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Proceedings of the International Conference on Concrete in Marine Environment,

Hanoi, Vietnam, 2002

PROPERTIES OF HIGH-STRENGTH HIGH-PERFORMANCE CONCRETE

FOR MARINE ENVIRONMENT

Dr. R Sri Ravindrarajah*, A. S. Khan**, and M. Pathmasiri**

*Centre for Built Infrastructure Research, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia

* Formerly University of Technology, Sydney, Australia

ABSTRACT
Marine environment requires the use of a very low permeability concrete for the construction of
durable concrete structures. Mix compositions as well as the binder material type influence the
permeability of concrete. Use of blended cements with pozzolanic materials is known to reduce the
permeability. This paper presents the results on an investigation into the effects of cement replacement
with fly ash or ground granulated blast furnace slag with and without silica fume on the properties of
high-strength high-performance concrete. Cement replacement reduced the early age strength and no
serious effects were noted beyond 28 days. The use of silica fume to replace part of either fly ash or
slag helped to improve the strength at all ages. The 90-day free drying shrinkage of high-strength
concrete varied between 370 and 460 microstrains. The results showed that high-performance concrete
suitable for marine environment can be economically produced by replacing 25% of the cement by
weight with either fly ash or slag and no significant long-term advantage is achieved by using more
expensive silica fume. The results are used to develop the empirical relationships between the
compressive strength and pulse velocity and between the modulus of elasticity and the compressive
strength.

1. INTRODUCTION
Marine concrete structures are subjected to very severe exposure conditions and their durability is
directly related to the quality of concrete used. For these applications, concrete must possess low to
very low permeability characteristics and its durability can be assured with the use of proper mix
compositions. Since high-strength concrete are with low permeability such a concrete grade is needed
to achieve high-performance in marine environment. In order to withstand the extremely hostile
environment, compressive strength of concrete above 60MPa is required, although this level of strength
may not be required from the loading point of view.

High strength concretes differ from medium strength concretes in many ways. The cement paste
matrix in high-strength concretes is dense owing to the absence of large capillary voids and a relative
strong aggregate-cement paste interfacial zone, which has a much lower tendency for micro-cracking.
High-strength concretes contain relatively high binder material content, a superplasticiser, and very
low water content to achieve the water to binder ratio below 0.30, by weight. They are capable of
achieving a discontinuous capillary pore structure and low permeability within a few days of hydration
of cement [1].
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2. HIGH-STRENGTH HIGH-PERFORMANCE MARINE CONCRETE

High-strength high performance concrete mixtures cannot be proportioned with the help of current
conventional mix design methods. Metha and Aitcin [2] defined the high-performance concrete as a
material, which is not only characterized by high-strength and extremely low permeability but also has
high dimensional stability. In order to achieve a high dimensional stability it is necessary to reduce the
shrinkage and creep of concrete by limiting the total cement paste content in concrete and using good
quality coarse aggregate with high elastic modulus. From theoretical considerations, they concluded
that 35% cement paste volume represents the optimum for cement paste content in balancing the
conflicting requirements of low permeability and high dimensional stability.

For the selection of binder materials, they suggested three options, namely ordinary Portland cement
alone, partial replacement of cement with a high-quality fly ash or ground granulated blast furnace
slag, and replacing 10% of fly ash or slag with silica fume. For calculating the first trial batch for the
second option, they suggested a 75:25 volumetric proportion between Portland cement and either fly
ash or slag. Since a general relationship exists between compressive strength and the water content for
concrete mixture, Metha and Aitcin [2] recommended the water contents of 160, 150, 140, 130 and 120
kg/m3 to achieve the average compressive strengths of 65, 75, 90, 105 and 120 MPa, respectively.
Table 1 summarizes the mixture detail for high-strength high-performance concrete.

