Strength and Durability of High Performance Road Concrete Containing Ultra-Fine Fly Ash

Abstract

This paper presents the influence of ultra-fine fly ash on the strength development and durability characteristics of high performance road concrete. The durability of high performance road concrete is investigated including the permeation resistance under hydraulic pressure, the resistance to rapid freezing and thawing, the wear resistant ability and drying shrinkage. Results on compressive strength and strength development of high performance road concrete are also obtained with the main variables being the partial replacements of cement by ultra-fine fly ash of 20%, 30% and 40% by weight of binder material and the binder material of 360kg/m3 and 400 kg/m3. The test results indicate that the use of ultra-fine fly ash as cement replacement leads to a significant improvement of high performance road concrete resistance to permeation and rapid freezing and thawing. The later compressive strength of concrete containing ultra-fine fly ash is also found to be significantly higher than that of control concrete. The wear resistant ability of high performance road concrete is significantly higher than that of control concrete with similar workability. The high performance road concrete also shows the lower drying shrinkage.