SPECIAL CONCRETE

DR. SALMIA BEDDU

BN-3-027
 HIGH PERFORMANCE CONCRETE
LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE
SELF-COMPACTING CONCRETE
GEO-POLYMER CONCRETE
 High Performance Concrete (HPC)

High performance concrete is an engineered concrete

obtained through a careful selection and proportioning
of its constituents. The concrete is with the same basic
ingredients but has a totally different microstructure
than ordinary concrete.
 High Performance Concrete

Concrete is the most widely used construction material. It is well known that conventional
concrete designed on the basis of compressive strength does not meet many functional
requirements such as impermeability, resistance to frost, thermal cracking adequately.
Conventional Portland cement concrete is found deficient in respect of:
Durability in severe environs (Shorter service life and require maintenance)
Time of construction (longer release time of forms and slower gain of strength)
Energy absorption capacity (for earthquake-resistant structures)
Repair and retrofitting jobs
High performance concrete (HPC) successfully meets the above requirement.
 High Performance Concrete

High performance concrete (HPC) is a specialized series of concrete designed to

provide several benefits in the construction of concrete structures that cannot
always be achieved routinely using conventional ingredients, normal mixing and
curing practices. In the other words a high performance concrete is a concrete in
which certain characteristics are .developed for a particular application and
environment, so that it will give excellent performance in the structure in which
it will be placed, in the environment to which it will be exposed, and with the loads
to which it will be subjected during its design life.
High Performance Concrete
 High performance Concrete

It includes concrete that provides either substantially improved resistance to

environmental influences (durability in service) or substantially increased
structural capacity while maintaining adequate durability. It may also include
concrete, which significantly reduces construction time without compromising
long-term serviceability. While high strength concrete, aims at enhancing strength
and consequent advantages owing to improved strength,
the term high-performance concrete (HPC) is used to refer to concrete of
required performance for the majority of construction applications.
 High performance Concrete

In general, a High performance Concrete can be

defined as that concrete which has the highest
durability for any given strength class, and comparison
between the concretes of different strength classes is not
appropriate. This means that, with the available
knowledge, one can always strive to achieve a better (most
durable) concrete required for a particular application.
 High performance Concrete

HPC is a concrete, which meets special performance,

and uniformity requirements that cannot be always
achieved by using only the conventional materials and
normal mixing, placing, and curing practices. The
performance requirements may involve enhancement of
placement and compaction without segregation and long
term mechanical properties, early age strength,
toughness, volume stability, service life.
 High performance Concrete

A High Performance concrete element is that which is designed to give optimized

performance characteristics for a given set of load, usage and exposure conditions, consistent
with requirement of cost, service life and durability.
High Performance concrete has,
(a) Very low porosity through a tight and refined pore structure of the cement paste.
(b) Very low permeability of the concrete
(c) High resistance to chemical attack.
(d) Low heat of hydration
(e) High early strength and continued strength development
(f) High workability and control of slump
(g) Low water binder ratio
(h) Low bleeding and plastic shrinkage
High performance Concrete
 HPC Definition

American Concrete Institute (ACI)

A more broad definition of HPC was adopted by the ACI. HPC was defined as
concrete, which meets special performance and uniformity requirements that
cannot be always be achieved routinely by using only conventional materials and
normal mixing, placing and curing practices. The requirements may involve
enhancement of placement and compaction without segregation, long term
mechanical properties, early age strength, volume stability or service life in severe
environments. Concretes possessing many of these characteristics often achieve
higher strength. Therefore, HPC is often of high strength, but high strength
concrete may not necessarily be of high performance.
 Composition of High Performance Concrete

The composition of HPC usually consists of cement, water, fine sand, super-plasticizer, fly
ash and silica fume. Sometimes, quartz flour and fibre are the components as well for
HPC having ultra strength and ultra ductility, respectively. The key elements of high
performance concrete can be
summarized as follows:
Low water-to-cement ratio,
Large quantity of silica fume (and/or other fine mineral powders),
Small aggregates and fine sand,
High dosage of super-plasticizers,
Heat treatment and application of pressure which are necessary for ultra high strength
concrete after mixing (at curing stage).
Composition of High Performance Concrete
 Key Features of High Performance Concrete

HPC should have a better performance when compared

to normal strength concrete. Three of the key attributes
to HPC are, strength, ductility and durability.
 Strength

