Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 12231231

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Mechanical properties of reactive powder concrete containing mineral

admixtures under different curing regimes
Halit Yazc *, Mert Ycel Yardmc, Serdar Aydn, Anl S . Karabulut
_
Department of Civil Engineering, Engineering Faculty, Dokuz Eyll University, Buca 35160, Izmir,
Turkey

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 23 June 2008
Received in revised form 23 July 2008
Accepted 7 August 2008
Available online 14 September 2008
Keywords:
Reactive powder concrete
Fly ash
Ground granulated blast furnace slag
Silica fume
Toughness

a b s t r a c t
Mechanical properties (compressive strength, exural strength, and toughness) of reactive powder concrete (RPC) produced with class-C y ash (FA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) were
investigated under different curing conditions (standard, autoclave and steam curing) in this study. Test
results indicate that, compressive strength of RPC increased considerably after steam and autoclaving
compared to the standard curing. On the other hand, it was observed that steam and autoclave curing
decreased the exural strength and toughness. Increasing the GGBFS and/or FA content improved the
toughness of RPC under all curing regimes considerably. Furthermore, SEM micrographs revealed dense
microstructure of RPC.
2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Reactive powder concrete (RPC) is a new generation concrete
and it was developed through microstructure enhancement techniques for cementitious materials. As compared to ordinary cement-based materials, the primary improvements of RPC include
the particle size homogeneity, porosity, and microstructures. The
mechanical properties that can be achieved include the compressive strength of the range between 200 and 800 MPa, fracture energy of the range between 1200 and 40,000 J/m2, and ultimate
tensile strain at the order of 1% [1,2]. This is generally achieved
by micro-structural engineering approach, including elimination
of the coarse aggregates, reducing the water-to-cementitious
material ratio, lowering the CaO to SiO2 ratio by introducing the
silica components, and incorporation of steel micro-bers [3]. It
was reported that RPC has a remarkable exural strength and very
high ductility. Its ductility is about 250 times higher than that of
conventional concrete [1,2]. Low permeability, dense micro-structure and superior mechanical properties (very high compressive
strength, exural strength, fracture energy and toughness) dene
the RPC as an ultra-high performance concrete [4]. Nowadays,
RPC seems to be a promising material for special pre-stressed
and precast concrete members. This material can therefore be used
for industrial and nuclear waste storage facilities [14]. Although
production costs of RPC are generally high, some economical
advantages also exist in RPC applications. It is possible to reduce
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 232 4127044; fax: +90 232 4127253.
E-mail address: halit.yazici@deu.edu.tr (H. Yazc).
0950-0618/$ - see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2008.08.003

or eliminate passive reinforcement using with steel bers. And,

due to ultra-high mechanical performance of RPC, the thickness
of concrete elements can be reduced, which results in materials
and cost savings.
Chan and Chu [3] reported that incorporation of silica fume in
RPC matrix remarkably enhances the steel bermatrix bond characteristics due to the interfacial-toughening effect upon ber slip.
Massidda et al. [5] studied the effects of autoclaving under saturated vapor at 180 C on the physical and mechanical properties
of reactive-powder mortars reinforced with brass-coated steel bers. Autoclaving generally has benecial effects on the mechanical properties both in terms of exural and compressive strength.
High pressure steam curing for 3 h of specimens pre-cured at
ambient temperature for 3 days, yielded exural strength of
30 MPa and compressive strength of 200 MPa. Shaheen and Shrive
[6] investigated freezethaw resistance of RPC. Test results showed
that RPC has excellent freezethaw resistance with no sign of damage up to 600 cycles according to ASTM C 666 test procedure. Rougeau and Borys [7] showed that ultra-high performance concrete
can be produced with ultra-ne particles other than SF such as
y ash, limestone microller or metakaolin. Furthermore, Kejin
and Zhi [8] showed that the maximum heat of cement hydration
in binary/ternary cement (y ash and/or GGBFS) concrete decreased with supplementary cementitious material (SCM) replacements. As a result, SCM concrete generally has a lower risk of
thermal cracking than Portland cement (PC) concrete.
Cement dosage of RPC is generally as high as 8001000 kg/m3
to achieve ultra-high strength under very low water/cement
ratios. A high amount of cement not only affects the production

