AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF SELF

COMPACTING CONCRETE USING SILICA FUME, GGBS & COPPER SLAG AS

PARTIAL REPLACEMENT OF CEMENT & FINE AGGREGATE

Mr. Ramalinga Chari. P,

DMSSVH College of Engineering, Machilipatnam,

ABSTRACT
SELF COMPACTING CONCRETE (SCC) IS THE NEW CATEGORY OF CONCRETE WHICH

GETS COMPACTED AND BECOME DENSE DUE TO ITS OWN SELF WEIGHT .SCC IS A HIGH
PERFORMANCE CONCRETE (HPC) THAT HAS EXCELLENT DEFORMABILITY AND RESISTANCE
TO SEGREGATION IN ITS FRESH STATE. THE HARDENED CONCRETE IS DENSE, HOMOGENEOUS
AND HAS THE SAME ENGINEERING PROPERTIES AND DURABILITY AS TRADITIONAL VIBRATED

CONCRETE. IT HELPS IN EASIER PLACEMENT WITHOUT VIBRATION OR MECHANICAL

CONSOLIDATION.

IN THIS WORK WE WILL INVESTIGATE ON THE STRENGTH CHARACTERISTICS

OF SELF-COMPACTING CONCRETE (SCC) OF GRADE M25 WITH MINERAL ADMIXTURE

NAMELY SILICA FUME , GGBS & COPPER SLAG. REPLACEMENT OF SILICA FUME AND

GGBS IS ABOUT 5,10,15,20 % BY WEIGHT OF CEMENT & REPLACEMENT OF FINE

AGGREGATE BY COPPER SLAG RESPECTIVELY. THE SEVERAL SERIES OF TESTS INVOLVING

WATER-BINDER RATIO AND HIGH RANGE WATER REDUCING ADMIXTURES WERE USED TO

OPTIMIZE THE MIXTURE PROPORTIONS OF SCC. VARIOUS TESTS SHOULD CARRIED OUT TO

STUDY THE CHARACTERISTICS OF FRESH CONCRETE SUCH AS SLUMP FLOW , V-FUNNEL AND
L-BOX. FOR HARDENED CONCRETE, TESTS NAMELY COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH , SPLIT

TENSILE STRENGTH, AND FLEXURAL STRENGTH AT 7,14 AND 28 DAYS WERE ALSO

INVESTIGATED.

KEYWORDS:
• SELF COMPACTING CONCRETE, COPPER SLAG, SILICA FUME, GGBS, WATER-

BINDER RATIO.

