Effect of Crystalline Admixture on the Mechanical and Durability Properties of M40 Grade of Concrete

Authors

  • Amit Yadav

    Advanced Concrete, Steel & Composites (ACSC) Group, CSIR–Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee 247667, India
  • Rajesh Kumar

    1. Advanced Concrete, Steel & Composites (ACSC) Group, CSIR–Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee 247667, India; 2. Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh 201002, India
  • Arvind Yadav

    Advanced Concrete, Steel & Composites (ACSC) Group, CSIR–Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee 247667, India
  • Nikhil Sanjay Nighot

    1. Advanced Concrete, Steel & Composites (ACSC) Group, CSIR–Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee 247667, India; 2. Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh 201002, India
  • Abhilasha Prajapati

    1. Advanced Concrete, Steel & Composites (ACSC) Group, CSIR–Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee 247667, India; 2. Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh 201002, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/jbms.v7i3.9134
Received: 18 March 2025 | Revised: 25 March 2025 | Accepted: 11 April 2025 | Published Online: 21 July 2025

Abstract

Crystalline admixtures (CA), also known as permeability reducer admixtures, are used in binder-based materials to improve concrete durability by reducing water permeability depth, increasing compressive strength, and stimulating crack healing. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential of crystalline admixtures to enhance the self-healing characteristics and durability attributes of concrete and to contribute to the understanding of their role in the design of long-term efficiency and sustainability. The 28 days specimens of M40 grade concrete were prepared by adding CA and cast as 150 mm cubes, 25×25×285 mm prisms and disks with a diameter of 100 mm and height of 50 mm. All samples were then tested for compressive strength, water permeability, dry shrinkage, sodium sulfate attack test, Rapid Chloride Migration Test (RCMT), and rapid chloride penetration test (RCPT) to study the behavior of incorporating crystalline admixtures in concrete. The conclusion drawn from this study was that the addition of a crystalline admixture of 0.8% resulted in an increase in the compressive strength by 7.98% and a decrease in water penetration depth through the cube by 71.5%, while the dry shrinkage of the specimen incorporated with the crystalline admixture was 65.21% less than that of the specimen without the crystalline admixture.   These results substantiate the beneficial role of CA in increasing the durability of concrete through increased strength, lower permeability, and better dimensional stability, thus making crystalline admixtures beneficial for incorporation into high-performance concrete applications.

Keywords:

Crystalline Admixture; Self-Healing; Permeability; RCPT; Construction Chemicals

References

[1] Pazderka, J., Hájková, E., 2016. Crystalline admixtures and their effect on selected properties of concrete. Acta Polytechnica. 56(4), 306–311. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14311/ap.2016.56.0306

[2] Amadi, I.G., Amadi-Oparaeli, K.I., 2018. Effect of admixtures on strength and permeability of concrete. The International Journal of Engineering and Science. 7(7), 1–7. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327117808_Effect_of_Admixtures_on_Strength_and_Permeability_of_Concrete

[3] Roig-Flores, M., Pirritano, F., Serna, P., et al., 2016. Effect of crystalline admixtures on the self-healing capability of early-age concrete studied by means of permeability and crack closing tests. Construction and Building Materials. 114, 447–457. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.03.196

[4] Al-Kheetan, M.J., Rahman, M.M., Chamberlain, D.A., 2018. Development of hydrophobic concrete by adding dual-crystalline admixture at mixing stage. Structural Concrete. 19(5), 1504–1511. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/suco.201700254

[5] Tsampali, E., Stefanidou, M., 2022. The role of crystalline admixtures in the long-term healing process of fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (FRCC). Journal of Building Engineering. 60, 105164. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2022.105164

[6] Park, B., Choi, Y.C., 2021. Effect of healing products on the self-healing performance of cementitious materials with crystalline admixtures. Construction and Building Materials. 270, 121389. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.121389

[7] Ding, Y., Wu, Z., Huang, Q., et al., 2023. Research on crystalline admixtures for low carbon buildings based on the self-healing properties of concrete. Construction and Building Materials. 409, 133932. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2023.133932

