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DESIGN OF HIGH STRENGTH CONCRETE MIXES

Conference Paper · January 1997

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DESIGN OF HIGH STRENGTH CONCRETE MIXES

A.D.C. Jayanandana, M.T.R. Jayasinghe and C.I. Hewagama

Department of Civil Engineering, University ofMoratuwa.

ABSTRACT

High strength concrete offers many advantages in the construction of high-rise

buildings and bridges. In many countries, concrete strengths higher than 40 MPa
are widely produced on commercial basis using normal aggregates and cement.
Use of chemical and mineral admixtures has become an integral part of producing
high strength concretes.

At present, normal strength concrete is used in reinforced concrete construction in

Sri Lanka. As the current trend for high rise buildings and the use of precast
concrete is expected to increase, there will be a greater demand in Sri Lanka for
high strength concrete. A study was undertaken at the University of Moratuwa to
examine various approaches for developing high strength concrete and to achieve
concrete strengths higher than 40 MPa using only locally available materials. A
high range water reducing admixture presently available in the market was used to
reduce water/cement ratio of the concrete mixes while achieving sufficient
workability. Compressive strengths up to 65 MPa were achieved using locally
available cement, sand and coarse aggregates with moderate dosages of water
reducing admixture.

1. Introduction

In recent years, significant advances have been made in developing high-strength

concrete (HSC). Although the main application of HSC is in high rise buildings, it
is receiving increasing attention in other areas such as bridge construction, precast
and prestressed concrete etc., due to its high modulus of elasticity, high tensile
strength, early strength development, low creep and low shrinkage. In high-rise
buildings, it offers considerable advantages such as reduction in column sizes and
higher stiffness.

The definition of high strength concrete varies with time and region depending on
the developments in the construction industry. ACI report 363R-841 treated
concretes having strengths in excess of 40 MPa as HSC. At present, in many
countries concrete strengths in the range of 50-60 are produced on a commercial
basis2,3 and 80 MPa might be used as the lower limi.tfor HSC. However, in the Sri
Lankan context, concretes with strengths higher than 40 MPa could be termed as
HSC. As overall performance of concrete cannot be judged by compressive
strength alone, high performance concretes (HPC) having other desirable
properties such as high workability, high durability etc. have now evolved. The
criteria for high performance depends on the particular application and high
strength is considered as an essential feature of high performance concrete.

7/1
2. Research Significance

The design of high strength concrete is much more complex than normal strength
concretes and requires careful selection of mix proportions and use of high quality
materials, low water/cement ratio and high cement content. Of these, use of a low
w/c ratio (between 0.25 to 0.35) is essential and this will invariably result in
unworkable dry mixes unless admixtures are used. Chemical admixtures such as
plasticizers and super-plasticizers and mineral admixtures such as silica fume, fly
ash, slag etc., are widely used in the production of high strength concretes. The
non-availability of these mineral admixtures as industrial bi-products and the
reluctance to use chemical admixtures has resulted in the Sri Lankan construction
industry still using low strengths (grade 20-30) for reinforced concrete and
medium strengths (grade 30-40) for prestressed concrete. The uncertainty of the
properties of high strength concrete has also contributed to the lack of progress in
the use of HSC.

In recent years, higher strength concretes were used in several high-rise building
projects in Sri Lanka and the demand for high strength concrete would continue to
rise with the growing tendency for high-rise construction in the future. The
increasing popularity of ready mixed concrete in Sri Lanka will be most
significant in this respect as production of medium and high strengths requires
good quality control, batching plants and supervision. The expansion of ready-
mixed concrete production has resulted in increasing awareness and availability of
admixtures.

This paper describes a research study undertaken at the Department of Civil

Engineering of the University of Moratuwa with the objective of studying
methods of developing HSC and achieving concrete strengths higher than 40
N/mm2 with locally available materials. It was also intended to propose suitable
guidelines to select mix proportions for high strength concretes as traditional mix
design methods such as the DoE method4 (British method) and ACI method'' do
not include high strength mixes. As the first stage of this project, the strengths that
can be achieved with cements, aggregates and admixtures that are freely available
in the market were investigated. Strengths in the range of 40 to 70 N/mm2 were
selected as most appropriate for Sri lanka and targeted in the study.

3. Methods of achieving high strength and high performance concrete

There are two basic approaches to obtain high strength and high performance
concretes 6.
(a) Deflocculation of cement grains by using chemical admixtures
Plasticizers and super-plasticizers help reduce the tendency of cement
particles (5 to 50 urn in size) to flock together, and increase the
homogeneity. This leads to an appreciable reduction in water demand as
mix water is no longer trapped between cement grain flakes,

7/2
(b) Extending the grain size in the concrete mix.
This is achieved by using extremely fine, chemically reactive materials
(silica fume, fly ash etc.) so that they will fill the micro voids between
different sized particles, leading to a highly dense micro structure while
reducing water demand further.

Although the first approach can be used alone, the second approach has to be
combined with the first, as it is not effective to extend the grain size when there is
flocculation of particles.

For this study, the first method was adopted for high strength development as
cement additives such as silica fume and fly ash are not easily available in Sri
Lanka.

4. Materials for high strength concrete

The important aspects of material properties which are relevant for HSC are
discussed briefly.
Cement:
Ordinary Portland Cement and Rapid Hardening Cement satisfying BS 127 and
ASTM C150 (Specification for Portland cement) can be used for producing HSC.
However, different brands of OPC will have different strength development
characteristics because the codes allow variations in chemical composition and
fineness within certain limits. Also, the performance of chemical and mineral
admixtures can be affected by such variations in cement characteristics. Therefore,
when choosing Portland cement for use in high strength concrete, it is important to
examine carefully its fineness and chemical composition.

Coarse A~~re~ates :
Selection of good quality, strong aggregates is essential for HSC as aggregate
strength and paste/aggregate bond could be the critical factors governing the
concrete strength. (In contrast, w/c ratio and paste strength are considered most
critical in normal strength concrete.) Crushed aggregates with angular, cubical
particles are the most suitable for high strength concretes. It is also important to
use clean aggregates as a layer of clay or silt can adversely affect water demand
and bond. Many studiesl,8 have shown that smaller maximum size of coarse
aggregates lead to higher concrete strengths and recommended 10 or 12 mm as the
maximum aggregate size. However, maximum sizes of 20 mm and 25 mm also
have been used successfully'. Studies carried out by Aitcin and Mehta9 and
Giaccio et allO have shown that granite aggregates could be used satisfactorily for
producing HSC. Coarse aggregates satisfying the above requirements are freely
available in Sri Lanka.

Fine A2~regates :
Fine aggregates with a rounded particle shape and smooth surface texture have
been found to reduce water demand and therefore preferred in HSC. Coarse river

7/3
sand, free of clay and silt, with a fineness modulus of 3.0 or greater is considered
ideal8.
Chemical Admixtures:
Use of admixtures is necessary for HSC as very low water/cement ratios are used.
Water reducing admixtures (plasticizers) and high range water reducers
(superplasticizers) are the widely used types. Water reducing admixtures help
reduce water demand by 5 to 15 % while superplasticizers allow reductions upto
30% and therefore very useful in producing high strength concretell. The
effectiveness of these admixtures depends on the cement content, aggregate type,
pozzolans and air-entraining agents if present. The optimum dosage must be
determined by trial mixes as overdoses can retard the setting, cause segregation
and bleeding. Higher dosages can be used with superplasticizers.

Mineral Admixtures (Cement additives) :

Although high strengths can be achieved with OPC alone, the use of cementitious
materials such as fly ash, blast furnace slag and silica fume makes it easier to
produce HSC while improving the properties of both fresh and hardened concrete.
Due to the pozzolanic action of these materials, cement content can be reduced.

