Accepted Manuscript

Compressive strength and chloride resistance of self-compacting concrete con-

taining high level fly ash and silica fume

Watcharapong Wongkeo, Pailyn Thongsanitgarn, Athipong Ngamjarurojana,

Arnon Chaipanich

PII: S0261-3069(14)00574-3
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2014.07.042
Reference: JMAD 6665

To appear in: Materials and Design

Received Date: 20 February 2014

Accepted Date: 22 July 2014

Please cite this article as: Wongkeo, W., Thongsanitgarn, P., Ngamjarurojana, A., Chaipanich, A., Compressive
strength and chloride resistance of self-compacting concrete containing high level fly ash and silica fume, Materials
and Design (2014), doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2014.07.042

This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers
we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and
review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process
errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
 1

Compressive strength and chloride resistance of self-compacting concrete

containing high level fly ash and silica fume
Watcharapong Wongkeo, Pailyn Thongsanitgarn, Athipong Ngamjarurojana, Arnon
Chaipanich*

Advanced Cement-based Materials Research Unit, Department of Physics and materials, Faculty of
Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand

Abstract

The influence of high-calcium fly ash and silica fume as a binary and ternary blended

cement on compressive strength and chloride resistance of self-compacting concrete (SCC)

were investigated in this study. High-calcium fly ash (40–70%) and silica fume (0–10%)

were used to replace part of cement at 50, 60 and 70% by weight. Compressive strength,

density, volume of permeable pore space (voids) and water absorption of SCC were

investigated. The total charge passed in coulombs was assessed in order to determine chloride

resistance of SCC. The results show that binary blended cement with high level fly ash

generally reduced the compressive strength of SCC at all test ages (3, 7, 28 and 90 days).

However, ternary blended cement with fly ash and silica fume gained higher compressive

strength after 7 days when compared to binary blended cement at the same replacement level.

The compressive strength more than 60 MPa (high strength concrete) can be obtained when

using high-calcium fly ash and silica fume as ternary blended cement. Fly ash decreased the

charge passed of SCC and tends to decrease with increasing fly ash content, although the

volume of permeable pore space (voids) and water absorption of SCC were increased. In

addition, when compared to binary blended cement at the same replacement level. The charge

passed of SCC that containing ternary blended cement was lower than binary blended cement

with fly ash only. This indicated that fly ash and silica fume can improve chloride resistance

of SCC at high volume content of Portland cement replacement.

Keywords: blended cement; high-calcium fly ash; silica fume; chloride resistance
* Corresponding Author
 2

E-mail address: [email protected]; Fax: 66 53 943445

1. Introduction

Nowadays, high-volume fly ash (HVFA) concrete, with 50% or more of cement

replaced by fly ash (FA) has been studied extensively. HVFA is often used to achieve good

slump flow of self-compacting concrete (SCC). SCC is a new category of high-performance

concrete characterized by its ability to spread into place under its own weight without the

need of vibration, and self-compact without any segregation [1, 2]. The use of FA in SCC

reduces the dosage of superplasticizer needed to obtain similar slump flow as for concrete

made with Portland cement [3]. Also, the use of FA improves rheological properties and

reduces cracking of concrete due to lower heat of hydration [4, 5]. However, the strengths of

HVFA concrete are lower than that of pure Portland cement concrete, especially at early age

due to the dilution effect and very low pozzolanic reaction [6-10].

Currently, the trend of SCC utilization is extensively in many subject area includes in

marine area. It well known that corrosion of reinforcement embedded in concrete due to

chloride ion attack is one of the most significant durability problems of concrete that

subjected in marine zone. Generally, free chlorides play a vital role in the deterioration of

steel reinforcement in concrete. Supplementary cementitious materials (SCM), such as FA,

SF, slag (S), and metakaolin (MK) have a significant impact on the ability of concrete to

resist the penetration of chloride ions due to chlorides binding capacity of these materials.

The process of chloride binding can be classified into two categories namely chemical

binding and physical binding. The strongly bound chlorides are chemical binding. Chloride

ions can react chemically with tricalciumaluminate (C3A) to form calcium chloroaluminates

(3CaO.Al2O3.CaCl2.10H2O :Friedel’s salt) [11, 12]. In addition, chloride ions can be

 3

physically adsorbed on the surface of the solid phases of hydrated products like C-S-H gel

and other products of reactions [13, 14].

