FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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Dosage and mixing
Handling and environment
Use with other admixtures
Solving common problems
For the highly technical

What is Mix Water Conditioner?

It is an environmentally safe, user friendly, nontoxic, odorless, non-petroleum, liquid product that gives mix water the ability to enhance portland cement concrete.

How does it work?

Mix Water Conditioner readily solublizes with water, using concrete's mix water as its vehicle to get at the mix's cement ingredient during mix water introduction. It is capable of preventing or alleviating most, if not all, of concrete's potential ailments that could lower or destroy its integrity. Mix Water Conditioner upgrades conventional concrete mix designs without risky, complicated, expensive or labor-intensive measures.

 

DOSAGE AND MIXING
What is the recommended dosage?

The dosage is 10 ounces per 100 pounds of portland cement, or [metric here]. If portland cement is decreased because of the use of fly ash or other materials, you still dose based only on the amount of portland cement in the mix. For continuous mixing, etc., first calculate the amount of mix water needed per 100 pounds of portland cement and then treat that amount of mix water with 10 ounces of Mix Water Conditioner. (For example, if calculations show that 5 gallons of mix water are required per 100 pounds of cement, then the water in the tank should be treated at the rate of 10 ounces of Mix Water Conditioner per 5 gallons of water.)

Do you need extra mix water?

Yes. We request that you increase the water volume by 6 percent. This will not result in the loss of strength associated with higher water/cement ratios. Mix Water Conditioner actually increases the amount of cementitious material created and needs extra water to do this. If you're going to create more cement than usual, you're going to need more water.

(And for the engineers . . . Mix Water Conditioner implements every shear of the cement particle hydrate envelopes, making adequate mix water volume and mixing time very important, especially since the easy shear actions also increase concrete's cementitious material to water ratio, resulting in a concrete with low water-cement ratio quality, or even better.)

Are there any special mixing procedures?

No. The only things to remember are (1) add Mix Water Conditioner to the mix water, not the mix and (2) make sure you mix the concrete for the recommended time. In a transit mixer, this is at least 110 revolutions. For central batch mixing, add 50 percent more mixing time. (If you experience any problems with Mix Water Conditioner concrete, there's a 99.99% chance that you didn't remember these two instructions.)

HANDLING AND ENVIRONMENT
Are there any special handling requirements?

No. There are no special requirements for storage, handling, mixing, finishing or curing.

 

Does it contain anything that could harm our environment?

No. Mix Water Conditioner is environmentally neutral. (It won't harm the people who have to handle it either.)

USE WITH OTHER ADMIXTURES
Can it be used in mixes containing silica fume/microsilica?

Yes. However, most if not all of the silica fume or microsilica may be omitted with little or no loss to objective performance values. The silica fume or microsilica content may be reduced by up to 75% without objective performance value loss. Mix Water Conditioner provides numerous benefits to concrete similar to those of silica fume or microsilica, including their fine solids effect. The fine solids effect in concrete using Mix Water Conditioner is achieved through increased utilization of each cement particle. This results in smaller than usual particle cores to act as aggregates. These cement particle cores that are left behind in the concrete to act as filler aggregate, are smaller than usual, between sand and cement grain sizes. The concrete becomes more impermeable and resistant to chloride-induced corrosion, as with silica fume or microsilica.

 

Should Mix Water Conditioner be used in concrete containing fly ash?

Yes. Fly ash is a pulverized fuel ash (PFA) and is the most widely used artificial pozzolan in the manufacturing of concrete. Fly ash is generally obtained from flu gases of furnaces, particularly at coal fired stations, through electrostatic or mechanical means. Fly ash particles are spherical in shape and are at least as fine as Portland cement particles. This makes fly ash's silica component readily available for reaction. Fly ash is a finely divided admixture, as is silica fume and microsilica, and is generally not needed in concrete mixes utilizing Mix Water Conditioner. See the University of Illinois study [link here] for a progress report on the testing of Mix Water Conditioner alone and as used in conjunction with fly ash.

 

Can it be used in mixes containing air entrainment chemicals?

