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CEMEX Launches Self-Curing Concrete

Thursday, January 26, 2012

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CEMEX, one of the world’s largest suppliers of ready-mix concrete, has launched a second global ready-mix concrete brand, Hidratium, that is designed to self-cure while reducing cracking and shrinkage.

As the company explains in a video, Hidratium’s self-curing properties are the result of mix design principles and proprietary admixtures that reduce water evaporation during curing, thereby minimizing cracking and shrinkage later.

Davide Zampini, head of the CEMEX Research Group, called Hidratium “an innovative concrete technology” designed to save time and money to “maintain adequate levels of moisture and attain the maximum performance of the concrete.”

The product is suitable for all infrastructure and building applications, according to CEMEX.

Properties and Characteristics

According to CEMEX, the product:

• Replaces external curing;

• Eliminates plastic shrinkage cracking and reduces long-term shrinkage by at least 50%;

• Reduces water evaporation by about 80%;

• Reduces construction time by about 30%;

• Produces dust-free surfaces;

• Requires no post-casting repairs and is maintenance free; and

• Increases the durability of concrete structures.

Hidratium was developed by the CEMEX Research Group AG in Switzerland in collaboration with the CEMEX Cement and Ready Mix Technology Center in Mexico. It is now being sold in France, Ireland, Mexico, Poland and Guatemala, and is ready to be produced in the Czech Republic, Germany, UAE, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Spain and China.

CEMEX is a global building materials company that provides products and services in more than 50 countries.

More information: www.cemex.com