Strength, permeability, and carbonation of high-performance concrete

Abstract

This investigation is aimed at developing high-performance concrete and form part of an investigation into the optimization of a blended cementitious system for the development of high-performance concrete. Binary and ternary blended cementitious systems based on ordinary Portland cement (OPC), pulverised fuel ash (PFA) and silica fume (SF) were investigated. PFA up to 40% was used, and to these blends, 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% SF were incorporated as partial cement replacements. Results of compressive strength, tensile strength, oxygen permeability and carbonation of concrete are reported. A water–binder (w/b) ratio of 0.27 was used for the main group of mixes and w/b ratios of 0.40 and 0.50 were used for some selected mixes. Based on the experimentally obtained results, prediction models were developed which enabled the establishment of isoresponse contours showing the interaction between the various parameters investigated. It was found that the incorporation of 8–12% SF as cement replacement yielded the optimum strength and permeability values.