Setting Time and Bleeding of Concrete with Binary and Ternary

Cements Containing Silica Fume, Fly Ash and Slag

Zhen-Tian Chang, Marton Marosszeky and Robert Munn

Australian Centre for Construction Innovation (ACCI), University of NSW

Synopsis: This paper presents and discusses the results of an investigation into setting time
and bleeding of concrete with binary and ternary cements containing three supplementary
cementitious materials (SCM), silica fume, fly ash and GGBF slag. While the major
parameters influencing the setting and bleeding of Type GP cement concrete have been
well identified, the use of SCM in the cement introduces new influences on these
properties. A total of thirteen concrete mixes were investigated in this work, which was part
of a larger project using binary and ternary cements containing SCM from local sources.
The comparisons between SCM mixes and Type GP control mixes were based on the same
cement content and water to cement ratio. It was found that setting was retarded in all the
binary and ternary SCM mixes compared to the control mixes. The bleeding of SCM
concrete was found not only to be affected by the fineness of the cement but also by the
type, or the chemical and physical properties, of the SCM in the cement. The results of this
investigation indicate that properties of concretes containing large proportion of fly ash
and/or slag need careful assessment with respect to particular construction applications
given the significant changes to bleeding and setting time associated with cement type.

Key Words: Concrete, Cement, Bleeding, Setting time, Silica fume, Fly ash, GGBF-slag

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Generally, the initial and final setting times of ordinary portland cement (AS 3972 Type
GP) concrete are directly related to the water to cement ratio and inversely related to the
cement content. Other important factors that influence the time of setting include type of
cement, fineness of cement, temperature, and chemical admixtures used. The use of
supplementary cementitious materials (SCM), such as silica fume, fly ash and ground
granulated blast-furnace slag, to partially replace portland cement has become common.
With the incorporation of SCM in cement, the research work in North America indicates
that low-calcium fly ash or slag often has a retarding effect on the setting of concrete, while
silica fume inclusion up to 10% of the cement does not significantly affect the setting
characteristics of concrete.

The bleed capacity and the bleed rate of GP cement concrete are most significantly affected
by the ratio of the surface area of the solids to the volume of mixing water. Therefore,
increase in the water content or water to cement ratio (w/c) can increase bleeding, while the
increase in the surface area or fineness of cement reduces bleeding. The increase in cement
content normally accompanied by a reduction in w/c ratio may also reduce bleeding. Based
on the same principle, bleeding of a concrete mix in which a SCM is used to directly

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replace part of the portland cement (PC), should depend mostly on the fineness of the SCM.
If it is finer than the replaced PC, bleeding should reduce, or vice versa. However, this is
not always found to be correct when different SCM were used in the cement to replace PC.
While it is generally acknowledged that the replacement of PC with silica fume results in
reduction of bleeding, the effect of fly ash or slag on the bleeding of binary concrete varies.
Very few test results of the bleeding of concrete with ternary cements are available in the
literature.

In general, the properties of fresh and hardened concrete containing SCM in the cement are
found to vary significantly with the type and proportion of the SCM used. It is therefore
essential that the SCM concrete properties are assessed with the local SCM rather than
based only on the results obtained elsewhere. Setting time and bleeding characteristics of
concrete are known to be important properties of concrete, which are directly related to
finishing characteristics and to plastic cracking potential. These properties are also of
particular significance to the behaviour of deep members such as diaphragm walls and
transfer beams.

A comprehensive research program was conducted at the Australian Centre for

Construction Innovation (ACCI, formerly the Building Research Centre) into the properties
of binary and ternary cement concretes (containing one or two SCM in the cement). Thirty
concrete mixes were investigated across a wide range of properties [1, 2] based on local
SCM and other materials. This paper describes the experimental investigation of the setting
time and bleeding of thirteen concrete mixes including control mixes with Type GP cement
and those with binary and ternary cements containing silica fume, fly ash and/or slag.

2.0 EXPERIMENTAL WORK

Six mixes of the binary concrete series were investigated for setting time and bleeding.
These were an 8% silica fume mix, two fly ash mixes (20% and 40% fly ash), two slag
mixes (35% and 65% slag) and a GP cement control mix. The percentages of the SCM
were based on their mass in the cement. In all the six concrete mixes, the total cement
content was 400 kg/m3 and the water to cement ratio (w/c) was 0.40. Therefore, the
comparisons of setting time and bleeding between the SCM mixes and the GP control mix
were based on equal-mass replacement of GP cement with SCM in the mixes.

