International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 28 Number 7 - October 2015
Study on Role of Fines and Ultrafines in Enhancement of Properties
of Concrete
Ajeesha M R#1 Rohini G Nair#2
#1
P G Student, Department of civil engineering, Ilahia college of engineering &Technology,
Muvattupuzha, Kerala, India
#2
Assistant Professor, Department of civil engineering, Ilahia college of engineering &Technology,
Muvattupuzha, Kerala, India
Abstract— This paper presents an estimation of role of ultrafine
slag Alccofine in the enhancement of properties of concrete. This
includes comparison between properties of normal concrete and
concrete with partial replacement of cement with ultra-fine slag
Alccofine 1203. Ultra-fine slag materials are very much important
for improving the durability and workability of concrete to sustain a
longer life span and producing a greener and quality concrete.
Incorporating ultra-fine slag as a mineral admixture improves the
workability and pump ability of fresh concrete. The ultra-fine slag
acts as filler thus also reduces permeability. In this paper fresh and
hardened state property of high strength concrete with partial
replacement of cement by ultra-fine slag Alccofine 1203 is finding
out.
Keywords— High performance concrete, Alccofine,
durability, ultrafine slag, compressive strength, cement,
aggregate.
I. INTRODUCTION
High performance concrete is a concrete mixture, which is
having high durability and high strength when compared to
normal concrete. It contains one or more of supplementary
cementitious materials like fly ash, silica fume or ground
granulated blast furnace slag and super plasticizer. Concrete
has undergone high development in the past few years in India
and it is the most widely used construction material in India.
The developments in construction present opportunities for
developing new concrete materials that is superior to the
normal concrete.
This particular study deals with the study of role of ultra-fines
in enhancing the properties of concrete. An ultrafine slag is
introduced in the concrete to obtain the high performance
concrete. Slag using is ―ALCCOFINE 1203‖, which is a
supplementary cementitious material suitably replaces Silica
fume used in high performance concrete. Concrete is made up
of Ordinary Portland cement. Fresh state and hardened state
properties of concrete is to be determined and compared with
the normal concrete of same grade. Durability of concrete
containing Alccofine is studied.
II. MATERIALS AND METHODS
A. Cement
The cement used to cast specimen was Ordinary Portland
Cement 53 grade. The tests conducted on cement according to
relevant Indian Standards [11] were specific gravity,
consistency test, initial and final setting time and fineness .
The properties of cement were tabulated in Table 1.
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TABLE 1
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF CEMENT
Sl. No
Properties
Value
1
Specific gravity
3.015
2
Standard consistency
35%
3
Initial setting time
in minutes
Final setting time
in minutes
Average compressive
Strength
75
4
5
310
56.5 N/mm2
B. Alccofine 1203
Alccofine 1203 is basically a slag based supplementary
cementitious material. It is having optimized particle size
distribution. Alccofine 1203 comply with Indian Standards
[12]. Physical composition of alccofine is given in the Table 2
TABLE 2
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF ALCCOFINE
Properties
Magnitude
Fineness (cm2/g)
>12000
Specific gravity
Bulk density (kg/m3)
3.11
700-900
1.5 micron
5 micron
9 micron
Particle Size Distribution
D10
D50
D90
TABLE 3
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF ALCCOFINE
Compound
Percentage
CaO
SO3
SiO2
Al2O3
Fe2O3
MgO
61-64%
2-2.4%
21-23%
5-5.6%
3.8-4.4%
0.8-1.4%
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 28 Number 7 - October 2015
C. Fine Aggregate
In this study M sand was used as the fine aggregate. Properties
of fine aggregates are tested as per relevant Indian Standards
[13] and the results are tabulated in Table 4.
TABLE 4
PROPERTIES OF FINE AGGREGATE
Properties
Magnitude
Specific gravity
Bulk density, kg/m3
Porosity,%
Grading zone
2.56
1830
29.67
Zone II
Fineness modulus
3.13
Water absorption
10 %
D. Coarse Aggregate
Natural angular coarse aggregate of sizes 20mm and 12mm
are used for the study. Different properties of coarse
aggregates were tabulated in Table 5.