INTRODUCTION consolidate under its own weight. The

highly fluid nature of SCC makes it
Self-compacting concrete (SCC) is
suitable for placing in difficult conditions
a flowing concrete mixture that is able to
and in sections with congested
reinforcement. Use of SCC can also help
minimize hearing-related damages on the
worksite that are induced by vibration of
concrete. Another advantage of SCC is
that the time required to place large
sections is considerably reduced.
When the construction industry in
Japan experienced a decline in the
availability of skilled labour in the 1980s,
a need was felt for a concrete that could
overcome the problems of defective
workmanship. This led to the development
of self-compacting concrete, primarily
through the work by Okamura. A Petersson summarizing
committee was formed to study the
properties of self-compacting concrete,
including a fundamental investigation on
workability of concrete, which was carried
out by Ozawa et al. at the University of
Tokyo. The first usable version of self-
compacting concrete was completed in
1988 and was named “High Performance
Concrete”, and later proposed as “Self
Compacting High Performance
Concrete”.In Japan, the volume of SCC in
construction has risen steadily over the
years. Data indicate that the share of
application of SCC in precast concrete
industry is more than three times higher
than that in the ready-mixed concrete
industry. This is attributable to the higher
cost of SCC. The estimated average price
of SCC supplied by the RMC industry in
Japan was 1.5 times that of the
conventional concrete in the year 2002.
Research studies in Japan are also
promoting new types of applications with
SCC, such as in lattice type structures,
casting without pump, and tunnel linings.
Since the development of SCC in
Japan, many organizations across the
world have carried out research on
properties of SCC. The Brite-Euram SCC
project was set up to promote the use of
SCC in some of the European countries. A
state-of-the-art report on SCC was
compiled by Skarendahl and
the conclusions
from the research studies sponsored by the
Brite-Euram project on SCC. A recent
initiative in Europe is the formation of the
project – Testing SCC– involving a
number of institutes in research studies on
various test methods for SCC. In addition,
an organization with the participation from
the speciality concrete product industry –
EFNARC– has developed specifications
and guidelines for the use of SCC that
covers a number of topics, ranging from
materials selection and mixture design to
the significance of testing methods.
Current studies in SCC, which are being
conducted in many countries, can be
divided into the following categories:
i) Use of rheometers to obtain data
about flow behaviour of cement
paste and concrete,
 ii) Mixture proportioning methods for
SCC,
iii) Characterization of SCC using
laboratory test methods,
iv) Durability and hardened properties
of SCC and their comparison with
normal concrete, and
These will be relevant to the immediate
needs. In addition, the following questions
also need particular attention, from a long-
term perspective:
i) Development of mixture design
guideline tables similar to those for
normal concrete,
ii) A shift to more ‘normal’ powder
contents in SCC, from the existing
high powder mixtures,
iii) Better understanding of
problems of autogenous and plastic
shrinkage in SCC, and
iv) Development of site quality control
parameters such as in ‘all-in-one’,
acceptance tests.
In India, self compacting concrete
(scc), has been used in bridges, buildings
and tunnel construction since the early
1990’s. In the last five years, a number of
OBJECTIVES
The following are the main
objectives of this experimental study
1. To assess flow ability
characteristics of Self Compacting
Concrete(SCC).
SCC bridges have been constructed in
Asia. In India, the application of SCC in
highway bridge construction is very
limited at this time. However, the Indian
precast concrete industry is beginning to
apply the technology to architectural
concrete. SCC has high potential for wider
structural applications in highway bridge
construction. Applications of SCC results
in a large payoff in not requiring vibration
to achieve consolidation and the low noise
level to meet stringent environmental
requirements in urban and suburban
construction sites. With the increasing use
of Ready Mix Concrete (RMC) in India,
use of SCC is also increasing. RMC used
in 2012 was to the tune of 11 million M3
the which is expected to increase 300% by
2022. Mumbai-Pune expressway, Mumbai
sewage disposal project, J.J. Flyover,
Bangalore International Airport,
Vivekanada Bridge, Kolkota, Bandra-
Worlibridge and Delhi Metro are few
projects where SCC has been used
successfully.
2. Development of concrete mixes
with least amount of cement but
with a target compressive strength.
3. To study the Compressive Strength
at 7,14,28 days & Split and flexural
Strengths at 28 days
MATERIALS USED 6. Silica Fume
1. Cement 7. Water
2. Fine Aggregate 8. Super plasticizer MASTER
3. Coarse Aggregate GLENIUM B233
4. GGBS
METHODOLOGY
Moulds of required size and shape
were prepared for casting process. The
dimensions of the moulds for casting
cubes, cylinders and prisms are
100mmx100mmx100mm, 150mmx300mm
& 500mmx100mmx100mm respectively
5. COPPER SLAG are used. All the moulds are applied
lubricant before concreting. After a day of
casting, the moulds are demoulded and
then cubes, cylinders and prisms are
moved to the curing tank carefully for
curing.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A concrete mix can only be classified as self compacting concrete if the requirements for
the following workability properties are fulfilled.
• Filling ability
• Passing ability
Are determined by slump flow, V-funnel and L-Box tests. The results are as shown below
Standard Values for Workability tests
Tests Unit Standard values

Slump flow mm 650-800

V-funnel Sec 8-12
L-Box - 0.8-1.0
Workability test results for GGBS & CS
Cement(GGBS) Fine aggregate Slump flow V-Funnel L-box
(Copper slag)

5% 5% 663 mm 10 sec 0.82

10% 10% 682 mm 9 sec 0.83
15% 15% 716 mm 12 sec 0.95
20% 20% 670 mm 10 sec 0.85

Workability test results for SF & CS

Cement(Silica Fine aggregate Slump flow V-Funnel L-box
fume) (Copper slag)
5% 5% 663 mm 8 sec 0.84
10% 10% 686 mm 10 sec 0.82
15% 15% 718 mm 9 sec 0.83
20% 20% 734 mm 10 sec 0.86

All the results collected by different tests performed on all the concrete mixes at
different curing ages. These are useful to find out the optimum replacement levels of GGBS,
silica fume and copper slag. The results examined and discussed for the different tests
conducted are listed as below.
Conventional Concrete

Compressive Split Tensile Flexural Strength(MPa)

Strength(MPa) Strength(MPa)

7 14 28 7 14 28 7 14 28 days
days days days days days days days days

20.47 27.45 31.5 2.03 2.65 3.15 3.17 3.66 3.93

GGBS& Copper slag replacement with Cement & fine aggregate

% of % of Compressive Split Tensile Flexural

GGBS Coppersl Strength(MPa) Strength(MPa) Strength(MPa)
in ag
7 14 28 7 14 28 7 14 28
Ceme in
days days days days days days days days days
nt fine
ggregate

5% 5% 17.2 26.4 32.5 1.64 2.16 2.12 2.76 2.84 2.92

10% 10% 18.5 28.8 33.4 1.96 2.32 3.11 2.86 3.24 3.36

15% 15% 17.4 25.5 28.8 1.90 2.29 2.54 2.32 2.48 2.54

20% 20% 15.8 19.2 24.4 1.86 2.25 2.43 1.98 2.02 2.11

Silica fume & Copper slag replacement with Cement & fineaggregate

% of % of Compressive Split Tensile Flexural

GGBS Coppersla Strength(MPa) Strength(MPa) Strength(MPa)
in g
7 14 28 7 14 28 7 14 28
Cemen in
days days days days days days days days days
t fine
aggregate