Seven mixes of the ternary concrete series were also investigated including four ternary
concrete mixes and three control GP mixes of different cement contents and w/c ratios. The
SCM proportions in the three types of ternary cement were 8% silica fume plus 30% fly
ash, 20% fly ash plus 30% slag, and 20% fly ash plus 50% slag. Each ternary mix had the
same cement content and w/c ratio as its control mix. The comparison between the ternary
mixes and the control mixes were thus based on equal-mass replacement of GP cement with
two SCM in the mixes.

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The silica fume (SF) and fly ash (FA) in a concrete mix was batched separately and added
into the concrete during mixing. Commercial blended cements with 35% and 65% slag
contents were used for the concrete mixes containing slag in the cement. Table 1 presents
the chemical compositions and the fineness indices of the silica fume, fly ash, GP cement
and blended slag cements used in this investigation.

Table 1. Chemical Composition and Fineness of Cements and SCM

Oxide Chemical Composition (%)

35% Slag 65% Slag
Type GP Fly Ash
Blended Blended Silica Fume
Cement (low calcium)
Cement Cement
CaO 64.3 55.9 49.9 ---- 1.35
SiO2 20.0 24.7 28.2 93.1 64.3
Al2O3 4.6 7.9 10.0 ---- 24.4
Fe2O3 3.8 2.8 1.9 ---- 3.51
SO3 2.6 3.0 2.7 0.03 ----
MgO 1.8 2.7 3.4 ---- 0.66
K2O 0.6 0.4 0.2 ---- 1.64
95.6% passing 84.1% passing
Fineness 350 kg/m3 380 kg/m3 410 kg/m3
45µm sieve 45µm sieve

The coarse aggregates used in this investigation were 20/14 mm and 10/7 mm crushed river
gravel. The fine aggregates were a coarse river sand and a fine dune sand. A water reducer
and a superplasticiser, both of the normal setting type, were used in the concrete mixes to
achieve a target slump of 80 ±10 mm.

3.0 TEST RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Setting Time of Binary and Ternary Concrete

The setting time of concrete is normally determined by penetration tests with mortar
samples sieved out from fresh concrete. The setting time tests in this investigation were
undertaken according to the procedures of the Australian Standard AS 1012, part 18.

3.1.1 SCM Mixes Compared to Control Mixes in Binary Concrete Series

Table 2 presents the results of the initial and final setting times of the six concrete mixes of
the binary concrete series. It is shown in Table 2 that an equal-mass replacement of GP
cement with any of the three SCM resulted in delay of setting of the concrete, which were

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however not simply proportional to the SCM ratio. The order of the concrete mixes from
the shortest initial or final setting time is GP, 8% silica fume, 35% slag, 20% fly ash, 40%
fly ash, and 65% slag mix. The 65% slag mix recorded the longest initial and final setting
time of 10h:00m (10 hours and 0 minute) and 11h:50m, while the GP control mix had the
shortest initial and final setting time of 6h:15m and 7h:15m. Compared to the control mix,
the delay in setting of the SCM mixes is in the range from 40 minutes to 3h:45m for initial
setting, and from 63 minutes to 4h:36m for the final setting. The setting time of the 8%
silica fume mix was the shortest within the five binary SCM concretes, but the initial and
final setting times were 40 and 65 minutes longer than that of the Type GP mix.

Table 2. Setting Time Test Results of Binary Concrete Series

Mix No. M-3 M-7 M-12 M-14 M-17 M-19

Cement Type Type GP 8% SF 20% FA 40% FA 35% Slag 65% Slag

Initial Setting Time (h:m) 6:15 6:55 8:10 8:35 7:50 10:00

Ratio to Type GP Mix 1 1.11 1.31 1.37 1.25 1.61

Delay Time to GP Mix (h:m) 0 0:40 1:55 2:20 1:35 3:45

Final Setting Time (h:m) 7:15 8:20 9:50 10:20 9:20 11:50

Ratio to Type GP Mix 1 1.15 1.35 1.43 1.29 1.63

Delay Time to GP Mix (h:m) 0 1:05 2:35 3:05 2:05 4:35

3.1.2 Effect of SCM Replacement Ratio in Binary Concrete Series

The effect of SCM replacement ratio was evaluated on binary concrete containing fly ash
and slag. In both cases, the increase in replacement ratio resulted in a further delay in the
initial and the final setting. The effect of the replacement ratio is also more pronounced in
slag concrete than in fly ash concrete. When the fly ash content increased from 20% to 40%
in the cement, the initial and the final setting time further increased by 25 and 30 minutes
respectively. However, the increase of slag content from 35% to 65% caused a further delay
of 2h:12m and 2h:30m in the initial and final setting times.