TABLE 5
PROPERTIES OF COARSE AGGREGATE
Properties
Particle size
Specific gravity
Bulk density
Water absorption
Natural Coarse
Aggregate
20mm
2.75
1340 kg / m3
1.03 %
Natural Coarse
Aggregate
12 mm
2.625
1327 kg/ m3
1.94 %
E. Super Plasticizer
In this study Master Glenium Sky 8233 was used as super
plasticizer. Master Glenium SKY 8233 is an admixture of a
new generation based on modified poly carboxylic ether. The
product has been primarily developed for applications in high
performance concrete where the highest durability and
performance is required.
III. MIX DESIGN
In the present investigation a mix of M30 grade concrete was
used and designed as per relevant Indian Standards
specification [15]. Total 6 mixes of concrete with different
proportion of Alccofine which is 0%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10% and
12% replaced with cement content on which the experimental
investigation is carried out. Mixes were designated as MA 0,
MA 4, MA 6, MA 8, MA 10, MA 12. Quantities of materials
for 1 m3 of each mixes are as given in the Table 6.
MA8
MA10
MA12
326.6
319.5
312.4
28.4
35.5
42.6
142
142
142
835
835
835
IV. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMME
The procedure for mixing high performance concrete is
similar to that of conventional concrete. The materials were
mixed thoroughly in a drum mixer to produce fresh concrete.
To obtain a homogeneous mix, aggregates were mixed and
binders (cement, and Alccofine) were added to the system.
After remixing, water was added to the dry mix. Finally, super
plasticizer was introduced to the wet mixture. In the fresh
concrete slump cone test was performed to ensure the
workability according to an Indian Standard specification [16].
The cube specimens of size 150 mm x 150 mm x 150 mm,
cylindrical specimen of height 300 mm and 150 mm
diameter , beam of size 100 mm 100 mm 500 mm were
prepared. The concrete was cast into steel moulds using a
minimal amount of Greece and compacted well. The
specimens were demolded after 24 hours and water curing for
28days. The compressive strength of concrete cubes of each
mixes was determined after 7 days and 28 days of water
curing. Flexural strength and splitting tensile strength of each
concrete mixes was determined after 28 days of water curing.
For durability studies concrete cubes after 28 days of water
curing were immersed in chloride and sulphate solutions for
56 days. And loss of strength and weight was determined.
All testing were done according to Indian Standard
specifications [17].
V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A. Workability
Slump test of each concrete mix were performed and the
corresponding slump value is calculated. Mix of Alccofine
and Super plasticizer improve the workability. This is due to
the reason that alccofine have better particle size distribution,
which provides dense matrix pore structure resulting in to
reduced water content and better workability. Alccofine
particles are smaller than the cement particles. So it fills even
the minute space between different materials and the
combined action of Alccofine and chemical admixture results
in more cohesive mixture and workability increases.
TABLE 6
MIX PROPORTIONS
Mix
Cement
kg
Alccofine
Kg
Water
litres
Fine
Aggregate
kg
Coarse
Aggregate
kg
MA0
MA4
MA6
355
340.8
333.7
0
14.2
21.3
142
142
142
835
835
835
1156
1156
1156
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1156
1156
1156
Fig. 1 Variation of slump with addition of Alccofine
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 28 Number 7 - October 2015
B. Compressive strength
The 7th and 28th day compressive strength of different concrete
mixes were found out.
Maximum value of splitting tensile strength obtained is about
3.75 N/mm2 which is greater than the tensile strength of
normal concrete. It is due to the dense pore structure which
may obtained by better packing effect of alccofine.
D. Flexural strength
The results of flexural strength obtained were shown below.
Fig. 4 Variation of flexural strength
Fig. 2 Variation of 7th day and 28th day compressive strength
It is evident from the results that incorporation of alccofine in
concrete positively affects its strength under compression.
There is a significant increase in the compressive strength of
concrete both in 7 days and 28 days testing. Compressive
strength gets increased even due to small quantity of alccofine
itself. But the maximum enhancement is obtained at 8-10%
alccofine replacement. Beyond that there is no significant
change in the compressive strength. The increase in strength is
due to the presence of alccofine, which results in to the
formation of dense pore structure and increased secondary
hydrated product due the inbuilt CaO content.
C. Splitting tensile strength
Splitting tensile strength of different mixes was found out.