Table 1: Volume fraction (%) of mix components* for marine concrete (1)

Strength Total C + (F or S) C + (F or S) + SF
Grade W A
(MPa) binder 75 : 25 (by vol.) 75:15:10 (by vol.)
A 65 16 2 17 12.75 + 4.25 12.75 + 2.55 + 1.70
B 75 15 2 18 13.5 + 4.5 13.5 + 2.7 + 1.8
C 90 14 2 19 14.25 + 4.75 14.25 + 2.85 + 1.9
D 105 13 2 20 15.0 + 5.0 15.0 + 3.0 + 2.0
E 120 12 2 21 15.75 + 5.25 15.75 + 3.15 + 2.10
*A, C, S, W, F, SF: air, cement, slag, water, fly ash and silica fume, respectively

Table 2: Compositions of the concrete mixtures in kg/m3*

Mix C F S SF W SP Af Ac W/B
C 597 - - - 140 14 650 1090 0.23
CF 447 110 - - 140 11 650 1090
CS 447 - 119 - 140 11 650 1090 0.24
CFSi 447 60 - 40 140 12 650 1090
CSSi 447 - 71 40 140 11 650 1090 0.25
*B, C, S, W, F, SF, SP, Af, Ac: Binder, air, cement, slag, water, fly ash, silica fume, superplasticiser,
fine aggregate and coarse aggregate, respectively.

3. EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION

3.1 Materials
The main purpose of this investigation is to study the engineering properties of high-performance
concrete made from the materials available in Sydney, Australia. The binder materials used were
ordinary Portland cement, low-calcium fly ash (sp. gr. of 2.40), ground granulated blast-furnace slag
(sp. gr. of 2.86) and condensed silica fume (sp. gr. of 2.10). The fine aggregate was river sand (sp. gr.
of 2.52), whereas the coarse aggregate was a combination of crushed river gravel (19mm max. size and
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sp. gr. of 2.69) and crushed basalt (10mm max. size and sp. gr. of 2.67), in equal weight proportion. A
ligno-sulphonic acid based superplasticiser (40% solid content and sp. gr. of 1.20) was used to achieve
suitable workability for mixing and moulding.

3.2 Composition of the concrete mixtures

Grade C concrete (90MPa) from Table 1 was selected for a detail investigation. Table 2 summarizes
the composition of the five concrete mixtures studied. For the control mix (Mix C), the free-water to
cement ratio was 0.23 and the cement content was 595kg/m3. The fine and coarse aggregate contents
were kept the equal to 650 kg/m3 and 1090 kg/m3, respectively. The dosage of the superplasticiser was
varied between 11 kg/m3 and 14 kg/m3.

3.3 Test details

The concrete mixtures were produced in a pan-type concrete mixer and the fresh concrete was tested
for its workability and unit weight. For each concrete mixture a number of standard test specimens
were moulded for various tests on hardened concrete at different ages. Table 3 summarizes the details
of the curing condition and hardened concrete tests up to the age of 90 days. All the tests were carried
out according to the procedures outlined in AS1012. The ultrasonic pulse velocity for the concrete was
measured over a 290mm-path length with a portable ultrasonic tester (PUNDIT). Free drying shrinkage
was measured over a 200mm gauge length on all four sides using a demountable mechanical strain
gauge. The drying condition for the shrinkage specimens was in an uncontrolled laboratory
environment [(20 + 2 oC) and 65 + 5% R.H.)].

Table 3: Details of the tests on hardened concrete for each concrete mixture

Specimen Specimen No. Curing* Testing ages

Test
shape dimensions conditions (days)
Compressive 1, 2, 3, 7, 14,
Cube 100 mm 24 Water
strength 28, 56 & 90
Compressive 100mm dia. 1, 2, 3, 7, 14,
Cylinder 24 Water
strength x 200mm long 28, 56 & 90
Tensile 100mm dia.
Cylinder 3 Water 28
strength x 200 mm long
Modulus of 150mm dia. 1, 2, 3, 7, 14,
Cylinder 2 Water
elasticity x 300 mm long 28, 56 & 90
Pulse 1, 2, 3, 7, 14,
Prism 70x70x290 mm 1 Water
velocity 28, 56 & 90
Shrinkage & 7d water + up to 150
Prism 70x70x290 mm 2
Weight loss Lab days
* Water at 20oC; Lab. conditions (mean values) were 20oC & 60% R.H.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Compressive strength of high performance concrete

Figures 1 and 2 show the influence of cement replacement with fly ash, slag and silica fume on the
development of cube compressive strength with age for water-cured high-strength concrete. The
cylinder strength results are not reported here. Table 4 gives the strengths for the concretes with cement
replacements at various ages in relation to the strengths of the control concrete at the corresponding
ages.

