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TECHNICAL
EXPLANATION OF HOW KALMATRON® WORKS For two hundred years, it was a dream to reduce the water in concrete mixes to avoid casualties of weather, mistaken curing, vibrations, bleeding, shrinkage, etc. Engineers have had visions of being able to achieve complete hydration of the cement grains, but have never been able to achieve complete hydration. Being able to actually change the rheology of concrete with an admixture has never been achieved. This Chemical Breakthrough of the 21st Century has brought these dreams to reality with Kalmatron®. Most of today’s admixtures are
dedicated to densifying concrete’s microstructure by using the
finest fillers. The
dosages of these products, per cubic yard of concrete, are close to
a batch of concrete ingredients, and they have never been recognized
to have any influence on the concrete rheology by decaying of the
cement grain and forming of the concrete structure.
They are supplementary materials and not co-agents of any
cementitious reactions. Kalmatron® admixtures are completely
different. Kalmatron® admixtures are Inorganic
Oxidizers of micro/macro metal elements contained in the
cementitious materials and other ingredients in the mortar and
concrete compositions. Kalmatron® provides extension of the gel surface through a
process of oxidation that is classified as Type C (accelerating
admixtures) and Type F (water-reducing, high range admixtures).
How
does it Work Reduction
of Pore Diameter Acetylene is the gas produced in Kalmatron® Portland concrete. This gas is released as soon as it is formed, resulting in a much smaller gas bubble, and thus smaller pore diameters, called micro pores are created. The surface tension of water prevents water from entering micro pores. Normal concrete contains approximately 70% macro pores and 30% micro pores. Kalmatron® concrete contains approximately 3% macro pores and 97% micro pores, making Kalmatron® concrete far more resistant to water ingress. That is why Engineers refer to Kalmatron® concrete as "artificial rock". Kalmatron® encourages the formation of calcium sulfoaluminate crystals early in the hydration process. The crystals are too weak during their formation to grow into the capillaries and are deflected to grow along the axis of the pores. The end result is that a crystal shell forms around the outside of the capillaries without preventing them from venting to the atmosphere. These crystals are in themselves insoluble and chemically resistant. The calcium sulfoaluminate crystals grow parallel to each other and look like bundles of hexagonal fibers. The gaps between the crystals are filled with an inter-crystal solution. The density, volume and strength of the entire package depend entirely on the density of the solution. When a liquid penetrates the concrete, the solution is diluted, causing the fiber bundles to swell, and the volume of the package increases. This action constricts the pores, effectively reducing their diameter, but not blocking them from the atmosphere. The pores are now smaller than the diameter of a molecule. The reduction of pore diameter produces three simultaneous effects: 1. The artificially small pore diameter is now not much larger than the diameter of a water molecule and produces a kind of molecular sieve or filter that prevents ingress of large molecules, such as acids and oils. 2. Reducing pore diameter increases the pressure of the liquids and gases inside the pores. This produces a positive pressure against the further penetration of gases, water and any electrolytes they may carry. 3. Liquids such as water, alkalis, acids and oil products are unable to penetrate as their own tension prevents it. This process is a dynamic, rather than static one, which allows the crystals to expand or contract. The pores, although very small, are always open to the atmosphere, thus preventing buildup of osmotic pressure within the concrete, which can have catastrophic results. The
Introduction of Electrical Charges Adding any electrolyte, for example an acid, to Kalmatron® results in charged particles (ions) in the concrete migrating to the surface to neutralize the charge. The stronger the attacking, or foreign ions, the more active ions in the concrete migrate to the surface. If the aggressive chemical is strong, the concrete surface may etch about 0.5mm to increase the surface area for the reactions to take place. The net effect is similar to trying to push the north end of two magnets together -- the stronger you push, the more the magnets pushed back. If the aggressive chemical changes, other ions in the concrete become active to counteract it and the process begins again. Kalmatron® enhanced concrete is almost organic in nature in that it will react to exclude all non-cementitious chemicals, and just like an animal's immune system, once the chemical has been recognized and neutralized, the concrete becomes "immune" to further attack from similar chemicals. This process will occur with all materials that are not compatible with cement and this includes many common cement modifiers, retarders, and accelerators. The use of foreign cement modifiers with Kalmatron® will result in that chemical being destroyed and rendered useless. Concrete mix contains a lot of structurally useful minerals, which are not used at all because the active agent is only water. Water is not enough to involve these minerals in the hydration and hardening process. The combination of the more than 50 chemicals in the Kalmatron® admixtures, provide this activity with cementitious mixes through a chain reaction of four processes. The gradated solubility of Kalmatron®
components allows it to get consequential reactions, from the 1st
through the 4th, without delays.
These reactions will be continuous if the dosage of water is
reduced enough, and the mixing of the concrete is done completely.
