Mix Design, Mechanical Properties, and Impact Resistance of

Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC)

Marios N. Soutsos (1), Stephen G. Millard (1), and Konstantinos Karaiskos (1)

(1) Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

Abstract.
High performance concretes with compressive strengths of 100 to 120 MPa have been
developed and are being increasingly used for the construction of structural elements. More
recently, Reactive Powder Concretes (RPCs) have been developed which have enhanced
homogeneity (by the elimination of coarse aggregates and the replacement of natural sand
with very fine quartz sand), enhanced microstructure (by the use of a high dosage of silica
fume and post-set heat-treating), and enhanced ductility (by the incorporation of small
specially developed steel fibers. In order to determine guidelines for the production of RPCs
the effects of the following parameters on fresh and/or hardened properties have been
determined: (a) superplasticizers obtained from different suppliers, (b) water-binder ratio, (c)
quartz sand grading, (d) silica fume content, (e) ternary blends, i.e. pulverised fly ash or
ground granulated blast furnace slag in combination with silica fume, and (f) volume and type
of fibers. Tests on the mechanical properties indicate that RPC has enhanced tensile strength
and ductility, i.e. flexural strengths are likely to be between 30 and 60 MPa and fracture
energies above 10000Jm-2. Initial results from simple impact load tests, without
instrumentation, on 1000mm square x 100mm thick unreinforced slab supported on all sides,
were very encouraging; the concrete at the top powdered under repeated impacts but there
was no indication of tensile cracking. A cone of concrete sheared off from the underside of
the slab after about 70 impacts when the thickness of the slab had been reduced considerably
by the powdering on the top surface.

Key words: High performance fiber reinforced cementitious composites (HPFRCC), reactive
powder concrete (RPC), pulverised fly ash (pfa), silica fume, compressive and flexural
strength, impact load.