In practice, concrete with a compressive strength less than 50MPa is

regarded as NSC, while high strength concrete (HSC) may be defined as that
having a compressive strength of about 50MPa.
Recently, concrete with the compressive strength of more than 200MPa
has been achieved. Such concrete is defined as ultra high strength
concrete. As the compressive strength of concrete has been steadily
increasing with ample experimental validation
In general, the addition of admixture does not improve the concrete
strength only. Usually, other aspects of performance, like ductility and
durability, are also enhanced
Key Features of High Performance Concrete
Table shows the characteristics of different type of High Strength
Concrete
with various compositions.
 Ductility

HPC is usually more brittle when compared with NSC,

especially when high strength is the main focus of the
performance. Ductility can be improved by applying a
confining pressure on HPC. Besides confinement, the
ductility of HPC can be improved by altering its
composition through the addition of fibres in the
design mix. Concrete with fibres inside is regarded as
fibber reinforced concrete (FRC).
Ductility
 Durability

Many researchers have conducted investigations related

to concrete durability and have identified that the
majority of concrete durability problems are related to
the resistance of concrete to permeation of water and
chemical ions. Such problems include corrosion of steel
reinforcement, freeze-thaw damage, and alkaline-silica
reaction.
 Durability

The permeability of concrete is a key factor influencing

the durability of concrete. Concrete permeability is
dependent on permeability of each constituent material
and its geometric arrangement.
The permeability of cement paste is primarily related to
pore structure, which includes porosity, pore size and
connectivity; while pore structure is a function of the
water-to-cement ratio and the degree of hydration.
Durability
 Methods for achieving High Performance

In general, better durability performance has been achieved by using high-strength, low
w/c ratio concrete. Though in this approach the design is based on strength and the result
is better durability, it is desirable that the high performance, namely, the durability, is
addressed directly by optimizing critical parameters such as the practical size of the required
materials.
Two approaches to achieve durability through different techniques are as follows.
(1) Reducing the capillary pore system such that no fluid movement can occur is the first
approach. This is very difficult to realize and all concrete will have some interconnected
pores.
(2) Creating chemically active binding sites which prevent transport of aggressive ions
such as chlorides is the second more effective method.
LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE
 Lightweight concrete is a special concrete which weight lighter than
conventional concrete.
Density of this concrete is considerably low 300kg/m3 to
1850kg/m3) when compared to normal concrete.
It may also be defined as:
concrete which uses lightweight aggregates
May consist of lightweight aggregates are used in ordinary
concrete of coarse aggregate and sand, clay, foamed slag, clinker,
crushed stone, aggregates of organic and inorganic.
 PRINCIPLE BEHIND LWC

The basic principle behind the making of light weight concrete is by

inducing the air in concrete.
To achieve the above principle practically, there are 3 different
ways.
By replacing the conventional mineral aggregates by cellular
porous aggregates (Light weight aggregate Concrete).
By incorporating the air or gas bubbles in concrete (Aerated
concrete).
By omitting the sand from the concrete (No- fines concrete).
TYPES OF LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE

There are three types of lightweight concrete:

1. Lightweight Aggregate Concrete
2. Aerated Concrete
3. No-Fines Concrete
LIGHTWEIGHT AGGRAGATE CONCRETE

Basically two types of light weight aggregates

Natural aggregates
Artificial aggregates

Natural light weight aggregates are less preferred over artificial aggregates.
Important natural aggregates Pumice & Scoria
Artificial aggregates are usually produced by expanding the rocks such as Shale,
Slate, Perlite, Vermiculite, etc.,
Type of aggregates decides the density of concrete.
Density of concrete as low as 300 kg/m3 can be achieved.
Compressive strength varies from 0.3Mpa to 40Mpa.
 Expanded Perlite

Exfoliated Vermiculite
Vermiculite
 STRUCTURAL LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE

Concrete which is light weight and has sufficient compressive strength.

28 days compressive strength of more than 17Mpa and 28 days dry density not
exceeding 1850 kg/m3.
Generally has normal fine aggregates and lighter coarse aggregates.
Workability is less due to water absorption by the aggregates.
Drying shrinkage is more and less thermal expansion than normal concrete.
Is good in sound proofing, sound absorption & thermal insulation.
Economical when compared to normal weight concrete.
Has good fire resistance property than conventional concrete.
 AERATED CONCRETE

Produced by introducing air into the concrete.

