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The impact of calcium stearate on characteristics of concrete

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Abstract

Moisture and aggressive ions transferring into concrete have detrimental effects on durability of reinforced concrete structure. To tackle this problem, damp-proofing admixtures, like calcium stearate, can be incorporated in the mixture design of concrete to restrict water and aggressive ions’ ingress into concrete. Calcium stearate is a damp-proofing admixture which can provide a water-repellent layer along the capillary pores. As a result, it can reduce permeability of concrete under non-hydrostatic condition. This study investigates the effects of calcium stearate on properties of fresh and hardened concretes. To this end, 12 mixtures with different water-to-cementitious materials (w/cm) ratios but constant ratio of cement paste-to-aggregate were prepared and moist-cured for 180 days. The major outcomes of fresh concrete analysis showed that high dosage of calcium stearate in low w/cm ratios increased the air content and reduced the density of fresh concrete. It also decreased the workability of fresh concrete, regardless of the w/cm ratio and the dosage of calcium stearate. The findings of compressive strength analysis indicated that calcium stearate reduced compressive strength, even when low dosage of calcium stearate was added to the concrete mixture. Based on permeability test results, calcium stearate could improve permeability under non-hydrostatic pressure. However, incorporation of calcium stearate was not found to be an effective approach to decrease permeability under hydrostatic pressure. Finally, microstructure analysis showed that CS has adverse effect on the interfacial transient zone.

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Acknowledgements

Current research study was fully supported by concrete technology department of Road, Housing & Urban Development Research Centre in Tehran, and the authors are immensely grateful of the staff of this department for their collaboration in this experimental research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Concrete Technology Department, Road, Housing and Urban Development Research Center (BHRC), Tehran, Iran

    Mehdi Nemati Chari

  2. Tafresh Uinversity, Tafresh, Iran

    Ramin Naseroleslami

  3. School of Civil Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Mohammad Shekarchi

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  1. Mehdi Nemati Chari
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  2. Ramin Naseroleslami
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  3. Mohammad Shekarchi
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Correspondence to Mehdi Nemati Chari.

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Nemati Chari, M., Naseroleslami, R. & Shekarchi, M. The impact of calcium stearate on characteristics of concrete. Asian J Civ Eng 20, 1007–1020 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42107-019-00161-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42107-019-00161-x

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