CHAPTER ONE

1.0. INTRODUCTION
In recent years, government and industry have been placing strong emphasis on

high early-strength and high-performance concrete and on shorter construction

times. In response to this challenge, research has been focused on producing

changes in the properties of the basic ingredients of concrete, such as cement, and

on developing new ingredients to achieve better-quality, high early strength

concrete. The rates of chemical reactions between clinker materials in cements and

water, often referred to as cement hydration reactions, may be altered by adding

small amounts of chemical substances to the cement-water mix.

Substances affecting these rates to give an overall increase in the hydration rate,

i.e. an accelerating effect, are termed accelerating admixtures or simply

accelerators. Hence, an accelerator is added to concrete for the purpose of

shortening setting time and/or increasing early strength development.

Accelerating admixtures are added to concrete either to increase the rate of early

strength development or to shorten the time of setting, or both. Chemical

compositions of accelerators include some of inorganic compounds such as soluble

chlorides, carbonates, silicates, fluosilicates, and some organic compounds such as

triethanolamine

1
There are many methods that can be employed during the production of concrete to

accelerate the rate of hydration. Use of Accelerators is one such possibility.

Accelerators, especially hardening accelerators are being used in the fast-track

paving mixtures as they offer greater degree of easiness during mixing operations.

They increase the rate of hydration thereby giving high early- strength for concrete.

They promote the growth of ettringite crystals, which are responsible for the early

compressive strength development in concrete. (Maltese, 2005).

Accelerators primarily target aluminate phase resulting in rapid workability

loss (Cheung, Jeknavorian, Roberts, Silva, 2011). Study on accelerators

suggests that they help in improving the resistance to wear depending on the

curing age (Ghafoori, Tays, 2010). They also play a vital role in reducing

chloride attack on concrete (Prakash, Kulkarni, 2008). Limited application of

accelerator is seen in fast-track construction and generally only calcium

chloride is tried as accelerator (Ghafoori, Tays, 2010).

Calcium chloride is a common accelerator, used to accelerate the time of set and

the rate of strength gain. It should meet the requirements of ASTM D 98.

Excessive amounts of calcium chloride in concrete mix may result in rapid

stiffening, increase in drying shrinkage and corrosion of reinforcement. In colder

climates, calcium chloride should not be used as an anti-freeze. Large amount of

2
calcium chloride is required to lower the freezing point of the concrete, which may

ruin the concrete. Accelerators are now being tried in place of calcium chloride in

order to minimize potential of steel corrosion (Riad, Shoukry, Sosa, William,

2011).

Accelerators counteract the influence of cold weather, which slows down the

curing and setting process. Calcium chloride is the most effective accelerator and

gives both set and hardening characteristics. However, is limited due to

acceleration of corrosion of steel reinforcement and decrease resistance of

cement paste in a sulfate environment. For this reason, it should not be used in

concrete where any steel will be embedded but may be used in plain unreinforced

concrete. Chloride-free accelerators are typically based on salts of nitrate, nitrite,

formate and thiocyanate. Hardening accelerators are often based on high range

water reducers, sometimes blended with one of these salts.

Accelerating admixtures have a relatively limited effect and are usually only cost

effective in specific cases where very early strength is needed for, say, access

reasons. They find most use at low temperatures where concrete strength gain may

be very slow so that the relative benefit of the admixture becomes more apparent.

3
1.1. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

This research is aimed at ascertaining the effects of calcium chloride (an

accelerator) on concrete in the following ways;

 Its effects on the workability and consistence of concrete.

 Its effects on the initial and final setting time of concrete.
 Its effects on the overall compressive strength of the concrete.

1.2. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Over decades, attempts have been made to obtain concrete with certain desired

characteristics such as high compressive strength, high workability, and high

performance and durability parameters to meet the requirement of complexity of

modern structures. Achieving these requirements informed this research work.

1.3. SCOPE OF THE WORK

An experimental comparative study on the influence of Calcium Chloride as an

accelerator on the concrete workability, initial and final setting time and the

compressive strength concrete at early and later ages, assumes greater importance

to learn usefulness of chloride hardening accelerator in the early and later strength-

gain of concrete mixtures typically for fast-track construction.

