JASC: Journal of Applied Science and Computations ISSN NO: 0022-1945

A Comparative Study on the High Strength Fibre Reinforced

Concrete for Grade 70, 80 and 90

Rahul D. Pandit​1​, Dr. Abhijeet P. Wadekar​2

1 PhD Student, Structural Engineering, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University,

Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India

2 Principal in grade of Professor, PES College of Engineering, Aurangabad, Maharashtra,

India

Abstract. ​Fly ash (FA) and silica fumes are waste materials produced in thermal pawer station
and electric industries which are a pozzolanic material that can be blended with cement in
producing concrete. This research presents investigation carried out on the comparative study of
strength characteristics of concrete produced with grade 70, 80 and 90 cement blended concrete
using a replacement level of 11% fly ash and 5.9% of silica fume as substitute. Three concrete
mix ratios (1:0.1.29:2.27, 1:1.24: 1.61 and 1:1.24: 1.52) were used. A total of 75 cube size of 150
X 150 X 150 mm were cast, tested and their mechanical properties determined. The results
showed that the compressive strength at 28 days increased as the percentage replacement of
Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) with fly ash and respectively with compressive strengths of
70.00 N/mm​2 77.30 N/mm​2 to 75.99 N/mm​2 for grade 70 concrete, 80.00 N/mm​2 87.50 N/mm​2 to
87.60 N/mm​2 for grade 80 concrete and 32.12 N/mm​2 to 94.3, 93.89 and 93.15 N/mm​2 for grade
90 concrete. It was concluded that fly ash and silica replacement in concrete can be used for the
production of concrete for light structural works in the development of sustainable and green
structures.
Keywords ​Ordinary Portland cement (OPC); Fly ash (FA); silica fume High Strength Concrete;
Compressive strength.
1. Introduction
Concrete is one of the second most used material in the world after water. If the cement
industry were to be a country, it would be the third largest carbon dioxide emitter in the world
which released up to 2.8 billion tons, surpassing only China and the United State of America.
It also magnifies that it can used in the extreme weather in which it gives shelter us. Taking
into considerations all stages of production, concrete released up to 4 -8 % of the world’s
carbon dioxide. Only coal, oil and gas are greater source of greenhouse gases. Hence half of
concrete’s CO2 emissions are created during the manufacture of clinker, the most-energy
intensive part of the cement- making process. In cities, concrete also adds to the heat by
absorbing the warmth of the sun and trapping gases from car exhausts and the air – conditioner
units- though it is, at least, better than darker asphalt. It also worsens the problem of silicosis
and other respiratory diseases [1].
The emission of carbon dioxide (CO₂) can be direct and indirect. Carbon dioxide is released as
a by-product during the production of clinker that is when calcium carbonate is calcinated and
turns to lime it is then considered as direct emission. Indirect emission comes from the burning
of fossil fuels to heating of the kiln. An approximate of 4.9 million kJ is required to produce a
ton of cement. Invariably, producing a ton of cement will generate approximately a ton of
CO₂. CO₂ is a well-known greenhouse gas that has attributed to global warming and
greenhouse effect [2].

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Actually, industrial wastes have created waste management and pollution problems.
However, the use of fly ash and silica fume as industrial wastes to complement other
traditional materials in construction provides both practical and economic advantages. The
wastes generally have no commercial value and being locally available transportation cost is
minimal [3].
The replacement of Fly ash in concrete was investigated, the workability of concrete
decreased with increase in silica fume and if it used beyond 8% it become harsh. The optimum
replacement of fly ash was 14%, 11% and 17% and silica fume was 5%, 59% and 7% for M70,
M80 and M90 grade blended cement concrete. It was concluded that the flexural and splitting
tensile strength of M40 and M50 grade blended cement concrete decreased with an increase in
percentage of FA [5]. The use of fly ash and silica fume contributed not only, to the production
of concrete of a higher quality and lower cost, but also contributed to the reduction of carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions from the production of cement. The partial replacement of cement by
fly ash and silica fume resulted in lower energy consumption associated with the production of
cement [6].

1. Material and methods

Cement
Ordinary Portland Cement (PLC) manufactured by Ultratech Cement of Grade 53 was used. The
cement was stored away from air and moisture in the workshop to ensure the material was in
good condition during the experimental period.