3.1.3 SCM Mixes Compared to Control Mixes in Ternary Concrete Series

Seven concrete mixes in the ternary concrete series were divided into three groups
according to different cement contents and water to cement ratios as shown in Table 3.
Each of the three sets included a control mix using GP cement.

The two ternary concrete mixes (M-28 and M-30) containing 8% silica fume and 30% fly
ash both had longer setting times than the control GP mixes. M-28 recorded a three-hour

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delay in the initial setting time compared to the control mix M-22. The delay in the initial
set of the ternary mix (M-30) with a higher cement content and a lower w/c ratio was
however much less than that of M-28. The ternary mix M-28 was also found to have longer
setting times when compared to that of the binary mixes having the same cement content
and w/c ratio but containing 8% silica fume, 20% and 40% fly ash respectively (see Table
2). These results indicated that the ternary mixes containing both silica fume and fly ash
would have further delayed setting times compared to the respective binary mixes.

Table 3. Setting Time Test Results of Ternary Concrete Series

Mix No. M-22 M-28 M-23 M-30 M-24 M-26 M-27

Cement Content (kg/m3) 400 450 500

Water/Cement Ratio (w/c) 0.40 0.35 0.35

Type 8% SF+ Type 8% SF+ Type 20%FA+ 20%FA+
Cement Type
GP 30% FA GP 30% FA GP 35%SG 50%SG
Initial Setting Time (h:m) 6:15 9:15 7:05 7:45 5:05 9:25 11:00

Ratio to Type GP Mix 1 1.48 1 1.09 1 1.85 2.16

Delay Time to Type GP Mix 0 3:00 0 0:40 0 4:20 5:55

Final Setting Time (h:m) 7:15 10:40 8:10 9:00 6:05 11:15 13:15

Ratio to Type GP Mix 1 1.47 1 1.10 1 1.85 2.18

Delay Time to Type GP Mix 0 3:25 0 0:50 0 5:10 7:10

In Table 3, the two ternary mixes containing 20% fly ash plus either 35% slag (M-26) or
50% slag (M-27) both recorded much longer setting times than the GP control mix of the
same cement content and w/c ratio. The increase of slag content from 35% to 50% in the
ternary cements resulted in a further increase of the setting times. While the control mix
(M-24) had the initial setting time of 5h:05m, the ternary mixes M-26 and M-27 recorded
initial setting times of 9h.25m (a delay of 4h:20m) and 11h.00m (a delay of 5h:55m)
respectively. The time lapses between the initial and final set of the two ternary mixes were
110 minutes and 135 minutes, both of which were significantly longer than the 60 minutes
for the Type GP mix.

3.2 Bleeding of Binary and Ternary Concrete

The same thirteen concrete mixes were also tested for bleeding in this investigation. The
bleeding of concrete was determined according to the procedures of the Australian Standard
AS 1012, part 6. The test results are expressed in terms of the ratio of bleed water to total
free water content and the volume per unit surface area.

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3.2.1 SCM Mixes Compared to Control Mixes in Binary Concrete Series

Table 4 shows the bleeding test results of six concrete mixes of the binary concrete series.
The test results in this series indicated that an equal-mass replacement of GP cement with
fly ash or slag resulted in significant increase in bleed, while replacing GP cement with
silica fume reduced bleed. The ratio of bleed to total free water content was 1.20% for the
GP control mix, 0.72% for the silica fume mix, 2.03% to 2.99% for the slag mixes and,
3.58% to 4.14% for the fly ash mixes. It should be pointed out that higher bleeding was
recorded in the two slag concrete mixes (M-17 and M-19) although the blended slag
cements were ground finer than the GP cement as shown in Table 1.