4
In the course of this research, varying percentages (0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and

2.0% by mass of cement) of the accelerator (an aqueous solution of calcium

chloride) will be added to the concrete mixture, the workability (slump test), the

initial and final setting time of the cement paste will be determined as well as the

compressive strength of the concrete after different curing days (3, 7, 14 and 28

days). Sixty (60) cubes, three (3) for each of the varied percentages of the

accelerator will be tested after each of the curing days.

5
 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

There are many methods that can be employed during the production of concrete to

accelerate the rate of hydration. Use of Accelerators is one such possibility.

Accelerators, especially hardening accelerators are being used in the fast-track

paving mixtures as they offer greater degree of easiness during mixing operations.

They increase the rate of hydration thereby giving high early- strength for concrete.

They promote the growth of ettringite crystals, which are responsible for the early

compressive strength development in concrete. (Maltese, 2005).

Accelerators primarily target aluminate phase resulting in rapid workability

loss (Cheung, Jeknavorian, Roberts, Silva, 2011). Study on accelerators

suggests that they help in improving the resistance to wear depending on the

curing age (Ghafoori, Tays, 2010). They also play a vital role in reducing

chloride attack on concrete (Prakash, Kulkarni, 2008). Limited application of

accelerator is seen in fast-track construction and generally only calcium

chloride is tried as accelerator (Ghafoori, Tays, 2010).

2.1. Combined effect of hardening accelerator and method of

curing in the strength development of pavement concrete

6
National Highway Development Project (NHDP) under the aegis National

Highway

Authority of India (NHAI) is an ambitious plan for the capacity enhancement of

National

Highways qualitatively and quantitatively which involves design and

construction of high speed corridors including concrete roads. Due to

continuous increase in vehicular traffic, repair and rehabilitation of these

roads is imminent as it is hard fact that most of the infrastructure in India

deteriorates at unacceptable rates. New possibilities need to be explored to

extend the needful life of these distressed structures cost-effectively.

Rehabilitation of concrete roads (rigid pavements) by traditional methods is time

consuming and causes several days of traffic interruption, more so in heavy-traffic

areas. Further, such methods incur high replacement cost. Emergence of fast-track

pavement technology, mainly for concrete roads has overcome these problems

(Buch, 1997). Contrary to the popular belief, fast-track paving typically does

not require any special equipment or newly developed technique (Ghafoori,

Tays, 2010). In fast-track construction of concrete roads, design of suitable

concrete mixtures is the most important facet and it is possible to design

reasonably good fast-track concrete mixtures with conventional ingredients and

admixtures.

7
There are many methods that can be employed during the production of concrete to

accelerate the rate of hydration. Use of Accelerators is one such possibility.

Accelerators, especially hardening accelerators are being used in the fast-track

paving mixtures as they offer greater degree of easiness during mixing operations.

They increase the rate of hydration thereby giving high early- strength for concrete.

They promote the growth of ettringite crystals, which are responsible for the early

compressive strength development in concrete. (Maltese, 2005).

Accelerators primarily target aluminate phase resulting in rapid workability

loss (Cheung, Jeknavorian, Roberts, Silva, 2011). Study on accelerators

suggests that they help in improving the resistance to wear depending on the

curing age (Ghafoori, Tays, 2010). They also play a vital role in reducing

chloride attack on concrete (Prakash, Kulkarni, 2008). Limited application of

accelerator is seen in fast-track construction and generally only calcium

chloride is tried as accelerator (Ghafoori, Tays, 2010). Non-chloride accelerators

are now being tried in place of calcium chloride in order to minimize potential of

steel corrosion (Riad, Shoukry, Sosa, William, 2011).