Fly Ash
The fly ash used was obtained from dirk India Ltd at Nashik Area, Maharashtra State, India. The
Fly ash was obtained after burning of coal in the thermal power station for production of
electricity, with a temperature of the furnace at about 700°C or more. The resulting ash was
collected and sieved through IS standard sieve size 45​𝜇𝑚 ​grey in color.
Silica Fume
The Silica Fume ​used was obtained from Rouff Ltd, purchased at Aurangabad Area, Maharashtra
State, India. The Silica Fume ​was obtained after burning of coal in the thermal power station for
production of electricity, with a temperature of the furnace at about 700°C or more. The resulting
ash was collected and sieved through IS standard sieve size 45​𝜇𝑚 ​grey in color.

Fine Aggregate
The fine aggregate that was used for concrete mixing was river sand (Godavari River from
Paithan) and it was free from clay/silt content, organic material and chemical. It was checked to
ensure that it’s free from other organic materials inside before used. Sand of sizes which passed
through 4.75mm sieve was used as fine aggregate with a specific gravity of 2.63.

Coarse Aggregate
The coarse aggregate used was crushed granite. It was free of deleterious organic matter and
passed through 12.5 mm maximum sieve size. The aggregate used was cleaned and dried under
the ambient temperature before concrete mixing.

Water
The quantity of water in the mix plays a vital role on the strength of the concrete. Casting and
curing of specimens were done with the use of potable water that was available at the Concrete
technology laboratory in department of Civil Engineering at PES College of Engineering,
Aurangabad, MH., India.

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Mix Proportion
The control concrete was designed to achieve Grade of M70, M80 and M90 by DOE Method.
Cement content was replaced by fly ash and silica fume in the range 11% and silica fume was
5.9% for above grade of high strength concrete with three types of steel fibres. i.e. Flat steel fibre,
Hooked end steel fibre and crimped steel fibres at an interval of 0.5 to 3.5 percent to cement
content.
The mix design proportion used in this study were as shown in Tables 1:

Table 1. ​Mix proportion of Grade 70, 80 and 90 concrete for different replacements.
Sr. Grade of Cement FA Silica Fine Coarse Water
No Concrete in Replacement Replacement Aggregate Aggregate /Cement
Kg ratio
01 M70 444 11% 5.9% 0.99% 2.26% 0.27
02 M80 523 11% 5.9% 1.24% 1.61% 0.25
03 M90 640 11% 5.9% 1.21% 1.81% 0.23
Casting and Testing of Specimens:
All the ingredients were first mixed mechanically in dry condition in the concrete mixer. The
concrete mix proportion is shown in Tables 1. The calculated amount of water was added to the
dry mix and mixed thoroughly to get a uniform mix. Oil was smeared on the inner surface of the
mould and the concrete was poured in to the mould and vibrated on vibrating machine. After 24
hours of casting, the specimens were de-moulded and cured for a period of 7 and 28 days in a
water tank. After the curing period was over, the specimens were tested. The material calculation
for concrete cube is shown in Tables. For each mix, three cube specimens of size 150 x 150 x 150
mm. Cube were tested on28 days.

Table2.​ Schedule of Specimen Preparation for each type of fibres

Sr. Mix w/cm Mix Proportions in kg per m​3​ of concrete Fibre
No. designation ratio Cement Fly Silica Fine Coarse content
Ash Fume Aggregate Aggregat (%)
e
1 M0 0.0
2 M1 0.27, 0.14, 0.05, 1.29, 2.27, 0.5
3 M2 1.0
4 M3 0.25 0.11 0.059 1.24 1.61 1.5
5 M4 1 2.0
6 M5 & & & & & 2.5
7 M6 3.0
8 M7 0.23 0.17 0.07 0.99 1.52 3.5
9 M8 4.0
1. Results and Discussion
1.1 Physical Properties of Cement, Fly ash, Fine and Coarse Aggregates
The specific gravity results showed that for the fly ash it was 1.99, cement 2.3, fine aggregate
2.624 coarse aggregate was 2.684. The results of the moisture content tests were 6.18% for Fly
ash, 0.39% for cement, 00.00% for fine aggregate and 00.00% for coarse aggregate.
1.2 Compressive Strength of fly ash and silica fume blended high strength fibre reinforced
concrete of grades 70, 80 and 90.
The compressive strengths for fly ash and silica fume replacements of grade 70, 80 and 90 high
strength fibre reinforced concretes with three types of steel fibres (Sound crimped steel fibre,
Hooked End steel (0.45 X 25 mm) fibre and flat steel fibre) at an interval of 0 to 3.5 % with
weight of cement are shown in Tables 3, 4 and 5. Conplast 420 superplasticizer were used as

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water reducer agent for 17 mm per kg of cement.