Table 4. Bleeding Test Results of Binary Concrete Series

Mix No. M-3 M-7 M-12 M-14 M-17 M-19

Cement Type Type GP 8% SF 20% FA 40% FA 35% Slag 65% Slag

Bleed to Water Content (%) 1.20% 0.72% 4.14% 3.58% 2.99% 2.03%

Volume /Surface Area (ml/cm2) 0.050 0.030 0.172 0.149 0.124 0.084

Ratio to Type GP Mix 1 0.60 3.45 2.98 2.49 1.69

While it is acknowledged in the literature that silica fume concrete generally has lower
bleeding than portland cement concrete, the influences of fly ash and slag in cement on
concrete bleeding are not consistent in different investigations. In much of the literature, fly
ash concrete was claimed to reduce bleeding where fly ash was used either entirely to be a
filler or to replace only a smaller mass quantity of portland cement on the basis of
achieving an equivalent 28-day strength. In these cases however, the reduction of bleeding
could be primarily due to the higher total cement content and lower w/c ratio in the fly ash
concrete rather than the use of fly ash to replace portland cement.

It should be emphasised that the concrete mixes in this investigation were compared to the
control GP mix with the same cement content and w/c ratio, in other words, based on equal-
mass replacement of portland cement with SCM. Under this test arrangement, the effects on
concrete performance by replacing GP cement with SCM can be directly evaluated.

There were few published Australian results using local fly ash and slag in cements based
on equal-mass replacement of portland cement. In the research in Canada [3], eleven fly ash
mixes with 20% of various fly ashes (CaO content of 1.2% to 13.3%) and a portland
cement control mix were tested based on the same cement content and w/c ratio. Except for

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one case, the fly ash mixes were found to have higher or similar bleeding compared to the
control mix. These results in the literature support the finding of this ACCI research that
equal-mass replacement of GP cement with local fly ash (typically low calcium contents)
would result in higher bleeding compared to the control mix.

There are even fewer comparable bleeding results for slag concrete in the literature.
However, in the state-of-the-art report from ACI Committee 233 [4], the test results from
Cesareni and Frigione [5] were quoted and they found that bleeding increased with the use
of slag. Since the portland cement and slag were ground to the same fineness in the
particular case, the time of setting of the concrete and the non-absorptive qualities of the
dense slag were considered likely to have contributed to the increased bleeding. It is further
observed in this ACCI research that, despite the slag cements being finer than the Type GP
cement, the slag cement concretes had higher bleeding than the GP control mix. This
observation clearly indicated that besides the fineness of the cement other chemical and
physical properties of the SCM and GP cement would also have significant effects on the
bleeding behaviour of concrete.

3.2.2 Effect of SCM Replacement Ratio in Binary Concrete Series

The effect of SCM replacement ratio is evaluated on binary fly ash and slag mixes and in
both cases the increase in replacement ratio resulted in reduced bleeding. While bleeding
was reduced from 4.14% to 3.58% with an increase of fly ash content from 20% to 40%, a
reduction from 2.99% to 2.03% was recorded in slag mixes with slag contents of 35% and
65% respectively. In the literature, a reduction in bleeding with an increase in slag content
(from 50% to 85%) was also reported by Cesareni and Frigione [5].

It is obvious that bleeding of SCM concrete is more complicated than that of GP cement
concrete due to significant differences in both the chemical and physical properties of the
cementitious materials. It appears that while the fineness of the SCM would still be a major
parameter, other chemical and physical properties of the SCM and the proportion of SCM
in the cement would also have significant effects on the bleeding of SCM concrete. Further
research work is needed in this field.

3.2.3 SCM Mixes Compared to Control Mixes in Ternary Concrete Series

Table 5 presents the bleeding results of seven concrete mixes in the ternary concrete series
divided into three groups according to different cement contents and water to cement ratios.

The ternary mix M-28 containing 8%SF plus 30%FA had a significantly higher bleed water
at 2.61% than the GP control mix M-22 (at 1.20%). On the other hand, the ternary mix M-
30, of the same type but with a higher cement content and lower w/c ratio, recorded lower
bleeding at 0.69% than that (1.27%) of the GP control mix M-23. While the bleeding of the
two control mixes was similar (1.20% and 1.27%), the bleeding of the two ternary mixes
were quite different (2.61% and 0.69%). It appeared that a lower w/c ratio might have a

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more significant effect on reduction of bleed of the ternary mixes than that of the GP mixes.
However, further investigation is needed to verify this.