Production of concrete should be followed by effective curing to get the desired

strength and durability. The necessity for curing arises from the fact that

hydration of cement can take place only in water-filled capillaries, so in

order to obtain a good mortar or concrete, the placing of an appropriate

8
mixture must be followed by curing in a suitable environment during the

early stages of hardening and a loss of water by evaporation from capillaries must

be prevented (Cakir, Akoz, 2008 and Neville, 1992). There are various methods

of curing, with their own merits and demerits. In the recent times, curing

compounds and high early strength concrete have become the key features of

the fast-track construction for rigid pavements, especially in the regions that

suffer from the paucity of water (Buch, 1997 and Ghafoori, Tays, 2010). Early-

high strength in concrete can be achieved by heat treatment but there is a

possibility of decline in strength at full maturity (Topcu, Toprak, 2005).

Curing compounds namely, acrylic and water based are found to be effective in

decreasing plastic and drying shrinkage strain for both ordinary and blended

cement concretes (Al-Gahtani, 2010).

Experimental findings in the past have modeled concrete by varying admixtures,

cement and curing method qualitatively and quantitatively. Zhang and Zhang

(2006) have demonstrated effect of moist curing in the tropical regions at

different temperatures on the strength and other properties of concrete

produced with Portland Cement(ASTM Type I) and found strength of

concrete cured at higher temperature to be higher. Buch, Van Dam, Peterson,

Sutter L. (2008) in their work on high early- strength of plain cement concrete

mixtures, have concluded that these mixtures could be prepared but interactions

9
between various constituents could result in durability problems. Further, their

work did not take into account the method of curing. Khokhar, Roziere, Turcry,

Grondin, Loukili (2010) have used high content of

mineral additions to improve the early-age strength of concrete. Al-Gahatani

(2010) has studied properties of concrete with blended cement and acrylic based

curing compound and experimentally found the curing efficiency of such

compounds with respect to compressive strength to be typically in the range

of 84 to 96 percent. In their study on the impact of admixture on the

hydration kinetics of Portland cement concrete, Cheung, Jeknavorian, Roberts,

Silva (2011) have concluded that a number of specific requirements like

type of cement, type of aggregate , climatic conditions, type of curing etc. were

needed to model the behavior of accelerators. Yilmaz, Turken (2012) have

studied the effect of various curing materials on the compressive strength of

concrete produced with multiple chemical admixtures excluding accelerators

and concluded that laboratory preliminary tests were

required to check the compatibility of curing material and chemical

admixture to get favorable results for concrete.

Experimental findings and reviews suggest that individual effects of

accelerator, type of cement and method of curing on the various properties

of concrete are investigated but study on the combined effect of non-chloride

10
hardening accelerator and method of curing in the strength properties of

concrete at early and later-age is an untouched arena in the research on

pavement concrete in India, especially using revised guidelines for mix

proportioning as given by Indian Standards ( IS 10262:2009). The present

experimental chore is an attempt in this direction. The experimental findings of this

work should serve as initial guidelines for accelerated construction and

rehabilitation of concrete roads in India (Bhavikatti & Karjinni, 2012).

2.2. Effects of accelerators on the compressive strength

development of geopolymer concrete composites
Due to depletion of virgin materials with the increasing consumption, certainly

prompted the construction industry to look for the sustainable resources (Mehta

2004). Cement, the principal binder in the production of concrete leading to

emission of greenhouse gases. Approximately one tone of CO2 will be released in

to atmosphere for every tone Portland cement produced. More than 7% of world’s

CO2 production is attributed towards production of cement. The cement

production is highly energy intensive next only to steel and aluminium and it

consumes approximately about 1.5 tonnes of non-renewable natural resources such

as lime stone deposits, coal, etc.(McCaffrey 2002). Concrete industry must play an

active role in reducing the rate of greenhouse gas emissions, which is essential for

11
the healthy and sustainable development. Use of other supplementary cementitious

materials like fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag is the solution for

reducing the cement clinker (Malhotra 2002). Recently, geopolymer materials, the

supplementary materials to the ordinary Portland cement (OPC) have been of great

interest to researchers as a new environmentally-friendly engineering technology

due to their brilliant mechanical and thermal properties.

