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Concrete is a must for almost every construction. However, for major construction projects it needs additives. In fact, additives are one of the most essential stuff that you need to impart strength and other properties to concrete. In fact, additives are quite useful in mending properties of concrete and make hit suitable for various construction projects.
 

There are various types of additives having different properties. In fact, you need to use defined concrete additives for given projects since they mend different characteristics of concrete. However, broadly speaking, concrete additives are of two types – chemical and mineral.
 

These additives are used to bring down porosity of concrete so that corrosive agents such as chlorides in salty environment cannot cause any harm to concrete structures. In fact, bridges or structures near sea need such additives in order to avert major accidents resulting from corrosion of underlying iron due to corrosion from chlorides present in such environments.
 
These additives also enhance concrete strength and thereby bring down cost of construction. In essence, they can modify some basic characteristics of concrete like setting, hardening etc and also make concrete suitable for major projects. These are also known as silica based concrete additives since they are found in silica based industrial outputs such as silica fume, fly ash etc. In nature also you can find it in volcanic ash.
 
However, you need to be careful while using these additives since different proportions of these are useful for different purposes. Otherwise, they may not serve your purpose. For projects requiring high compressive strength you need a define proportion, but for projects requiring less porosity may need a different proportion. What distinguishes them from other additives is that they are mostly natural. Even if they are procured form industries, they are not specifically manufactured for that purpose.

Chemical additives

These are derived from chemicals. They can modify different characteristics of concrete like water requirement for setting, bringing down the time for setting, extent of shrinkage while drying up, flow, slump etc. Unlike silica based concrete additives these are manufactured for specific purposes.
 
Types Of Additives By Purpose

Concrete additives are of seven different types depending on their purpose.

Set retarding

These additives are used to delay concrete setting. They do this by bringing down the temperature during setting.

Air entrainment

Air entrainment can enhance the freeze-thaw durability of concrete which can in turn improve concrete’s resistance to severe frost as well as its workability.

Water reducing

These chemical concrete additives can create desired slump in concrete at lower Cement: Water ratio. It is possible to achieve specific strength in concrete with the help of these chemicals.

Accelerating additives

These additives like Calcium chloride are useful to enhance concrete strength and reduce its setting time.

Shrinkage reducing

Projects, where long term as well as early shrinkage of concrete needs to be checked, make use of shrinkage reducing chemical additives.

Super plasticizers

These chemical are useful in enhancing the slump and flow of concrete which is useful for highly reinforced structures.

Corrosion inhibiting

These special additives are useful in inhibiting corrosion of steel over a long time.