1. INTRODUCTION
Concretes with compressive strengths of 100 to 120MPa have been developed and are
being used for the construction of structural elements [1,2]. Concrete with compressive
strength of 250-300MPa can also be produced using different techniques such as:
 Compact granular matrix concretes (DSP) with high superplasticizer and silica fume
content, also incorporating ultra-hard aggregate (calcinated bauxite or granite)[3].
Macro Defect Free (MDF) polymer pastes [4] which have very high strength (150MPa or
more), in particular when mixed with aluminous cements [5].
An answer to the problem of the low ductility of the cementitious matrices obtained with
these various techniques, was found with the incorporation of steel fibers. Thus the Slurry
Infiltrated Fiber Concrete (SIFCON) technique [6] involves filling the formwork with bulk
fibers, and injecting a fluid mortar slurry. SIFCON, although an interesting material, has had
only limited industrial applications because of the difficulties in placing it. Nonetheless, the
above techniques have provided a basis for the development of a number of similar or
derivative materials in different parts of the world. One such group of materials is the ultra
high performance fiber reinforced concretes (UHPFRCs) which have been developed to
improve the mechanical performance of cementitious materials, especially strength and
ductility under tension [7]. Examples of commercial UHPFRCs are (a) Compact Reinforced
Composites (CRC) developed by Aalborg Portland in Denmark, (b) BSI developed by Eiffage
group in France, (c) Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC) developed by Bouygues in France, (d)
Multi-Scale Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (MSFRC) developed by Laboratoire Central des Ponts
et Chaussees in France, and (e) Ductal developed by Lafarge, Bouyges and Rhodia in France.
Typical composition of UHPFRC is as follows: A very low water-cementitious ratio ranging
from 0.16 to 0.24 achieved by using high cement content (955kg/m3) and a high silica fume
content (240kg/m3) and a high dosage of a superplasticiser (15 litres/m3). The only
aggregate used is fine (150-400 m) quartz sand (1050kg/m3). A high percentage by
volume (2.5 to 10%) of special types of steel fibers (24 or 12 mm length and 0.16mm in
diameter) are used. Combinations of short and long fibers in cocktails incorporating
polypropylene fibers have also been used. The basic principles in the selection of the above
materials for the production of these UHPFCs are:
Enhancement of homogeneity by elimination of coarse aggregate,
Enhancement of compacted density by optimization of the granular mixture, i.e. the
reason for the high silica fume content and use of fine quartz sand as the only aggregate,
Optional enhancement of the microstructure by post-set heat-treating, i.e. the quartz sand
may become reactive at these elevated temperatures,
Enhancement of ductility by incorporating small-sized steel fibers,
Maintaining mixing and casting procedures as close as possible to existing practice for
normal and high strength concretes.
Application of the first three principles produces a matrix with very high compressive
strength, but with ductility no better than that of conventional mortar. The inclusion of fibers
improves tensile strength, and also makes it possible to obtain the required level of ductility.
Measures relating to composition (homogeneity and granular compacted density) are the basis
of the RPC concept, and are applied in all cases. Application of post-set heat-curing appears
to be an optional measure designed to enhance performance. The advisability of applying
these measures must be assessed for each RPC application, according to the technological
difficulties involved and/or their cost (heat-treatment). The compressive strengths of RPCs are
likely to be between 170 to 230 MPa depending on the post-set heat treatment (20 to 900C).
Values for flexural strengths are likely to be between 30 and 60 MPa, fracture energies above
10,000J.m-2 and moduli of elasticity between 50 to 60 GPa. RPC appears to be a promising
new material not only because of its enhanced ductility but also because the mixing and
casting procedures are no different to existing procedures for normal and high strength
concretes. RPC has, however, a substantial increase in cost over and above that of
conventional and even high performance concrete and it is therefore appropriate to identify
applications which fully utilize RPCs mechanical properties and performance characteristics.
Research therefore needs to be conducted to develop, and facilitate commercialisation of,
precast products which utilize many of the enhanced properties of RPC.
The main applications of RPC up till now have been:
Construction of prestressed structures without any steel reinforcement. The Sherbrooke
Footbridge in Canada was the first structure to be built with RPC [8] using a mix
developed by the University of Sherbrooke (Canada). The use of RPC in structures comes
up against the lack of design rules allowing full advantage to be taken of the improved
mechanical characteristics of the material and of its ability to be used without passive
reinforcement. Following a performance assessment, BSI (another type of UHPFRC) has
been adopted by the French Ministry of Transport and its Roads Department for
construction of two raised sections of motorway close to the city of Valence in the Drome
Region [9].
Pipe products for the conveyance of water, sewage and other liquids under pressure or
gravity flow provide an opportunity to utilize many of the enhanced properties of RPC
[10]. The USA Army Corps of Engineers has developed (1994-1997) pipe prototypes
which exhibit greater overall value than pipes fabricated from other materials.
Based on the mechanical properties of RPC it would also appear to be attractive for
construction of security enclosures, such as safes and computer centres, nuclear waste
containment vessels, and defense structures; applications that require high impact resistance.
The interest for these new concretes appears to have been mainly in France, Canada and USA.

2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF PROJECT.

The University of Liverpool was approached by Hamber Safes Ltd. (UK) to assist with:
(a) determining guidelines for the production (selection of materials and mix proportions, and
curing regimes) of RPCs and (b) investigating the impact load resistance of RPC in order to
determine its suitability for use in the construction of security enclosures and more
specifically safes.

3 MATERIALS AND EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES.

The work is divided into two series of concrete mixtures. Initial work aimed at developing
a workable concrete mixture with compressive strengths of around 200MPa. Once this was
achieved, sixteen variations of this mixture were cast to optimise/improve its mix proportions
and mechanical properties.

3.1 Materials
Single batches of portland cement, pfa, and ggbs were used throughout. Silica fume in the
undensified form was used for Series I mixtures while the densified form, but from the same
supplier, was used for Series II. The aggregate used was a silica sand with particle sizes less
than 400m (79% passing the 300m sieve). The superplasticizers used were a naphthalene
based one and two polycarboxylate polymers powder and liquid form. The fibers were
12mm in length and 0.16mm in diameter. Ground glass cullet was obtained from two sources
one was coarser than the silica sand and the other one was fine enough to be considered a
powder.