1224

H. Yazc et al. / Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 12231231

costs, but also has negative effects on the heat of hydration and
may cause shrinkage problems. Mineral admixtures can be a feasible solution to overcome these problems in RPC. The main
objective of this research is to determine the effect of mineral
admixtures on the mechanical properties of the RPC. Furthermore,
this research aimed to reduce consumption of cement and silica
fume in order to lower the material costs and to decrease the negative impacts (heat of hydration, shrinkage and environmental
problems). Portland cement and silica fume was replaced with
GGBFS and/or FA at different proportions and mechanical performance determined after different curing regimes. Test results
indicate that low cement RPC has satisfactory performance compared to the conventional RPC the matrix phase of which consist
of cement and silica fume. In other words, it seems that greening
the RPC is also possible using with high amount of mineral
admixtures.
2. Experimental

Table 2
Mixture proportions of RPC
Material
3

Cement (kg/m )
SF (kg/m3)
GGBFS (kg/m3)
FA (kg/m3)
13 mm Quartz (kg/m3)
0.51 mm Quartz (kg/m3)
00.4 mm Quartz (kg/m3)
Water (kg/m3)
SP (L/ m3)
Water from SP
Water/cement
Water/powder
Water/powdera
CaO (Mol)
SiO2 (Mol)
Steel ber (kg/m3)
Flow table (mm)
Molar CaO/SiO2
a

The RPC considered here is prepared by the following ingredients: Ordinary Portland cement (CEM-I 42.5-R); quartz powder
(00.4 mm) and quartz sand (0.51.0 and 1.03.0 mm, with a specic gravity of 2.65), silica fume (SF), a polycarboxylate-based
superplasticizer (SP) in conformity with ASTM C 494-81 type F
and brass-coated steel micro-bers (6 mm long with the diameter
of 0.15 mm, the aspect ratio and tensile strength of the bers is 40
and 2250 MPa, respectively). The physical, chemical and mechanical properties of cement, silica fume, y ash and slag are presented
in Table 1.
Table 2 summarizes the mixture designs of RPC produced in
this study. As can be seen from Table 2, abbreviations were used
for mixtures according to GGBFS and/or FA content. FA and
GGBFS were denoted by F and G. FA or GGBFS ratios by cement
weight were also given in the abbreviations. For instance,
G10F20 means cement was replaced with 10% GGBFS and 20%

Table 1
Physical, chemical and mechanical properties of cement, silica fume, y ash and slag
Chemical composition (%)

SiO2
Al2O3
Fe2O3
CaO
MgO
Na2O
K2O
SO3
Cl
L.O.I.
I.R.
F.CaO (%)

Cement

Silica fume (SF)

Fly ash (FA)

Slag (GGBFS)

20.10
5.62
2.17
62.92
1.14
0.30
0.85
2.92
0.001
3.84
0.63
0.52

92.26
0.89
1.97
0.49
0.96
0.42
1.31
0.33
0.09

42.10
19.40
4.60
27.00
1.80

1.10
2.40

1.30

4.30

39.66
12.94
1.58
34.20
6.94
0.20
1.44
0.72

1.20

Physical properties of cement

Specic gravity
Initial setting time (min)
Final setting time (min)
Volume expansion (mm)

3.13
130
210
1.00

Specic surface(m2/kg)
Cement (Blaine)
SF (nitrogen Ab.)
FA (Blaine)
GGBFS (Blaine)

380
20,000
290
396

Compressive strength of cement (MPa)

2 days
7 days
28 days

29.9
43.2
51.9

CTRL

G10F10

G10F20

G10F30

F20

G40

830
291

489
244
244
151
55
33
0.18
0.13
0.16
9.40
7.22
234
115
1.30

664
205
83
83
521
260
260
151
35
21
0.23
0.15
0.17
8.38
6.43
234
115
1.30

581
157
83
166
534
266
266
151
34
20
0.26
0.15
0.17
7.82
6.00
234
113
1.30

498
141
83
249
530
264
264
151
33
20
0.30
0.16
0.18
7.27
6.06
234
113
1.20

664
195

166
516
257
257
151
38
23
0.23
0.15
0.17
8.29
6.36
234
114
1.30

498
173
332

541
269
269
151
35
21
0.30
0.15
0.17
7.55
6.29
234
117
1.20

Calculated with total water (water + water from SP).

