CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
1.1 GENERAL
Interest in the production of very high-strength concrete has been increasing over the
past several years, particularly in the precast and pre-stressed concrete industries,
builders of high rise concrete structures also could benefit from higher strength
concrete by large reduction in dead load. Although the very high strength concrete to
be used for most cast in place construction could not be applicable. Reasoning behind,
it requires special care of each aspect of strength development and preventative
measures. Reactive Powder Concretes (RPCs) are ultra-high strength cementitious
materials composed of very fine powders with a maximum particle size of
approximately 800m. In addition to the absence of the traditional coarse aggregates
used to produce normal and high strength concrete, RPCs are characterized by very
high silica fume content and very low water-cement (w/c) ratios. The low w/c ratios
are achieved through

1.2 OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF THE WORK

1.2.1 Objectives
The present study focuses on developing RPC of compressive strength up to 150 MPa, to
determine the effect of silica fume and content on compressive strength, to determine the effect of
high temperature curing on the compressive strength and to determine the effect of addition of
quartz powder on the compressive strength of RPC.

1.2.2 Scope

The effects of three silica fume replacement levels (15,20and25%) are

included in this study.
Combined effect of 15% silica fume and 20% quartz powder is also studied.
The strength studies are limited to a maximum age of 28 days.
W/B ratio varied from 0.16-0.24.
Super plasticizer varied from 1% -4%.
Samples are cured at normal temperature and elevated temperature(90degree
centigrade)

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 GENERAL
Reactive powder concrete (RPC) is the generic name for a class of cementitious
composite materials developed by the technical division of Bouygues, S.A. France in
the nearly 1990s and the worlds first RPC structure, the Sherbrooke Bridge in
Canada, was constructed in July 1997. It is characterized by extremely good physical
properties, particularly strength and ductility. Reactive powder concrete (RPC) is a
developing composite material that will allow the concrete industry to optimize
material use, generate economic benefits, and build structures that are strong, durable,
and sensitive to environment. Since Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC) first appeared
on the world research stage in 1994, it has received considerable attention. The
original development of RPC came from the Scientific Division of Bouyges, France.
Since then further development of the material has continued throughout the world
(for example Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea and the United States of America) at a
frenetic pace. Superior mechanical properties and durability characteristics promise
that the material will have a wide and significant impact on the concrete industry. To
date, the greater part of research into RPC has focused on what the material is and its
properties, micromechanical analysis, potential applications and preliminary work
into the structural behaviour. However in India investigations in RPC, using locally
sources and materials, developing composition, mechanical properties and durability
parameter are still in their infancy. This information is required to assist with the
increased use of RPC in practice and to further develop analytical techniques and
design standards.
The addition of supplementary material, elimination of coarse aggregates, very low
water/binder ratio, additional fine steel fibers, heat curing and application of pressure
before and during setting were the basic concepts on which it was developed (Richard
et al. 1995). Compressive strength of RPC ranges from 200 to 800 MPa, flexural
strength between 30-50 MPa and Youngs modulus up to 50-60 GPa. There is a
growing use of RPC owing to the outstanding mechanical properties and durability.
RPC structural elements can resist chemical attack, impact loading from vehicles and
vessels, and sudden kinetic loading due to earthquakes. Ultra high performance is the
3

most important characteristic of RPC (Gilliland et al. 2007). RPC is composed of

more compact and arranged hydrates. The microstructure is optimized by precise
gradation of all particles in the mix to yield maximum density. It uses extensively the
pozzolonic properties of highly refined silica fume and optimization of the Portland
cement chemistry to produce highest strength hydrates (Cheyrezy et al. 1995; Reda et
al. 1999). RPC will be suitable for pre-stressed application and for structures
acquiring light and thin components such as roofs of stadiums, long span bridges,
space structures, high pressure pipes, blast resistance structures and the isolation and
containment of nuclear wastes (Gowripalan et al. 2003; Bonneau et al. 1996; Hassan
et al. 2005). In India the work on RPC has started from last few years. SERC,
Chennai, worked towards the development of the UHSPC with and without steel
fibers and the effect of various heat curing regimes adopted on the strength properties
of the mixtures (Harish et al.2008). Dili A.S. and Manu Santhanam (2004) have
studied mix design, mechanical properties and durability aspects of RPC. The utility
of RPC in actual construction is minimal or nil in India, it is because of nonavailability of sufficient experimental data regarding production and performance of
RPC. So the basic objective of the current investigation is to experience the
production of RPC. The key issues of the study are: to develop RPC of compressive
strength up to 150 MPa, to determine the effect of silica fume content on compressive
strength, to determine the effect of high temperature curing on the compressive
strength and to determine the effect of addition of quartz powder on the compressive
strength of RPC. As the standard code is not available to design RPC, here an attempt
is made to design RPC mix with locally available materials referring literature. The
RPC cube specimens were cast and cured for both normal and high temperature
curing. The cured specimens were tested to evaluate the compressive strength.