Silica fume, a by-product of the silica industry has been considered as an essential
material to achieve very high strengths (in excess of 100 N/mm2l Silica fume
acts as a highly reactive pozzolan and a filler of micro-voids which are normally
filled with-water. Silica fume reacts with the lime liberated during the hydration of
cement and the product of this reaction is found to improve bond between
aggregates and paste thus improving strength.

5. Mix Proportions for HSC

Selection of mix proportions for HSC is generally carried out using empirical
procedures based on trial mixes as universally accepted mix design methods are
not available for HSC. The trial mixes help achieve optimum proportions using
locally available materials. As HSC is used with highly congested steel
arrangements in high rise buildings, high workabili~ is also essential. Some of the
HSC mixes that had been reported in the literature! are presented in Table 1. The
general guidelines commonly adopted are briefly outlined here.

(a) Water / Cementitious ratio:

Use of a low waterlcementitious materials ratio is a key to producing HSC with
high durability. The relationship between w/c ratio and strength is not as straight
forward as it is for normal strength concrete due to a greater influence of
aggregate/paste bond on concrete strength. In practice, a low w/c ratio ranging
from 0.25 - 0.35 is used.

(b) Cement content:

For HSC, a higher cement content ranging from 450 to 600 Kg/m3 is generally
used. Use of cementitious materials such as fly ash, slag, silica fume etc., allows
reduction in .cement content ( generally silica fume content is 5 to 10%)13. High
cement content can result in high temperature rise within the concrete. 1
7/4
(c) Coarse aggregate and fine aggregate content:
The surface area of fine aggregate is much higher than that of coarse aggregates
and therefore the ratio of coarse aggregate to fine aggregate has a direct influence
on cement paste requirement with a higher ratio tending to reduce paste
requirement. However, if the proportion of fine aggregate is too low, workability
of the mix will be adversely affected. In general, the least sand content to achieve
the required workability tend to give the best strength for a given paste and a
coarse/fine ratio in the range of 1.5 to 1.8 is recomme~nded8.

6. Experimental Study

In the present work, a large number of concrete mixes with target strength higher
than 40 N/mm2 were selected based on the mix proportions reported in the
literature and the guidance given by the DoE method for normal concrete. For
these mixes, laboratory specimens (standard cubes) were cast using locally
available materials and tested to obtain 7 day and 28 day strength. The DoE
method was used for concrete grades 40 and 50. lnitial trial mixes did not contain
any admixtures and later chemical admixtures were used to reduce w/c ratio and
improve workability. Due to non-availability and high prices of those imported, no
cement additives were used.

6.1 Materials Used

Cement:
Ordinary Portland cement conforming to BS 12 specifications were used. Only
one brand of OPC (Mahaweli Marine) was used throughout the experimental
study.

Fine a~~regates:
River sand with a coarse grading was selected as fine aggregate after several trials.
In a few trial mixes, sand was partially and wholly replaced with quarry dust. The
results of sieve analysis of sand and quarry dust are given in Table 3.

Coarse aggre~ates:
Crushed granite was used as coarse aggregates. In most trial mixes, graded 20 mm
aggregates were used. Where the requirements for graded aggregates specified in
BS 88214 were not met, separate size fractions were mixed to obtain required
grading. In a few mixes, smaller size coarse aggregates were used to study the
influence of particle size on strength of concrete. The:coarse aggregate used had a
specific gravity of 2.65, a flakiness index of 23 and a aggregate impact value of
24. The sieve analysis results are given in Table 3.

Water reducing admixtures:

Rheobuild 1000 meeting the requirements of ASTM C494 type A and F and BS
507515 for high range water reducing admixtures was used in some of the mixes to

7/5
 achieve high workability with low w/c ratio. The dosage recommended by the
manufacturer is 0.7-1.2L per 100 kg of cementitious materials.

