Concrete Admixtures - Cement Additives
Concrete admixtures (not additives) are added either at the concrete batch plant or directly into the concrete truck on a job site. Their purpose is to influence the fresh and/or hardened properties of the concrete, including slump, set times, air content, surface durability, permeability, and more. These admixtures can be in a powdered or liquid form.
There are two types of admixtures, chemical and mineral. Their usage depends on the concrete project.
Chemical and mineral admixtures are used to:
- Reduce the construction cost
- Overcome emergencies during concrete placement
- Guarantee quality from mixing through the curing process
- Modify the properties of fresh and hardened concrete
- Increase concrete strength
- Optimize the mixture for cost or materials
- Reduce the permeability
The classification of admixtures is dependent on the role they perform. (See Cement Additives and Concrete Admixtures)

There are several types of concrete admixtures including:
- Air Entraining (micro-bubble formation in concrete)
- Water Reducing (reduce water content and improved flow)
- Strength Enhancing (compressive strength)
- Corrosion Inhibiting (mitigate corrosion potential)
- Set Accelerating (reduce set time)
- Set Retarding (lengthen set time)
- Shrinkage Reducing (reduce surface tension of pore water to reduce shrinkage strain)
- Viscosity modifying (slump or rheology)

Numerous state DOT agencies throughout the United States are using EdenCrete®, the liquid carbon nanotube concrete admixture. See how they reduced construction costs and lowered long- term road maintenance with this technology. See what was achieved in Georgia and Colorado with their DOT road construction projects.

Construction with concrete involves engineering specifications dictating the design from foundation to slab, floors and superstructures. Limiting factors such as jobsite location relative to the plant, weather, local concrete materials, and project budgets require a firm understanding of concrete admixtures when building with concrete.

Concrete swimming pool construction uses pumped concrete, or shotcrete, that is sprayed into a network of reinforcement in a 1-sided form. The fresh properties of shotcrete are vital to encapsulating the reinforcement and carving complex shapes. Reduction of cracking, scaling, and permeability combined with increased toughness are additional requirements for a long lasting and maintenance-free pool.