The Usage of Crystalline Additive on Concrete Performance

Abstract

Indonesia as a maritime country has a number of structures in coastal areas that are made from concrete. Sulfate attack is one of the common deteriorations that could occur due to the exposure of saltwater to the concrete. Unfortunately, the Type II and Type V cements, which are the special cements that are resistant to sulfate, are rarely used due to their high prices. The objectives of this research are to compare the performance of concrete mixture that was prepared by using the standard cement mixed with crystalline material and the concrete mixture that was prepared by using two different brands of Type V cement. There were five concrete mixture variations tested for their compressive strength and permeability. To assess the permeability of the concrete, the specimens were placed under pressured water for 72 hours and the water penetration depth was measured. From the research results, it was found that the usage of crystalline additive (CA) made the compressive strength increased at a faster rate and the concrete mixture that contained Type I cement and 0.7% of crystalline material had the highest compressive strength value. In terms of the permeability of the concrete, it can be seen that the specimens that were mixed with CA were more effective in stopping the water to penetrate the specimens than the specimens prepared with either of Type V cement.