Road Materials and Pavement Design

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The Effects of Silica Fume and Fly Ash on the

Scaling Resistance and Flexural Strength of
Pavement Concretes

Engin Yener & Sinan Hinislioğlu

To cite this article: Engin Yener & Sinan Hinislioğlu (2011) The Effects of Silica Fume and Fly
Ash on the Scaling Resistance and Flexural Strength of Pavement Concretes, Road Materials
and Pavement Design, 12:1, 177-194, DOI: 10.1080/14680629.2011.9690358

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/14680629.2011.9690358

Published online: 19 Sep 2011.

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The Effects of Silica Fume and Fly Ash
on the Scaling Resistance and Flexural
Strength of Pavement Concretes

Engin Yener* — Sinan Hinislio÷lu**

* Bayburt University Engineering Faculty, Civil Engineering Department

Bayburt, Turkey
eyener@bayburt.edu.tr
** Ataturk University Engineering Faculty, Civil Engineering Department,
Erzurum, Turkey
shinis@atauni.edu.tr

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Silica Fume (SF) and Fly
Ash (FA) additives on the frost salt scaling resistance and flexural strength properties of
pavement concrete. An attempt is also made to attain a more durable and higher strength
concrete by a suitable combination of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), SF and FA. SF and
FA are used as cement replacement in proportions of 0, 5, 10% and 0, 5, 10, 15% by weight
respectively. Flexural strength is tested after 7, 28 and 91 days of the lime saturated water
curing period. The experimental results indicate that using FA only decreases while SF only
slightly increases 28-days flexural strength. On the other hand, using SF and FA together
shows relatively more strength gain. Among all those tested, maximum 28 days flexural
strength of 4.53 MPa is obtained for the mix proportions of 85% OPC + 10% FA and 5% SF.
SF significantly decreases the amount of liquid absorption by capillary suction and has a
significant effect on the scaling resistance. In addition, all the ternary mixtures showes better
scaling resistance than the control mixture with 100% OPC.
KEYWORDS: Concrete Pavement, Fly Ash, Silica Fume, Flexural Strength, Durability, Frost
and Deicing Salt Resistance.

DOI:10.3166/RMPD.12.177-194 © 2011 Lavoisier, Paris

Road Materials and Pavement Design. Volume 12 – No. 1/2011, pages 177 to 194
178 Road Materials and Pavement Design. Volume 12 – No. 1/2011

1. Introduction

Portland cement concrete pavements (PCCP) usually have design life from 20 to
60 years. A concrete pavement is to carry the traffic loads and resist the
environmental conditions in this long service life. To ensure this, the concrete used
in the pavement should have adequate strength and durability.
Concrete, used for the construction of road and footpath pavement, aside from
the ordinary resistance to freezing and thawing, must also be resistant to the effects
of de-icing agents. In many European countries the problem of concrete resistance to
freezing and thawing, in the conditions where de-icing agents are used, is of key
importance. Freezing a saline solution on the PCCP surface causes a superficial
damage named “scaling”. The scaling damage is progressive and consists of the
removal of small chips or flakes of material. It results in accelerated ingress of
aggressive species, such as chlorides, and the propensity for a high degree of
saturation. The former renders the body susceptible to corrosion of the reinforcing
steel, while the latter results in strength loss from internal frost action. Also scaling
increases surface roughness and decreases slab thickness. These worsen the riding
quality of the vehicles and reduce the bearing capacity of the pavement.
Consequently, salt scaling is one of the major durability issues facing PCCP in cold
climates.
A number of theories have been developed to explain the deterioration process of
frost – and de – icing salt. Rostam (1989) explains a special scaling feature as a
displacement of the freezing front due to salt in the pore water. He considers the
phenomenon to be caused by simultaneous salt and temperature gradients, leading to
initial freezing of the surface and a separate layer somewhat further down. This is
supposed to entrap water, seeking to escape, when the middle layer finally freezes.
An alternative explanation is that the salt concentration in the outer layer depresses
the freezing point in the outer layer, but not further down. Hence, temperature drop
from the outside under such conditions may cause the deeper level to freeze first. In
either case, the damage may occur as the spalling-off of a layer as described above.
Valenza and Scherer (2007) introduced a theoretical explanation of the
mechanism of frost salt attack called glue-spall. According to this theory, the
cracking of the ice/brine layer is the origin of scaling. The principal idea is that
following the ice formation on top of the concrete surface, ice starts to shrink due to
further cooling and the exerted tensile stress exceeds the tensile strength of ice and
breaks the ice, which triggers surface scaling. Acording to the authors, the strength
of the surface governs the ability of a cementitious body to resist salt scaling. Also
considering the other mechanisms, pore size, pore distribution, spacing factor,
degree of saturation of the pore system, permeability, salt concentration, salt
gradient and temperature gradient may be important parameters for salt scaling
resistance.
 The Effects of Silica Fume on the Scaling Resistance 179

