Effect of citric acid on setting-time and compressive strength of concrete

Abstract

Citric acid is an organic acid naturally present in fruits, one of the ingredients that can be used as a retarder in a concrete mixture. As retarder serves to slow the timing of concrete hardening. In the implication the use of this material affects the time of hardening and compressive strength, therefore need a better control to get the optimal value. The test sample used was 36 with variation of addition of citric acid 0%, 0.15%, 0.3%, 0.45% for the weight of cement. The results obtained the greater the addition of citric acid the longer the hardening of concrete and the greater workability of concrete. The maximum value of compressive strength of concrete is in the addition of 0.15% citric acid with an increase in compressive strength of 82.2% of the nominal concrete.