Agitation
Summary
Agitation - In construction, agitation is the act of mechanically disturbing fresh concrete.
Technical Information
There are a few main reasons for agitating a fresh concrete batch:
- It delays the setting of the concrete pre-placement – useful for when the concrete is pre-mixed and needs to be transported to site via a truck. Whilst agitation does delay the setting of concrete, it doesn’t halt it completely.
- To uniformly mix the constituent concrete materials and to prevent segregation. If steel fibres are to be used, they will be added to the mix on site and the agitation will disperse the reinforcement uniformly.
- It releases some of the stored air in the concrete post-placement – vibration of the concrete post-placement (compaction) is a form of agitation. It encourages any air trapped in the concrete to leave before setting – making the concrete less porous, therefore stronger and more durable.
Related Definitions
Flow Table Test , Steel Fibre Reinforcement , Wash Out Test , Mezzanine , Vibration PokerResources
Effect of Continuous Agitation on Concrete RheologyPlease share this definition:
