Specialty Concrete -

High End Value

Materials
 High-Value Concrete
All concrete is high value!
Cost of material (small)
Cost of placement (significant)
Cost of Replacement (HIGH)

High-Value
Concrete
 High-Value Concrete
High value generally associated
with High-Performance
What is High-Performance?
High-Early Strength Concrete
High-Strength Concrete
High-Durability Concrete
Self-Consolidating Concrete
Reactive Powder Concrete
High-Value
Concrete
 Characteristics of
High-Performance
Concretes
High early strength

High strength
High modulus of elasticity
High abrasion resistance
High durability and long life in
severe environments
Low permeability and diffusion
High-Value Resistance to chemical attack
Concrete
 Characteristics of
High-Performance
Concretes
High resistance to frost and

deicer scaling damage

Toughness and impact
resistance
Volume stability
Ease of placement
Compaction without
segregation
Inhibition of bacterial and
High-Value mold growth
Concrete
 Materials Used in High-
Performance Concrete
Material Primary Contribution/Desired Property
Portland cement Cementing material / Durability
Blended cement
Cementing material /
Fly ash / Slag / Silica fume
Durability /
Calcined clay/ Metakaolin
High strength
Calcined shale
Superplasticizers Flowability
High-range water reducers Reduce water-cement ratio
Hydration control admix. Control setting
High-Value
Concrete
 Materials Used in High-
Performance
Concrete
Material Primary contribution/Desired property
Retarders Control setting
Accelerators Accelerate setting
Corrosion inhibitors Control steel corrosion
Water reducers Reduce cement and water content
Shrinkage reducers Reduce shrinkage
ASR inhibitors Control alkali-silica activity
Optimally graded aggr. Improve workability/reduce paste
Polymer/latex modifiers Durability

High-Value
Concrete
 Selected Properties of
High- Performance
Concrete
Property Test Method Criteria that may be specified
High Strength ASTM C 39 70-140 MPa @ 28 to 91 days
H-E Comp. Strength ASTM C 39 20-30 MPa @ 3-12 hrs or 1-3 days
H-E Flex. Strength ASTM C 78 2-4 MPa @ 3-12 hrs or 1-3 days
Abrasion Resistance ASTM C 944 0-1 mm depth of wear
Low Permeability ASTM C 1202 500 to 2000 coulombs
AASHTO T
Chloride Penetration Less than 0.07% Cl at 6 months
259/260
Low Absorption ASTM C 642 2% to 5%
High Mod.of Elast. ASTM C 469 More than 40 GPa
High-Value
Concrete
 High-Early-Strength
Concrete
High-early compressive strength
ASTM C 39 (AASHTO T 22)
20 to 28 MPa (3000 to 4000 psi)
at 3 to 12 hours or 1 to 3 days

High-early flexural strength

ASTM C 78 (AASHTO T 97)
2 to 4 MPa (300 to 600 psi)
High-Value at 3 to 12 hours or 1 to 3 days
Concrete
 High-Early-Strength
Concrete
May be achieved by
Type III or HE high-early-strength
cement
High cement content
400 to 600 kg/m3
(675 to 1000 lb/yd3)
Low water-cementing materials ratio
(0.20 to 0.45 by mass)
Higher freshly mixed concrete
temperature
High-Value Higher curing temperature
Concrete
 High-Early-Strength
Concrete
May be achieved by
Chemical admixtures
Silica fume (or other SCM)
Steam or autoclave curing
Insulation to retain heat of
hydration
Special rapid hardening cements

High-Value
Concrete
 High-Strength
Concrete
90% of ready-mix concrete
20 MPa - 40 MPa (3000
6000 psi) @ 28-d
(most 30 MPa 35 MPa)

High-strength concrete
by definition
28 day compr. strength
70 MPa (10,000 psi)
High-Value
Concrete
 High-Strength Concrete
Materials
Aggregates
9.5 - 12.5 mm (3/8 - 1/2 in.) nominal
maximum size gives optimum
strength
Combining single sizes for required
grading allows for closer control and
reduced variability in concrete
For 70 MPa and greater, the FM of
the sand should be 2.8 3.2. (lower
may give lower strengths and sticky
High-Value mixes)
Concrete
 High-Strength Concrete
Materials
Supplementary Cementing Materials

Fly ash, silica fume, or slag often

mandatory
Dosage rate 5% to 20% or higher
by mass of cementing material.