The four processes include:
1) Dissolution of the cement grain by speeded hydration, 2)
Oxidation of the metal containing elements, 3) Colloidation of the
free molecules of water, and 4) Stabilization of the gel of the
cement paste. 1) Dissolution of the cement grain by
speeded hydration. This is a very important stage where
the standard volume of hydration increases in speed by weakening the
molecular tensions of water with positively charged artificial
minerals. This reaction
results in: a.
Reduction
of water needed for the concrete mix by 20%; b.
Maximum
concentration of the water solution of Kalmatron® components to
achieve low slump with high workability; c.
Retardation
of the shrinkage dynamic in the first days; d.
Reliable
“raw compaction” of the concrete mix; e.
Pumpable
concrete mix with a slump of 2½” to 4”. 2)
Oxidation of metal containing elements. The use of Kalmatron® involves
negatively charged, artificial minerals, which provide magnetic
reorientation of the water molecules and particles of the cement
grain. This
reorientation, which causes a weakening of their relations, causes
rotation with considerable freedom to involve a bigger amount of
cement particles in the hydration reaction.
Once activated by the addition of water, Kalmatron® causes a chemical
chain reaction within the cement grain that results in complete hydration of the grain, while reducing the shrinkage and
accelerating the overall hydration reaction. Kalmatron®
encourages the growth of specific calcium based crystals using waste
lime. These crystals are dynamic and are able to react to
variations in environmental conditions such as temperature and the
presence of electrolytes such as acids and salts. All soluble
lime is usually wasted in the concrete. Kalmatron® converts
lime to usable cementitious compounds. The result is a
completely homogeneous mix that is stronger, denser, and more
resistant that has ever been possible before. This reaction results in: a.
Up
to two times lower heat emissions of the exothermic reaction,
because that part of the energy is taken for oxidation; b.
Milder
porosity in size of development from the depth to the surface of the
concrete; c.
1½ - 2 times less shrinkage because of the oxidation; d.
Electric
conductivity increases because of the metal oxidation; e.
Kalmatron®
concrete behaves like High Alumina concrete with respect to
corrosion resistance, compressive strength, impermeability, and
abrasion resistance. 3)
Colloidation of free molecules of water. By all appearances, this is a
thickening of the water or the water-dissolved solutions.
Since most of the cement grains are hydrated and the
interporous liquid-vapor is represented by natural mineralogical
cementitious solutions, then: a.
Superficial
vapor emissions are lower; b.
Concentration
of the solutions on the surface and the depth of the concrete body
changes almost simultaneously; c.
Osmotic
pressure is very low and that is why “hydrothermal” deformations
are not significant; d.
And,
the number of porosity, and the types of pores are lower, i.e.
ordered porosity. Numerous mineralogical sediments become
the centers of crystallization of cementitious solutions, with
thickening of solutions around those centers, like shells.
Solutions with lower concentrations reach this phase later,
in accordance with gradated concentrations.
The speed of colloidation is slow, and the entire process may
take decades. This
reaction results in: a.
Homogeneity
for concrete structures; b.
Considerable
compaction of aggregates throughout the concrete body; c.
Measurable
increase of the macro-structural density by 3%-5%; d.
Early
strengthening on the third or seventh day, depending on the mix
design; e.
Liquid
impermeability is complete in a viscous interporous media of Kalmatron®
concrete; f.
Chemical
resistance is greatly increased because of the metal film oxide on
every particle of the concrete structure, (this is observable by the
changing of the concrete color, or any detector pulled out from a
batch, even by hand); g.
Physical
resistance to freeze-thaw cycles and drying/saturation types of
corrosions because the structure is better compacted and has an
ordered porous structure. 4.
Stabilization of the gel of the cement paste. Obviously, this is a result of the
naturally growing viscosity of solutions in cement paste. Approximate time for this process is measured between 7 days
and fourteen months, and is much longer than it takes conventional
concrete. The long-term
presence of the stable phase of the gel in the porous system of the
concrete body results in: a.
Growing
of the micro-structural density; b.
Dynamical
growing of the liquid impermeability; c.
Increasing
the crystalline containing parts in the concrete body, because of
the time frame for the gel drying; d.
Stable
and slow increasing of the compressive strength; e.
Continuous
type of porous system which resulted from the oxidation process; f.
Decreases
pore’s suction ability because of reduced superficial tensions
saturation; g.
Creep
of concrete is stable and indicative at the 91-day mark. Additional benefits from Kalmatron®: Improved steel protection Higher build in one pass with less rebound, 5% or less, when spraying Kalmatron® concrete onto a surface. Cured concrete resists chemical attack from salts, acids, alkalis, chlorides, carbon dioxide and petroleum distillates better than any other high grade concrete design. Allows application from -5°C to 40°C without affecting the set time. No bleed water. The need for concrete curing membranes is virtually eliminated. Modules of rupture, which is very important for bridges and dams, is increased by 60%. Freeze/thaw resistance is increased up to 400 cycles, or more. Kalmatron® will forever change the way the Industry envisions the ultimate concrete - the ability to completely change the rheology of the concrete, increase all of the favorable aspects of concrete, and to do it all with only one cost-effective product.
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