FA. Moreover CTRL shows Portland cement RPC that contain only
cement and SF as a binder without FA or GGBFS. Replacement ratios presented here were chosen according to results of previous
study [9].
For each type of the proposed mixture proportions of RPC, dry
ingredients (i.e. cement, SF, FA and GGBFS, quartz powders, quartz
sand and silica fume) were rst mixed for about 3 min at low and
high speed in Hobart mixer. Water and superplasticizer were
added and re-mixed for about 5 min at high speed. Subsequently,
bers were added and additional mixing was applied for about
2 min. The specimens were kept in the moulds for 16 h at room
temperature of about 20 C. After that RPC specimens were removed from the steel molds. One-third of the RPC specimens were
cured in water at 20 C. The other one-third of specimens were
autoclaved under 2.0 MPa pressure for 8 h (210 C). Temperature
and pressure reached to their maximum values in 2.5 h. Remaining specimens were exposed to steam curing at 100 C for 3 days.
Heating rate of steam cure treatment was 11 C/h. This extended
(3 days) high temperature (100 C) steam curing which is different from conventional curing process were preferred due to the
high amount of reactive cementitious materials in RPC. Studies
showed that high mechanical properties can be achieved under
these conditions at early ages [13]. Cwirzen et al. [10] also indicated that heat treatment densied the microstructure of the RPC
matrix. The specimens, which were subjected to heat treatment,
were kept in laboratory conditions for cooling before testing in
this study.
Prismatic specimens (40  40  160 mm) were used to determine the exural strength and toughness. Flexural specimens were
tested at the loading rate of 0.1 mm/min up to mid-span deection
of 2.5 mm under closed loop control test procedure. The specimens
were loaded from their mid span and the clear distance between
simple supports was 130 mm. Toughness was regarded as the area
under the loaddeection curve up to 2.5 mm mid-span deection.
The compressive strength test was performed following to the exural tests. The two broken pieces left from exural test were subjected to compressive strength test. The loaded area under
compressive strength test is 40  40 mm and the height of the
specimens is also 40 mm. The moduli of elasticity values were
determined on 100  200 mm cylinders. Each data presented here
are the average test results of three specimens. On the other hand,
exural loaddeection curves were drawn using with one specimen graph that represents closest to the average mechanical
performance.

1225

H. Yazc et al. / Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 12231231

elevated temperatures in which less reactive form of silica in SF,

FA and GGBFS shows pozzolanic reaction that is normally remains
unreacted inert ller under standard curing. Note that control mixture also showed similar behavior. This can be attributed to the signicant amount of SF in the control mixture. According to the
replacement level, improvement in compressive strength is between 21% and 35% for autoclaving compared to the 28-day water
curing. This increment is 1426% after steam curing. Moreover,
steam/autoclave strength ratio is over 93%.
Normally the cement content of RPC is very high and the water/
binder ratio of it is very low, which causes rapid hydration reaction, high heat of hydration and shrinkage. These problems may
be solved with mineral admixtures. The hydration mechanism of
mineral admixtures is different from that of cement. The mineral
admixtures reacts with water and then with calcium hydroxide
to form cement hydration product through pozzolanic reaction to
form extra CSH gel in the paste and slow down the strength
development at early age [1114]. All these properties of GGBFS
and/or FA may be advantage for RPC. Zhanga et al. [15] indicated
that mineral admixtures greatly reduced the hydration heat and
the exothermic rate and prolonged the arrival time of the highest
temperature, particularly when two or three types of mineral
admixtures were added at the same time (double adding and triple
adding) in high strength concrete.
The 28-day strength in standard curing can be achieved in
about 24 h with autoclave curing [16]. However, the bond strength
between the concrete and the reinforcement is usually much lower
(by about 50%), and the material tends to be more brittle than ordinary concrete [17]. Under the conditions of high temperature and
pressure, the chemistry of hydration is substantially altered. CSH
forms but is converted to a crystalline product a-calcium silicate
hydrate (a-C2S) which cause an increase in porosity and reduction
in strength. However, in the presence of silica, a-C2S converts to
tobermorite (C5S6H5) on continued heating thus high strength
can be obtained. On the other hand, prolonged autoclaving may
cause the formation of other crystalline calcium silicate hydrates
with a strength reduction. It is believed that the complete conversion to tobermorite is not desirable and that there is an optimum
ratio of amorphous to crystalline material for maximum strength
[1821]. However, with a small addition of silica fume, the cement
strength increases and the pore structure is densied. In addition,
silica fume particles ll micro- and submicro-meter level pores in