Due to the low compressive strength at the early age, SF was used incorporating with

FA and found that the compressive strength was improved [15-17]. However, there are a few

study focused the use of FA and SF in term of ternary blended cement on chloride penetration

of SCC, especially the use of high-calcium fly ash incorporating with SF at high cement

replacement level. Therefore, in this study, the chloride penetration of SCC produced using

high-calcium fly ash and SF was investigated at high level of replacement. In addition,

compressive strength, apparent density, and volume of permeable pore space (voids) and

water absorption of SCC were also measured.

2. Experimental details

2.1. Materials

Ordinary Portland cement type I (PC), The Siam Cement Public Company Ltd.,

Lampang,Thailand was used. Fly ash (FA) obtained from Mae Moh power plant in Lampang,

Thailand and undensified silica fume (SF) grade 920-U obtained by Elkem Silicon Materials

Ltd., Singapore were used in partial replacement of cement by weight in different

compositions. The chemical compositions and physical properties of Portland cement, fly ash

and silica fume are presented in Table 1.River sand and crushed limestone were used as a fine

aggregate and coarse aggregate, respectively. The physical properties and sieve size

distributions of crushed limestone and river sand are presented in Table 2. River sand and

crushed limestone were washed and dried before using.

 4

2.2. Samples preparation and test methods

In this study, Portland cement was replaced with FA and SF at 50, 60 and 70% by

weight. Concrete samples were designed to have a constant slump flow at 600±50 mm. The

slump flow test was performed in accordance with the ASTM: C1611. The amount of

superplasticizer was adjusted in order to obtain constant slump flow. The water content was

kept constant at 180 kg/m3. Water to binder ratio (w/b) of 0.3, 0.35 and 0.4 were investigated.

The coarse aggregate to total aggregate ratio was kept fixed at 0.35 and the fine aggregate to

total aggregate ratio was in the range 0.65 (was adjusted in order to obtain the yield/volume).

The mix proportions of concrete samples are indicated in Table 3.

Concrete samples were designed to use high volume FA and incorporating with SF as a

Portland cement replacement in self compacting concrete (SCC) application. Concrete

sample were mixed using a rotary mixer. River sand (fine aggregate) and crushed limestone

(coarse aggregate) were firstly mixed with half of water by using rotary mixer for 1 min and

then left for 4 min for aggregates absorption. After that, binder were added and mixed with

another half of water that included superplasticizer for a further 3 min.

Cube specimens, 100×100×100 mm, were prepared for evaluating the compressive

strength (BS EN 12390-3 [18]) while cylindrical mould, 100 mm in diameter and 200 mm

high, were used to determine chloride penetration. After mixing, concretes were cast into

oiled moulds without compaction, surfaced-smooth, covered with plastic film and left in the

mould for 24 h. The specimens were removed from the moulds and cured in saturated lime

water at 23±1 °C until tested. The compressive strength was determined after 3, 7, 28 and 90

days of saturated lime water curing. The samples curing condition was applied from ASTM:

C109. The chloride resistance test of concrete at 28 days was done in accordance with the

ASTM: C1202.
 5

For chloride resistance test, after casting, the specimens were left in the mould for 24 h

and cured in saturated lime water for 28 days. After that, specimens were cut to obtain two

samples of 50±3 mm thick from the middle of 100×200 mm concrete cylinder using a diamond

saw. The specimens were allowed to surface dried in air for at least 1 h, and then the side

surface were coated with acrylic coating (both end face of specimen must be exposed), and

leave in air for 24 h. Thereafter, specimens were placed in a vacuum desiccator and pumped

(into vacuum) for 3 h., then drain sufficient water into the desiccator to cover and soak the

specimen samples under water for 18±2 h.

After that, specimens were removed from the desiccator and placed into the testing cell

which containing ionic solutions. One of the testing cells was filled with 0.3 M NaOH

solution (this side of the cell was connected to the positive terminal of the power supply) and

the other cell with 3% NaCl solution (this side of the cell was connected to the negative

terminal of the power supply). A 60 V DC was applied between the two cells. The resistance

of concrete to chloride ion penetration was represented by the total charge passed in

coulombs during a test period of 6 h.

