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TIL some concrete mixes need air entrainment even in warm weather
I was reading through an old PCA manual I found at a garage sale, and it said air entrainment isn't just for freeze-thaw cycles. Turns out it also helps with sulfate resistance and workability in certain soils. I've been doing flatwork around Dallas for 6 years and never bothered with it unless temps dropped below freezing. Anyone else skip this step and regret it later?
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matthewgonzalez28d agoTop Commenter
Idk if that's totally right about sulfate resistance. Air entrainment helps a little bit with sulfate attack, but the real fix for that is using Type V cement or adding fly ash to the mix. Air entrainment is mostly for freeze-thaw and workability like you said. I've seen a few guys around here use it in warm weather just to make the concrete easier to finish, but it's not gonna do much if your soil has high sulfates. That's more about the chemistry of the cement itself.
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fiona_reed27d ago
Type V cement is really the only way to go for high sulfates.
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