3. Results and discussion

Test results are presented in the following paragraphs.
3.1. Compressive strength of RPC
The compressive strength of mixtures after different curing conditions (standard curing for 2 and 28 days, steam and autoclave
curing) is presented in Fig. 1. The compressive strength of all these
mixtures is over 200 MPa after 28-day standard curing. It is obvious that RPC containing GGBFS and/or FA also showed satisfactory
results. GGBFS and/or FA replacement reduced the compressive
strength slightly after 2-day standard water curing. When the
replacement level reached to the 40% compressive strength reduction is higher. This can be explained by the nature of pozzolanic
reaction. On the other hand, it is obvious that the early compressive strength of RPC over 100 MPa and reached up to the
163 MPa even under 2-day standard curing. This behavior is quite
different from conventional concrete and can be attributed to the
very low water/binder ratio and high amount of binder of RPC
which cause the binder grains close to the each other and reduced
porosity. Note that detailed previous study [9] showed that FA
caused more compressive strength reduction than GGBFS especially over 20% replacement level. Furthermore, generally binary
combination (GGBFS + FA) showed better performance than only
FA replacement. This nding was not valid for GGBFS. In this case
GGBFS is much better than using binary replacement. In other
words, to avoid important mechanical loss with high amount of
FA, binary combinations were also designed in this study presented
in Table 2.
Steam and autoclaving improved the compressive strength of
RPC considerably. Moreover, autoclaved and steam cured samples
were only 2 and 4-day old on testing day. From the point of mineral admixtures, compressive strength of G10F10, F20 and G40 is
close to the strength of control mixture (Portland cement RPC)
after autoclave curing. Greater values also exist after steam curing.
This nding is also valid for control mixtures which have only
cement and SF as a binder. It is well known that steam curing at
6585 C for a few hours (for example 312 h) normally causes
ultimate strength reduction due to rapid reactions compared to
the standard curing in water at 20 C. Compressive strength
improvement in RPC can be explained by pozzolanic reactions at

In water (2 days)
Steam curing

300
273

Compressive Strength, MPa

280

270

268

261

255

260

In water (28 days)

Autoclave curing
265

261

259
252

250

249

234

240
220

212

207

202

210

206

200

200
180
163

160

149

143

141

140

131
116

120
100
CTRL

G10F10

G10F20

G10F30

F20

Mixtures
Fig. 1. The inuence of GGBFS and/or FA content and curing regime on compressive strength.

G40

1226

H. Yazc et al. / Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 12231231

paste and limit the particle size of hydrates that known as a space
lling effect [22].
Preliminary test results [9] showed that GGBFS and/or FA can be
used as an alternative ne silica sources in this study. Due to this
nding SF content of the mixtures presented here was decreased
with increasing mineral admixtures content. Test results also
showed that decreasing the SF content also decreased the SP demand considerably. In other words, using the GGBFS and/or FA as
a silica source in the RPC has many benecial affects (economy,
decreasing shrinkage, heat of hydration, etc.). It can be seen that
from Table 2, SF content was reduced with the increasing GGBFS
and/or FA replacement. SiO2 and CaO contents were calculated
for each ingredient. SF content has been calculated to keep the molar CaO/SiO2 ratio constant (1.201.30). Molar ratio of 1.30 was
chosen for less than 40% replacement level and 1.20 for 40%
replacement level according to the preliminary tests. For example,
SF content of control mixture is 291 kg/m3 and 141 kg/m3 for
G10F30 mixture. As can be seen in Fig. 1, decreasing SF content
with increasing mineral admixture replacement generally did not
cause mechanical properties loss.