In addition, density, water absorption and void percentage (volume of permeable pore

space) of samples were also determined according to ASTM: C642. The samples were dried

in an oven at a temperature of 110 °C for 24 h, then allowed samples to cool in an oven for

12 h and determined the mass. After cooling, the samples were immersed in water for 48 h

and then boiled the sample for 5 h. After that, the samples were cooled by natural loss of heat

to a final temperature of 20 to 25 °C. The surface moisture was removed with a towel and

determined the mass of the specimen. Finally, the specimens were suspended in the water and

determined the apparent mass in water. Density, water absorption and void percentage were

calculated following:

Absorption after immersion and boiling, % = [(B – A)/A] ×100 (1)

 6

Apparent density = [A/(A – C)].ρ (2)

Volume of permeable pore space (voids), % = [(B – A)/(B – C)] ×100 (3)

where:

A = mass of oven-dried sample (g)

B = mass of surface-dry sample in air after immersion and boiling (g)

C = apparent mass of sample in water after immersion and boiling (g)

ρ= density of water (1 g/cm3).

3. Results and discussion

3.1 Density, water absorption and volume of permeable pore space

The apparent density of all SCC at 28 days with different w/b ratios of 0.3, 0.35 and 0.4

is shown in Figure 1. In term of binary blended Portland cement, at the same water to binder

(w/b) ratio, there appeared to be no clearly difference in the apparent density of all SCC when

containing FA. In term of ternary blended Portland cement, it was observed that there is no

general trend when FA and SF were used to replace part of cement. However, in general with

exception of 60FA10SF the apparent density of binary and ternary blended Portland cement

at all w/b seems to be slightly lower than Portland cement control.

Density of hardened mortar or concrete varies, depending on the amount and density of

the aggregate, the amount of air voids that is entrained or entrapped and the water and cement

contents [19]. However, if the amount and density of the aggregate and water content

constant, density of hardened mortar or concrete depend on the amount of air voids and

cements content. In fact, the density (specific gravity) of overall cement matrix is decreased

during hydration reaction. All hydration products of cement compounds have lower specific

gravity and larger specific volumes than the cement compounds [20]. In addition, the amount

and size of air voids are affected by hydration products and pozzolanic materials which filled
 7

the voids in the cement paste. Thus, density of hardened mortar or concrete also depends on

the amount and density of hydration products and pozzolanic materials content.

Figure 2 shows volume of permeable pore space (voids) of all SCC at 28 days. In term

of binary blended Portland cement, the voids of all SCC containing FA seem to be higher

than Portland cement control, at the same w/b ratio and tend to increase with increasing FA

content. This is due to the cement dilution effect and slow pozzolanic reaction of FA. While,

the voids of all SCC containing SF seem to be lower than Portland cement control, at the

same w/b ratio. This is due to the high pozzolanic reaction and filler effect of SF. In term of

ternary blended Portland cement, the voids of all SCC tend to decrease with increasing SF

content. This is due to the filler effect by SF, hydration products and pozzolanic materials.

When varying w/b ratio, the voids of SCC seem to be increased with increasing w/b ratio.

This is due to the increasing of porosity when increasing w/b ratio.

Figure 3 shows water absorption of all SCC at 28 days. Water absorption has a direct

relationship with the voids so the absorption decreased as the voids decreased. Thus, at the

same w/b ratio, the water absorption of all SCC containing FA was higher than Portland

cement control and tends to decrease with increasing SF content.

3.2 Compressive strength

The compressive strengths of all SCC at 3, 7, 28 and 90 days are shown in Tables 4-6.

The compressive strength of all SCC increased with increasing curing time. In term of binary

blended Portland cement concrete, the results show that the compressive strength of SCC at

high volume cement replacement decreased with increasing FA content, at all test ages. The

compressive strength of SCC containing FA was lower than the Portland cement control.

While the compressive strength of SCC containing SF at 5 and 10 wt.% was higher than the

Portland cement control. The reduction of compressive strength of binary blended Portland
 8

cement containing FA is due to its slow pozzolanic reaction and the dilution effect. While the

compressive strength of binary blended Portland cement SCC with SF at 5 and 10 wt% was

higher than the Portland cement control. This is due to the greater pozzolanic reaction and

micro filler effect of SF [21].