Geopolymer technology can reduce 80–90% of CO2 emissions compared to the

OPC (Davidovits 1999). Earlier investigations confirm the outstanding

performance of geopolymer materials in terms of their early strength development,

resistance to acid attacks, good freezing thawing cycles (Li et al. 2004, Gourley

2005 and Wallah et al. 2006).

However the use of heat medium for curing in the production of Geopolymer

concrete is limiting its applications to the areas of precast products. Many

researchers attempted in the past in producing geopolymer concrete under ambient

curing condition by incorporating other industrial wastes such as Alkali Activated

Slag.

Several investigations were carried out on Alkali Activated slags (AAS) in

reference to their mechanical properties (Glukhovsky et al. 1980, Wang et al. 1995,

Fernández-Jiménez et al. 1999). Previous investigations reported better acid

resistance of geopolymer concrete composites (Puetras 2002, Bakharev 2003).

12
Excellent performance of slag cements at high temperature was reported in the

recent times (Mejía et al. 2004). Potential engineering applications of granulated

blast furnace slag-based geopolymers and their fabrication was already

demonstrated by the researchers (Cheng et al. 2003). Previous investigations also

revealed that under sufficient curing time AAS mortars cured at room temperature

can attain equal or greater strengths than mortars cured at 80ºC (Ekin et al 2012).

Some researchers also used OPC to mobilize the setting and early strength

properties of geopolymer concrete (Nath 2015). In the present experimental

investigation fly ash was replaced with ground granulated blast furnace slag

(GGBFS) and zeolite to eliminate the problem of heat curing. But it was found that

the early day’s compressive strength of geopolymer concrete composites was less

compared to the heat curing geopolymer concrete.

13
 CHAPTER THREE
MATERIALS USED AND METHODS

MATERIALS
The materials used for study are cement, accelerator (Calcium chloride), fine and

coarse aggregates and water. This type of concrete involves many factors that

affect the deformability and segregation such as water- cement ratio and numerous

properties of aggregates that is, volume, size distribution, void content, fine to

coarse aggregate ratio, surface properties and density.

2.1. CEMENT

Cement is one of the important concrete components that bind the concrete

ingredients together. In order to achieve more workable mix, an increased paste is

required to achieve the required deformability. The cement used in the laboratory

experiments is the Ordinary Portland Cement (IBETO).The test that was

conducted on this material was to determine the initial and final setting time of the

cement and the procedures are as stated below.

14
2.2. FINE AND COARSE AGGREGATE

The fine aggregates with well-graded, spherical shape and low absorption are

advantageous to self-compacting concrete, but as a result of its non availability

presently, the fine aggregates were sourced locally from Adada river. The coarse

aggregates were collected from Nkalagu in Ebonyi state.

2.3. ACCELERATORS

An admixture which, when added to concrete, mortar, or grout, increases the rate

of hydration of hydraulic cement, shortens the time of set in concrete, or increases

the rate of hardening or strength development.

Calcium chloride is the most effective accelerator and gives both set and hardening

characteristics. However, is limited due to acceleration of corrosion of steel

reinforcement and decrease resistance of cement paste in a sulfate environment.

For this reason, it should not be used in concrete where any steel will be embedded

but may be used in plain unreinforced concrete

2.4. WATER

The water that was used in the experiment was portable bore-hole water. No test

was done on the water because by observation, the water was clean.

15
2.5. CONCRETE MIX PROPORTION

For the performance analysis, fiver design mixes of concrete with same water

cement ratio of 0.5 in addition to varying accelerator dose of 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and

2.0 percentage of cement content required for mix of normal concrete with mix

ratio of 1:2:4 are prepared. These mixes are casted in standard cement concrete

cubes and tested in the concrete Department, Civil Engineering Laboratory. These

four mixes are abbreviated as A₁, A₂, A₃ and A4 which are the concrete mixed with

accelerator and A is used to denote the concrete mix without accelerator (Control).

2.6 TESTS AND PROCEDURES

2.6.1. DETERMINATION OF THE INITIAL SETTING TIME OF THE

CEMENT

STANDARD

IS: 4031 (Part 5) 1988.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the initial and final setting times of cement.