Flexural strength/compressive strength ratio is 14% for standard

cured Portland cement RPC. This ratio is between 15% and 19%
according to mineral admixtures replacement level in the same
curing regime. However, the exural strength/compressive
strength ratio of Portland cement RPC is 9% and increased to the
1112% using with GGBFS and/or FA in the case of steam curing.
These ratios are 10% and 1213% for autoclaving, respectively.
Flexural loaddeection curves of 2-day standard cured mixtures containing different amounts of GGBFS and/or FA are presented in Fig. 3. To avoid the confusion, G10F10 and G10F20
mixtures which generally showed similar behavior with other binary combination (G10F30) are not presented in Fig. 3. It can be seen
from Fig. 3 that generally GGBFS and/or FA replacement has positively affected the exural behavior of RPC. The maximum bending
loads of F20, G10F30 mixtures are greater than Portland cement
RPC (control). This behavior can be attributed to the improvement
in matrix phase, which also improves the bond strength between
matrix and the bers. The displacement at maximum load is between 0.14 and 0.34 mm. After the peak load, gradual load decrement was observed in all series. It can be noted that residual
load at 2.5 mm displacement is over 2500 N.
Loaddeection curves of the 28-day standard cured specimens
are given in Fig. 4. It can be seen from Fig. 4 that RPC containing
GGBFS and/or FA showed higher performance than Portland cement RPC under exural loading. High post-peak load carrying
capacity shows well toughness and reinforcing effect of the steel
bers. Sudden load decrements and increments were observed in
the descending branch of the RPC containing mineral admixtures.
This behavior is probably related to the length of bers (6 mm),
orientation of bers, gradual pulling out of the bers and matrixber bond. This behavior is also reported in the literature
for ultra-high performance ber reinforced composites [22]. However, sudden load drops were not observed in 2-day water curing.
This is probably due to the lower bond strength between bers and
matrix in this early age. Furthermore, residual load at 2.5 mm displacement is 2000 N for control mixture and increased with mineral admixture replacement up to 3500 N. Residual load also
increased with 28-day water curing compared to the 2-day water
curing. The displacement at maximum load is between 0.26 and
0.45 mm.
Fig. 5 shows loaddeection curves of steam cured RPC. It is
obvious that mineral admixture replacement positively affected

3.2. Flexural properties of RPC

Flexural strength of mixtures after different curing conditions
is presented in Fig. 2. GGBFS and/or FA replacement generally positively affected the exural strength of RPC in all curing regimes.
This behavior can be attributed to the improvement in bond
strength. Flexural strength improvement according to the GGBFS
and/or FA replacement in 28-day standard, steam and autoclave
curing are between 7% and 35%, 12% and 36%, and 9% and 18%,
respectively. On the other hand, although steam and high pressure
steam curing increased the compressive strength signicantly,
improvement in exural behavior is not in the same extent. This
is probably due to the weaker bond between the bers and matrix
after these curing regimes [12]. Steam curing generally reduced
the exural strength compared to the 28-day standard curing.
Flexural strength loss after steam curing is between 11% and
33% according to mixture type. However, exural strength of
steam cured G10F20 mixture is 3% greater than standard cured
ones. Mechanical properties of autoclaved specimens were generally very close to the 28-day standard cured series except G10F30
mixture.

50

In water (2 days)

In water (28 days)

45

Steam curing

Autoclave curing

38,7

Flexural Strength, MPa

40
35,5

34,6

33,9

35
30,7
28,6

30

31,8 31,2

30,7

30,2

23

23,4

33,8

31,8
29,5

28,6
26,3

25

34,5

32,8

26,1
24,2

23,3

22,7

22,3

20
15
10
5
0
CTRL

G10F10

G10F20

G10F30

F20

Mixtures
Fig. 2. The inuence of GGBFS and/or FA content and curing regime on exural strength.

G40

1227

H. Yazc et al. / Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 12231231

10000

9000

G 10F30
8000

7000

Load, N

6000

CTRL

5000

G40
4000

F20
3000

2000

1000

0
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

Displacement, mm
Fig. 3. The loaddisplacement relationship of 2-day water cured mixtures according to the GGBFS and/or FA content.

13000
G10F30
12000
11000
F20
10000
9000

Load, N

8000
7000
G40
6000
5000
CTRL
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

Displacement, mm
Fig. 4. The loaddisplacement relationship of 28-day water cured mixtures according to the GGBFS and/or FA content.

the performance of RPC under bending. This behavior is clearer for

steam curing compared to the standard water curing. It seems that
negative effect of steam curing on exural performance of RPC can
be decreased using with GGBFS and/or FA. Furthermore, residual
load at 2.5 mm displacement is 2500 N for control mixture and in-

creased with mineral admixture replacement up to 3150 N. The

displacement at maximum load is between 0.12 and 0.44 mm.
The loaddeection curves of autoclaved RPC are presented in
Fig. 6. There is an important difference between Portland cement
RPC and RPC containing mineral admixtures under exural load

1228

H. Yazc et al. / Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 12231231

11000

10000

9000

8000
F20

G10F30

Load, N

7000

6000
CTRL
5000
G40
4000

3000

2000

1000

0
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

Displacement, mm
Fig. 5. The loaddisplacement relationship of steam cured mixtures according to the GGBFS and/or FA content.