6.2 Mix proportions for trial mixes

In order to check whether the most widely used mix design method in Sri Lanka,
the DoE method could be adopted for proportioning mixes for Grade 40 and
Grade 50 concrete, several trial mixes were tested. The mix proportions obtained
from the DoE method are given in Table 2. Based on the results of initial trial
mixes, the mix proportions were modified using guidelines given in the literature
reported in this project. Several trial mixes were also tested based on the
proportions reported in the literature. Mix proportions of the trial mixes are given
in Table 4.

Six Standard (150 mm x 150 mm x 150 mm) cubes were cast for each trial mix
and workability was measured soon after mixing by using slump cone. An
electrically driven laboratory mixer (tilting type) was used for mixing. When
admixtures were used, they were added to the mixing water. The cubes were
demoulded on the following day and kept immersed in water till the time of
testing. The cubes were tested for compressive strength using a 200 MT
compression testing machine at 7 days and 28 days.

6.3 Test Results

The results of trial mixes are presented in Table 4. It can be seen from the results
that the w/c ratios obtained using the charts of the British method (DoE method)
were not satisfactory for both grade 40 and grade 50 concretes. The method did
not also produce the required workability. For Grade 40 concrete mixes, the w/c
ratio of 0.45 resulted in low strengths for Mixes 1 and 2. The target strength was
achieved in Mixes 3, 4 and 5 by using a reduced w/c ratio of 0.42 with local
materials. The resulting mixes appeared to be dry, suitable only with mould
vibrators. The test results indicated that a cement content of 450 kg/nr' or above
and a water content of 190 kg/m'' generally produced the required strength for
Grade 40 concrete. Sufficiently high workability was obtained without segregation
in Mix 5 by using Rheobuild 1000 which is classified as a high range water
reducer (superplasticizer).

Mixes 6 to 12 contained cement contents varying from 475 to 558 kg/m'', Mixes 6
to 9 were designed for Grade 50 concrete. The use of high cement and water
contents in Mix 6 did not produce the required strength nor workability. On the
other hand, the lower cement content used in Mixes 7, 8 and 9 with lower w/c
ratios and the water reducing admixture gave satisfactory results for Grade 50
v'
concrete. Mixes 10, 11 and i2 which were based on the mix proportions given in
the literature (Ref 5 and 9) did not produce the expected strength. The use of very
high cement contents in Mixes 10 and 11 failed to produce a significant increase
in strength. These test results agree with the theory that the increase in cement

7/6
content beyond an optimwn level is counter-productive as reported in ACI report
3631. Although, there were failure through aggregate particles (due to high stress
concentrations) in these trial mixes, the aggregate strength of locally available
granite aggregates did not seem to be a problem for the concrete strength ranges
targeted in this study.
The results also indicated that the local materials and cement available are
adequate to produce Grade 50-60 concrete. However, use of a w/c ratio less than
0.35 and a superplasticizer is essential for such grades of concrete. The admixture
used was just adequate for Grade 50 concrete. A more efficient superplasticizer
will be necessary for higher concrete strengths.

The use of smaller size coarse aggregates (14 mm) in the trial mixes did not result
in any significant increase in strength. However, the nwnber and the strength
range of the trial mixes were not sufficient to make any firm conclusions and more
work is necessary in this area where the size is smaller sizes 10 mm.

7. Conclusions

(1) The cement and aggregates available in Sri lanka are adequate for producing
concrete compressive strength in the range of 40 to 70 N/mm2. Only careful
selection of mix proportions and use of water reducing admixtures are
necessary.
(2) The use of the DoE method for designing Grades 40 and 50 mixes does not
produce satisfactory results. Optimum mix proportions must be obtained by
trial mixes based on the guidelines discussed in this report.
(3) For Grade 40 concrete, the use of a w/c ratio not exceeding 0.42 with a
cement content of 450 kg/m'' and a water content of 190 kg/m'' tends to
produce the required strength. A suitable superplasticizer will help achieve
the required workability.
(4) For the production of Grade 50 concrete, it is essential that the w/c ratio
does not exceed 0.35. As this leads to dry mixes, the use of a
superplasticizer is necessary not only to achieve the workability but also to
obtain the maximwn strength by proper compaction. A cement content in
the range of 475 to 500 kg/m'' can be considered as the optimwn for such a
w/c ratio and the locally available materials.
(5) The use of mix proportions given in the literature did not produce the
expected high strengths or workability. The characteristics of the locally
available cement, aggregates and admixture could be significant factors for
this. However, the information given in the literature could be treated as a
useful guidance for Grade 40-70 range.
(6) For Grade 60 and above, the admixture used in this study is not adequate
and a superplasticizing admixure recommended for very high strength
concrete must be used.

