Calcium Chloride

Description

When used in concrete and cement applications, Calcium Chloride has the ability to accelerate hydration and reduce set time by up to two thirds, resulting in higher early strength and shorted set time.  When the temperature drops below 70* F, the setting times of various types of cement start to slow down. A 2% admixture of calcium chloride at 50° will improve setting times to that attainable at 70° without calcium chloride added.  For time critical applications such as patching pavement, pouring foundations, or any other application where the concrete needs to bear significant loads in a short amount of time, the addition of Calcium Chloride will significantly improve the early strength of ready-mixed product.

Accelerating concrete admixtures are used to increase the rate of concrete strength development or to reduce concrete setting time. Calcium chloride could be named as the most common accelerator component; however, it could promote corrosion activity of steel reinforcement. Nonetheless, concrete best practices, such as proper consolidation, adequate cover and proper concrete mix design could prevent these corrosion issues. Accelerating admixtures are especially useful for modifying the properties of concrete in cold weather.