Can composite water reducing agents improve water reduction rate?

Water reducing agent is an additive that can reduce the necessary unit water consumption in concrete, meet the specified consistency requirements, and improve the workability of concrete. According to chemical composition, there are mainly lignin series, naphthalene series, water-soluble resins, molasses, and composite water reducing agents. Can composite water reducing agents improve water reduction rate? What are the characteristics of high-efficiency water reducing agents?

What is a composite water reducer? Can composite water reducing agents improve water reduction rate?

Two or more high-efficiency water reducing agents are compounded together in a certain proportion to compensate for certain performance deficiencies of each component, and one of the properties may have a synergistic effect. This type of water reducing agent is called a composite water reducing agent. There are various combinations of composite water reducers, including polycarboxylate and lignosulfonate compounds, naphthalene sulfonate formaldehyde condensates and lignosulfonate calcium compounds, melamine formaldehyde condensates and lignosulfonate compounds. Calcium acid compounds include hydroxy acid based olefins, sulfonic acid based olefin copolymers, etc. Composite water reducing agents can not only improve the water reduction rate, but also help overcome some of the drawbacks of single water reducing agents. The combination of naphthalene sulfonate water reducer and wood calcium water reducer can overcome the disadvantage of rapid slump loss of naphthalene sulfonate water reducer. Therefore, compounding two or more water reducing agents in a certain proportion is one of the important ways to prepare high-performance water reducing agents.