For ternary blended Portland cement concrete, the compressive strength of SCC

containing ternary blended Portland cement was higher than SCC containing binary blended

Portland cement, at the same replacement level. Moreover, the compressive strength of SCC

increased with increasing SF content. The improvement of the compressive strength of SCC

containing ternary blended Portland cement is due to the higher pozzolanic reaction of SF

than that of FA and the micro filler effect of SF. However, the compressive strength of all

SCC containing ternary blended Portland cement at 50, 60 and 70 wt.% cement replacement

are still lower than that of the Portland cement control. This is because the micro filler effect

and pozzolanic reaction cannot compensate for the dilution effect at the tested age (28 days).

In this study, at the same replacement level, the compressive strength of all SCC

containing binary and ternary blended Portland cement decreased with increasing w/b ratio.

This is due to a higher water/cement ratio decreases the gel/space ratio that increasing the

porosity and accompanied the decreasing strength of concrete.

In addition, it can be observed that the high strength self-compacting concrete was

obtained when using high calcium fly ash incorporating with SF at high cement replacement

level. Metha and Monteiro [22] reported that concrete having a 28 days compressive strength

more than 60 MPa was designed as a high strength concrete. In this study, the mixtures of

45FA5SF, 55FA5SF, 40FA10SF, 50FA10SF and 60FA10SF at w/b ratio of 0.3 showed 28

days compressive strength over 60 MPa. Moreover, 40FA10SF mixture showed compressive

strength similar to PC control at 28 days. For the mixtures at w/b of 0.35, 45FA5SF,
 9

40FA10SF and 50FA10SF mixtures also showed 28 days compressive strength over 60 MPa.

Therefore, in this study the mixtures containing high calcium fly ash and SF that contributed

28 days compressive strength more than 60 MPa can be designed as a high strength self-

compacting concrete.

3.3 Chloride resistance

To evaluate the resistance of concrete to chloride ion ingress, the charges passed through

concrete specimens in coulombs is measured. The charges passed of all SCC performed at 28

days are shown in Figures 4–7.The charges passed through SCC containing binary blended

Portland cement with FA and SF is shown in Figure 4. The results show that, at the same w/b

ratio, the charges passed of Portland cement control concrete were higher than that of FA and

SF concretes. Moreover, the charges passed of SCC containing binary FA and binary SF

mixes decreased with increasing FA and SF content, up to 49.4% reduction and 92.2 %

reduction respectively (as shown in Figure 4). Furthermore, the charges passed of FA

concrete were higher than that of SF concrete.

The reduction of charges passed of SCC containing FA is due to the chloride chemical

binding affect. Usually, chloride ions can react with tricalcium aluminates (C3A) and C4AF

to form 3CaO.Al2O3.CaCl2.10H2O (calcium chloroaluminates: Friedel’s salt) and 3CaO.

Fe2O3.Al2O3.CaCl2.10H2O (calcium chloroferrites) which is stableforms and leads to

decrease of free chlorides available [23]. The presence of FA leads to an increase in the

amount of C3A due to the higher amount of alumina present in the mix. In addition, FA leads

to an increase of calcium silicate hydrate (C–S–H) content that is formed in the pozzolanic

reactions to chloride physical binding [24, 25]. Thus, the chloride binding capacity of

concrete tends to increase with increasing FA content. For SCC containing SF, the reduction

of charges passed is due to improvement of pore structure (finer-pore) by SF that reduces

permeability of hardened concrete.

 10

In addition, Uysal and Akyuncu [25] reported that the formation of a less porous, denser

microstructure and a discontinuous pore system all has an influence on the reduction of

chloride ion permeability and found that pozzolanic reactions were able to develop a

discontinuous pore system. Thus, pozzolanic materials especially SF led to a decrease in the

total chloride charges passed through SCC.

The charges passed of SCC containing ternary blended cement concrete with FA and SF

at 50, 60 and 70 wt.%, compared to Portland cement control concretes are presented in

Figures 5-7. At the same replacement level and w/b ratio, the charges passed of SCC

containing ternary blended cement were lower than SCC containing binary blended cement

with the relative percentages of charge to the control Portland cement concrete are in the

range from 11.3% to 33.6% for ternary blend mixes compared to 50.6% to 68.6% of binary

fly ash cement mixes. Moreover, the charges passed of ternary blended cement SCC

decreased with increasing SF content. This is due to the pore structures of SCC were

improved in the presence of SF. Moreover, SF is more reactive than FA that results to an

increase of C–S–H at a faster rate for chloride physical binding.