CHAPTER 3
EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
3.1 GENERAL
Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC) is catching more attention now days because of its
high mechanical and durability characteristics. RPC mainly comprises of cement,
silica fume, silica sand, quartz powder and steel fibers. RPC has been able to produce
with compressive strength ranging from 200 MPa to 800 MPa with flexural strength
up to 50 MPa. Although suitable guidelines are not available to produce RPC in India,
the present study focuses on developing RPC of compressive strength up to 150 MPa.
Along with the development of RPC, various factors affecting the strength of RPC are
studied. The 100100100 mm size RPC cube specimens were cast by varying the
constituent materials and cured at both normal and high temperature before testing for
their strength. The compressive strength of 142 MPa was achieved with the mix
considered. It is observed from the study that w/b ratio, silica fume content, quartz
powder, high temperature curing significantly affects the compressive strength of
RPC. It was observed that addition of quartz powder and high temperature curing
increases the compressive strength up to 10 percent when compared with specimens
tested after normal room temperature curing. The material can be effectively utilized
in the production of precast elements/PSC structures.
3.2 MATERIAL PROPERTIES
3.2.1 Cement
Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) conforming to IS 12269 (53 Grade) was used for
the present experimental work. Laboratory tests were conducted on cement to
determine standard consistency, specific gravity, density and fineness. The results are
presented in Table 3.1.
Table 3.1 Properties of Cement
Grade

53 grade

Manufacturer

Ultra tech

Specific gravity

3.15

Fineness (m2/kg)

294

Standard consistency (%)

31.25

Initial setting time (min)

160

Final setting time (min)

255
5

3.2.2 Silica Fume

Silica fume was supplied by ELKEM Materials. From the laboratory tests, the
specific gravity was obtained as 2.12 and density as 576kg/m3. Properties of silica
fume are given the Table3.2 and the chemical composition of silica fume was tested
at Central Power Research Institute (CPRI), Bangalore and the result is presented in
the Table 3.3.

Table 3.2 Properties of Silica Fume

Specific Gravity

2.2

Bulk Density
Size
Specific surface

576 (kg/m3)
15 m
20,000(m2/kg)

Table 3.3 Chemical composition of Silica Fume

Oxide Composition
CaO
SiO2
Al2O3
Fe2O3
SO3
MgO
P2O5
TiO2
Na2O
K2O

Percentage
2.94
84.28
1.54
3.37
2.34
2.09
0.60
0.04
1.23
1.47

3.2.3 Super plasticizer

Ceroplast in the form of sulphonated naphthalene polymers which complies with IS:
9103-1999 was used as super plasticizer (chemical admixture) to improve the
workability of concrete. It is supplied as a brown liquid instantly dispersible in water.
The properties of super plasticizer obtained from manufacturer are shown in Table
3.3.
Table 3.4 Properties of Ceroplast
Specific Gravity
Chloride content

1.20
Nil
Approximately 1% additional
air is entrained

Air entrainment

3.2.4 Aggregate
Locally available manufactured M-sand was used as aggregate. Laboratory tests were
conducted on M sand to determine the different physical properties as per IS 3831970. The properties of fine aggregate are shown in Table 3.5. The sieve analysis
details of fine aggregate are presented in Table 3.6. Fine aggregate used conforms to
IS 383:1970 specifications (Zone II). The grading curve of fine aggregate is shown in
Fig 3.1
Table 3.5 Properties of Fine Aggregate
Sl.No.
Particulars
Values
1.
Specific gravity
2.65
2.
Fineness modulus
2.49
Table 3.6 Sieve Analysis Details of Fine Aggregate
Sieve size
(mm)
4.75
2.36
1.18
0.6
0.3
0.15

% passing

Mass
retained
(g)
0
44
264
195
218
191
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0.1

% mass Cumulative
retained
% mass
(g)
retained
0
0
4.4
4.4
26.4
30.8
19.5
50.3
21.8
72.1
19.1
91.2

% passing
100
95.6
69.2
49.7
27.9
8.8
95.6

IS Range
for
zone II
90 100
75 100
55 90
35 59
8 30
0 10
100

69.2
49.7
27.9
8.8
1
sieve size(mm)

Fig. 3.1 Grading Curve of Fine Aggregate

10

3.2.5 Quartz powder

Quartz Powder, from SREE KUMARESHA enterprises, Tamilnadu (particle size ranging
from 10 m to 45 m) is used. The specific gravity of quartz powder is 2.6.

