Effectiveness of starch ethers as rheology modifying admixture for cement based systems

Abstract

Polysaccharides are important rheology modifying admixtures in the building material sector. The use of starch is becoming increasingly important, due to many ecological and economic advantages. In the construction sector, starch ethers are being used as thickeners and as means to increase the yield stress. The starch ethers that are available on the market differ in their behaviour, which can vary greatly depending upon the binder system and mortar composition, e.g. solid volume content, binder type, additional admixtures. In view of the limited knowledge about the influence of molecular modifications associated with cement based systems, some fundamental rheological functional mechanisms were analysed in this study. The differently modified starch ethers used were derived from potatoes. They varied in their charges and degrees of hydroxypropylation. The setting and the flow behaviour of all examined variations of starch ethers were analysed in cement pastes. In order to illustrate the effects of the starch ethers that were used, the water-cement ratio (w/c) was held constant in all the mixtures [Schmidt 2012]. The results indicated significant differences in setting and flow behaviour.