3.2 Mixing, Casting, Curing And Testing of Concrete Specimens

The materials were weighed and placed in a 0.01m3 or 0.02m3 capacity horizontal pan
mixer in the order: cement, microsilica, silica fume, pfa or ggbs, and silica sand. The
materials were first dry mixed and the water and superplasticizer, previously mixed together,
were added to the rotating drum. When fibers were used, these were added slowly to the
rotating drum after the rest of the materials had been properly mixed and the concrete had a
wet appearance. The concrete was mixed for 5 minutes and then cast into (a) either 75mm
or 100mm steel cube moulds for compression tests, (b) 160 x 40 x 40 mm or 100 x 100 x
500mm steel prism moulds for flexural strength, and, (c) 300 mm height x 150 mm diameter
cylinder moulds for modulus of elasticity tests. All the specimens were then compacted on a
vibrating table and subsequently covered with a damp hessian and a polythene sheet. They
were demoulded at 1-day, or as soon as the concrete had set, and placed either in a curing tank
whose temperature was set at 200C or wrapped in wet hessian and polythene sheet and placed
in an oven at 900C. The majority of these were subsequently tested for compressive strength
at 7, 14 and 28-days.

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION.

4.1 Series 1 Preliminary tests including impact loading assessment.
The first series aimed at investigating the ease with which Reactive Powder Concrete with
a compressive strength of 200 MPa could be made in the laboratory with mix proportions

Figure 1: Flexural Stess versus Deflection.

Figure 1: Flexural testing of RPC Figure 2: Cracked specimen of RPC

similar to those used elsewhere, i.e. 955 kg/m3 of cement, 240 kg/m3 of silica fume, 1050
kg/m3 of silica sand, 210 kg/m3 of water, 61 litres/m3 of superplasticiser and 190 kg/m3 of
steel fibers. Three types of superplasticisers, a naphthalene based and polycarboxylate
polymer in powder form and liquid form, were tried to see the lowest water-binder ratio
possible with the materials being used. The polycarboxylate polymers proved to be more
efficient than the naphthalene based polymer. An attempt was made to improve the
workability of the concrete by overdosing the mix with the powder polycarboxylate polymer.
The workability did not improve significantly, indicating that adsorption of the
superplasticiser on the surface of the cement and silica fume surfaces had reached saturation
value. This also caused excessive retardation and the cubes could only be demoulded six days
after casting. The late application of post-set heat treatment resulted in slightly lower
strengths, i.e. 165 MPa, than cubes cast with the liquid form of superplasticiser, i.e. 200 MPa,
that had been demoulded a day after casting and then cured at the elevated temperature of
900C. The flexural strengths of two specimens cast from the final mix were determined to be
37 and 45 MPa. The tests were carried out using constant deflection rate as measured by the
load platen which did not prove to be very accurate as can be seen by the initial curve in the
stress-deflection graph, see Figure 1. Nonetheless the initial results obtained show the ductile
behaviour of RPC; removing the load and reloading the specimens still indicated a residual
flexural strength of 20.5 and 25 MPa despite that the specimens were cracked. The fibers held
the two cracked parts together, see Figures 2 and 3.
The modulus of elasticity was determined to be 45 GPa which is on the high side for
normal and high strength concretes (usually in the range 35 to 45 GPa). The value obtained is
however lower than that predicted from the expression for the secant modulus of elasticity of
concrete, Ec (GPa), recommended by ACI 318-89 for structural calculations, applicable for
normal weight concrete, and which is:

( )
E c = 4.73 f c'
0.5
where f c' is expressed in MPa. (1)

The ultrasonic pulse velocity was found to be 4.7 km/s. This falls on the upper part of the
range for concrete (3.7 to 4.8 km/s for 20 to 60 MPa concrete) while it is well outside that for
mortar (3.0 to 4.0 for 20 to 60 MPa mortar).
The slab was tested using a seven-pound sledgehammer, see Figures 4 and 5. It took about
70 blows for a hole to appear through the slab. The concrete at the top was powdering under
the blows but there was no indication of tensile cracking. Once the slab thickness was reduced
then cracking on the underside of the slab was detected and further blows caused a cone of
concrete to shear off from the underside of the slab. A small hole was created, enough for a
person to push his hand through, and this was considered to be the failure point for the
concrete slab.