APPARTUS

 Vicat apparatus conforming to IS: 5513-1976

16
  Balance of capacity 1kg and sensitivity 1 gram

 Gauging trowel conforming to IS: 10086-1982

PROCEDURE

 Unless otherwise specified this test shall be conducted at a temperature of

27± 2º C and 65 + 5% of relative humidity of the Laboratory.

 Prepare a paste of 300 grams of cement with 0.85 times the water required

to give a paste of standard consistency IS: 4031 (Part 4) 1988.

 The time of gauging in any case shall not be less than 3 minutes not more

than 5 minutes and the gauging shall be completed before any sign of setting

occurs.

 Count the time of gauging from the time of adding water to the dry cement

until commencing to fill the mould.

 Fill the vicat mould with this paste making it level with the top of the

mould.

 Slightly shake the mould to expel the air.

 In filling the mould the operator hands and the blade the gauging trowel

shall only be used.

17
Initial Setting Time

 Immediately place the test block with the non-porous resting plate, under the

rod bearing the initial setting needle.

 Lower the needle and quickly release allowing it to penetrate in to the

mould.

 In the beginning the needle will completely pierce the mould.

 Repeat this procedure until the needle fails to pierce the mould for 5 +

0.5mm.

 Record the period elapsed between the time of adding water to the cement to

the time when needle fails to pierce the mould by 5 + 0.5mm as the initial

setting time.

Final Setting Time

 Replace the needle of the vicat apparatus by the needle with an annular ring.

 Lower the needle and quickly release.

 Repeat the process until the annular ring makes an impression on the mould.

 Record the period elapsed between the time of adding water to the cement

to the time when the annular ring fails to make the impression on the mould

as the final setting time.

REPORT

 Report the initial setting time and final setting time in minutes.

18
PRECAUTION

 The time of gauging in any case shall not be less than 3 minutes not more

than 5minutes.

2.6.2. DETERMINATION OF THE PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS OF

THE AGGREGATES

Objectives

The Standard grain size analysis test determines the relative proportions of

different grain sizes as they are distributed among certain size ranges.

Scope:

The grain size analysis is widely used in classification of soils. The data obtained

from grain size distribution curves is used in the design of filters for earth dams

and to determine suitability of soil for road construction, air field etc. Information

obtained from grain size analysis can be used to predict soil water movement

although permeability tests are more generally used.

Apparatus Required:

 Stack of Sieves including pan and cover

 Balance (with accuracy to 0.01 g)

19
  Rubber pestle and Mortar ( for crushing the soil if lumped or conglomerated)

 Mechanical sieve shaker

 Oven

Notice: The balance to be used should be sensitive to the extent of 0.1% of total

weight of sample taken.

TEST PROCEDURE:

1. take a representative oven dried sample of soil that weighs about 500 g. (

this is normally used for soil samples the greatest particle size of which is

4.75 mm)

2. If soil particles are lumped or conglomerated crush the lumped and not the

particles using the pestle and mortar.

3. Determine the mass of sample accurately. Wt (g)

4. Prepare a stack of sieves. Sieves having larger opening sizes (i.e lower

numbers) are placed above the ones having smaller opening sizes (i.e higher

numbers). The very last sieve is #200 and a pan is placed under it to collect

the portion of soil passing #200 sieve. Here is a full set of sieves. (#s 4 and

200 should always be included)

5. Make sure sieves are clean, if many soil particles are stuck in the openings

try to poke them out using brush.

20
 6. Weigh all sieves and the pan separately. (Fill in column 3)

7. Pour the soil from step 3 into the stack of sieves from the top and place the

cover, put the stack in the sieve shaker and fix the clamps, adjust the time on

10 to 15 minutes and get the shaker going.

8. Stop the sieve shaker and measure the mass of each sieve + retained soil.

9.

2.6.3 CONCRETE SLUMP TEST (TEST FOR WORKABILITY)

Principle

The slump test result is a measure of the behavior of a compacted inverted cone of

concrete under the action of gravity. It measures the consistency or the wetness of

concrete.