5% 5% 11.5 17.5 27.5 1.64 2.16 2.34 2.32 2.54 2.63

10% 10% 12.5 19.5 28.5 1.90 2.22 2.55 2.76 2.84 2.87

15% 15% 15.0 24 32.5 1.96 2.36 3.12 2.86 3.32 3.52

20% 20% 13.0 21 29 1.86 2.06 2.98 2.45 3.12 3.26

Graph-1: GGBS & Copper slag variations

40 33.4
35 32.5
28.8 28.8
30 26.4 25.5
25 24.4 5% GGBS
18.5
19.2
20 17.2 17.4 10% GGbs
15 15.8 15% GGBS
10 20% GGBS
5
0
7 days 14 days 28 days
Compressive Strength at 7, 14, 28 days

Graph-2: Conventional Vs 10% GGBS (Optimum)

40 33.4
35 28.8 31.8
30 27.45
25 20.47
20 18.5 Conventional
15 10%GGBS
10
5
0
Graph-3: Silica fume & Copper slag Variations

35 32.5
28.5
30 27.5 29
24
25
19.5 21
5% SF
20 17.5
12.515 10% SF
15 11.5 13
15% SF
10
20% SF
5
0
7 days 14 days 28 days
Compressive Strength at 7, 14, 28 days

Graph-4: Conventional Vs 15% SF (Optimum)

35 31.8 32.5
30 27.45
25 24
20.47
20
15 Conventional
15
15% SF
10
5
0
Graph-5: GGBS & Copper slag Split-tensile variations

3.5
3 3.11
2.54
2.5 2.43
2.12 2.32 2.29
2.16
2 1.9 7 days 
1.86
1.64 1.96
1.5 1.76 14 days 
1 28 days 

0.5
0
5% 10% 15% 20%
Split-Tensile Strength at 7,14, 28 days

Graph-6: Silica fume & Copper slag split-tensile variations

3.5
3.12
3 2.98
2.5 2.34 2.55 2.36
2.16 2.22
2 1.96 7 days 
1.86
2.06
1.5 1.64 1.9 14 days 
1 28 days 
0.5
0
5% 10% 15% 20%
Split-Tensile Strength at 7,14, 28 days
Graph-7: GGBS(CS) & SF(CS) Split-tensile variations

4
3.5 3.52
3.11
3 3.15
2.5 2.55 2.54 2.83
2.34 GGBS
2 2.12
SF
1.5 1.55
Conventional
1
0.5
0
5% 10% 15% 20%
Split-tensile Strength at 28 days

Graph-8: GGBS & Copper slag Flexural variations

4
3.5 3.36
2.92 3.24
3 2.54
2.5 2.84 2.86 2.48
2.76
2.32 2.11 7 days 
2 1.98
2.02 14 days 
1.5
1 28 days 
0.5
0
5% 10% 15% 20%
Flexural Strength at 7,14, 28 days
Graph-9: Silica fume & Copper slag Flexural variations

4 3.52
3.5 2.87 3.32 3.26
3 2.63 3.12
2.84 2.86
2.5 2.54 2.76 2.45
2.32 7 days 
2
14 days 
1.5
1 28 days 
0.5
0
5% 10% 15% 20%
Flexural Strength at 7,14, 28 days

Graph-10: GGBS(CS) & SF (CS) Flexural Variations

4 3.52 3.93
2.92 3.36
3 2.87 2.68
2.46 GGBS
2 2.54 2.11
SF
1

0
5% 10% 15% 20%
Flexural Strength at 28 days
CONCLUSIONS
The mechanical properties of concrete prepared with GGBS, SILICA FUME and COPPER
SLAG were investigated. Based on the results of this experimental study, the following conclusions
can be drawn
1. At 15 % GGBS & 15 % Copper slag replacement, the maximum values of workability
tests i.e., Slump , V-Funnel & L-Box are obtained.
2. At 20 % Silica fume & 20 % Copper slag replacement, the maximum values of
Workability tests i.e., Slump, V-Funnel & L-Box are obtained
3. In SCC, the maximum values of compressive strength attained are 5% more than
normal concrete at 10% GGBS & 10% Copper slag replacement.
4. In SCC, the maximum values of compressive strength attained is 2.2% more than
normal concrete at 15% Silica fume & 15% Copper slag replacement.
5. In SCC, the maximum values of Split-tensile strength attained are 1.2% more than
normal concrete at 10% GGBS& 10% Copper slag replacement.
6. In SCC, the maximum values of Split-tensile strength attained is 11.7% more than
normal concrete at 15% Silica fume& 15% Copper slag replacement.
7. In SCC, the maximum values of Flexural Strength attained are 14.5% more than
normal concrete at 10% GGBS& 10% Copper slag replacement.
8. In SCC, the maximum values of Flexural Strength attained is 10.4% more than
normal concrete at 15% Silica fume& 15% Copper slag replacement
9. In SCC, the maximum values of compressive strength attained are 5% more than
normal concrete at 10% GGBS & 10% Copper slag replacement.
10. In SCC, the maximum values of Split-tensile strength attained is 11.7% more than
normal concrete at 15% Silica fume & 15% Copper slag replacement.
11. In SCC, the maximum values of Flexural Strength attained are 14.5% more than
normal concrete at 10% GGBS & 10% Copper slag replacement.

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