14000

12000

G10F30

10000
F20

Load, N

8000

G40
6000

CTRL
4000

2000

0
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

Displacement, mm
Fig. 6. The loaddisplacement relationship of autoclave cured mixtures according to the GGBFS and/or FA content.

after autoclave curing. In other words, GGBFS and/or FA improved

the exural performance of autoclaved RPC considerably. It is obvious that the negative effect of autoclaving on bond between matrix
of RPC and bers can be decreased using with mineral admixtures.
The displacement at maximum load is between 0.29 and 0.45 mm.

The magnitude of sudden load decrements and increments in

descending branch of RPC decreased after autoclave curing compared to the other curing regimes. This can be explained by the
decreasing bond strength due to autoclaving which causes gradual
pulling out of the bers instead of pulling out of suddenly.

1229

H. Yazc et al. / Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 12231231

Toughness of mixtures after different curing conditions is presented in Fig. 7. GGBFS and/or FA replacement generally positively
affected the toughness in all curing regimes. This behavior can be
attributed to the improvement in bond strength between matrix
phase and bers. Toughness values increased 1846% according
to mineral admixture replacement compared to the Portland cement RPC under standard curing. This ratio is between 2444%
for steam curing and 2339% for autoclaving. In other words, using
GGBFS and/or FA improved the toughness of RPC considerably. The
other factor which affects the toughness of RPC is curing regime.
The maximum toughness performance was observed from standard water curing for both Portland cement RPC and RPC containing mineral admixtures. While compressive strength of autoclaved
and steam cured specimens were considerably higher than standard cured ones, the highest toughness values were determined
after the 28-day standard curing. Steam curing reduced the toughness compared to the 28-day standard curing. This decrement is
between 10% and 34% according to mixture type. On the other
hand, autoclaving slightly reduced the toughness compared to
the 28-day standard curing. In this case decrement ratio is between
4% and 18%. This behavior is probably due to the weaker bond between the bers and matrix after steam curing and autoclaving
[16]. It is obvious that steam curing cause much more bond
strength loss than autoclaving in RPC.
3.3. Inuence of the GGBFS and/or FA replacement on modulus of
elasticity of RPC
Moduli of elasticity of some selected autoclaved mixtures were
determined and are shown in Fig. 8. It can be seen that modulus of
elasticity of RPC decreased slightly when the replacement level
reached to 30%. This can be attributed to the decreasing compressive
strength level. The maximum decrement (18%) was observed in 40%
GGBFS replacement compared to the control mixture. Decrement in
modulus of elasticity values was also reported for high strength concrete containing mineral admixtures by Nassif et al. [23].
3.4. Microstructure of RPC
Microstructure of the selected RPC mixtures has been investigated by using JEOL JSM 6060 electron microscope (SEM). The

samples for SEM analysis were prepared by taking small pieces

from the prismatic specimens. Original microstructure and morphology of the RPC were observed on fractured surfaces using with
secondary electron imaging. The general micro-structural features
of RPC were determined by using backscattered electron (BSE)
imaging. Samples were coated with gold. The SEM study was carried out by using an accelerating voltage of 20 kV.
Limited micrographs are presented here to give only an opinion
about microstructure of RPC. Microstructure investigations revealed the very dense microstructure of RPC in this study. Very
low water/binder ratio causes the cement grains closer to each
other. Fig. 9a shows BSE image of autoclaved Portland cement
RPC. The matrix phase predominantly consists of outer product.
There are a large number of small grains in these areas which have
been termed undesignated product or groundmass. There is considerable inlling of the large capillary pores by this undifferentiated
product during hydration. Portland cement contains four main
phases: impure C3S (alite), impure C2S (belite), impure C3A (aluminate) and impure Ca2(Al, Fe) (Ferrite solid solution, Fss). During
grinding, facture generally occurs through the phases rather than
between them, so that the resulting cement grains almost always
contain more than one phase [24]. Unhydrated cement grains also
exist (light grey areas in Fig. 9a). There are spherical pores in RPC
one of which is visible at the bottom of Fig. 9a. These pores formed
possibly due to the side effect of high amount of superplasticizer
have different diameter giving wide range between 10 and
300 lm. These pores generally were empty in standard or steam
cured samples however lled with tobermorite- or jennite-like
structures in autoclaved ones. Similar ndings are also valid RPC
containing mineral admixtures. To obtain the morphology, especially after autoclaving, secondary electron imaging was also used
in this study. Some other type of pores which are in groups and
has different shape observed in FA replacement. This is presented
in Fig. 9b. EDS analysis showed that pore groups like this is unreacted spherical FA grain which is cut in sample preparation process.
SEM microphotograph of autoclaved Portland cement RPC and
F20 mixture was presented in Fig. 10 which was taken in secondary mode. It can be seen from the Fig 10 that spherical pores have
been lled with needle-like tobermorite and jennite-like structures
after autoclaving in both control and F20 mixtures. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis in Portland cement RPC showed