[8] Reddy, T.C., Theja, A.R., Sashidhar, C., 2018. Self-healing ability of high-strength fibre-reinforced concrete with fly ash and crystalline admixture. Civil Engineering Journal. 4(5), 971. DOI: https://doi.org/10.28991/cej-0309149

[9] Roig-Flores, M., Moscato, S., Serna, P., et al., 2015. Self-healing capability of concrete with crystalline admixtures in different environments. Construction and Building Materials. 86, 1–11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.03.091

[10] Cuenca, E., Tejedor, A., Ferrara, L., 2018. A methodology to assess crack-sealing effectiveness of crystalline admixtures under repeated cracking-healing cycles. Construction and Building Materials. 179, 619–632. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.05.261

[11] Azarsa, P., Gupta, R., Biparva, A., 2020. Inventive microstructural and durability investigation of cementitious composites involving crystalline waterproofing admixtures and Portland limestone cement. Materials. 13(6), 1425. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13061425

[12] Wu, Z., Zhang, J., Xu, W., et al., 2023. Development of cementitious capillary crystalline waterproofing agents and durability study of concrete in the presence of chloride with sulfate in aqueous environment. Journal of Building Engineering. 79, 107798. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2023.107798

[13] Lopes, R.C., Bacarji, G.W., Bacarji, E., et al., 2024. Influence of crystallizing type chemical admixture on precast micro concretes: A statistical analysis and holistic engineering overview. Materiales de Construcción. 74(353), e336. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3989/mc.2024.352323

[14] Lauch, K., Desmettre, C., Charron, J., 2023. Self-healing of aged concrete containing crystalline admixture and expansive agent under repeated loading. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering. 35(2), page range. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)mt.1943-5533.0004572

[15] Mahmoodi, S., Sadeghian, P., 2022. Effect of different exposure conditions on the self-healing capacity of engineered cementitious composites with crystalline admixture. Structural Concrete. 24(2), 2133–2144. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/suco.202200257

[16] Yildirim, M., Bilir Ozhan, H., 2022. Effect of permeability-reducing admixtures on concrete properties at different cement dosages. Journal of Innovative Science and Engineering. DOI: https://doi.org/10.38088/jise.1174927

[17] Hodul, J., Žižková, N., Borg, R.P., 2020. The influence of crystalline admixtures on the properties and microstructure of mortar containing by-products. Buildings. 10(9), 146. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings10090146

[18] DIN, 1991. Testing concrete: Testing of hardened concrete specimens prepared in mould. DIN 1048 (Part V), Deutsches Institut für Normung: Berlin, Germany.

[19] Mircea, C., Toader, T., Hegyi, A., et al., 2021. Early age sealing capacity of structural mortar with integral crystalline waterproofing admixture. Materials. 14(17), 4951. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14174951

[20] Gojevic, A., Grubeša, I.N., Juradin, S., et al., 2023. The effect of hydrophilic crystalline admixtures on the durability of concrete. ATINER’s Conference Paper Proceedings Series, Athens, Greece

[21] Naidenov, V., 2023. Extended research on the efficiency of internal crystallization chemical admixtures for cement concrete–mechanical and structural characteristics. Innovations. 11(2), 64–68.

[22] Feng, Z., Shen, D., Zhang, J., et al., 2022. Effect of crystalline admixture on early-age residual stress and cracking potential of high-strength concrete. Structural Concrete. 24(3), 4243–4258. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/suco.202200500

[23] Sisomphon, K., Copuroglu, O., Koenders, E., 2012. Self-healing of surface cracks in mortars with expansive additive and crystalline additive. Cement and Concrete Composites. 34(4), 566–574. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2012.01.005

[24] Wang, R., Ding, Z., Zhang, Y., et al., 2023. Self-healing of high-performance engineered cementitious materials with crystalline admixture in the seawater environment. Journal of Building Engineering. 63, 105472. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2022.105472

[25] Masanaga, M., Hirata, T., Kawakami, H., et al., 2020. Effects of a new type of shrinkage-reducing agent on concrete properties. Materials. 13(13), 3018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13133018