Table 3. ​Compressive strengths for 0% to 3.5% of fibres with fly ash and silica fume replacements
of grade 70 high strength concrete. Average Compressive strength of cube (N/mm​2​) Grade 70 (1:
1.29: 2.27 Mix)
Sr. Mix. Volume Fraction of 28 days Compressive Strength ​ f​cu ​,​ MPa
No. Design. Fibres​Vf​​ (%) SCSF HESF(0.45X25mm) FSF
1 M0 0.0 70.14
1 M0 0.0 70.14 69.98 70.44
2 M1 0.5 70.48 70.55 70.92
3 M2 1.0 70.66 71.80 71.81
4 M3 1.5 71.85 73.35 72.14
5 M4 2.0 73.03 74.81 73.92
6 M5 2.5 74.37 75.82 74.66
Table 4. ​Compressive strengths for 0% to 3.5% of fibres with fly ash and silica fume replacements
of grade 80 high strength concrete. Average Compressive strength of cube (N/mm​2​) Grade 80 (1:
1.24: 1.61 Mix)
Sr. Mix. Volume Fraction of 28 days Compressive Strength ​ f​cu ​,​ MPa
No. Design. Fibres​Vf​​ (%) SCSF HESF (0.45X25mm) FSF
1 M0 0.0 82.50
2 M1 0.5 83.67 83.67 82.83
3 M2 1.0 84.83 84.83 83.83
4 M3 1.5 85.83 85.83 87.00
5 M4 2.0 86.16 86.16 90.00
6 M5 2.5 86.50 86.50 94.62
7 M6 3.0 87.50 87.50 87.67
8 M7 3.5 83.60 83.60 96.50
9 M8 4.0 79.67 79.67 82.83
Table 5. ​Compressive strengths for 0% to 3.5% of fibres with fly ash and silica fume replacements
of grade 90 high strength concrete. Average Compressive strength of cube (N/mm​2​) Grade 90 (1:
0.99: 1.52 Mix)
Sr. Mix. Volume Fraction of 28 days Compressive Strength ​ f​cu ​,​ MPa
No. Design. Fibres ​Vf​​ (%) SCSF HESF (0.45X25mm) FSF
1 M0 0.0 90.02
2 M1 0.5 90.10 90.20 89.90
3 M2 1.0 91.40 90.33 90.10
4 M3 1.5 91.60 91.50 91.40
5 M4 2.0 92.30 91.99 91.60
6 M5 2.5 92.50 92.50 92.30
7 M6 3.0 93.15 93.10 92.50
8 M7 3.5 94.30 93.89 93.15
9 M8 4.0 93.10 92.89 92.90
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The compressive strength test was conducted on three concrete cube samples for 11% 14% and
17% replacement of cement with fly ash, 5%, 5.9% and 7% of silica fume at the ages of 28 days
respectively. Three types of steel fibres (CSF, HESF and FSF) were added in concrete mixes at
an interval of 0 to 3.5% of volume fraction of cement content. The results of the compressive
strength of the concrete cubes with variation in percentage replacement are presented in Table 3,
4 and 5 for 28 days curing respectively showing the summary result of the average of
compressive strength test.
It was observed that the compressive strengths increase as the percentage replacement of fibres at
optimum level. However, the compressive strengths increased as the number of days of curing
increased for each percentage fly ash and silica fume replacement. For the fly ash, silica fume
replacement, it showed an increase in compressive strength from 70.00 N/mm​2 77.30 N/mm​2 to
75.99 N/mm​2 for grade 70 concrete, 80.00 N/mm​2 87.50 N/mm​2 to 87.60 N/mm​2 for grade 80
concrete and 32.12 N/mm​2 to 94.3, 93.89 and 93.15 N/mm​2 for grade 90 concrete. at 28 days
high strength fibre reinforced concrete.

2. Conclusion
From the experimental investigation carried out, the following inferences on the fly ash and
silica fume concrete are made;
From the result it was observed that the compressive strengths reduced as the percentage
replacement of steel fibres increased beyond optimum limit.
The results of the experimental investigation indicated that fly Ash (FA) 11% 14% and 17%
replacement of cement with fly ash, 5%, 5.9% and 7% of silica fume at the ages of 28 days
respectively can be used for heavy concrete works.

3. Recommendation
From the conclusions of this investigation, the following recommendations are made:
1. The use of other admixtures with fly ash should be investigated in order to retard the
hydration of water.
2. The use of super-plasticizer with FA and silica fume should also be investigated in
order to improve the workability of the fresh concrete.
3. The effect of creep on the FA and Silica fume concrete should be investigated.
4. The long-term behavior of high strength Concrete should be investigated.
5. Similar studies should be recommended for concrete beams and slab sections to
ascertain the flexural behavior of lightweight concrete made with this material.

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