A Comparative Analysis by Experimental Investigations on Normal and Ground Ultrafine Mineral Admixtures in Arresting Permeation in High-Strength Concrete

B Karthikeyan,Senthil Kumaran Selvaraj,G Sundaramali,G Dhinakaran,Velmurugan Paramasivam,Natarajan Muthuswamy,Wenjie Ge

doi:10.1155/2022/3831580

B Karthikeyan, Senthil Kumaran Selvaraj + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/3831580

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Abstract

This paper discusses the permeation characteristics of concrete made by increasing the fineness of the conventional mineral admixtures and using them as a partial substitute for cement. Silica fume and metakaolin ground to ultrafine state and ceramic powder obtained from grinding waste ceramic tiles were used as mineral admixtures. The mixes were designed for a compressive strength of 50 MPa and were prepared for both binary and ternary blended cases. Binary blended specimens were cast, partially replacing cement with unground silica fume, ground silica fume, unground metakaolin, and ground metakaolin separately in different replacement proportions. Ternary blended mixes were prepared using ceramic powder in 4%, 9%, and 14% and with silica fume in a constant level of 1% percentage. All the cast specimens were compared against the control concrete. A deeper comparative analysis was also made by comparing the performance of specimens made with unground mineral admixtures with that of ground mineral admixtures. Various parameters such as resistance against water absorption, percentage of voids, and sorptivity characteristics were studied. It was observed that increasing the fineness helps fill up the pores, thereby improving the resistance to permeation action.

Highlights

Academic Editor: Wenjie Ge is paper discusses the permeation characteristics of concrete made by increasing the fineness of the conventional mineral admixtures and using them as a partial substitute for cement
Silica fume and metakaolin ground to ultrafine state and ceramic powder obtained from grinding waste ceramic tiles were used as mineral admixtures. e mixes were designed for a compressive strength of 50 MPa and were prepared for both binary and ternary blended cases
Resistance to permeation is an essential property in highperformance concrete. It plays a significant role in estimating the performance of the concrete as it affects the durability of the structures, especially those exposed to aggressive environments. e presence of pores in concrete leads to the permeation of water, salt, and other natural agents, resulting in the deterioration of concrete. is can be controlled by incorporating more refined supplementary cementitious materials available as industrial byproducts

Summary

Materials Used

Silica fume (SiO2), a by-product obtained from ferrosilicon industry, was used as one of the mineral admixtures It is a very fine powder with more than 95% of the particles having a size less than 1 μm. The material silica fume/metakaolin was ground individually for 1 hour in 100 g and 50 g, and the effect of grinding was observed. E components were found using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and are presented in Table 1 to ensure that the ceramic particles possess chemical properties similar to those of cement and are helpful for a partial replacement for cement. Among the binary mix category, silica fume, metakaolin, and ceramic powder were used as mineral admixtures as partial substitutes for cement in both unground and ultrafine states. Ceramic powder and silica fume were blended with cement.

Experimental Investigations

Results and Discussion

Sorptivity

Porosity