The use of mineral admixtures such as Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag
(GGBFS), Silica Fume (SF) or Condensed Silica Fume (CSF) and Fly Ash (FA) and
these are by-products of other industries, has recently increased to enhance the
strength and durability properties of concrete.
The durability of the concrete with or without puzzolanic materials in the marine
environment is very important. Alexander and Mackechnie (2004) have studied the
concrete mixes for durable marine structures. Du Prezz and Alexander (2004) have
also studied durability indexes for concrete in marine conditions. They reported that
three blended binders (GGBS, FA and CSF) were used to cast a series of wall and
slab elements. The elements were cured using practical site methods currently
employed in the industry. Cores were extracted at early (28-day) and delayed (120-
day) ages and used to determine the durability index properties. The results
indicated that it is possible to manufacture, place and cure site concrete to achieve
acceptable durability properties using GGBS, FA and CSF.
This type of pozzolanic materials convert Calcium Hydroxide (CH) (a product of
cement hydration) to Calcium Silicate Hydrate (C-S-H). This improves strength, yet
removes the potential for the soluble CH to leach (increasing porosity) or Carbonate
(decreasing pH and increasing delayed ettringite formation potential). There is also a
physical effect of SF: Extremely fine SF particles fill the pores in aggregate-cement
paste interface, which cause a denser interface. Thus, SF increases the adherence
between the aggregates and cement paste. Sabir (1997) points out that for low levels
of SF (5-10%) and at low concrete strength levels (up to 40MPa compressive
strength), the SF is more efficient in acting as a filler than as a pozzolan.
In general, SF incorporation results in the improvement of tensile strength.
Bhanja and Sengupta (2005) showed that, while other mix design parameters
remaining constant, SF incorporation in concrete results in significant improvement
in the tensile and compressive strengths of concrete. The optimum SF replacement
by percentage for tensile strength has been found to be a function of water-
cementitious material (w/cm) ratio of the mix. The optimum 28-day split tensile
strength has been obtained in the range of 5-10% SF replacement level, whereas the
same for flexural strength ranged from 15% to 25%. Both the split and flexural
tensile strengths at 28 days follow almost the same trend as the 28-day compressive
strength. Increase in split tensile strength beyond 15% SF replacement is almost
insignificant, whereas sizeable gains in flexural tensile strength have occurred even
up to 25% replacements.
For the purpose of pavement thickness design, pavement concrete is
characterized by its flexural strength (AASHTO, 1993; FAA, 1995). Also flexural
strength at early days is important as it is an indication of the pavement’s ability to
withstand traffic loads before opening the road. Therefore, the flexural strengths at
early, moderate and late days of with FA and SF modified concrete are investigated
in this study.
180 Road Materials and Pavement Design. Volume 12 – No. 1/2011