At the same replacement level, the charges passed of all SCC containing binary and

ternary blended Portland cement increased with increasing w/b ratio. This is due to pore

structure of SCC increased with increasing w/b ratio and resulted to an increase

permeability of SCC [26].

The classification of concrete resistance to chloride ion penetrability as obtained from

ASTM: C1202 is indicated in Table 7. In this study, all SCC containing FA in term of binary

blended cement were classified as a moderate chloride ion penetrability (2,000 to 4,000

coulombs), except the mixtures at w/b ratio of 0.3 which can be classified as a low chloride

ion penetrability (1,000 to 2,000 coulombs). Moreover, the incorporation of FA and SF in

term of ternary blended cement reduced the charge passed of SCC and showed the low
 11

chloride ion penetrability classification. Particularly, mixtures of 40FA10SF and 50FA10SF

showed the very low (100 to 1,000 coulombs) chloride ion penetrability classification.

Therefore, the benefit of using high volume ternary cement with fly ash and silica fume can

be seen to obtain a much lower chloride penetration compared to the high penetration found

with Portland cement control concrete.

4. Conclusions

In this study, the influence of high calcium fly ash and SF as a binary and ternary

blended cement at high volume replacement on properties of SCC was investigated. From

these results it can be concluded that the apparent densities of all SCC were not clearly

different when containing FA and SF. However, the apparent density of binary and ternary

blended Portland cement at all w/b seems to be slightly lower than Portland cement control.

The volume of permeable pore space (voids) and water absorption of SCC containing FA was

higher than Portland cement control and tends to increase with increasing FA content. The

influence of SF seems to decrease voids and water absorption of SCC in both binary and

ternary blended Portland cement.

The compressive strength of SCC decreased with increasing FA content at all test

ages and was lower than SCC control. For ternary blended Portland cement SCC, at the same

replacement level, the compressive strength of SCC increased with increasing SF content and

was higher than SCC containing binary blended Portland cement after 7 days. The high

strength self-compacting concrete was obtained when using high calcium fly ash

incorporating with SF at high cement replacement level. Particularly, the mixture of

40FA10SF at w/b ratio of 0.3 showed high strength self-compacting concrete and equivalent

compressive strength to PC control at 90 days.

SCC containing FA or SF as a binary blended cement decreased the charge passed

and tends to decrease with increasing FA or SF content. For ternary blended Portland cement
 12

SCC, at the same replacement level, the charge passed of SCC were decreased with

increasing SF content and more reduction were found when compared to binary blended

Portland cement. The very low chloride ion penetrability can be obtained when using high

calcium fly ash and SF as ternary blended cement at high volume cement replacement.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Office of the Higher Education Commission,

Thailand for supporting by grant fund under the program Strategic Scholarships for Frontier

Research Network for the Ph.D. Program Thai Doctoral degree for this research. The authors

also gratefully acknowledge The Thailand Research Fund (TRF), the Commission on Higher

Education (CHE) and Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Thailand.

References

[1] Siddique R. Properties of self-compacting concrete containing class F fly ash. Mater

Design 2011;32(3):1501–7.

[2] Liu M. Self-compacting concrete with different levels of pulverized fuel ash. Constr

Build Mater 2010;24:1245–52.

[3] GuraJawahar J, Sashidhar C, RamanaRedddy IV, Annie Peter J. Design of cost-

effective M 25 grade of self compacting concrete. Mater Design 2013;46:687-92.

[4] Bouzoubaa N, Lachemi M. Self compacting concrete incorporating high-volumes of

class F fly ash: Preliminary results. Cem Concr Res 2001;31:413–20.

[5] GuraJawahar J, Sashidhar C, RamanaRedddy IV, Annie Peter J. Micro and

macrolevel properties of fly ash blended self compacting concrete. Mater Design

2013;46:696-705.
 13

[6] Bouzoubaa N, Zhang MH, Molhotra VM. Mechanical properties and durability of

concrete made with high-volume fly ash blended cements using a coarse fly ash. Cem

Concr Res 2001;31:1393-402.