In water (2 days)
Steam curing

20000

In water (28 days)

Autoclave curing

19000

Toughnesss, N.mm

18000
17000
16000
15000
14000
13000
12000
11000
10000
9000
CTRL

G10F10

G10F20

G10F30

F20

Mixtures
Fig. 7. The inuence of GGBFS and/or FA content and curing regime on toughness of RPC.

G40

1230

H. Yazc et al. / Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 12231231

60
57
56

Modulus of elasticity, GPa

55

53
50
49

50

46
45

40

35

30
Control

F20

G10F10

G10F20

G10F30

G40

Mixtures
Fig. 8. The effect of GGBFS and/or FA content on the moduli of elasticity of the mixtures (autoclave curing).

Fig. 9. SEM images of (a) autoclaved control mixture (pores in the matrix) (b) steam cured F10G20 mixture (pores in the matrix).

Fig. 10. SEM images of autoclaved (a) control mixture (spherical pores lled with jennite-like structures) (b) F20 mixture needle-like tobermorite.

that Ca/Si, S/Ca and Al/Ca ratios of this type of jennite are 1.85,
0.003 and 0.036, respectively. EDS analysis in FA mixture showed

that Ca/Si, S/Ca and Al/Ca ratios of this type of tobermorite are
1.02, 0.03 and 0.05, respectively.

H. Yazc et al. / Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 12231231

4. Conclusions
Test results showed that RPC containing high volume mineral
admixtures have satisfactory mechanical performance. Although
the cement and silica fume contents of these mixtures importantly
lower than conventional RPC, compressive strength exceeded
200 MPa after standard water curing. Autoclave and steam curing
seems very effective ways to increase the compressive strength
of RPC. This can be attributed to the improvement of hydration
process under these curing regimes. In this case compressive
strength is over 234 MPa after steam curing and greater than
250 MPa after autoclaving. Furthermore, these mixtures have also
important environmental benets. Decreasing cement content reduces heat of hydration and shrinkage which are normally important problems for conventional RPC.
On the other hand, steam and autoclave curing caused some
reduction in exural strength compared to the 28-day standard
curing. This is probably due to the decreasing bond strength between matrix and bers. This behavior is much more important
in steam curing than autoclaving. GGBFS and/or FA replacement
decreased this negative effect in both steam and autoclaving.
GGBFS and/or FA improved the exural performance of RPC under
all curing regimes. Toughness values increased importantly using
with these mineral powders.
Test results showed that GGBFS and/or FA can also be used as a
ne silica source for RPC. In other words, SF can also be reduced by
increasing GGBFS and/or FA content. This gives also important
advantages (economy, reduced heat of hydration, shrinkage and
superplasticizer demand) like cement replacement.
Mineral admixtures decreased the modulus of elasticity of RPC
especially over 30% replacement levels. Although some spherical
entrained air pores exist, SEM investigations revealed the dense
microstructure of RPC. Tobermorite- and jennite-like structures
were observed in autoclaved specimens.
Acknowledgements
This study is a part of the project supported by the Scientic
_
and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TBITAK,
Project
_
No.: 104I085). The authors gratefully acknowledge to TBITAK.
In addition, the authors thank to Mr. Mehmet Yerlikaya from BEKSA-DRAMIX, Mr. Okan Duyar from BASF-YKS and Mr. Hakan
_
Senvardarli from KARIMSA
for materials support.
References
[1] Richard P, Cheyrezy M. Composition of reactive powder concretes. Cement
Concr Res 1999;25:150111.