Depending on its origin, individual pozzolanic materials may have limitations

and some have contrasting influences on properties of concrete. In order to derive
the maximum short-term and long-term benefits from the use of these materials in
pavement concrete, ternary blends exploiting the potential synergy between these
materials may be necessary. This possibility has been successfully demonstrated in
the past for other industries using concrete (Mehta and Gjorv, 1982; Carette and
Malhotra, 1983). A number of reports demonstrated that the combined usage of SF
and FA resulted in improvements in compressive strength (Mehta and Gjorv, 1982;
Ozyildirim and Halstead, 1994; Erdem and Kırca, 2008), pore size distribution
(Mehta and Gjorv, 1982), chloride permeability (Ozyildirim and Halstead, 1994;
Thomas et al., 1999), alkali-silica reactions (Thomas et al., 1999; Lane and
Ozyildirim, 1999) and sulfate resistance (Thomas et al., 1999). To facilitate the
standard specifications for pavement contcretes and better understanding of the
behavior of ternary blended cement, greater efforts are needed to transfer such
technology to pavement industry, so that rapid implementations can occur.
The main objective of this experimental research is to evaluate the effects of SF
and FA additive materials on the scaling resistance and flexural strength properties
of pavement concretes. To accomplish this objective, a series of test were performed
on the control mixture with 100% OPC binder and the mixtures with SF and/or FA
additives.

2. Materials and methods

The details of the materials and methods were given below. This study is based
on the master thesis by Yener (2004).

2.1. Materials

2.1.1. Cementitious materials

ASTM Type I 42,5# ordinary Portland cement is used as main cementitious
material throughout this study. FA and SF are used as pozzolanic mineral additives.
The chemical compositions and physical properties of OPC, FA and SF used in this
study are summarized in Table 1.
 The Effects of Silica Fume on the Scaling Resistance 181

Table 1. Chemical compositions and physical properties of OPC, FA and SF

2.1.2. Aggregate
A growing number of transportation-related agencies are experimenting with
increased control of aggregate gradation in their specifications for the production of
Portland cement concrete. The justification is that modest controls in gradation that
do not require an inordinate amount of increased effort or cost can yield significant
benefits in workability, strength, durability, and reliable mix design. MDOT (1996)
provides an optional incentive if the mix aggregate gradation meets the following
requirements: “The combined aggregates shall be well graded from the coarsest to
the finest with no more than 18 percent nor less than 8 percent of the combined
aggregate retained on any individual sieve with the exceptions that the No. 50 sieve
may have less than 8 percent retained, and the coarsest sieve may have less than 8
percent retained” (MDOT, 1996; Cramer and Carpenter, 1999). Therefore, three
coarse and one fine crushed basalt aggregate batches with different size ranges are
combined at the designated ratios to satisfy the 8-18 band requirement for aggregate
gradation and used in this study. Maximum aggregate size is 25mm. The combined
aggregate gradation is shown in Figure 1.
182 Road Materials and Pavement Design. Volume 12 – No. 1/2011

Figure 1. The combined aggregate gradation for concrete mixes

2.1.3. Superplasticiser
A naphthalene sulfonat basis superplasticizer is used. The workability of
pavement concretes is limited to 15-50mm slump range according to Turkey
Highway Administration Agency (KGM, 2006). Thus, superplasticizer is
incorporated in all mixes and the content is adjusted slightly for some mixes to
maintain the same degree of workability (20-30mm slump). The workability and
consistency of the fresh concrete mixes are measured using the slump cone test
(ASTM C 143M-97). The superplasticizer contents and the slump results are shown
in Table 2. After the slump test, the fresh concrete samples are filled into the molds
in three layers, each approximately one-third volume of the mold. Each layer is also
rodded with 25 strokes for consolidation, and sample surface is then levelled with a
trowel.

2.1.4. Mixture proportioning

ASTM Type I 42.5 OPC is used as the basic cementitious material. FA and SF
are added as a partial replacement of the cement by proportions of 0%, 5%, 10%,
15% and 0%, 5%, 10% by weight of the total cementitious materials, respectively.
The water/cementitious material (w/cm) ratio is constant at 0.45 for all mixes. The
dosage of cement is 350 kg/m3. Table 2 gives the details of the mixes employed in
the present work. The amounts of all ingredients are based on one cubic meter of
total mix.
 The Effects of Silica Fume on the Scaling Resistance 183

Table 2. Mix proportions

2.2. Methods

2.2.1. Third point flexural beam test

Because pavement slabs are subjected to tensile (flexural) stresses in the field,
lab-based flexural test programs are better indicators of real-life performance of the
pavement (Sobhan and Mashad, 2001). Therefore in this study, third point flexural
strength test in accordance with ASTM C78 was carried out to evaluate strength
properties of the concrete samples. Three 100x100x 400mm beams were cast for
each mix. The beams were demoulded after 24 hours and stored in a lime saturated
water tank at 20 ± 1 ºC until test time. The flexural strength of each beam was
determined at 7, 28 and 91 days. A view of the flexural strength test is shown in
Figure 2.

2.2.2. Freezing and thawing test (Capillary suction-Deicing agent-Freeze&thaw

test, CDF test)
In the field, concrete pavements are exposed to freezing and thawing by a
uniaxial heat flux through the direction from the surface to the bottom of the
pavements and de-icing agents are applied to the pavement surface to dissolve the
ice. Since RILEM CDF Test (RILEM TC 117 FDC, 1996) is representative for these
field conditions, this method (with 3% salt concentration) was carried out to
evaluate freeze-thaw-and-deicing agent scaling resistance for durability. RILEM
CDF-Test procedure consists of three steps: 1) the dry storage, 2) the presaturation
by capillary suction and 3) the freeze-thaw cycles. Three 130x130x70 mm prisms
were cast for each mix. The samples were demoulded after 24 hours and stored in a
lime saturated water tank at 20 ± 1ºC for 6 days since the lime saturated water
curing improves the surface properties by preventing leach of Ca(OH)2.The samples
184 Road Materials and Pavement Design. Volume 12 – No. 1/2011

were then removed from the water tank and stored in the air at 20ºC for surface
drying for 21 days. 2 days before presaturation the specimens were sealed on their
lateral surfaces with a solvent free epoxy resin, whereas the bottom of the specimens
and the test surface were kept free. Following the dry storage, the specimens were
placed in test containers on the 5mm high spacers with the test surface underneath.
Subsequently, deicing agent solution composed of 97% distilled water and 3% NaCl
was filled into the container to a height of 10±1mm without wetting the specimen’s
top. The test containers were closed with a cover during the capillary suction. The
capillary suction period was 7 days at a temperature of 20±2 ºC. 7 days later, the
weight gains of the specimens were measured. The calculated liquid absorption
values by capillary suction are shown in Table 3. A 12 hours freeze-thaw cycle
changing from +20ºC to -20ºC were applied. The reference temperature was
measured in the cooling bath liquid below the bottom of the test container. After 14
and 28 cycles, the surface scaling measurements were made. To make the scaling
measurements the solution comprising the scaled material was filtered.
Subsequently, the paper filter was dried at an oven and cooled in air. Then, the mass
of the dried scaled material was weighted and the scaling results were recorded as
mass per unit area (Table 3). The CDF acceptance criterion is a maximum mean
scaling of 1500g/m² after 28 freeze-thaw cycles (RILEM TC 117 FDC, 1996; Setzer
et al., 1997).

Figure 2. A view of the flexural test of concrete using the third-point loading method
 The Effects of Silica Fume on the Scaling Resistance 185

3. Results and discussion

All test results are shown in Table 3. Most of them are also presented in
graphical form, evaluated and discussed.

Table 3. Test results of flexural strength, capillary suction, scaling and density

3.1. Density

The densities of the hardened concretes ranging from 2.241 to 2.391gr/cm3 are
shown in Table 3. According to the test results, increasing amount of FA and SF
replacement of cement decreased the densities. The densities of the concretes with
SF are lower than the control mixture since both FA and SF have smaller specific
gravities.

3.2. Liquid absorption by capillary suction

The data obtained from the CDF test were used to calculate the amount of the
liquid absorption by capillary suction. The results of the liquid absorption were
shown in Table 3 and Figure 3 to 5. It is clearly seen from the Figure 3 that as the SF
is increased capillary suction decreased. SF contributes to decreasing the capillary
suction in two ways. First, very thin SF grains resulting in microfiller effect
increased the compasity of the binder paste. Second, the interface region between
the aggregate particles and the binder paste is affected by SF. This contribution is
provided by both preventing the water pockets forming under the aggregate grains
by decreasing sweating, and converting the CH at the interface to the C-S-H. In the
binary mixtures with FA, capillary suction increased with increasing FA up to 10%
FA, after that it decreased at the 15% FA (Figure 4). Among all the mixtures,
186 Road Materials and Pavement Design. Volume 12 – No. 1/2011

minimum capillary suction of 1118gr/m2 was obtained for the mix proportions of
85% OPC + 5% FA +10% SF (M6). Maximum liquid absorption of 1688 g/m2 was
reached at mix proportions of 90% OPC + 10% FA and 0% SF (M7).

Figure 3. SF effect on liquid absorption by capillary suction

Figure 4. FA effect on liquid absorption by capillary suction

 The Effects of Silica Fume on the Scaling Resistance 187

Figure 5. Liquid absorption by capillary suctions of the ternary cementitious

mixtures

3.3. Flexural strength

3.3.1. The effect of SF on flexural strength of binary mixtures with OPC and SF

Figure 6. SF effect on flexural strength

The use of SF as a replacement of the OPC in binary mixtures increased the

flexural strength at 7, 28 and 91 days (Figure 6). This result conforms to the study
by Bhanja and Sengupta (2005). Maximum flexural strengths were reached at the
type M2 mix with 5% SF at all three curing times. The increase in strength of SF
188 Road Materials and Pavement Design. Volume 12 – No. 1/2011

concrete could be attributed to the improvement in the bond between the hydrated
cement matrix and the aggregate. SF mixtures also exhibited higher long term
strength development than the control mix due to the pozzolanic effect of SF with
high content of SiO2+Al2O3+Fe2O3.

3.3.2. The effect of FA on flexural strength of binary mixtures with OPC and FA
As it is clearly seen from Figure 7, seven days flexural strength increased with
increasing FA replacement in the binary mixtures. As minimum 7 days flexural
strength was obtained at control mix, maximum 7 days flexural strength which is
3.26 MPa is reached at the type M10 mix containing 15% FA. As it can be seen
from Table 1, CaO content of FA is %11.82. It means that FA used in the study has
higher than 10% CaO. C.D. Atis et al. (2004) have stated that FA increased the early
flexural strength 3 days and beyond. In addition, Yasar et al. (2003) have also
reported that mixture containing fly ash developed higher or comparable flexural
tensile strength at 7 days and beyond. High CaO content of a FA improves the
strength of a FA concrete at early days (Papayianni, 1987). Due to not to be used
high volume of FA in the mixes, the strength development at 7 days may be
attributed to the high CaO content, which means high chemical reaction. 5% FA
replacement decreased the 28 days flexural strength in binary mixtures, because FA
replacement resulted in some decrease in OPC content. There is an increase in
strength development at the replacement levels beyond 5% FA. This can be
attributed the considerable increase of the binder volume due to FA replacement
with OPC by weight because the specific gravity of the FA is lower than the OPC.
The results showed that the incerases in flexural strength after 28 days for the binary
mixes containing FA are higher than that of the control mix. High long-term strength
development of the FA mixtures can be attributed to pozzolanic reactions
(Papayianni, 1987).

Figure 7. FA effect on flexural strength

 The Effects of Silica Fume on the Scaling Resistance 189

3.3.3. Joint effects of SF and FA on flexural strength

The flexural strength results of the ternary mixtures with OPC, FA and SF as
cementitious material were shown in Figure 8. When FA and SF were used together,
7, 28 and 91 days flexural strengths increased compared to the control mixture.
Among all the mixes, maximum 28 days flexural strength was obtained as 4.53 MPa
in mix proportions of 85% OPC + 10% FA and 5% SF (M8). In the ternary
mixtures, 5% SF replacement level is the best for the flexural strength. Increasing
SF replacement from 5% to 10% especially decreased the 91 days strengths of the
ternary mixtures containing FA higher than 5%. Because ultrafine SF particles
surrounding cement grains consumes the CH as converting C-S-H, FA particles can
not find enough CH to realize their potential pozzolanic reactions completely at late
ages. Although specimens were kept in water, reduction in flexural strength at 91
days in M9 and M12 are interesting results. Yazici (2008) reported similar strength
reduction at 56 days in FA concretes and it is attributed to the micro-crack formation
of the autogenous shrinkage of concrete. The strength decrease may also be ascribed
to Delayed Ettringite Formation (DEF). The holistic approach according to this
mechanism for the internal sulfate attack (ISA)-related DEF is based on the presence
of three essential elements. These are micro-cracking, late sulphate release, and
exposure to water (Collepardi, 1999). The micro-crack formation of the autogenous
shrinkage of the concretes is the consequence of withdrawal of water from the
capillary pores by the hydration of the hitherto unhydrated cement (Yazici, 2008).
High ratio of FA (with %3.94 SO3) supplies the sulphate to be needed ettringite
formation. High ratio of ultrafine SF decreases pH to a critical level and delays the
ettringite formation. Consequently, the heterogeneous expansion of the late ettringite
formation (after several months) in the very rigid hardened concrete produced
internal cracking resulting in a decrease in the flexural strength (see Figure 8 for M9
and M12). However, future studies should be made on this matter.