7/7
As a summary, the following guidelines based on the experimental study can be
given for producing Grade 40 and Grade 50 concretes.

Grade 40 Grade 50
Cement content kg/m'' ~ 450 475 - 510
W/C ratio ~ 0.42 ~ 0.35
Coarse aggregate kg/m'' 1000-1050 1050-1100
Coarse agg'/fine agg. ~1.5 1.6-2.0
ratio
Superplasticizer(SP) Mixes with low Use ofa SP is
workability can be necessary.
obtained without SF'.
For high workability ,
use of a SP is necessary.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Mr. H.R.W.J. Prematunga and Mr. P.T.P. Jayatunga,
the final year undergraduates and Mr. S.L. Kapuruge, the technical officer in
charge of the Building Materials laboratory who have carried out the experimental
work described in this paper with much dedication. The authors also thank the
University of Moratuwa for providing funds and Finco Ltd for providing
admixtures.

References

1. ACI Committee 363 "State-of the-art report on High Strength Concrete"

Procs., ACI Journal, Vol. 81, No.4, July-Aug 1984
2. Hwees, Y.S. and Rangan, B.V. "Studies on commercial high strength
concretes" ACI Materials Journal, Vol. 87, No.5, Sep-Oct 1990, pp 440-
445
3. Jiafen, 1. "High Strength concrete in China", Concrete International, Vol.
15, No.1, January 1993, pp 43-45
4. Teychenne, D.C, Nicholls, J.C., Franklin, R.E. and Hobbs, D.W. "Design
of Normal Concrete Mixes" , Building Research establishment, Dept. of
Environment, London, HMSO, 1988
5. ACI Committee 211.1-81, Standard practice for selecting proportions for
normal, heavyweight, and mass concrete, No.390, April 1982
6. Malier, Y.(Editor), "High Performance Concrete from material to
structure" E & FN Spon, London, 1992, 542 pages
7. BS 12 : 1978 Ordinary and Rapid-hardening Portland cement, British
Standards Institution, London

7/8
8. Shah, S.P. and Ahmad, S.H. (Editors) "High performance concretes and
applications" Edward Arnorld, London, 1994, 403 pages
9. Aitcin, P.C. and Mehta, P.K. "Effect of coarse aggregate type or
mechanical properties of high strength concrete" ACI Materials Journal,
Vol. 87, No.2, 1990, pp 103-107
10. Giaccio, G., Rocco, C, Violini, J., Zappitelli, J. and Zerbino, R. "High-
strength concretes incorporating different coarse aggregates" ACI
Material Journal, Vol. 89, No.3, May-June 1993, pp 242-246
11. Neville, A.M. and Brooks, J.J. "Concrete Technology" Longmans, Essex,
1987,438 pages
12. Mendis, P. (Editor) "High Performance Concrete- Technology, Design and
Applications", Proceedings of a Seminar held by Dept. of Civil & Env.
Engineering, University of Melbourne, February 1994.
13. Taylor, M.R., Lydon, F.D. and Barr, B.I.G. "Mix proportions for high
strength concrete" Construction and Building Materials, Vol. 10, No.6,
1996, pp 445-450 .
14. BS 882 : 1983 Specifications for aggregates from natural sources for
concrete, British Standards Institution, London.
15. BS 5075 : Part 1: 1982 Specifications for accelerating, retarding and water
reducing admixtures, British Standards Institution, London

