STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF BAKING SODA ON BLEEDING AND COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF CEMENT MILK

Cement milk is used for earth retaining structures, pile construction and also for ground improvement through cement deep mixing and other methods. However, it is quite difficult to estimate or evaluate the compressive strength of concrete mix during curing phase of the construction process. Excessive bleeding also remains a pertinent issue. Excessive absorption of moisture eventually leads to expansion, cracks, and causes reduction in concrete strength. This research was focused on reducing bleeding of cement solidified materials by adding baking soda. Baking soda acts as a catalyst and promotes hydration of cement through hydrolysis reaction. An alkali silica reaction occurs within the cement milk to form alkali silica gel. This shortens the setting time, and curtails excess moisture. The Laboratory experiments revealed that addition of about 3% of backing soda was the most effective. Furthermore, from the electrical resistivity and the compressive strength of 24 hours of the cement solidified material to which 1 to 4% of sodium bicarbonate was added, the compressive strength of 28 days of the material was also accurately estimated.