Effects of mineral admixtures on fresh and hardened properties of self-compacting concretes: binary, ternary and quaternary systems

Abstract

The paper presented herein investigates the effects of using supplementary cementitious materials in binary, ternary, and quaternary blends on the fresh and hardened properties of self-compacting concretes (SCCs). A total of 22 concrete mixtures were designed having a constant water/binder ratio of 0.32 and total binder content of 550 kg/m3. The control mixture contained only portland cement (PC) as the binder while the remaining mixtures incorporated binary, ternary, and quaternary cementitious blends of PC, fly ash (FA), ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), and silica fume (SF). After mixing, the fresh properties of the concretes were tested for slump flow time, L-box height ratio, V-funnel flow time, setting time, and viscosity. Moreover, compressive strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity, and electrical resistivity of the hardened concretes were measured. Test results have revealed that incorporating the mineral admixtures improved the fresh properties and rheology of the concrete mixtures. The compressive strength and electrical resistivity of the concretes with SF and GGBFS were much higher than those of the control concrete.