Low water to cement ratio concretes

Low Porosity High Strength Concrete for Highway Bridge Decks

“…Skalny and associates (14) showed that concretes made with low porosity cements not only had higher strengths than conventional concretes but had better freeze-thaw resistance and other engineering properties. However, they called attention to a number of unsolved problems with their low porosity concretes.…”

“…Skalny et al (14) have provided a suggested explanation for the effect of the lignosulf onate and potassium carbonate admixtures in low porosity concrete. Their notion was that the lignosulfonate forms a coating on the unhydrated cement particles (and hydration products) thus preventing fast hydration.…”

“…Increasing data in the literature (3-9, 14, 21,32,33) suggest that uses of LP concrete for highway purposes may be anticipated.…”

“…Low water:cement ratio concretes have often been used to limit possible damage due to freezing and thawing action (14). The use of low porosity concrete has been shown to give rise to a more compact, dense concrete compared with conventional concretes (14,21).…”

“…Low water:cement ratio concretes have often been used to limit possible damage due to freezing and thawing action (14). The use of low porosity concrete has been shown to give rise to a more compact, dense concrete compared with conventional concretes (14,21). An insight into the compact nature of low porosity paste can be gained by observing the microstructure of pastes cured for different periods of time at high magnification in a scanning electron microscope.…”