4.2 Series II Mix proportioning and volume of fibers.

The mix proportions used by others for RPC produced concretes with the required
mechanical properties. However, these concretes had a high cement content of 955kg/m3 and
a high silica fume content of 240kg/m3. Both of these add to the cost of RPC. Partial cement
replacement with ground granulated blast furnace slag (ggbs) and pulverised fly ash (pfa) was
therefore investigated, see Table 1. It must be noted that the silica fume used for this series of
mixtures was in densified form rather than the undensified form and this appears to have
affected adversely the 28-day strengths. The strengths obtained for PC-1 also showed the
importance of preventing desiccation of the specimens at the curing temperature of 900C. The
strengths showed an increase from 7 to 14 days (126.5 to 139.5 MPa) but the strength then
decreased to 125.1 MPa at 28-days. Specimens were subsequently not only wrapped in wet
hessian and polythene sheet but also placed in plastic containers similar to those used for
investigating the potential of alkali-silica reaction of aggregates. Post-set heat treatment was
found to improve compressive strengths considerably at 7-days. Further work is currently
being carried out to investigate the strength increases between 7 and 28 days and thus
determine whether the post-set heat treatment needs to be applied for up to 28 days or whether
it can be stopped at 7-days.
Partial cement replacement with ggbs, up to 56%, did not have any detrimental effect
on the 28-day strength of cubes cured at 200C. However, demoulding of the cubes for the

