We’ve talked about improving curing quality with spray-applied treatments. Let’s drive this discussion deeper, and talk about improving concrete hydration by hydrogel admixture.
AQURON 300 concrete admixture is usually associated with waterproofing, and rightly so. But it has another key benefit which is closely related to curing quality.
Shrinkage Reduction
During the batching, placement and curing stages, AQURON 300 thoroughly saturates every cement particle and retains the vital moisture for hydration, in the form of a hydrogel. This promotes a uniform and controlled hydration which is proven to reduce shrinkage and cracking by up to 42% when compared to standard concrete.
It’s the same principle as when hydrogel treatment is spray applied, but working from the inside.
Hydrogel Treatments – Multiple Benefits
So let’s not forget that AQURON 300 will waterproof that same concrete. You have shrinkage reduction and integral waterproofing.
And… the placement team will find the mix easier to handle and place, which helps particularly in awkward locations and cavities. Rather than drawing water from the mix to be effective, this admixture increases workability while pumping – this reduces the odds of the site team adding more water to compensate for flow, potentially reducing durability long-term.
And… the asset owner will benefit from the long-term durability of the resulting concrete. AQURON 300 renders the concrete self-healing, for static cracks up to 0.5mm, for the lifetime of the concrete.
And… long-term durability also results from the moisture content being immobilised, preventing contaminants reaching the reinforcing steel.
The long and short is, concrete structures really need hydrogel treatments, even if they don’t realise it, and dosing the mix with AQURON 300 admixture will have more benefits than you can poke a screed at.
Designing? Building? Soon to be owning? Talk to us about your concrete – now!