[7] Atis CD. Strength properties of high-volume fly ash roller compacted and workable

concrete, and influence of curing condition. Cem Concr Res 2005;35:1112-21.

[8] Dinakar P, Babu KG, Santhanam M. Durability properties of high volume fly ash self

compacting concretes. Cem Concr Comp 2008;30:880-6.

[9] Dinakar P, Kartik Reddy M, Sharma M. Behaviour of self compacting concrete using

Portland pozzolana cement with different levels of fly ash. Mater Design

2013;46:609-16

[10] Duran-Herrera A, Juarez CA, Valdez P, Bentz DP. Evaluation of sustainable high-

volume fly ash concretes. Cem Concr Comp 2011;33:39-45.

[11] Richardson MG. Fundamentals of durable reinforced concrete. 1st ed. Spon Press,

Taylor & Francis Group: USA; 2002.

[12] Neville AM. Properties of concrete. 4th ed. Addison Wesley Longman limited: UK;

1997.

[13] ThomasMDA, Hooton RD, Scott A, Zibara H.The effect of supplementary

cementitious materials on chloride binding in hardened cement paste. Cem Concr Res

2012;42:1-7.

[14] FloreaMVA, Brouwers HJH. Chloride binding related to hydration products. Cem

Concr Res 2012;42:282-90.

[15] Lee CL, Huang R, Lin WT, Weng TL. Establishment of the durability indices for

cement-based composite containing supplementary cementitious materials. Mater

Design 2012;37:28–39.
 14

[16] Wongkeo W, Thongsanitgarn P, Chaipanich A. Compressive strength and drying

shrinkage of fly ash-bottom ash-silica fume multi-blended cement mortars. Mater

Design 2012;36:655-62.

[17] Yazici H. The effect of silica fume and high-volume Class C fly ashon mechanical

properties, chloride penetration and freeze-thaw resistance of self-compacting concrete.

Constr Build Mater 2008;22:456–62.

[18] BS EN 12390-3. Testing hardened concrete. Compressive strength of test specimens.

2009.

[19] Kosmatka SH, Kerkhoff B, Panarese WC. Design and control of concrete

mixtures.14th ed. Portland Cement Association: USA; 2003.

[20] Mindess S, Young JF, Darwin D. Concrete. 2nd ed. Pearson Education: USA; 2003.

[21] Yazıcı H, Yardımcı MY, Aydın S, Karabulut AS. Mechanical properties of reactive

powder concrete containing mineral admixtures under different curing regimes. Constr Build

Mater 2009;23:1223–31.

[22] Mehta PK, MonteiroPJM. Concrete: Microstructure, properties and materials. 3rd ed,

McGraw-Hill: USA; 2006.

[23] Dinakar P., Babu K.G., Santhanam M. Durability properties of high volume fly ash

self compacting concretes. Cem Concr Comp 2008;30:880–6.

[24] Amarnath Yerramala A, Ganesh Babu K. Transport properties of high volume fly ash

roller compacted concrete. Cem Concr Comp 2011;33: 1057–62

[25] Uysal M, Akyuncu V. Durability performance of concrete incorporating Class F and

Class C fly ashes. Constr Build Mater 2012;34:170–8.

[26] Chalee W, Teekavanit M, Kiattikomol K, Siripanichgorn A, Jaturapitakkul C. Effect

of W/C ratio on covering depth of fly ash concrete in marine environment. Constr

Build Mater 2007;21:965–71.

 15

Figure captions

Figure 1. Apparent density of all SCC (a) at w/b of 0.3 (b) at w/b of 0.35 and (c) at w/b of

0.4.

Figure 2. Volume of permeable pore space of all SCC (a) at w/b of 0.3 (b) at w/b of 0.35and

(c) at w/b of 0.4.

Figure 3. Water absorption of all SCC (a) at w/b of 0.3 (b) at w/b of 0.35 and (c) at w/b of

0.4.

Figure 4. Chloride resistances (charge passed) of SCC containing binary blended Portland

cement (a) charge passed and (b) relative charge passed.

Figure 5. Chloride resistances (charge passed) of SCC containing ternary blended Portland

cement at 50 wt% replacement (a) charge passed and (b) relative charge passed.