Yes. Air entrainment is generally used in concrete mixes to provide improved durability and resistance to freeze-thaw damage, to discourage plastic particle separation or to improve workability. However, air entrainment over and above the actual percentage needed for such improvements, serves only to weaken concrete needlessly. For example, tests show that air entrainment in concrete mixes without any other mix proportion changes, decreases strength proportional to its air content up to a level of eight percent. However, Mix Water Conditioner produces concrete with significantly improved impermeability. Greater impermeability serves to lower, or eliminate penetration of water into concrete. This reduces or eliminates the need for purposely entraining air for freeze damage resistance. Mix Water Conditioner provides concrete a small amount of purposely entrained air and when combined with the unavoidable incidental air gained during batching air percentage should be adequate, especially when Mix Water Conditioner takes into account the other reasons to purposely entrain additional air, such as workability and particle separation.

 

Can it be used in concrete containing water loss agents, or super plasticizers?

Yes. Water loss agents or water reducers often contain ingredients such as hydroxylated carboxylic acid or lignosulphonic acid, while superplasticizers may contain sulphonated formaldehyde condensates. Neither of these agents are necessary if using Mix Water Conditioner, which provides all of the desired benefits of water loss agents, water reducers, or superplasticizers without the undesirable effects. Instead of discouraging mix water absorption by dry cement particles to lower mix water volume requirements, as do water reducers and superplasticizers, Mix Water Conditioner encourages absorption instead. Consequently, it utilizes more mix water volume instead of less, while at the same time using significantly more of the already included cement. This effectively raises concrete's cementitious material content volume and results in concrete with low water-cement ratio performance values, or even better. Mix Water Conditioner provides concrete with the desired particle charge effect usually afforded by water reducers and superplasticizers. It produces extremely homogenous plastic concrete mixes. It also further improves plastic concrete's workability by increasing its lubricity.

 

Why isn't Mix Water Conditioner considered an admixture?

Mix Water Conditioner isn't considered a concrete admixture since its conceptual function is to enhance water's cement hydration capabilities. It focuses on providing additional overall quality to portland cement concrete without targeting one specific area of improvement. Basic materials of concrete are cement, mineral aggregate and mixing water. An admixture is defined as a substance or agent that can be added into a concrete mix to enhance certain desired properties. An admixture is not considered concrete material in the proper sense as is mixing water. Mix Water Conditioner added to already good (potable) concrete mixing water improves it to extraordinarily excellent concrete mixing water status. In fact, potable water still remains potable after Mix Water Conditioner is added.

The number one rule-of-thumb for producing extraordinary concrete from any mix design is to always use a low water-cementious material ratio to receive dense concrete with the lowest permeability. This feat is accomplished each and every time with Mix Water Conditioner added to the mix water following approval of your mix design.

 

SOLVING COMMON PROBLEMS
How does Mix Water Conditioner eliminate plastic cracking of concrete?

Plastic cracks usually develop between one to eight hours following concrete placement, and are in the form of shrinkage or settlement cracks. Shrinkage cracks may result as cement paste contracts while still in a plastic state. This type of cracking is fairly common. They usually occur as a result of surface weakness, generally due to work-in excessive surface bleed water volume. This creates a weakened layer of concrete at the surface. Shrinkage cracks also can result from too-rapid water evaporation at the surface. However, all of the many reasons for shrinkage cracking such as surface water suction by dry concrete below, excessive bleed water volume, too-rapid water evaporation, etc. are alleviated/eliminated when using Mix Water Conditioner. A related form of plastic cracking is surface crazing, which takes place when the surface layer of concrete has more water content than the concrete's interior. Conditions creating surface crazing do not exist when Mix Water Conditioner. Settlement cracking, in plastic concrete, is usually due to particle desegregation/settlement and uneven settlement. This crackage sometimes occurs due to the presence of an obstruction such as imbedded steel. Mix Water Conditioner, however, produces an extremely homogenous plastic mix, discouraging particle segregation/settlement. As always, normal safe concreting practices should also be observed, in plastic cracking prevention, such as applying a proper cure at the proper time, etc.

 

How is slab curl eliminated?

Slab curl occurs around the slab's perimeter or at the joints, usually with the corners curling most. This is generally because concrete near the top and edges dry first, the corners drying fastest and concrete near the top cools while the mass below remains warm. Mix Water Conditioner prevents slab curl by creating an extraordinarily homogenous plastic concrete mix which discourages particle separation and promotes uniform wetness, uniform hydration, uniform setting, uniform drying and uniform internal humidity, effective with or without a vapor barrier.