Table 5 Bleeding Test Results of Ternary Concrete Series

Mix No. M-22 M-28 M-23 M-30 M-24 M-26 M-27

Cement Content (kg/m3) 400 450 500

Water/Cement Ratio 0.40 0.35 0.35

Type 8% SF+ Type 8% SF+ Type 20%FA+ 20%FA+
Cement Type
GP 30% FA GP 30% FA GP 35%SG 50%SG
Ratio of Bleed (%) 1.20 2.61 1.27 0.69 1.49 3.82 4.10

Vol./Surface Area (ml/cm2) 0.050 0.104 0.051 0.027 0.065 0.166 0.179

Ratio to GP Mix 1 2.18 1 0.54 1 2.56 2.75

The bleeding of 2.61% of the ternary mix M-28 was also compared to that of three binary
mixes, (M-7, M-12 and M-14 in Table 4) based on the same cement content and w/c ratio.
While M-7 with 8% SF in the cement recorded a bleed of 0.72%, M12 and M-14 containing
20% and 40% FA had bleeds of 4.14% and 3.58%. These results indicated that bleeding of
a fly ash mix could be reduced with further addition of silica fume (with equal-mass
replacement of GP) in the mix.

The other two ternary mixes containing 20%FA plus 35%Slag or 50%Slag both had
significantly higher bleeding (3.82% and 4.10%) than the control mix (1.49%). The
increase of slag content from 35% to 50% in the ternary cements resulted in a further
increase of bleeding.

4.0 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

This paper compares the setting and bleeding performance of binary and ternary concrete
mixes containing SCM to that of control mixes with Type GP cement. The comparisons are
based on the same cement content and w/c ratio or, in other words, based on equal-mass
replacement of GP cement with SCM. The test results and conclusions are summarised as
follows:

1. All the binary SCM concrete mixes containing silica fume, fly ash and/or slag showed
retardation in initial and final setting. Within the investigated proportions of SCM in the
binary cement, the 8% silica fume concrete had the least delay in setting while the 65%
slag concrete had the longest retardation.

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2. The ternary concrete mixes containing two SCM had longer setting times than binary
concrete containing one of the two SCM.
3. Increase in the proportion of equal-mass replacement of GP cement with fly ash or slag
in either the binary or the ternary cement resulted in further delay in setting of the SCM
concrete mixes.
4. The binary fly ash and slag mixes had higher bleeding than the control GP mixes, while
the silica fume mix had lower bleeding.
5. Reduction in bleeding was observed in the binary SCM concrete with increase in the
replacement ratio of fly ash (20% to 40%) or slag (35% to 65%) in the cements.
6. The relative fineness of the SCM to the PC was not the sole parameter influencing the
bleeding of SCM concrete. Other physical and chemical properties of the SCM and GP
cement would also have significant influences on bleeding of SCM concretes.
7. The ternary concrete mixes investigated also had higher bleeding than the control
mixes, except for one ternary mix containing 8% silica fume and 30% fly ash.
8. The bleeding of a fly ash mix could be reduced with further addition of silica fume in
the mix. However a similar effect in slag mixes was not investigated in this work.

In practical applications, the use of SCM in a concrete mix usually requires an adjustment
of the mix design rather than an equal-mass replacement of GP cement with SCM. The
results of this investigation however clearly indicated that setting time and bleeding of
concretes containing large proportion of fly ash and/or slag in binary and ternary cements
should be carefully assessed with respect to particular construction applications given the
significant variations in concrete plastic properties associated with SCM type and
proportion.

5.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors wish to express their gratitude to the Roads and Traffic Authority of New
South Wales for their financial support of this research work. The authors also wish to
express their appreciation to You-Jin Kim for his assistance in some experimental work.

6.0 REFERENCES

1. Chang, Z.T., Marosszeky, M. and You-Jin Kim, Properties of Fresh and Hardened
Concrete with the Binary Binder System Containing Silica Fume, Fly Ash or Slag ,
Research Report, The Building Research Centre, University of NSW, June 1998,
123pp.
2. Chang, Z.T. and Marosszeky, Properties of Fresh and Hardened Concrete with the
Ternary Binder System Containing Two Supplementary Cementitious Materials ,
Research Report, The Building Research Centre, University of NSW, Sep. 1998, 112pp.
3. Malhotra, V.M. and Mehta, P.K., "Pozzolanic and Cementitious Materials", Gordon and
Breach Publishers, 1996, 191 pp.

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4 . ACI Ccommittee 233, Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag as a Cementitious
Constituent in Concrete , ACI 233R-95, American Concrete Institute, 1995, 18 pp.
5. Cesareni, D., and Frigione, G., A Contribution to the Study of the Physical Properties
of Hardened Paste of Portland Cements Containing Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag,
Proceedings, 5th International Symposium on the Chemistry of Cement, Cement
Association of Japan, Tokyo, V.4, 1968, pp. 237-247.

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