Apparatus

 Slump cone,

 Scale for measurement,

 Temping rod (steel)

Procedure of Concrete Slump test:

21
1. The mold for the slump test is a frustum of a cone, 300 mm (12 in) of height.

The base is 200 mm (8in) in diameter and it has a smaller opening at the top

of 100 mm (4 in).

2. The base is placed on a smooth surface and the container is filled with

concrete in three layers, whose workability is to be tested.

3. Each layer is temped 25 times with a standard 16 mm (5/8 in) diameter steel

rod, rounded at the end.

4. When the mold is completely filled with concrete, the top surface is struck

off (leveled with mould top opening) by means of screening and rolling

motion of the temping rod.

5. The mould must be firmly held against its base during the entire operation so

that it could not move due to the pouring of concrete and this can be done by

means of handles or foot - rests brazed to the mould.

6. Immediately after filling is completed and the concrete is leveled, the cone is

slowly and carefully lifted vertically, an unsupported concrete will now

slump.

7. The decrease in the height of the center of the slumped concrete is called

slump.

22
 8. The slump is measured by placing the cone just besides the slump concrete

and the temping rod is placed over the cone so that it should also come over

the area of slumped concrete.

9. The decrease in height of concrete to that of mould is noted with scale.

(Usually measured to the nearest 5 mm (1/4 in).

Precautions

In order to reduce the influence on slump of the variation in the surface friction,

the inside of the mould and its base should be moistened at the beginning of every

test, and prior to lifting of the mould the area immediately around the base of the

cone should be cleaned from concrete which may have dropped accidentally.

2.6.4 CONCRETE COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH TEST

Apparatus

Compression testing machine

Specimen

60 cubes of 15cm X 15cm X 15cm sizes

Mixing

The concrete was mixed by hand

(i) Mix the cement and fine aggregate on a water tight none-absorbent platform

until the mixture is thoroughly blended and is of uniform color

23
(ii)Add the coarse aggregate and mix with cement and fine aggregate until the

coarse aggregate is uniformly distributed throughout the batch

(iii)Add water and mix it until the concrete appears to be homogeneous and of the

desired consistency

Sampling

(i) Clean the mounds and apply oil

(ii) Fill the concrete in the molds in layers approximately 5cm thick

(iii) Compact each layer with not less than 35strokes per layer using a tamping rod

(steel bar 16mm diameter and 60cm long, bullet pointed at lower end)

(iv) Level the top surface and smoothen it with a trowel

Curing

The test specimens are stored in moist air for 24hours and after this period the

specimens are marked and removed from the molds and kept submerged in clear

fresh water until taken out prior to test.

Precautions

The water for curing should be tested every 7days and the temperature of water

must be at 27+-2oC.

Procedure

24
(I) Remove the specimen from water after specified curing time and wipe out

excess water from the surface.

(II) Take the dimension of the specimen to the nearest 0.2m

(III) Clean the bearing surface of the testing machine

(IV) Place the specimen in the machine in such a manner that the load shall be

applied to the opposite sides of the cube cast.

(V) Align the specimen centrally on the base plate of the machine.

(VI) Rotate the movable portion gently by hand so that it touches the top surface of

the specimen.

(VII) Apply the load gradually without shock and continuously at the rate of

140kg/cm2/minute till the specimen fails

(VIII) Record the maximum load and note any unusual features in the type of

failure.

Note

Minimum of three specimens should be tested at each selected age. If strength of

any specimen varies by more than 15 per cent of average strength, results of such

specimen should be rejected. Average of three specimens gives the crushing

strength of concrete.

25
 CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The effects of accelerators (Calcium Chloride) on the setting time of cement, the

workability and compressive strength of concrete were determined and their results

are shown and discussed below.