It is also called cellular concrete having voids between 0.1mm to 1mm size.
Two ways are there to induce the air in concrete.
Gas concrete
Foamed concrete

Gas concrete is produced by chemical reaction in which gas is produced in the

concrete.
Finely divided aluminum powder is generally used as gas producing agent.
Its quantity is about 0.2% of weight of cement.
Aluminum powder reacts with Ca(OH)2 to liberate hydrogen bubbles.
 AERATED CONCRETE CONT..

Powdered zinc, aluminum alloy or hydrogen peroxide can also be used as gas
producing agents.
Foamed concrete is produced by adding foaming agent, usually hydrolyzed
protein or resin soaps, during mixing
In some cases, stable preformed foam is also added during mixing.
Concrete of densities 300kg/m3 to 1100kg/m3 can be obtained.
Compressive strength varies from 12Mpa to 14Mpa for a concrete of density
500kg/m3.
Generally autoclaved aerated concrete is used.
Aerated concrete has higher thermal movement, higher shrinkage and higher
moisture movement compared to light weight aggregate concrete of same
strength.
Surface texture of AAC

Autoclaved Aerated
concrete blocks
 NO-FINES CONCRETE

It is a type of light weight concrete produced by omitting the fine aggregates from conventional concrete.

This concrete has only cement, coarse aggregate and water.

Due to absence of fine aggregates, concrete will have large voids, resulting in light weight.

Even though there is reduction in strength, there is no capillary movement of water, resulting in low permeability and
consequently more durable.

Density of concrete will be less if coarse aggregates are of single size ranging from 10mm to 20mm rather than well
graded aggregates.

No fines concrete with lighter coarse aggregates, we can get density as low as 640 kg/m3.

In this concrete, strength criteria depends on cement content in the concrete than water cement ratio.

Drying shrinkage is comparatively less. But shrinkage takes place rapidly than conventional concrete.

Thermal conductivity is also comparatively less.

No fines concrete has better architectural appearance.

SELF-COMPACTING CONCRETE
By the early 1990's, Japan has developed and used SCC.

Self compacted concrete is highly engineered concrete

with much higher fluidity without segregation and is
capable of filling every corner of formwork under its self
weight .

Thus SCC eliminates the vibration for the compaction of

concrete without affecting its engineering properties.

As of the year 2000, SCC used for prefabricated

products (precast members) and ready mixed concrete
(cast-in-situ) in JAPAN, USA and later on INDIA etc.
 DEVELOPMENT OF SCC
In 1983, the problem of the durability of the concrete structures
was a major topic of interest in Japan.

The creation of durable concrete structures requires adequate

compaction by skilled workers.

Solution for the achievement of durable concrete structures

independent of the quality construction work is the use of SCC.

The necessity of this type of concrete was proposed by Okamura in

1986.

Studies to develop SCC have been carried out by Ozawa and Melawi
at the university of Tokyo.

Present-day SCC can be classified as an advanced construction

material.
 FATHER OF SCC TECHNOLOGY
Prof.Dr.Hajime Okamura

Developed Self compacting concrete in

1986 in JAPAN.

Currently President of Kochi University

of Technology .

CANMET/ACI AWARD for Outstanding

contributions in the development of SELF
COMPACTABLE HIGH PERFORMANCE
CONCRETE (1995) .

OKAMURA solved the issue of degrading quality of

concrete construction due to lack of compaction by the
employment of SCC which is independent of the quality of
construction work.
 CONSTITUENTS OF SCC
With regard to its composition, SCC consists of the
same components as conventionally vibrated
concrete, which are
Cement
Aggregates
Water
Chemical Admixtures i.e. Super plasticizers and
Viscosity Modifying Agents
Mineral Admixtures i.e., Fly ash, Silica Fume,
GGBFS etc.
 TYPICAL MIX PROPORTION
VALUES
Constituent Typical range by volume(liter/m3)
Powder 160-240

Water 150-210

Coarse aggregate 270-360

water to powder ratio 0.80-1.10

Fine aggregate 48-55% of total aggregate weight

 PROPERTIES OF SCC
IN FRESH STATE, SCC HAVE FOLLOWING PROPERTIES-

Filling ability (excellent deformability) - flows

easily at suitable speed into formwork

Passing ability (ability to pass reinforcement

without blocking) -passes through reinforcements
without blocking

High resistance to segregation- the distribution of

aggregate particles remains homogeneous in both vertical and
horizontal directions

