Effects of Air-Entraining Admixtures on Stability of Air Bubbles in Concrete
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 33, Issue 4
Abstract
Effects of synthetic and neutralized vinsol resin (NVR) air-entraining admixtures (AEAs) were compared through air-content measurements of freshly mixed concrete, hardened cylinders, and cores from field and laboratory concrete, and through a modified foam drainage test. The results show that air bubbles entrained with synthetic AEAs are less likely to survive during concrete sampling procedures than those entrained with NVR-based AEAs, leading to larger discrepancies between air-content measurements using the pressure method and the air content established from pavement cores. These discrepancies in turn can prompt imposition of contractor penalties, delays in construction, and controversy with potential longer-term impacts on concrete pavement longevity.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Wisconsin Highway Research Program (Grant No. WisDOT SPR# 0092-14-05), and the extensive help and collaboration of the staff of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and Wisconsin Concrete Pavement Association. Collaboration of participating paving contractors during the field research were greatly appreciated.
Disclaimer
This research was funded by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) and the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) in the interest of information exchange. The material presented is the result of research done under the auspices of the Department and the Wisconsin Highway Research Program (WHRP). The contents of this publication reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the correct use of brand names, and for the accuracy, analysis and any inferences drawn from the information reported. WisDOT and Federal Highway Administration (it is part of USDOT) assume no liability for its contents and use thereof. This publication does not endorse or approve any commercial product, even though trade names may be cited, does not reflect official views or policies of the Department or FHWA (USDOT), and does not constitute a standard specification or regulation of the Department or FHWA.
References
AASHTO. 2018. Standard test method for air-void characteristics of freshly mixed concrete by buoyancy change. AASHTO T 348. Washington, DC: AASHTO.
Ansari, F., Z. Zhang, P. Szary, and A. Maher. 2002. Effects of synthetic air entraining agents on compressive strength of portland cement concrete mechanism of interaction and remediation strategy. Trenton, NJ: New Jersey DOT.
ASTM. 2016. Standard test method for microscopical determination of parameters of the air-void system in hardened concrete. ASTM C457/C457M-16. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2017. Standard test method for air content of freshly mixed concrete by the pressure method. ASTM C231/C231M-17a. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2019a. Standard specification for chemical admixtures for concrete. ASTM C494/C494M-19. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2019b. Standard practice for making and curing concrete test specimens in the laboratory. ASTM C192/C192M-19. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Bikerman, J. J. 1973. “Foams.” Accessed September 6, 2019. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=3097748.
Burg, G. R. U. 1983. “Slump loss, air loss, and field performance of concrete.” J. Proc. 80 (4): 332–339. https://doi.org/10.14359/10857.
Chatterji, S. 2003. “Freezing of air-entrained cement-based materials and specific actions of air-entraining agents.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 25 (7): 759–765. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0958-9465(02)00099-9.
Cross, W., E. Duke, J. Kellar, and D. Johnston. 2000. Investigation of low compressive strengths of concrete paving, precast and structural concrete. Pierre, SD: South Dakota DOT.
Du, L., and K. J. Folliard. 2005. “Mechanisms of air entrainment in concrete.” Cem. Concr. Res. 35 (8): 1463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2004.07.026.
Dubovoy, V. S., S. H. Gebler, and P. Klieger. 2002. Cement-alkali level as it affects air-void statility [sic], freeze-thaw resistance, and deicer scaling resistance of concrete. Skokie, IL: Portland Cement Association.
Eickschen, E. 2012. “Working mechanisms of air-entraining admixtures and their subsequent activation potential.” In Proc., 10th Int. Conf. on Superplasticizers and Other Chemical Admixtures, 305–315. Prague, Czech Republic: American Concrete Institute.
Gay, F. T. 1982. “Factor which may affect differences in the determined air content of plastic and hardened air-entrained concrete.” In Proc., 4th Int. Conf. on Cement Microscopy, 276–292. Las Vegas: International Cement Microscopy Association.
Gutmann, P. F. 1987. “Bubble characteristics as they pertain to compressive strength and freeze-thaw durability.” Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 114: 271–277. https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-114-271.
Hover, K. 1989. “Some recent problems with air-entrained concrete.” Cem. Concr. Aggregates 11 (1): 67–72. https://doi.org/10.1520/CCA10104J.
Ley, M. T., R. Chancey, M. C. G. Juenger, and K. J. Folliard. 2009. “The physical and chemical characteristics of the shell of air-entrained bubbles in cement paste.” Cem. Concr. Res. 39 (5): 417–425. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2009.01.018.
Ley, T. M., D. Welchel, J. Peery, and J. LeFlore. 2017. “Determining the air-void distribution in fresh concrete with the sequential air method.” Constr. Build. Mater. 150 (Sep): 723–737. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.06.037.
Mehta, P. K., and P. J. M. Monteiro. 2014. Concrete: Microstructure, properties and materials. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Mielenz, R. C., V. E. Wolkodoff, J. E. Backstrom, and H. L. Flack. 1958. “Orgin, evolution, and effects of the air void system in concrete. Part 1—Etrained air in unhardend concrete.” J. Proc. 55 (7): 95–121. https://doi.org/10.14359/11343.
Nagi, M. 2007. Evaluating air-entraining admixtures for highway concrete. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board.
Olek, J., and C. Paleti. 2012. Compatibility of cementitious materials and admixtures. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration.
Pham, L., and S. Cramer. 2018. “Comparison of fresh air content test methods and analysis of hardened air content in Wisconsin pavements.” In Proc., Wisconsin Concrete Pavement Association Annual Concrete Pavement Conf. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Concrete Pavement Association.
Powers, T. C. 1968. The properties of fresh concrete. New York: Wiley.
Ram, P., T. Van Dam, L. Sutter, G. Anzalone, and K. Smith. 2014. “Field study of air content stability in the slipform paving process.” Transp. Res. Rec. 2408 (1): 55–65. https://doi.org/10.3141/2408-07.
Sutter, L. L. 2007. Evaluation of methods for characterizing air void systems in Wisconsin paving concrete. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Highway Research Program.
Tanesi, J., and R. Meininger. 2007. “Freeze-thaw resistance of concrete with marginal air content.” Transp. Res. Rec. 2020 (1): 61–66. https://doi.org/10.3141/2020-08.
Taylor, P. C., L. A. Graf, J. Z. Zemajtis, V. Johansen, R. L. Kozikowski, and C. F. Ferraris. 2006a. “Identifying incompatible combinations of concrete materials: Volume I—Final report.” Accessed September 6, 2019. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/concrete/pubs/06079/06079.pdf.
Taylor, P. C., L. A. Graf, J. Z. Zemajtis, V. Johansen, R. L. Kozikowski, and C. F. Ferraris. 2006b. “Identifying incompatible combinations of concrete materials: Volume II—Test protocols.” Accessed September 6, 2019. http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/30000/30900/30907/06080.pdf.
Taylor, P. C., X. Wang, and X. Wang. 2015. Concrete pavement mixture design and analysis (MDA) : Evaluation of foam drainage test to measure air void stability in concrete. Ames, IA: Iowa State Univ.
Wang, X., X. Wang, S. Sadati, P. Taylor, and K. Wang. 2019. “A modified foam drainage test protocol for assessing incompatibility of admixture combinations and stability of air structure in cementitious systems.” Constr. Build. Mater. 211: 174–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.03.142.
Whiting, D., and M. Nagi. 1998. Manual on control of air content in concrete. Skokie, IL: Portland Cement Association.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 24, 2020
Accepted: Aug 13, 2020
Published online: Jan 21, 2021
Published in print: Apr 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Jun 21, 2021
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.