3.2.6 Water
Presence of organic or inorganic impurities in water will affect the strength of
concrete. Generally, water suitable for drinking is considered fit for making concrete.
Hence clean drinking water available in the college water supply system was used for
making concrete and for curing the specimens.

3.3 MIX PROPORTION AND METHODOLOGY

To study the influence of the constituent materials, 14 different proportions
were considered by varying water-binder ratio, silica fume and quartz powder
content. Cement of quantity 900 kg/m3 was kept constant for all the mixes. The
water-binder ratio of the mixes varied from 0.16 to 0.24. Silica fume was added by 15
to 25 percent by weight of cement. 20 percent of quartz powder by weight cement
was also added for few mixes. Super plasticizer dosage varied from 1 to 4 percent for
all the mixes. Detailed mix proportioning is mentioned in Table 3.7.
Table 3.7 Proportioning of RPC mixes

Mixing Procedure
The high speed mortar mixer is used to mix the ingredients of RPC. The mixing
sequence is as follows:
Dry mixing the powders (including cement, silica fume, quartz powder and
M- sand) for about 3 minutes.
Addition of sixty percentage volume of water and mix for about 3 minutes.
Addition of the remaining water and super plasticizer, and mixed for about
10 minutes.

Sample Preparation and Curing

For each batch of concrete, 100 x 100 x 100 mm cubes were cast to evaluate
compressive strength (IS: 10086-1999). The specimens were cured at both normal
temperatures for 28 days and at 90 C for48 hours, remaining 26 days at normal
temperature.

Fig.3.2 Dry mix of RPC

Fig.3.3 Paste after proper mixing

Fig.3.4 Mixer used for casting

10

3.4 TEST CONDUCTED

3.4.1. Cube Compressive Strength
Strength of concrete is an important property, which is mostly valued in concrete
design and quality control. The strength of concrete gives a direct indication of its
capacity to resist loads in structural applications. Also, the strength tests are relatively
easy to conduct. Many other properties of concrete that are measured by more
complicated tests can be deduced from the strength data by developing correlations.
As per IS: 516 - 1959, the compression test can be carried out on specimens cubical
or cylindrical in shape. In the present study, compression tests were carried out on
100mm x 100mm x 100mm cube specimens immediately on removal from the water.
Specimens were placed in the machine so that load is applied on to the face adjacent
to the cast surface. The specimen was loaded at the rate of 14 N/mm 2 per minute in a
compression testing machine of capacity 2000kN. The test was conducted to
determine the 28 day strength of RPC.The maximum load applied to the specimen
was noted and compressive strength is calculated by dividing the maximum load by
the cross sectional area of the specimen. Fig. 3.5 shows the experimental set up for
compressive strength tests.

Fig.3.5
Cube

Compressive Strength Test

11

CHAPTER 4
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
4.1 GENERAL
Arriving at optimal composition with locally available materials is important to
achieve the best overall performance of RPC. Hence, the effects of several parameters
on compressive strength were investigated which include water-to-binder ratio, super
plasticizer dosage, different percentage of silica fume, with and without quartz
powder and curing regime. During the study it was observed that the mixes appeared
to be very sensitive to any variation of the chemical composition of the binders or
particle size distribution of the fillers. As there are no standard guidelines for the mix
design of RPC, literature was referred to design the mixes. The silica fume content
was varied from 15 to 25 percent by weight of cement to find the optimum percentage
of silica fume in the production of RPC. To study the influence of addition of quartz
powder to RPC, the RPC mixes were also designed with addition of quartz powder by
20 percent by weight of cement.
4.2. PROPERTIES
4.2.1. Density of RPC Specimens
The density of all the specimens recorded varied between 23.3 24.7 kN/m3.

4.2.2. Effect of Water-to-Binder Ratio on Compressive Strength of RPC

The strength of concrete is very much dependent upon the hydration reaction in which
water play as critical role, particularly the amount of water used. The effect of w/b
ratio on compressive strength under various curing ages is shown in Fig. 4.1. The
result demonstrates that an optimal w/b ratio that gives the highest compressive
strength of RPC in the present study is 0.2. The reduction in strength at lower w/b
ratio may be due to the lack of adequate amount of mixing water in RPC to ensure
adequate compaction and proper hydration to occur.

12

140
120

113

121

127

100

109

107

80
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH N/mm2
60
40
20
0
0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24
W/B RATIO

Fig 4.1.Effect of w/b ratio on compressive strength

Beyond this optimal w/b ratio of 0.2, it was found that compressive strength decreases
with increasing w/b ratios. This may be because of more water which is susceptible to
entraining air bubbles due to the folding action of the mixing process. As a result,
more voids are left in the matrix which increase the porosity and thus considerably
reduce the compressive strength. The compressive strengths of all mix proportions 28
days are tabulated in Table 4.1.

Table 4.1 Compressive strength of RPC

13

Sample no.