Figure 4: Impact testing of RPC Figure 5: Underside of RPC slab after 70 sledgehammer
blows.
Table 1: Mix proportions of mixtures with partial cement replacement by ggbs and pfa.
Mix Ref. 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08
Mix Title PC-1 PC-2 56GGBS-1 36GGBS-2 36GGBS-3 36GGBS-4 32PFA-1 18PFA-2
Cement (kg/m3) 955 895 287 645 645 645 573 860
GGBS (kg/m3) (%) 669 (56) 430 (36) 430 (36) 430 (36)
PFA (kg/m3) (%) 382 (32) 215 (18)
CSF (kg/m3) (%) 240 (20) 300 (25) 240 (20) 120 (10) 120 (10) 120 (10) 240 (20) 120 (10)
Glass Powder (%)
Aggregate (kg/m3)
Silica Sand 1050 1050 1050 1050 1050 1050 1050 1050
Ground Glass
<400m Glass
Glass Powder
Ordinary Sand
Superplasticiser
Powder (kg/m3) 24.4 24.4 24.4
Liquid (litres/m3) 61 61 61 61 61
Steel Fibres (kg/m3)
Total water (kg/m3) 240 263 254 240 250 215 250 250
Water-Binder Ratio 0.20 0.22 0.21 0.20 0.21 0.18 0.21 0.21
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Compressive 20 C 900C 20 C 900C 20 C 900C 20 C 900C 20 C 900C 20 C 900C 20 C 900C 20 C 900C
Strength (MPa)
7-days 92.3 126.5 79.9 117.9 87.9 142.0 92.9 153.2 86.4 139.5 82.1 139.4 66.0 99.0 75.0 122.7
14-days 139.5 129.3 157.6 165.3 148.2 140.4 119.1 130.4
28-days 106.6 125.1 89.2 130.2 117.6 161.8 119.2 168.8 108.8 150.7 112.0 140.9 78.2 121.9 89.9 140.4
Flexural Strength 200C 900C 200C 900C 200C 900C 200C 900C 200C 900C 200C 900C 200C 900C 200C 900C
(MPa)
7-days 18.8 10.1 11.8 11.5 11.2 10.6 14.0
28-days 17.1 20.3 11.4 13.7 10.5 16.0 11.2 18.4 9.6 11.9 10.8 17.0 13.2 14.8
Table 2: Mix proportions of mixtures with ground glass cullet and steel fibers.
Mix Ref. 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Mix Title Glass-1 Glass-2 Glass-3 Glass-4 Glass-5 Sand-1 2.5%_Fiber 1.5%_Fiber
Cement (kg/m3) 955 645 645 645 896 645 645 645
GGBS (kg/m3) (%) 430 (36) 430 (36) 430 (36) 430 (36) 430 (36) 430 (36)
PFA (kg/m3) (%)
CSF (kg/m3) (%) 240 (20) 120 (10) 120 (10) 120 (10) 240 (20) 120 (10) 120 (10) 120 (10)
Glass Powder (%) 96 (8)
Aggregate (kg/m3)
Silica Sand 1050 1050 1050
Ground Glass 1050 1050
<400m Glass 1050
Glass Powder 1050
Ordinary Sand 1050
Superplasticiser
Powder (kg/m3)
Liquid (litres/m3) 61 61 61 61 61 61 61
Steel Fibres (kg/m3)
Total water (kg/m3) 250 240 250 501 287 264 240 240
Water-Binder Ratio 0.22 0.20 0.21 0.42 0.24 0.22 0.20 0.20
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Compressive 20 C 900C 20 C 900C 20 C 900C 20 C 900C 20 C 900C 20 C 900C 20 C 900C 20 C 900C
Strength (MPa)
7-days 69.9 74.7 66.1 93.5 67.6 102.1 60.6 106.7 70.5 106.2 80.9 95.1 107.9 162.8 95.9 149.5
14-days 79.1 109.0 130.7 108.9 109.8 103.1 179.7 159.4
28-days 76.4 80.4 72.6 111.3 96.2 132.8 83.6 114.4 94.3 124.4 89.8 115.6 135.1 185.1 131.3 168.2
Flexural Strength 200C 900C 200C 900C 200C 900C 200C 900C 200C 900C 200C 900C 200C 900C 200C 900C
(MPa)
7-days 13.0 13.6 15.1 6.0 11.5 34.14 30.8
28-days 9.8 18.0 12.2 18.7 11.7 16.5 7.3 10.5 14.4 9.2 15.0 29.9 40.3 24.6 37.3
56GGBS-1 and 36GGBS-2 mixes was only possible five and three days respectively, after
casting. Once the liquid, rather than the powder, form of the polycarboxylate polymer was
used then cubes with 36% ggbs could be demoulded the day after they had been cast.
Attempts to reduce the water-binder ratio even lower, from 0.21 to 0.18, resulted in a less
workable concrete and incomplete compaction may have affected the compressive strengths
of 36GGBS-4.
Partial cement replacement by pfa, even as low as 18%, delayed the setting time of the
concretes and the cubes could only be demoulded two days after casting. Despite this,
strengths as high as 140MPa were achieved at 28-days when specimens were cured at 900C.
The proposed use of glass cullet in this research project was to replace the silica sand in
RPC, see Glass-1 and Glass-2 in Table 2. Since the mid 1990s, a significant surplus of green
glass has started to arise in the UK, due to an imbalance between production and imports. The
surplus derives from an imbalance in the relatively large quantity of green glass recovered and
the smaller quantities of green glass containers produced by the UK glass industry. The
generation of a considerable green glass mountain, if alternative uses are not identified,
could compromise both the economic viability and the sustainability of cullet recovery in the
UK. The first batch of ground glass used in Glass-1 and Glass-2 mixes proved not to be fine
enough for the pozzolanic reaction to kick-in at the curing temperature of 900C, i.e. the
glass may be considered to be an inert filler in this case. The glass cullet was therefore sieved
and only particles smaller than 400m were used for Glass-3 mix. The strengths of cubes
cured at 900C are considerably higher than those of cubes cured at 200C indicating that the the
glass has become reactive, i.e. some pozzolanic reaction has taken place. Strengths are also
higher than Sand-1 mix which had ordinary sand with particles less than 400m. The
strengths however are not as high as those of 36GGBS-3 indicating that the glass cullet,
although reactive, may not be as reactive as silica sand. A second batch of ground glass cullet
was obtained from a different supplier and this was a powder rather than an aggregate. Glass-
4 mix was an attempt to use this as an aggregate. The total water of the mix, because of the
fineness of the glass cullet, had to be doubled in order to get a workable concrete. Glass-5 mix
shows that the powder glass can be used as a partial cement replacement.
Addition of fibers to the mix increases not only the flexural strength but also the
compressive strength. Flexural strengths of 37.3MPa and 40.3MPa were achieved with 1.5
and 2.5% of fibers by volume respectively. Lower flexural strengths of 24.6MPa and
29.9MPa respectively were achieved with the companion cubes cured at 200C. All fiber
concretes had ductile failures similar to those in Series I and shown in Figure 1.

5 CONCLUSIONS.
It has been shown that concretes with compressive strengths as high as 200MPa and
flexural strengths as high as 40MPa can be produced in the laboratory. The high cementitious
content required for these concretes, approximately 1200kg/m3, adds considerably to the cost
of their production. Partial cement replacement by ground granulated blast furnace slag has
been shown to be beneficial for these concretes. The proposed use of ground green glass
cullet to replace the silica sand in a new form of Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced
Concrete could represent an important advance in dealing with the recycling problems of
glass in the UK.
ACKOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to Hamber Safes Ltd. for providing financial support for this
work. The authors would also like to thank the following industrial collaborators for the
supply of materials for this work: Elkem Materials Ltd. and Bekaert Building Products Ltd.

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