Figure 6. Chloride resistances (charge passed) of SCC containing ternary blended Portland

cement at 60 wt% replacement (a) charge passed and (b) relative charge passed.

Figure 7. Chloride resistances (charge passed) of SCC containing ternary blended Portland

cement at 70 wt% replacement (a) charge passed and (b) relative charge passed.
 16

Table 1. Chemical compositions and physical properties of Portland cement, fly ash and silica

fume.

Percent chemical composition (%)

Oxide
Portland cement Fly ash Silica fume
SiO2 20.64 36.84 93.55
Al2O3 4.85 19.99 0.56
CaO 63.62 18.55 1.13
Fe2O3 3.17 15.25 0.17
MgO 1.14 2.22 0.75
Na2O 0.51 0.80 0.14
K2 O 0.81 2.76 1.05
P2O5 0.32 0.21 0.53
TiO2 0.21 0.53 0.00
SO3 2.75 2.79 1.01
Loss on ignition 2.08 0.03 1.16
Physical properties
BET surface area (m2/g) 2.24 1.34 18.09
Specific gravity (g/cm3) 3.15 2.1 2.2
Percent glassy phase (%) - 63.00 74.06

Table 2. Physical properties and sieve size distributions of crushed limestone and river sand.

Percentage passing (%)

Sieve number Sieve size (mm)
Limestone River sand
1 25 (mm) 100 100
3/4 19 82.76 100
3/8 9.5 10.41 100
#4 4.75 0.1 98.7
#8 2.36 0 85.3
#16 1.18 0 57.7
#30 0.6 0 23
#50 0.3 0 3.5
#100 0.15 0 0.6
specific gravity 2.65 2.6
 17

Table 3. The mix proportions of SCC.

Proportion (kg/m3)
Mix Water PC FA SF Fine Coarse Superplastizicer
aggregate aggregate (%)
W/B = 0.3
PC 180 600 0 0 1084 595 1.19
50FA 180 300 300 0 958 595 0.25
60FA 180 240 360 0 933 595 0.17
70FA 180 180 420 0 908 595 0.12
5SF 180 570 0 30 1072 595 1.33
10SF 180 540 0 60 1059 595 1.43
45FA5SF 180 300 270 30 958 595 0.37
55FA5SF 180 240 330 30 933 595 0.30
65FA5SF 180 180 390 30 908 595 0.20
40FA10SF 180 300 240 60 958 595 0.60
50FA10SF 180 240 300 60 933 595 0.48
60FA10SF 180 180 360 60 908 595 0.38
W/B = 0.35
PC 180 514 0 0 1131 621 1.50
50FA 180 257 257 0 1023 621 0.26
60FA 180 206 309 0 1001 621 0.19
70FA 180 154 360 0 980 621 0.13
5SF 180 489 0 26 1120 621 1.60
10SF 180 463 0 51 1110 621 1.75
45FA5SF 180 257 231 26 1023 621 0.40
55FA5SF 180 206 283 26 1001 621 0.32
65FA5SF 180 154 334 26 980 621 0.22
40FA10SF 180 257 206 51 1023 621 0.62
50FA10SF 180 206 257 51 1001 621 0.50
60FA10SF 180 154 309 51 980 621 0.40
W/B = 0.4
PC 180 450 0 0 1166 640 1.80
50FA 180 225 225 0 1072 640 0.26
60FA 180 180 270 0 1053 640 0.21
70FA 180 135 315 0 1034 640 0.13
5SF 180 428 0 23 1157 640 1.90
10SF 180 405 0 45 1147 640 2.10
45FA5SF 180 225 203 23 1072 640 0.43
55FA5SF 180 180 248 23 1053 640 0.34
65FA5SF 180 135 293 23 1034 640 0.28
40FA10SF 180 225 180 45 1072 640 0.64
50FA10SF 180 180 225 45 1053 640 0.52
60FA10SF 180 135 270 45 1034 640 0.46
 18

Table 4. Compressive strength of SCC at w/b ratio of 0.3.