Test results indicate that inclusion of Alccofine in concrete
improved the splitting tensile strength of concrete. Alccofine
due to its pozzolanic nature give an improved paste
characteristics and good transition zone. Spitting tensile
strength is greater in alccofine concrete when comparing to
control mix. Splitting tensile strength increases gradually with
increase in alccofine content. Dense pore structure of
alccofine concrete and secondary hydrated products also
contributes to more strength.
Flexural strength of concrete also increases due to the addition
of alccofine in to the concrete. Maximum value of flexural
strength obtained is 9.08 N/mm2. Increase in flexural strength
is observed due to increase in amount of alccofine.
E. Durability test
Compressive strength of concrete cubes after 56 days of
immersion in chloride and sulphate solution was found out.
Loss of strength and loss in weight of specimen were
compared.
Fig. 5 Variation of Compressive Strength of Cubes Subjected to Chloride
Attack
Fig. 6 Variation of Compressive Strength of Cubes Subjected to Sulphate
Attack
Fig. 3 Variation of splitting tensile strength
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The average loss of compressive strength of concrete is
considerably low in concrete containing alccofine. This
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 28 Number 7 - October 2015
indicates that incorporation of Alccofine in concrete could be
considered to be reasonable in the aspects of more chemical
resistance.
It was observed that weight loss after sulphate and chloride
attack was very low for concrete containing alccofine when
compared to normal concrete. This is due to its more
compactness and low permeability.
my sincere gratitude to whom all in diverse ways contributed
to the success of this project work specially Mr. Shyju Nair
(Zonal Head Ambuja Cements Ltd). The help and support
rendered by all the teachers and students Civil Engineering
Department of Ilahia college of engineering and technology
was also valuable in making this paper.
REFERENCES
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Fig. 7 Percentage loss of weight in durability test
It was seen that sulphate attack was more severe than
chloride attack. Average loss of weight was higher for normal
concrete compared to concrete with alccofine. Results indicate
that incorporation of alccofine improves the durability of
concrete due to the more compactness and less permeability of
alccofine containing concrete.
VI. CONCLUSIONS
This investigation had presented results of experimental study
to evaluate role of ultra-fines in the enhancement of properties
of concrete. The study was carried out using M 30 grade
concrete. Incorporation of ultrafine particles Alccofine as a
partial replacement of cement found to be significant in
improving properties of concrete. There is significant increase
in the strength of concrete due to incorporation of alccofine.
Maximum compressive strength obtained was 55.77 N/mm2
which corresponds to 10 % addition of alccofine. Optimum
percentage of alccofine dosage was obtained as 8-10%, since
in that range maximum results were observed. Flexural
strength and splitting tensile strength of concrete improved
due to the effect of Alccofine. Durability of concrete against
sulphate and chloride attacks are more for concrete containing
alccofine compared to normal concrete. Durability increases
as the amount of alccofine increases in the concrete.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Rohini G Nair, Asst.
Professor, ICET Mulavoor for her willingness to share her
valuable time and expertise with me. I would like to extend
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[10] Shelorkar Ajay P, Dr.Jadhao Pradip D, ―Comparison of suitable
pozzolanic material for high grade concrete”, International Journal of
Engineering and Innovative Technology (IJEIT) Volume 3, Issue 5,
November 2013
[11] IS 12269-1989, ―Specification for Ordinary Portland cement 53
grade”, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi
[12] IS 12089:1987, ―Specification for granulated slag for the manufacture
of Portland slag‖
[13] IS: 383-1970, ―Specification for Coarse and Fine Aggregate from
natural
sources for Concrete‖, Bureau of Indian Standards, New
Delhi
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 28 Number 7 - October 2015
[14] IS.2386:1963, ―Methods of test for Aggregate of concrete part 1, 2, 3
and 4, Bureau of Indian Standards‖, New Delhi.
[15] IS 10262-2009, “ Indian Standard recommended guidelines for
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[17] IS: 516-1959, ―Methods of test for Strength of concrete”, Bureau of
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[18] IS: 10086-1982, ―Specification for Moulds for Use in Test of Cement
and Concrete‖, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi, 1997
[16] IS 1199-1959, “ Method Of Sampling And Analysis Of Concrete”,
Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi, 1997
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