Figure 8. Ternary blends (OPC+SD+FA) effect on flexural strength

190 Road Materials and Pavement Design. Volume 12 – No. 1/2011

The experimental results indicated that using only FA as cement replacement

decreased 28-days flexural strength as SF slightly increased. Using FA and SF
together in the mixtures showed better strength performance at 28 days. This can be
attributed to the synergetic pozzolanic and microfiller effect of SF and FA. In such a
way that, since the FA particles are smaller than the cement particles and they fit
between them, resulting in a dense cement matrix. Much smaller SF particles then fit
between FA particles and further densify the matrix resultingly an improvement in
interfacial zone and mortar.

3.4. Scaling resistance

The scaling test results are found to be between 1004 and 5827 g/m² after 28
freeze-thaw cycles, depending on the quality of the concretes. The highest scaling
was observed 5827 g/m² in the control mixture. SF samples without FA exhibited
very low scaling satisfying CDF criterion. The lowest scaling was observed 1004
g/m² in M3 (90%OPC+10%SF+0%FA). Increasing SF content dramatically
increased deicer-scaling resistance. The effect of SF on scaling can be seen clearly
in Figure 9. 5% SF replacement level were found enough for binary mixtures to
resist the scaling effect of freeze-thaw-and-deicing agent. Scaling values of the
binary FA samples without SF were less than the control sample’s scaling, but they
did not satisfy CDF criterion. The effect of FA on scaling can be seen in Figure 10.
Deicer scaling resistance of the ternary mixes containing FA and SF is higher than
the control mix. However, the unique ternary mix providing the CDF criterion is the
type M6 mix containing 85% OPC + 5% FA+ 10% SF (1414 g/m²) (see Figure 11).
It can be seen in Figures 9-11 that the CDF scaling results after 14 f-t cycles
have a same trend as the results after 28 f-t cycles. Therefore, the CDF scaling
results after 14 f-t cycles may be used to evaluate the scaling resistance of concretes
like used in this study.
Acording to the glue-spall theory (Valenza and Scherer, 2007a and 2007b), the
strength of the surface governs the ability of a cementitious body to resist salt
scaling. The results of this study showed that there is not a direct relationship
between the flexural strength and the salt scaling (see Table 3). Because high
flexural strength do not guarantee high surface strength, the difference between
surface and internal strength may result from bleeding and segregation. Especially,
the concretes with low slump consist of seperation of the mortar from the body of
concrete during consolidation. The contribution of SF to scaling resistance can be
attributed to improvement of the concrete’s surface strength. Increasing the
replacement ratio of the ultrafine SF particles with OPC grains decreases
segregation and bleeding resulting in stronger surface. 5% FA replacement ratio
decreased scaling, while beyond this ratio scaling increased. Therefore, this can be
attributed to the segregation and bleeding. In such a way that, increasing FA
replacement increases binder volume resultingly decreases bleeding. However,
 The Effects of Silica Fume on the Scaling Resistance 191

beyond an optimum replacement ratio, water transports lighter FA particles to the

surface resultingly weaker surface. In addition, FA has an effect as set retarding
resultingly increases bleeding increasing its replacement ratio. Moreover, SF
improves permeability, aggregate-cement interface properties and pore structure.
Consequently, SF addition improved the scaling resistance of the binary and ternary
mixtures.

