NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, SRINAGAR

Project Synopsis
PROJECT GUIDE: DR. J A NAQASH

SUBMITTED BY:
Mir Usman Rauf
Ubaid-Ul-Aman
Mohammad Saqib
Amir Ashraf
Moumin Ali

117/11
140/11
106/11
105/11
76/11

TITLE:
Influence of Alkali-Metal Carbonate as an accelerator on the properties of concrete

OBJECTIVES:
Our aim of conducting this project is to
I.

To study the effect of Potassium Carbonate (K2CO3) as an accelerator on the

development of following properties of concrete:
Compressive strength
Tensile strength
Flexural strength
Compaction factor
To find the optimum percentage of the accelerator at which strength is maximum.
To assess its suitability in cold weather concreting.

II.
III.

METHODOLOGY:
Materials used:
Various materials used in the experimental investigation are presented below:

Cement: Ordinary Portland Cement of 43 grade

Fine Aggregate: River sand obtained from River Sindh
Coarse Aggregate: Crushed stone aggregate of size 20mm
Potassium Carbonate (dry, powdered form)

Experimental setup:
The following equipment is used for casting and testing of the specimens:

Cube (150mm), Beam (500mm x 100mm x 100mm) & Cylinder (150mm, height
300mm) moulds
100T UTM
Other miscellaneous lab equipment

Using basic estimation knowledge, weight of aggregates, sand & cement required in a casting
has been calculated. A total number of 6 different casting have been proposed. Each casting
consists of 12 cylinders, 8 beams & 4 cylinders. Half of them have been cast normally without
any admixture, while as rest half contain a known percentage of the accelerating admixture. A
nominal mix of M25 has been prepared in each casting. Since this project is based on
comparative study between the modified concrete & control concrete, only the amount of
admixture changes, rest remains unchanged. Quantity of admixture in a casting is taken as
percentage with respect to the weight of cement used in that batch. A water-cement ratio of 0.4
has been maintained throughout the project.
Overview of tests to be carried out is as follows:
Compressive strength

Split tensile strength

The test specimens for the determination of

compressive strength of concrete are prepared
using the standard metallic cube moulds. The
cubes are demoulded after 24 h of casting and
cured in water. The cubes are tested for
compressive strength after 7 days and 28 days.
The compressive strength is computed as the
average value of the three samples.

The test specimens for the determination of

tensile strength of concrete are prepared using
the standard metallic cylinder moulds. The
cylinders are demoulded after 24 h of casting
and cured in water. The cylinders are tested for
compressive strength after 7 days and 28 days.
The compression load is applied diametrically
and uniformly along the length of cylinder.

Flexural strength
The test specimens are prepared using the
standard metallic beam moulds. The beams are
demoulded after 24 h of casting and cured in
water. The cubes are tested for flexural strength
after 7 days and 28 days. The flexural strength is
computed as the average value of the two
samples.

Compaction factor
Compacting factor of each casting of fresh
concrete is done to determine the workability of
fresh concrete by compacting factor test as per
IS: 1199 1959. The apparatus used is
Compacting factor apparatus.

BRIEF LITERATURE:
Portland cement concrete cannot be placed below freezing temperatures without some form of
thermal protection. Until now, insulation, supplement heating, and tenting have been the only
ways to protect fresh concrete from freezing during cold weather. Though effective, they are
costly in labour, materials and money and sometimes they are not even available. An alternate
approach is to use chemical admixtures that allow concrete to gain strength at sub-freezing
temperatures.

Admixtures are materials other than cement, aggregate and water that are added to concrete
either before or during its mixing to alter its properties, such as workability, curing temperature
range, set time or color. Admixture use has increased significantly in the last 30 years and they
can now be found in most concrete mix designs. The benefits are economic and environmental as
well as technical.
It has been found that alkali-metal carbonates affect the strength of concrete. Carbonates of alkali
metals can act as accelerators as well as anti-freezing agents. One reason that may be considered
is that these admixtures undergo exothermic reaction when mixed with water. Heat released
increase the cement hydration rate and thus shortens the time of setting, increases the rate of
strength development, or both. Carbonates are thus characterised by their quick-setting properties
at moderate to high dosages. So, it may be used in cold weather concreting as well.
Various researches have been carried out to find the optimum content of the accelerating
admixture. Its optimum value fluctuates & adverse conditions have been noted beyond 2.5% of
concentration. However these values cannot be taken for granted as the efficiency of the
admixture depends on various factors like aggregate properties, quality of mixing water in that
area, type of cement used.

WORK DONE:
Casting phase of the project is almost complete. Out of 6 castings, only one casting (1.2%) is
left. Till date, we have successfully casted 60 cubes, 40 beams & 20 cylinders, half of them with
a known percentage of the admixture (K2CO3). Tests are being carried out after 7 days & 28
days.
Casting (%age of admixture used)
7th day test
28th day test

2.0
Done
Done

2.1
Done
Done

1.8
Done
Pending

1.6
Done
Pending

1.4
Done
Pending

1.2
Pending
Pending

Starting from 2.0% of admixture, we moved to 2.1% in the second casting. Testing of the second
casting did not give favourable results. On comparing the values between modified concrete &
control concrete, the admixture failed to accelerate the hardening of concrete. Rather, it showed
adverse effects, especially in casting (II). So, we decreased the percentage of admixture in the
next castings.

Test Results:
Average values in N/mm2

Cube
Beam
Cylinder

7th day
With
14.51
3.885
1.86

II (2.1%)
Cube
Beam
Cylinder

15.342
3.187
1.79

I (2.0%)

Without
16.682
4.08
1.745

28th day
With
21.22
5.58
2.19

Without
27.13
6.08
2.58

19.24
4.453
1.74

20.489
5.688
2.33

29.003
6.023
2.57

Compacting factor
With
Without
0.91

0.81

0.826

0.73