AKF®
Alkali-free accelerators
Wet-mix shotcrete, a technique used to construct mining tunnels or infrastructure civil works, requires the use of set accelerator additives. During the last decade, the so-called alkali-free accelerators have appeared on the market of set accelerator additives for shotcrete. It has been developed based on the need to use environment and worker-friendly products. Furthermore, the aim of using these products is to make it possible to increase the durability and quality of the concrete structures, rather than use alkaline accelerators that provoke losses in the mechanical resistance of the concrete. Thus, shotcrete may be standardised as a structural concrete.
IQE, continuing with it activity in the set accelerator additives sector, has developed an entire range of alkali-free set accelerators both in aqueous solution and in solid form, for later dissolution in water. A list of accelerator products is grouped under the trade name of AKF, which comprise the so-called third generation of set accelerators after the alkaline silicates and sodium aluminates.
Products
AKF® 125
An aqueous solution of purely inorganic aluminium salts with over 6 months’ storage stability. Its alkaline cation content expressed as % of Na2O is less than 1%.
This product’s high Al2O3 content enables it to act as an effective hardening accelerator for concrete made with both type I and type II cements.
Markets it targets:
AKF® 225-AT
This is a solid in the form of micro-beads based on purely inorganic aluminium salts.
It dissolves readily in water at room temperature to produce aqueous solutions of the AKF-125 type with over 6 months’ storage stability.
Markets it targets:
AKF® 325-AT
This is a solid in the form of micro-beads based on organic and inorganic aluminium salts.
It dissolves readily in water at room temperature to produce aqueous solutions with good storage stability.
