Off-the-Shelf Antifreeze Admixture for Concrete Initial Laboratory Investigation

Set-controlling and water-reducing admixtures conforming to ASTM C 494 were studied for their effect on strength gain of portland cement concrete at below-freezing temperatures. Because standard practice does not limit the number of admixtures that can be used in concrete, the objective was to use as many admixtures as necessary to depress the freezing point of the mix water to -5 deg C 23 deg F or below and to promote strength gain reasonably quickly. A combination of set accelerators with water reducers showed promise of promoting significant strength gain at nearly -10 deg C 14 deg F, but at the sacrifice of workability. More work needs to be done to develop a combination of off-the-shelf admixtures that will permit concreting at temperatures as low as -10 deg C 14 deg F.