Figure 9. SF effect on frost and deicing salt resistance

Figure 10. FA effect on frost and deicing salt resistance

192 Road Materials and Pavement Design. Volume 12 – No. 1/2011

Figure 11. CDF scaling test results of the ternary cementitious mixtures

Since the CDF acceptance criterion is a maximum mean scaling of 1500g/m²

after 28 f-t cycles (RILEM TC 117 FDC, 1996), two binary mixtures with SF (M2,
M3) and one ternary mixture (M6) satisfied these criterions. However, the influence
of the age of the concrete at the time of testing is significant for scaling resistance
due to the strength gain (Panesar and Chidiac, 2007). Higher scaling resistance is
expected at later days especially for concretes with SF and FA due to their
puzzolanic activity.

4. Conclusions

This study has demonstrated that more durable and stronger pavement concrete
can be obtained with a suitable combination of OPC, FA and SF. The experimental
results in the current test conditions have indicated that using FA only decreases
while SF only slightly increases 28 days flexural strength. On the other hand, using
SF and FA together shows relatively more strength gain. Among all those tested,
maximum 28 days flexural strength of 4.53 MPa is obtained for the mix proportions
of 85% OPC + 10% FA and 5% SF. SF significantly decreases the amount of liquid
absorption by capillary suction and has a significant effect on the scaling resistance.
In addition, all the ternary mixtures shows better scaling resistance than the control
mixture with 100% OPC

5. References

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), 1993.

Guide for design of pavement structures, Washington, D.C, US.
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Alexander M.G. and Mackechnie J.R., “Concrete mixes for durable marine structures”,
Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering, Vol. 45, No. 2, 2003, p. 20-
25. Discussion on paper: Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering,
Vol. 46, No. 1, 2004, p. 15-16.
Bhanja S. and Sengupta B., “Influence of silica fume on the tensile strength of concrete”,
Cem. Concr. Res., 35, 2005, p. 743-747.
Carette G. and Malhotra V.M., “Early - age strength development of concrete incorporating
fly ash and condensed silica fume”, Fly Ash, Silica Fume, Slag, and Other Minerals By-
Products in Concrete, V.M. Malhotra (Ed.), SP 79, ACI, Detroit, 1983, p. 765-784.
Atis C.D., Sevim U.K., Ozcan F., Bilim C., Karahan O., Tanrikulu A.H., Eksi A., “Strength
properties of roller compacted concrete containing a non-standard high calcium fly ash”,
Materials Letters, Vol. 58, 2004, p. 1446-1450
Collepardi M., “Damage by Delayed Ettringite Formation - A Holistic Approach and New
Hypothesis”, Concrete International, Vol. 21, No. 1, January 1999, p. 69-74.
Cramer S.M. and Carpenter A.J, “Influence of total aggregate gradation on freeze-thaw
durability and other performance measures of paving concrete”, Transp Res Rec.: Journal
of TRB, No. 1668, 1999, p. 1-8.
Du Preez A.A. and Alexander M.G., “A site study of durability indexes for concrete in marine
conditions”, Materials and Structures, Vol. 37, No. 267, 2004, p. 146-154.
Erdem T.K, and Kirca Ö., “Use of binary and ternary blends in high strength concrete”,
Construction and Building Materials, 22, 2008, p. 1477-1483.
Federal Airport Administration (FAA), Airport pavement design and evaluation, advisory.
Circular 150/5320-6D, FAA, Washington, D.C, US, 1995.
Karayolları Genel Müdürlü÷ü (KGM), Karayolu Teknik ùartnamesi (Highway technical
specifications), T.C KGM, Ankara, Türkiye, In Turkish, 2006.
Lane D.S. and Ozyildirim C., “Preventive measures for alkali-silica reactions (binary and
ternary systems)”, Cem Concr Res, Vol. 29, No. 8, 1999, p. 1281-1288.
Mehta R.K. and Gjorv O.E., “Properties of Portland cement concrete containing fly ash and
condensed silica fume”, Cem Concr Res, 12, 1982, p. 587-595.
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Received: 1 September 2009

Accepted: 17 September 2010