 

How does it prevent dusting?

Cement concrete surfaces usually only dust excessively if the mix was poured too wet or its surface troweled too soon while excessive bleed water was laying on it, or if surface dried completely before being properly cured prior to covering, or the surface was exposed to carbon dioxide while still plastic. Mix Water Conditioner allows concrete to be poured, even at very high slumps, without particle separation. It subsequently produces very low volumes of surface bleed water, virtually eliminating the potential for excessive amounts of bleed water to be troweled into the surface to encourage dusting.

 

FOR THE HIGHLY TECHNICAL
How does Mix Water Conditioner improve concrete?

Initially, Mix Water Conditioner in the mix water, greatly decreases Portland cement potency loss and its adverse effects caused by dilution and hydrolysis during mix water introduction. A reduction in initial cement potency loss significantly improves hydrolysis by-product quality, specifically, the subsequently produced calcium hydroxide residue, and ultimately concrete's hydrated silicates. During mix water introduction, Mix Water Conditioner's ingredients contact concrete's cement ingredient at the exact same time as the mix water prior to hydrolysis. Hydrolysis is responsible for the splitting off of varying molecular portions of cement's tricalcium and dicalcium silicate components, producing varying quantities of calcium hydroxide residue. Mix Water Conditioner ingredients ensure that the hydrolysis' by-products are favorably affected. Particularly the calcium hydroxide quality, since calcium hydroxide is utilized to laminate the cement paste's silicate polymer particles/strands/chains during setting. Subsequently it provides strength to concrete's tobermorite gel, the main strength component of concrete. Another result of Mix Water Conditioner enhancing concrete's calcium hydroxide quality is that a more efficient lamination is achieved. It further increases flexural and compressive strengths, while significantly decreasing the volume of calcium hydroxide residue left in the concrete. The residue could potentially later on participate in detrimental internal chemical reactions that could erode or even destroy the integrity of the installation. As hydration continues, following saturation by the mix water, Mix Water Conditioner enhances concrete through implementing increased cement particle saturation by the mix water, generating an increased volume of cement paste per cement particle. This increased saturation effectively increases the concrete's cementitious material content volume, producing a paste volume increase using the already-included cement content, improving concrete's performance in many ways. It produces a fine-textured cement paste with smaller, more uniform-sized porosity. It improves freeze-thaw damage resistance. It improves workability through increased lubricity. It decreases separation to lower surface bleed water volume. It increases surface abrasion resistance, lowering cementitious material waste and etc. Since concrete's aggregates begin being coated by cement paste immediately following mix water introduction to cement, Mix Water Conditioner provides ingredients that will ensure that only the highest attainable quality cement paste is available during this aggregate coating process. This improved paste-to-aggregate bond quality even further enhances its flexural and compressive strengths.

 

How does it increase concrete's impermeability?

Permeability is the ease with which liquids or gases can travel through set concrete. Permeability can be measured in a laboratory test by sealing the sides of a concrete specimen, then applying water pressure to its top surface while measuring volume of water flow through the specimen once flow rate stabilization has occurred. In concrete with normal weight aggregate, permeability is governed by tobermorite gel porosity and the presence of larger capillary porosity, that originally formed as mix water pockets. Generally, permeability is a function of capillary porosity, governed by water-cement ratio and degree of hydration. Mix Water Conditioner provides mix water with ingredients to significantly improve the mix water's degree of hydration. This is achieved through greater cement particle saturation. This works to ensure optimal mix water volumes are absorbed by the cement, even to beneath the cement particles' hydrate envelopes. This facilitates easier shear of these hydrate envelopes, which were formed around each dry cement particle upon introduction of the mix water. Mix Water Conditioner's ingredients also ensure that only minimal amounts of mix water are left in the concrete, to later on be evaporated and leave behind capillary voids. Mix Water Conditioner encourages acceleration of the cement's strong initial hydration processes. It encourages concrete to fill its own porosity with internally produced hydration product. This results in smaller than usual, more segmented capillary porosity that creates very impermeable concrete. Since higher volumes of the already included cement and mix water are utilized using Mix Water Conditioner, each cement particle core is significantly reduced in size. They become smaller than usual, cause the cement particle cores left behind in the concrete to act as aggregates and become an unmatchable filler between concrete's sand and cement grain sizes.

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