TM-1
TM-2
TM-3
TM-4
TM-5
TM-6
TM-7
TM-8
TM-9
TM-10
TM-11
TM-12
TM-13
TM-14

Normal Curing at 27degree

Accelerated Curing at 90

Compressive strength at 28
Days(N/mm2)
113
121
127
109
107
85
80
78
75
70
63
108
120
112

degree for 48 hours

Compressive strength at 28
Days(N/mm2)
120
133
136
120
116
135
142
125

3.3 Effect of Silica Fume Percentage on Compressive Strength of RPC

The effect of varying percentage of silica fume on the
compressive strength of RPC mix is demonstrated in Fig.4.2. It is observed that the
compressive strength tends to decrease as the silica fume dosage increases. The
highest compressive strength was observed for addition of15% silica fume. The
compressive strength is seen to fluctuate in the range of 15 % to 25% of silica fume
regardless of water/binder ratio. As silica fume content increases, mix requires more
super plasticizer to disperse in fresh concrete.

14

Fig.4.2 Effect of addition of silica fume

3.3 Effect of Addition of Quartz Powder
From the literature it is learnt that, hydrated cement alone cannot help to elevate the
strength of RPC, but other finer materials also contribute marginally. Quartz powder
improves the filler effect in RPC mix. As shown in Fig.4.3. The addition of quartz
powder produces the better result under accelerated curing condition than that of
normal curing condition. The results show that the addition of quartz powder
increases the compressive strength by 20% under the accelerated curing condition.
This is possible due to increased proportion of hard, fine fillers that enhance the
packing density and pore filling action.
160
140

135

120 108

142
120

125
112

100
Compressive strength N/mm2

NWC

80

HWC

60
40
20
0
TM12 TM13 TM14

Fig.4.3 The effect of Quartz powder on compressive strength of RPC

15

3.5 Influence of Curing Regime

An adequate supply of moisture is necessary to ensure that hydration is sufficient to
reduce the porosity to a level such that the desired strength can be attained. The effect
of curing regime on compressive strength under various curing ages is shown in
Fig.4.4. Two curing methods were exercised, one with normal water curing at 27C,
and other at 90C hot water curing for 48 hours. The compressive strength increased
by 10% when cured in hot water as compared to normal curing. This indicates that
curing temperature has a significant effect on the early strength development of RPC.
The increased strength is due to the rapid hydration of cement at higher curing
temperatures of 90C compared to that of 27C.Moreover, the pozzolonic reactions
are also accelerated by the higher curing temperatures.

160

142
136
135
133
127
121 120 120125
120
116 112
113
120
109
108
107
140

100
80
Compresive strength N/mm2

60
40
20
0

Fig.4.4 Effect of curing regime

16

NWC
HWC

CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSIONS
5.1 GENERAL
The key issues of the study are: to develop RPC of compressive strength up to 150
MPa, to determine the effect of silica fume content on compressive strength, to
determine the effect of high temperature curing on the compressive strength and to
determine the effect of addition of quartz powder on the compressive strength of
RPC.
5.2. CONCLUSIONS
The conclusions from the present investigation are based on the limited observations
made during the study period and are presented below.

During the production process, it was found that an extended mixing time up
to 15-20
Min. is required to obtain a consistent and homogeneous mix.
The maximum compressive strength of RPC obtained in the present study is
142 MPa at w/b ratio of 0.2 with accelerated curing.
In the production of RPC the optimum percentage addition of silica fume is
found to be 15% (by weight of cement) with available super plasticizer.
The addition of quartz powder increases the compressive strength of RPC up
to 20%
The high temperature curing is essential for RPC to achieve higher strength.
It increases the compressive strength up to 10% when compared with normal
curing.

17

REFERENCES

1. Abouzar Sadrekarimi (2004), Development of a Light Weight Reactive

Powder Concrete. Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology Vol. 2, no. 3,
pp. 409- 417.
2. Dili A S., Manu Santhanam (2004),Investigation on reactive Powder
Concrete: developing Ultra high- strength technology, The Indian Concrete
Journal, Vol. 78, No. 4, pp. 33- 38.
3. Gilliland Scott K. Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC), A New Material for
Pre-stressed. Concrete Bridge Girders, Building an International Community
of structural
4. Harish K V et al.(2008),Role of ingredients and of curing regime in ultra
high strength powder concretes, Journal of Structural Engineering, Vol. 34,
No. 6, pp. 421-428.
5. Richard P., Cheyrezy M (1995), Composition of Reactive Powder Concretes,
Cement and Concrete Research, Vol. 25, No. 7, pp. 1501-1511.
6. Shetty M.S. (2005), Concrete Technology - Theory and Practice, S. Chand &
Company P. Ltd., New Delhi.

18