Accelerators for normal concrete play an important role in some engineering constructions. This paper reviews different types of accelerators and discusses their effects on hydration, microstructure and properties of cement-based materials. Generally, calcium and alkali chlorides are the main kinds of chloride-based accelerators, while nitrates, nitrites, thiocyanates, formates and alkanolamines are the chemicals commonly used in non-chloride accelerators. Acceleration of tricalcium oxy silicate (C₃S) hydration and corresponding calcium silicate hydrate (C–S–H) formation is regarded as the main reason for rapid setting and/or hardening according to existing researches. Although some accelerators present anti-freezing or corrosion inhibiting properties, most of them have negative effects on the durability of concrete and high dosages of accelerators are particularly harmful for durability. Incorporation of supplementary cementitious materials and/or chemical admixtures presents a feasible approach to overcome these negative effects. This review also gives some perspectives for future development in the field of accelerators for normal concrete.

普通混凝土用加速器在一些工程建设中发挥着重要作用。本文回顾了不同类型的促进剂，并讨论了它们对水泥基材料水化、微观结构和性能的影响。一般来说，氯化钙和碱金属氯化物是氯化物促进剂的主要种类，而硝酸盐、亚硝酸盐、硫氰酸盐、甲酸盐和链烷醇胺是非氯化物促进剂中常用的化学品。氧硅酸三钙（C ₃S) 水化作用和相应的水合硅酸钙 (C-S-H) 形成被认为是根据现有研究快速凝固和/或硬化的主要原因。尽管一些促进剂具有抗冻或缓蚀性能，但它们中的大多数对混凝土的耐久性有负面影响，并且高剂量的促进剂对耐久性尤其有害。补充胶凝材料和/或化学外加剂的加入提供了一种可行的方法来克服这些负面影响。本综述还对普通混凝土促进剂领域的未来发展提出了一些展望。