Before we talk about Chemical Admixtures in Concrete, we should know how important the water is throughout the life of concrete:
-It is an essential ingredient in the mixing, curing, and hardening of concrete;
-Its exchange with the surroundings causes hardened concrete to shrink, swell, and possibly crack;
-Its presence in hardened concrete influences the strength and creep;
-It plays a central role in deterioration caused by frost action or alkali;
-silica reactions.
Obviously, control of water is important to concrete. We will give an overview of some of the opportunities offered by the use of SOCO Polymer for achieving that control.
As a function admixture in concrete, it can absorb hundreds of times its weight and turn to gel. In other words, when It is exposed to water, they swell. And when subsequently subjected to drying, they reversibly shrink.
These key properties can actively be used in relation to concrete.
As mentioned in the introduction, it has extreme water absorption characteristics; this makes them particularly interesting in relation to concrete. Due to the water absorption, SOCO polymer may also be considered a means to control porosity, which is another important property for concrete. Because it can be designed with other specific properties, however, many additional uses of SOCO Polymer in concrete may be relevant. Examples include: