up to compare 3 day , 7 days and 28 day compressive strength, flexural strength and tensile strength of commixtured concrete with plain concrete. This paper also focuses on the assessment of the role of accelerator admixture in helping the rate of gain of early strength and the harmful effects of the accelerator on concrete properties. The optimum percentage of accelerator that could be used without harming the properties of concrete is also arrived at.