Table 1 - Typical High Strength Mixes Used in Other Countries8,12

Mix No 1 2 3 4 5
Cement kg/m" 451 505 500 513 475
Water kg/m'' 165 195 135 130 151
Fly ash kg/m'' - 60 - - 104
Silica fume kg/m'' - - 30 43 74
Coarse Agg. kg/m" 1030 1030 1100 1080 1068
Fine Agg. kg/m'' 745 630 700 685 593
water reducer ml.zrn" - 0.98 - - -
Superplasticizer UmJ 11.25 - 14 15.7 16.45

W/Cementitious ratio 0.37 0.35 0.27 0.25 0.23

fc at 28 days Nzmm" 80 65 93 119 107
fc at 91 days Nzmm" 87 79 107 145 119
Mix 1- Joigny Bridge, France (1989)
Mix 2 - Water Tower Place, Chicago (1975)
Mix 3 - La Laurentiennne Building, Montreal (1984)
Mix 4 - Two Union Square, Seatle (1988)
Mix 5- HSC mix reported in Ref.8

7/9
Table 2. Mix Proportions for Grade 40 & Grade 50 Concrete (DoE Method4)

Cement type:- OPC; Coarse Agg.:- Crushed aggregate(20 mm)

Grade 40 Grade 50
Target strength Nzmm" 53 63
W/C ratio 0.45 0.40
Slump expected mm 10-30 30-60 10-30 30-60
Water kg/m'' 170 190 170 190
Cement kg/m'' 377 422 425 475
Wet density assumed kg/m ' 2425 2400 2425 2400
Fine agg. /Total agg. content 0.42 0.45 0.42 0.45
Coarse agg. (20mm) kg/m'' 1167 983 1060 955
Fine aggregates kg/rrr' 845 805 768 780

Table 3 : Sieve Analysis of Aggregates Used in the Study

Sieve Size Percentage by mass passing the sieve

(mm) Coarse aggregate River sand Quarry dust
(20 mm)
37.5 100 - -
20.0 96 - -
14.0 63 - -
10.0 38 100 -
5.0 03 96 97
2.36 0 79 90
1.18 - 60 73
0.6 - 41 56
0.3 - 24 38
0.15 - 6 14
Fineness Modulus - 2.94 2.30

7/10
 Mix Grade Target Basis of mix Cement Water Coarse Fine agg. Admixture W/C Measured 7 day cube 28 day cube
No. strength proportions agg.. (Reobuild ratio slump strength strength
(Nzmm'') kg/m" kg/m'' kg/m3 kg/m'' 1000) mm N/mm2 N/mm2
Per 100 kg
1 40 53 DoE method 452 203 1035 690 - 0.45 15 37.3 50.7
(Grade 40)
2 40
. 53 -do- 452 203 1035 690 (20% - 0.45 zero 33.5 44.6
quarry dust)
3 40 53 -do- 452 190 1035 690 - 0.42 zero 46.4 56.4

4 40 53 -do- 452 190 1035 690 - 0.42 zero 39.3 55.7

(14 mm)
5 40 53 -do- 452 190 1035 690 (quarry 1.0 L 0.42 160 46.9 60.0
dust)
6 50 63 DoE Method 512 210 975 650 - 0.41 10mm 43.8 55.7
(Grade 50)
7 50 63 -do- 475 166 1080 675 0.9L 0.35 zero 52.5 64.3

8 50 63 -do- 475 166 1080 675 1.2 L 0.35 110 54.0 57.8

9 50 63 -do- 475 180 1080 675 1.0 L 0.38 150 49.9 58.1

10 - fc=66 Ref. 8 558 195 1100 550 - 0.35 zero 45.5 69.8
(56 days)
11 - fc=119 Ref. 12 550 155 1080 685 - 0.28 zero 58.7 65.5

12 - fc=99 Ref. 12 450 127 1100 815 1.2 L 0.28 zero (very 66.7 66.9
dry mix)

Table 4: Mix Proportions and Test Results of Trial Mixes

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