Table 4.1 Results for the setting time of cement

Percentages of accelerator (%) Initial Setting Time (mins) Final Setting Time (mins)
0.0 56 175
0.5 52 164
1.0 45 151
1.5 39 130
2.0 27 118

Table 4.2 Results of the Slump Test (Workability)

Percentages of accelerator (%) Slump (mm)
0.0 110
0.5 109
1.0 116
1.5 110
2.0 107

Table 4.3 Results of the Concrete Compressive Strength

Curing Percentages of accelerator (%)
Days
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
Compressive Strengths

3 14.86 16.05 16.54 17.68 18.43

(N/mm2)

7 16.28 16.44 17.58 18.56 19.37

14 21.09 20.25 21.30 22.78 24.04

28 26.14 23.54 25.09 26.40 28.23

26
4.1 DISCUSSIONS

4.1.1 Setting Time of Cement

From table 4.1 above, it is observed that the initial and final setting times of the

cement paste decreased with an increased percentage of the accelerator

(admixture). These results therefore conform to the fact that Calcium Chloride,

which is a hardening accelerator, decreases the initial and final setting times of

cement. It is also noted that, within the acceptable limit (standard), the setting time

decreases with an increase in the quantity or percentage of the accelerator (Calcium

Chloride).

4.1.2 Workability/Slump

The range of slump values for all the mixtures was between 107 to 116 mm. The

mixtures with higher dosage of accelerator recorded lower slump as the

increased dosage of accelerator targeted aluminate phase resulting in rapid

workability loss, hence all the mixtures were insensitive to the Slump test

(Cheung, Jeknavorian, Roberts, Silva, 2011).

27
4.1.3 Concrete Compressive Strength

Increase in the compressive strength of a given concrete mixture at a given

curing age in presence of accelerator, assessed with respect to the

compressive strength of the control mixture at the corresponding curing age,

was taken as the performance indicator of the accelerator. With a view of early

strength requirement in fast-track construction and rehabilitation, compressive

strength of all the sixty mixtures was tested at three, seven, fourteen and twenty-

eight day of curing. The strength results are tabulated in tables 4.3. Figures 3 show

the percentage gain in compressive strength of the mixtures, measured with

reference to

compressive strength of the corresponding control mixture for different

periods of curing and different accelerator dosage. It is observed from the graph

that within the acceptable limit (standard), the compressive strength increased with

an increase in the percentage of the accelerator (Calcium Chloride).

28
 180
170
160
150
140
SETTING TIME OF CEMENT

130
120
110
100
90 INITIAL SETTING TIME
80
FINAL SETTING TIME
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
PERCENTAGE ADMIXTURE

Fig. 1 INITIAL AND FINAL SETTING TIME OF CEMENT

SLUMP TEST
120
110
100
90
80
SLUMP VALUE (mm)

70
60
50 SLUMP VALUES
40
30
20
10
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5

PERCENTAGE ADMIXTURE
Fig. 2 CONCRETE WORKABILITY

29
 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH (N/mm2

30
28
26
24
22
20
18 3-DAYS CURING
16
14 7-DAYS CURING
12 14-DAYS CURING
10
8 28-DAYS CURING
6
4
2
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5

Fig. 3 CONCRETE COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

30
 CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 CONCLUSIONS
Following are the conclusions from the outcome of the experimental

program. Accelerator was effective in increasing the compressive strength of

all the concrete mixtures. Performance of accelerator at a given age of concrete

was assessed based on the maximum increase in the compressive strength,

measured with reference to the strength of the control mixture (without

accelerator) at the corresponding age.

From fig 2, it was observed that the accelerator has little or no effect on the

workability of the concrete; however the accelerator which is in liquid solution

could increase the slump value only when added in excess amount at the point of

batching.

Accelerators are widely believed to decrease the setting time of concrete as it is

used in the extremely cold environment. Fig 1 above have equally proven this

general believe right as could be seen in the initial and final setting time of the

ordinary Portland cement mixed with different percentages of the admixture

ranging from 0.5% to 2%. The optimum performance of accelerator was found to

be affected by age of curing.

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5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS

As noted earlier, Calcium Chloride as an accelerator could lead to corrosion of

reinforcement steel in a reinforced concrete structure thereby making its

application as an accelerator in our day to day construction activity difficult; it can

serve for mass concrete operations.

As there is a limit beyond which the accelerator decreases the compressive strength

of the concrete, it is therefore very important that the established standard should

be strictly adhered to.

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