1231

[2] Richard P, Cheyrezy MH. Reactive powder concretes with high ductility and
200800 MPa compressive strength. ACI SP144-24 1994;144:50718.
[3] Chan YW, Chu SH. Effect of silica fume on steel ber bond characteristics in
reactive powder concrete. Cement Concr Res 2004;34:116772.
_
[4] Gvensoy G, Bayramov F, Ilki
A, S
engl C, Tasdemir MA, Kocatrk AN, et al.
Mechanical behavior of high performance steel ber reinforced cementitious
composites under cyclic loading condition, ultra high performance concrete
(UHPC). In: International symposium on ultra high performance concrete,
September 1315; 2004. p. 64960.
[5] Massidda L, Sanna U, Cocco E, Meloni P. High pressure steam curing of
reactive-powder mortars, ACI SP200-27, 2001;200:44764.
[6] Shaheen E, Shrive N. Optimization of mechanical properties and durability of
reactive powder concrete. ACI Mater J 2006;103:44451.
[7] Rougeau P, Borys B. Ultra high performance concrete with ultrane particles
other than silica fume. Ultra high performance concrete (UHPC). In:
International symposium on ultra high performance concrete, September
1315; 2004. p. 21325.
[8] Kejin W, Zhi G. Evaluating properties of blended cements for concrete
pavements. Final report. Center for Portland Cement Concrete Pavement
Technology: Iowa State University; 2003.
[9] Yazc H, Yigiter H, Karabulut AS, Baradan B. Utilization of y ash and ground
granulated blast furnace slag as an alternative silica source in reactive powder
concrete. Fuel 2008;87:24017.
[10] Cwirzen A, Penttala V, Vornanen C. Reactive powder based concretes:
mechanical properties, durability and hybrid use with OPC. Cement Concr
Res, in press. 10.1016/j.cemconres.2008.03.013.
[11] Basheer PAM, Gilleece PRV, Long AE, McCarter WJ. Monitoring electrical
resistance of concretes containing alternative cementitious materials to assess
their resistance to chloride penetration. Cement Concr Compos
2002;24:43749.
[12] Pal SC, Mukherjee A, Pathak SR. Investigation of hydraulic activity of ground
granulated blast furnace slag in concrete. Cement Concr Res 2003;33:14816.
[13] Bosch VDV. Performance of mortar specimens in chemical and accelerated
marine exposure. Performance of concrete in marine environment. ACI SP-65
1980;487507.
[14] Roy DM, Idorn GM. Hydration, structure and properties of blast furnace slag
cements, mortars and concrete. ACI J 1982;6:4457.
[15] Zhanga Y, Sun W, Liu S. Study on the hydration heat of binder paste in highperformance concrete. Cement Concr Res 2002;32:14838.
[16] Neville AM. Properties of concrete. New York: Longman; 1995.
[17] Mindess S, Young JF, Darwin D. Concrete. New Jersey: Pearson Education;
2002.
[18] Aldea CM, Young F, Wang K, Shah SP. Effects of curing conditions on properties
of concrete using slag replacement. Cement Concr Res 2000;30:46572.
[19] Shi C, Hu S. Cementitious properties of ladle slag nes under autoclave curing
conditions. Cement Concr Res 2004;33:18516.
[20] Glasser FP, Hong SY. Thermal treatment of CSH gel at 1 bar H2O pressure up
to 200 C. Cement Concr Res 2003;33:2719.
[21] Yang Q, Zhang S, Huang S, He Y. Effect of ground quartz sand on properties of
high-strength concrete in the steam-autoclaved curing. Cement Concr Res
2000;30:19938.
[22] Maeder U, Gamboa IL, Chaigmon J, Lombard JP. Ceracem. A new high
performance concrete: characterizations and applications. Ultra high
performance concrete (UHPC). In: International symposium on ultra high
performance concrete, September 1315; 2004. p. 5968.
[23] Nassif HH, Najm H, Suksawang N. Effect of pozzolanic materials and curing
methods on the elastic modulus of HPC. Cement Concr Compos
2005;27:66170.
[24] Scrivener KL. Backscattered electron imaging of cementitious microstructures:
understanding and quantication. Cement Concr Compos 2004;26:93545.