Development of a New Type of Green Switch Air Entraining Agent for Wet-Mix Shotcrete and Its Engineering Application

Abstract

Air entraining agent (AEA) can bring a lot of microbubbles into fresh concrete for improving its fluidity; however, high fluidity has adverse effect on the shootability of wet-mix shotcrete. In order to solve the contradictory issue, the paper developed a new type of green switch air entraining agent (GSAE) that can improve both the pumpability and shootability. The single-admixture and combination tests containing foaming ability and surface tension were performed with Deer agitator and automatic tension meter. The new AEA was developed with two constituents A and B. A was prepared withSapindus mukorossi(S-1), dodecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride(1231), and polyacrylamide. B was prepared with lauryl sodium sulfate (K12) and silicone oil. The mass mix proportion was S-1 : 1231 : polyacrylamide : K12 : silicone oil = 1 : 0.33 : 0.2 : 0.33 : 0.47. The application method of GSAE proposed that A was premixed with fresh concrete and then B was added at nozzle. Experimental investigation showed that the optimal mixing amount of GSAE was 0.1%–0.2% relative to cement. All performance measured of wet-mix shotcrete with 0.12% GSAE met the first-grade product requirements of the China National Standard. Compared with the conventional type of AEA, the proposed GSAE is capable of effectively improving pumpability and shootability.