Static segregation due to gravity, vertical direction

Dynamic segregation due to flow, horizontal direction
 ADVANTAGES OF SCC
Elimination of problems associated with vibration.
Faster construction
Improves working conditions and productivity in
construction industry.
Greater freedom in design.
Less noise from vibrators and reduced danger from
hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS).
Ease of placement results in cost savings through
reduced equipment and labour requirement.
Improves the quality, durability, and reliability of
concrete structures due to better compaction and
homogeneity of concrete.
Reduced wear and tear on forms from vibration.
Reduced permeability.
 DISADVANTAGES OF SCC

More precise measurement and monitoring

of the constituent materials.
Requires more trial batches at laboratory
as well as at ready-mixed concrete plants.
Costlier than conventional concrete based
on concrete material cost (exception to
placement cost).
Lack of globally accepted test standards
and mix designs
More stringent requirements on the
selection of materials .
CASE STUDY
The two anchorages of Akashi-Kaikyo (Straits) Bridge
opened in April 1998, a suspension bridge with the
longest span in the world (1,991 meters) (Fig. 6).
The volume of the cast concrete in the two anchorages
amounted to 290,000 m3.
The concrete was mixed at the batcher plant beside the
site, and was the pumped out of the plant.
It was transported 200 meters through pipes to the
casting site, where the pipes were arranged in rows 3 to
5 meters apart.
In the final analysis, the use of self-compacting
concrete shortened the anchorage construction period by
20%, from 2.5 to 2 years and reduced the no. of workers.
48
Fig.6 Anchorage of Akashi Kaikyo Bridge (Japan)

49
Placement of SCC in a reinforced slab foundation of
skyscraper. ( commercial center in New York)

50
Congested reinforced column
(master builders Inc. USA) 51
SCC Poured in Heavily Reinforced Wall
52
SCC Pumped into Column
53
GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE
 Whats wrong with cement concrete?

Many concrete structures deteriorate after 20 years.

Cement production releases high amounts of CO2 to

the atmosphere(1tonne of cement production releases
1tonne of CO2) thus contributing to 7%of world CO2
emissions.

Cement is one of the most energy intensive material.

2
 Howto reduce the use of cement

Partially replace the use of cement in concrete.

example: high volume fly ash concrete

Develop alternate materials.

example:Geopolymer concrete
Geopolymer Concrete
Hardened cementitious paste made from flyash and alkaline
solution.
Combines waste products into useful product.
Setting mechanism depends on polymerization.
Curing temp is between 60-90 degree celcious.
CONSTITUENTS OF GEOPOLYMER
CONCRETE
Source materials :
alumina-silicate
Alkaline liquids
combination of sodium hydroxide
(NaOH) or potassium hydroxide (KOH)
and sodium silicate or potassium
silicate.
Preparation of geopolymer concrete

Alkaline activator
Fly ash NaOH + Na Silicate

Aggregate

Geopolymerisation
Storage
MANUFACTURE OF
GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE
The aggregates are prepared in saturated-surface-dry (SSD)
condition, and are kept in plastic buckets with lid

Dry Materials of Geopolymer Concrete

 The fly ash and the aggregates are first mixed together
dry in 80-litre capacity pan mixer

. Pan Mixer Used in the Manufacture of Geopolymer Concrete

 The liquid component of the mixture is then added
to the dry materials and the mixing continued
usually for another four minutes

Addition of Liquid Component

The fresh concrete could be handled up to 120 minutes
without any sign of setting and without any degradation in
the compressive strength

Fresh Geopolymer Concrete Ready for Placing

 The workability of the fresh concrete was measured by
means of the conventional slump test

Slump Measurement of Fresh Geopolymer Concrete

Boundary between Geopolymer binder ,
aggregate and reinforcement
 ADVANTAGES

Cutting the worlds carbon.

The price of fly ash is low.
Better compressive strength.
Fire proof.
Low permeability.
Eco-friendly.
Excellent properties within both acid and salt environments.
 Different source materials
Properties of soluble silicate
Contaminants
Industry regulations
New material
Re-Arranging the Equation

Power Generation Cement Production

Refinery/Chemical industry
Re-Arranging the Equation

+
Conclusion

The reduced CO2 emissions of Geopolymer cements make them a good

alternative to Ordinary Portland Cement.

Produces a substance that is comparable to or better than traditional cements

with respect to most properties.

Geopolymer concrete has excellent properties within both acid and salt
environments
Low-calcium fly ash-based geopolymer concrete has excellent compressive
strength and is suitable for Structural applications.
THANK YOU!!