How Do You Get Concrete in Early Strength?

(How Do You Get Concrete in Early Strength?)

How do you get concrete in early strength?

High-strength concrete is a type of concrete that reaches its specified strength at an earlier age than ordinary concrete. It’s used for rapid form reuse, precast concrete for fast element production, high-speed cast-in-place construction, cold-weather construction, quick repair of pavements to reduce traffic downtime, and fast-track paving.

Typically, high-strength concrete is achieved through a combination of portland cement, a low water to cementitious materials ratio, a higher freshly mixed concrete temperature, and chemical admixtures, including accelerating admixtures such as calcium chloride (ASTM D 98). Admixtures that accelerate the rate at which concrete hydrates and the development of early strength are key to developing high-strength concrete.

The reduction of the water to cementing material ratio ranging from 0.20 to 0.45 by mass has been shown to produce high-early-strength concrete. Moreover, a number of water-reducing admixtures can also be added to improve the early-strength development in concrete.

A supplementary cementitious material such as ground granulated blast furnace slag can be added to a concrete mix design to improve the early-strength gain. Another method of increasing the early-strength development in a concrete mix is to add a high amount of pozzulanic admixtures, such as fly ash or GGBS.

Unlike other building materials, concrete continues to build strength in the mix even after the initial hydration process has finished. However, this takes a long time. That’s why many engineers have developed special admixtures and mix designs that can help accelerate this process to achieve high-strength concrete sooner.

(How Do You Get Concrete in Early Strength?)