Compressive strength (MPa)

3 days 7 days 28 days 90 days
Mix
Strength Strength Strength Strength
S.D. S.D. S.D. S.D.
(MPa) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa)
PC 76.0 0.9 79.3 1.5 84.0 0.6 88.3 1.9
50FA 40.8 1.5 48.9 2.0 66.4 2.7 81.1 3.1
60FA 30.6 0.6 37.9 2.1 58.0 1.4 68.8 2.4
70FA 26.0 0.3 28.9 0.7 45.6 0.4 55.2 1.0
5SF 73.7 2.6 81.6 1.4 95.3 1.1 99.0 1.0
10SF 78.3 2.0 84.5 0.6 100.5 1.5 106.6 6.2
45FA5SF 43.5 0.6 56.0 2.5 75.2 1.6 89.5 2.6
55FA5SF 34.9 0.9 49.1 0.3 63.4 2.2 74.1 2.1
65FA5SF 29.0 0.3 39.5 1.7 52.7 2.7 61.6 0.6
40FA10SF 48.1 1.2 66.1 1.5 85.2 0.9 96.6 1.2
50FA10SF 40.0 0.5 55.1 2.7 73.6 4.4 85.9 1.6
60FA10SF 35.8 0.8 46.9 1.6 61.2 1.9 80.6 4.0

Table 5. Compressive strength of SCC at w/b ratio of 0.35.

Compressive strength (MPa)

3 days 7 days 28 days 90 days
Mix
Strength Strength Strength Strength
S.D. S.D. S.D. S.D.
(MPa) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa)
PC 65.5 1.2 75.2 1.0 83.0 2.9 85.4 0.7
50FA 35.9 1.4 44.6 1.2 59.2 0.5 70.9 1.6
60FA 25.4 1.3 33.7 0.4 52.6 1.5 64.0 0.8
70FA 20.5 0.6 23.6 0.8 39.8 1.0 50.1 0.4
5SF 63.4 0.7 77.6 0.9 85.3 1.1 90.9 1.3
10SF 70.8 1.2 81.2 0.9 91.6 1.9 100.4 0.8
45FA5SF 39.8 1.6 50.4 0.6 68.4 3.2 82.5 2.1
55FA5SF 30.3 0.5 44.0 1.6 57.4 2.1 69.6 0.8
65FA5SF 24.1 1.4 33.5 2.0 45.9 1.3 57.3 1.4
40FA10SF 34.9 1.8 53.1 1.6 75.4 1.6 86.6 1.4
50FA10SF 30.6 0.7 48.2 2.0 64.7 1.8 78.9 0.5
60FA10SF 24.9 0.9 40.5 0.5 51.1 0.6 70.4 0.8
 19

Table 6. Compressive strength of SCC at w/b ratio of 0.4.

Compressive strength (MPa)

3 days 7 days 28 days 90 days
Mix
Strength Strength Strength Strength
S.D. S.D. S.D. S.D.
(MPa) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa)
PC 56.8 1.4 65.6 1.4 72.4 1.3 80.4 0.8
50FA 21.6 1.0 25.7 1.2 41.9 1.4 53.1 1.7
60FA 18.0 0.3 21.2 0.4 35.7 0.2 48.0 0.7
70FA 14.1 0.3 17.7 0.5 31.7 0.8 41.8 2.1
5SF 55.6 0.6 65.8 1.5 75.3 1.1 82.4 1.3
10SF 59.8 1.1 69.7 0.8 79.0 1.1 86.1 2.0
45FA5SF 25.3 0.8 32.1 1.0 51.5 3.3 64.0 2.0
55FA5SF 17.1 0.2 29.8 1.3 39.2 2.8 51.3 0.8
65FA5SF 12.6 0.1 18.2 0.3 28.2 0.3 42.3 0.2
40FA10SF 26.8 0.8 36.5 0.9 60.3 1.8 71.4 1.2
50FA10SF 20.3 0.2 37.0 0.3 49.1 1.4 63.8 2.4
60FA10SF 15.3 0.4 22.9 0.1 33.1 0.3 52.5 1.0

Table 7. Chloride ion penetrability based on charge passed.

Charge passed (coulombs) Chloride ion penetrability

>4,000 High
2,000-4,000 Moderate
1,000-2,000 Low
100-1,000 Very low
<100 Negligible
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
 20

Highlights

• PC was replaced with high calcium fly ash and silica fume by up to 70 wt.%.

• High strength self-compacting concrete can be obtained.

• High chloride resistance can be obtained.

• Similar 28 day strength to PC was found for 40% fly ash with 10% silica

fume.