High-Value
Concrete
 High-Strength Concrete
Materials
Admixtures
Use of water reducers, retarders,
HRWRs, or superplasticizers
mandatory in high-strength concrete
Air-entraining admixtures not necessary
or desirable in protected high-strength
concrete.
Air is mandatory, where durability in a
freeze-thaw environment is required (i.e..
bridges, piers, parking structures)
Recent studies:
w/cm 0.30air required
High-Value w/cm < 0.25no air needed
Concrete
 High-Strength Concrete
Placing, Consolidation, and Curing
Delays in delivery and placing
must be eliminated
Consolidation very important to achieve
strength
Slump generally 180 to 220 mm (7 to 9
in.)
Little if any bleedingfog or
evaporation retarders have to be
applied immediately after strike off to
minimize plastic shrinkage and crusting
High-Value 7 days moist curing
Concrete
 High-Durability
Concrete
1970s and 1980s focus on
High-Strength HPC

Today focus on concretes

with high durability in severe
environments resulting in
structures with long life
High-Durability HPC

High-Value
Concrete
 High-Durability Concrete
Durability Issues That HPC Can Address
Abrasion Resistance
Blast Resistance
Permeability
Carbonation
Freeze-Thaw Resistance
Chemical Attack
Alkali-Silica Reactivity
Corrosion rates of rebar
High-Value
Concrete
 High-Durability
Concrete
Confederation Bridge, Northumberland Strait,
Prince Edward Island/New Brunswick, 1997

Cement: 398 kg/m3 (671 lb/yd3)

Fly ash: 45 kg/m3 (76 lb/yd3)
Silica fume: 32 kg/m3 (72 lb/yd3)
w/c: 0.30
Water Red.: 1.7 L/m3 (47 oz/yd3)
HRWR: 15.7 L/m3 (83 oz/yd3)
Air: 5-8%
91d strength: 60 MPa (8700 psi)
High-Value
Concrete
 Self-Consolidating
Concrete
Self-consolidating concrete (SCC) also
known as self-compacting concrete
flows and consolidates on its own
developed in 1980s Japan
Increased amount of
Fine material
(i.e. fly ash or limestone filler)
HRWR/Superplasticizers
Strength and durability same as
High-Value conventional concrete
Concrete
 Self-Consolidating
Concrete

High-Value
Concrete
 SCC for Power Plant in
PennsylvaniaMix
Proportions
Portland cement (Type I) 297 kg/m (500 lb/yd )
3 3

Slag cement 128 kg/m3 (215 lb/yd3)

Coarse aggregate 675 kg/m3 (1,137 lb/yd3)
Fine aggregate 1,026 kg/m3 (1,729 lb/yd3)
Water 170 kg/m3 (286 lb/yd3)
Superplasticizer ASTM C 494, Type F
(Polycarboxylate-based) 1.3 L/m3 (35 oz/yd3)
AE admixture as needed for 6% 1.5% air content
High-Value
Concrete
 Reactive-Powder Concrete
(RPC) Properties:
High strength 200 MPa
(can be produced to 810 MPa)
Very low porosity

Properties are achieved by:

Max. particle size 300 m
Optimized particle packing
Low water content
Steel fibers
Heat-treatment
High-Value
Concrete
 Mechanical Properties of
RPC
Property Unit 80 MPa RPC
Compressive
strength MPa (psi) 80 (11,600) 200 (29,000)

Flexural strength MPa (psi) 7 (1000) 40 (5800)

Tensile strength MPa (psi) 8 (1160)
Modulus of Elasticity GPa (psi) 40 (5.8 x 106) 60 (8.7 x 106)
Fracture Toughness 103 J/m2 <1 30
Freeze-thaw RDF 90 100
Carbonation mm 2 0
Abrasion 10-12 m2/s 275 1.2
High-Value
Concrete
 Reactive Powder
Concrete

High-Value
Concrete

uctal

Raw Material
Components
Cement
Sand
Silica quartz
Silica fume
Micro-Fibres - metallic or poly-vinyl acetate
Mineral fillers - Nano-fibres
Superplasticizer
Water

High-Value
Concrete

uctal
What is the typical Ductal mix ?
Cement
710 kg/m3 Silica fume

230 kg/m3
Crushed
210 kg/m3 Quartz

Sand
1020 kg/m 3

Fibres
Superplasticizer
40 - 160 kg/m 3

13 kg/m3 Total water

140 kg/m3

High-Value
No aggregates !
Concrete

uctal
What is the typical Ductal mix ?
Cement
28 - 30% Silica fume

9 10%
Crushed
8.5 9% Quartz

Sand
42 43%
Fibres
Superplasticizer
1.7 6.5%
0.6% Total water
5.5 6%

High-Value
w/c = 0.20 No aggregates !
Concrete