For the control concrete, the 1-day compressive strength was 60MPa. When 25% of the cement was
replaced with fly ash or slag, the 1-day strength was dropped to 45MPa or 48.5MPa, respectively.
When silica fume is used to replace 40% (by volume) of the fly ash and slag, the 1-day strength was
increased to 47.5MPa and 50.5MPa, respectively. These strength increases are due to the high
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cementing efficiency of silica fume compared to either fly ash or slag. The 28-day compressive
strength for the control concrete was 104MPa, whereas the corresponding strength for the concretes
with 25% fly ash and slag were 99.5MPa and 98.5MPa, respectively. Therefore, the both early age and
later age strengths were noticeably affected by cement replacement with either fly ash or slag. When
silica fume was used to replace 40% of fly ash the strengths after 7 days exceeded marginally over that
for the control concrete. In the other hand, when silica fume was used to replace 40% of slag, increases
in compressive strength were noted for all ages, although the long-term strength is marginally below
the corresponding strength for the control concrete.

140
CUBE STRENGTH (MPa)

[C + F + SF]
120
100
C
80
C+F
60
40
20
0 20 40 60 80 100
AGE IN DAYS

Fig. 1: Compressive strength of concrete with fly ash and silica fume

140
CUBE STRENGTH (MPa)

C
120
100
80
60 C+S C + S + SF

40
20
0 20 40 60 80 100

AGE (DAYS)

Fig. 2: Compressive strength of concrete with slag and silica fume

Table 4 shows that the binder materials type and age influence the effect of cement replacement on
compressive strength. Cement replacement with fly ash or slag had produced significant reductions in
the early age strengths. The combination of fly ash or slag with silica fume caused the strength to
improve considerably at all ages.

Table 4: Relative strength of high-performance concretes with cement replacements

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Age Control 15% FA and 15% S and

25% FA 25% S
(days) Strength 10% SF 10% SF
(%) (%)
(MPa) (%) (%)
1 60.0 75 81 79 84
2 71.0 76 78 94 94
3 82.0 71 85 91 93
7 86.0 91 94 103 94
14 95.5 92 88 102 96
28 104.0 96 95 104 99
56 112.0 95 91 103 99
90 117.0 97 88 101 97

4.2 Relationship between compressive strength and ultrasonic pulse velocity

Table 5 summarizes the ultrasonic pulse velocity for the concretes up to the age of 90 days. As
expected the pulse velocity of concrete increased with the increase of age. For the control concrete, the
pulse velocity was 4.40km/s after a day and increased to 4.72, 4.94 and 5.09km/s at the ages of 3, 28
and 90 days, respectively. When 25% of the cement was replaced with fly ash or slag, the pulse
velocity after a day was 4.28km/s or 4.32km/s, respectively. No significant changes in the pulse
velocity were noted when silica fume was used to replace 40% of fly ash or slag.

Table 5: Ultrasonic pulse velocity (km/s) of high-performance concrete

Age Control 15% F and 15% S and

25% F 25% S
(days) Strength 10% SF 10% SF
1 4.40 4.28 4.32 4.28 4.33
2 4.62 4.50 4.53 4.44 4.52
3 4.72 4.57 4.64 4.56 4.65
7 4.82 4.71 4.71 4.76 4.75
14 4.88 4.85 4.81 4.81 4.81
28 4.94 4.91 4.93 4.89 4.90
56 5.00 4.98 5.01 4.95 4.97
90 5.09 5.09 5.05 5.04 5.00

140
CUBE STR. (MPa)

120
100
80
60 1.1542x
y = 0.346e
40 2
R = 0.9336
20
0
4.2 4.4 4.6 4.8 5.0 5.2

PULSE VELOCITY (km/s)

Fig. 3: Relationship between compressive strength and pulse velocity

Figure 3 shows the relationship between the compressive strength (fcu) and pulse velocity (V) for high-
strength concrete using 40 sets of readings taken at different ages up to 90 days. The observed high-
degree of correlation (square of the correlation coefficient of 0.94) seems to indicate that the influence
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of the binder materials on the strength-pulse velocity relationship is minor for high-strength concrete.
Equation (1) defines the relationship between strength and pulse velocity for high-strength concrete:
fcu = 0.35 e 1.15V (1)