[26] Krelani, V., Ferrara, L., 2017. Reducing the porosity and sealing cracks by using crystalline admixture in conventional concrete. In 2017 UBT International Conference. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33107/ubt-ic.2017.49

[27] Dao, V.T., Dux, P.F., Morris, P.H., et al., 2010. Performance of permeability-reducing admixtures in marine concrete structures. ACI Materials Journal. 107(3), 291. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14359/51663758

[28] Huang, G., Liu, Y., Benn, T., et al., 2025. The self-healing performance and mechanism of limestone calcined clay composites coupling with crystalline admixture in chloride-rich environments. Construction and Building Materials. 463, 140097. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2025.140097

[29] Lin, X., Nguyen, Q.D., Castel, A., et al., 2025. Self-healing of biochar-cement composites with crystalline admixture exposed to sulphate solution and simulated seawater. Journal of Building Engineering. 99, 111564. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2024.111564

[30] Krelani, V., Ahmeti, M., Kryeziu, D., 2025. Increased durability of concrete structures under severe conditions using crystalline admixtures. Buildings. 15(3), 352. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15030352

[31] Lo Monte, F., Repesa, L., Snoeck, D., et al., 2024. Multi-performance experimental assessment of autogenous and crystalline admixture-stimulated self-healing in UHPFRCCs: Validation and reliability analysis through an inter-laboratory study. Cement and Concrete Composites. 145, 105315. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2023.105315

[32] Wang, Y., Fan, X., Wu, R., et al., 2024. Experimental study on long-term impermeability of recycled aggregate concrete mixed with crystalline admixture and waste glass powder. Journal of Cleaner Production. 458, 142551. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.142551

[33] Liu, B., Liang, Y., Jiang, J., et al., 2024. Self-healing properties of mortar with crystalline admixture: Experimental investigation and parameter optimization. Smart Materials and Structures. 33(6), 065002. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-665x/ad389d

[34] Nagrockiene, D., 2021. The effect of crystallizing admixture on the properties and shrinkage of concrete. Ceramics – Silikaty. [volume not specified], 273–280. DOI: https://doi.org/10.13168/cs.2021.0028

[35] IS, 1959. Indian standard code of practice – Methods of test for strength of concrete. IS 516. Bureau of Indian Standards: New Delhi, India.

[36] IS, 1988. Indian standard methods of physical tests for hydraulic cement, determination of drying shrinkage. IS 4031 (Part 10). Bureau of Indian Standards: New Delhi, India.

[37] ASTM, 2022. Standard test method for length change of hydraulic-cement mortars exposed to a sulfate solution. ASTM C1012. ASTM International: West Conshohocken, PA, USA.

[38] ASTM, 2000. Electrical indication of concrete’s ability to resist chloride ion penetration. ASTM C1202. In Annual Book of ASTM Standards. Vol. 4.02. ASTM International: Philadelphia, PA, USA.

[39] NT BUILD, 1999. Test method for rapid chloride migration coefficient from non-steady-state migration experiments. NT BUILD 492, Nordtest Method: Helsinki, Finland.

[40] Kabir, H., Wu, J., Dahal, S., et al., 2024. Automated estimation of cementitious sorptivity via computer vision. Nature Communications. 15(1), 1–12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53993-w

[41] Sabir, B.B., Wild, S., O'Farrell, M., 1998. A water sorptivity test for mortar and concrete. Materials and Structures. 31(8), 568–574. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02481540

[42] Idiart, A.E., 2013. Drying shrinkage and creep in concrete: A summary. Web resource. Open University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain

Downloads

How to Cite

Yadav, A., Kumar, R., Yadav, A., Nighot, N. S., & Prajapati, A. (2025). Effect of Crystalline Admixture on the Mechanical and Durability Properties of M40 Grade of Concrete. Journal of Building Material Science, 7(3), 49–61. https://doi.org/10.30564/jbms.v7i3.9134

Issue

Vol. 7 , Iss. 3 (September 2025): In Progress

Article Type

Article

License

Copyright © 2025 Amit Yadav, Rajesh Kumar, Arvind Yadav, Nikhil Sanjay Nighot, Abhilasha Prajapati

Creative Commons License

This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC