Public Roads: A Journal of Highway Research, Vol. 27, No. 12

Carpenter, C.A.; Chaiken, Bernard; Cope, E.M.; Dalhouse, J.B.; Dimmick, T.B.; Duzan, H.C.; Halstead, W.J.; Hitchcock, S.T.; Hopkins, R.C.; Jackson, F.H.; Kinter, E.B.; McCallum, W.R.; Meadows, R.W.; Normann, O.K.; Pauls, J.T.; Prisk, C.W.; Raff, M.S.; Swerdlow, Max; Teller, L.W.; Timms, A.G.; Todd, T.R.; Welborn, J.Y.; Wiles, E.G.; Wintermyer, A.M.; Woolf, D.O.; Zettel, R.M. · 1954 · ROSA P / United States. Government Printing Office

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Summary

This 1954 report by the Bureau of Public Roads evaluates the acceptability of 27 commercial air-entraining admixtures for use in portland cement concrete for highway pavements and bridges. Prior to 1950, data on these materials were scarce, limiting their adoption despite increasing demand. The study aimed to provide empirical evidence regarding their ability to entrain air and their effects on strength and durability, thereby facilitating standardized specification by state highway departments. The research involved testing samples from 19 manufacturers, classified into seven chemical groups including salts of wood resins, synthetic detergents, and sulfonated lignin. Three test series were conducted: Series I assessed compressive and flexural strength using limestone aggregate; Series II repeated strength tests using siliceous gravel for a subset of 15 admixtures; and Series III evaluated durability via resistance to alternate freezing and thawing. Concrete mixes were designed to entrain 3–6 percent air. Acceptance criteria required that admixed concrete maintain at least 88 percent of the strength of non-admixed control concrete at 3, 28, and 365 days, and demonstrate substantially improved durability. Strength tests utilized 6x6x21-inch beams and 6x12-inch cylinders, while durability was measured by the loss in dynamic modulus of elasticity during 24-hour freeze-thaw cycles. The results indicated that 26 of the 27 materials met the strength requirements, with most exceeding the 88-percent threshold at all tested ages. One material was deferred due to unsuitable physical form for application. All tested admixtures successfully improved durability compared to non-air-entrained concrete, though performance varied significantly among products. These variations in durability could not be directly correlated with total air content, suggesting that the distribution or spacing of air voids likely influenced performance. The study also noted that admixtures generally reduced water demand by approximately 0.5 gallons per sack of cement, with sulfonated lignin salts showing a greater reduction. The Bureau officially approved 26 of the materials for use in government contracts, including the four previously accepted by the American Society for Testing Materials. This comprehensive evaluation provided the necessary data to broaden the acceptance of air-entraining admixtures in highway construction. The findings established that a wide variety of chemical sources could effectively produce durable, strong concrete, while highlighting the need for further study into how air void characteristics, rather than just volume, impact freeze-thaw resistance.

Key finding

26 of the 27 tested commercial air-entraining admixtures met the Bureau of Public Roads criteria for strength retention and freezing-thawing durability.

Methodology

lab_experiment

Sample size: 27

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

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