4.3 Modulus of Elasticity of high-performance concrete

Figure 4 shows the linear relationship between the modulus of elasticity and square root of the cube
strength for high-strength concrete. Sri Ravindrarajah [3] produced linear relationship between the
modulus of elasticity and the square root of the compressive strength. The results suggest the following
relationship between modulus of elasticity and cube strength: Analysis of the results showed that
AS3600 [4] for medium strength concrete overestimated the modulus of elasticity.
E = 3.61 fcu 0.5 + 8.3 (2)
ELASTIC MODULUS (GPa)

50

40

30 y = 3.6147x + 8.2794
R2 = 0.8102

20
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
SQUARE ROOT OF CUBE STRENGTH

Fig. 4: Relationship between modulus of elasticity and cube strength

4.4 Tensile strength of high-performance concrete

Table 5 summarizes the in-direct tensile strength for the high-performance concrete at 28-days. The
tensile strength varied between 5.45 and 7.08MPa for high-strength concrete when the cube strength
varied between 98.5 and 108MPa. The use of silica fume in combination with either fly ash or slag to
replace 25% of cement is found to increase the tensile strength of high-strength concrete. The 28-day
tensile strength for the high performance concrete ranged from 5.48% to 6.72% of the compressive
strength.
Table 5: In- direct tensile strength for high-performance concrete

Cube strength Tensile Ten/Comp.

Binder Materials
(MPa) strength (MPa) (%)
Cement 104.0 6.94 6.67
Cement + fly ash 99.5 5.45 5.48
Cement + fly ash + silica fume 108.0 7.08 6.56
Cement + slag 98.5 6.14 6.23
Cement + slag + silica fume 103.0 6.92 6.72

4.5 Drying shrinkage of high-performance concrete

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Figure 5 show the development of free drying shrinkage for high performance concrete as affected by
the replacement of cement with fly ash and fly ash and silica fume. The shrinkage increased at a
reduced rate with time and similar results are obtained when slag was used instead of fly ash.
SHRINKAGE (microstrain)

800
C + F + SF
600

400

C+F
200 C

0
0 40 80 120 160

DRYING TIME (days)

Fig. 5: Development of drying shrinkage with time for high-performance concrete.

Drying shrinkage for the control concrete after 150 days was 480 microstrains compared to 520 and
550 microstrains for concretes with fly ash and a combination of fly ash and silica fume, respectively.
When cement was replaced with slag or a combination of slag and silica fume the shrinkage was found
to decrease. The shrinkage after 90 days for the control concrete was 410 microstrains compared to 370
and 380 microstrains when slag and a combination of slag and silica fume were used. It is known that
the drying shrinkage of concrete is affected by several factors including the structure of cement paste
and the bonding state of the water in cement paste. Since the pore structure modification is caused by
the presence of the cement supplementary pozzolanic materials, it is not surprising that the binder
material type had an effect on shrinkage of concrete

5. CONCLUSIONS

From the results obtained, the following conclusions are made:

1. Early age compressive strength is affected by the 25% cement replacement with fly ash or slag,
although no significant reductions in later age strength was noted.
2. When 40% of either fly ash or slag was replaced with silica fume improvements in both
compressive and tensile strengths were noted at all ages.
4. The relationship between compressive cube strength and ultrasonic pulse velocity is given by: f =
0.32 e 1.17V
5. The relationship between the modulus of elasticity (E) and the cube strength (fcu) for high-
performance concrete is given by: E = 3.61 f cu0.5 + 8.3.
6. Drying shrinkage of high-performance concrete was increased when fly ash was used to replace
cement, whereas the opposite effect was noted with slag.
7. From economical point of view, high performance concrete for marine application can be produced
to have 25% fly ash or slag content. No significant long-term advantage in relation to strength,
modulus and shrinkage was noted when 40% of either fly ash or slag was replaced with more
expensive silica fume.

6. REFERENCES

1. Metha, P. K., Concrete in the marine environment, Elsevier Applied Science, 1991, p.214.
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2. Metha, P. K. and Aitcin, P. C., Principles underlying the production of high-performance concrete,
ASTM Journal, Cement, Concrete and Aggregate, Winter 1990, pp. 70-78.
3. Sri Ravindrarajah, R., Mercer, C.M., and Toth, J., Properties of high-strength concrete containing
cement supplementary materials, Proc. of the FIP Congress on Modern Pre-stressing techniques and
their application, Kyoto, Japan, 1993.
4. Standard Australia, AS3600-2002, Concrete Structures.