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Study of Reactive Powder Concrete and its Characteristics

Article · January 2016

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 IJSTE - International Journal of Science Technology & Engineering | Volume 2 | Issue 07 | January 2016
ISSN (online): 2349-784X

Study of Reactive Powder Concrete and its

Characteristics
Mohammed Bandukwala H.G.Sonkusare
M. Tech. Student Assistant Professor
GHRCE, Nagpur GHRCE, Nagpur

Abstract
Reactive powder concrete (RPC) is the cement based material which is one of the type of ultra-high performance concrete or we
can say that it is an ultra-high strength concrete with an excellent durability. Reactive powder concrete is a new member in
concrete family developed in 1990‘s with high ductility composite material and possess superior mechanical property. In this
experimental investigation we study the functioning of Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC) with different curing techniques,
normal water curing of 25oC and accelerated steam curing at 90 oC due to its different material properties and configuration and
also comparison of compressive strength between them. Elements of Reactive Powder Concrete used in this investigation are
Cement (ordinary Portland cement), crushed Quartz sand of 100 – 200 mesh and 250 mesh, fine sand , micro silica , steel fibers ,
aggregate (8mm) , admixture , pure water. Mix proportion in this paper is based on trial and error method and as according to
the chemical composition of ingredients. Compressive strength of reactive powder concrete goes up to 45-80 MPA in the present
investigation.
Keywords: Reactive Powder Concrete, Durability, Ductility, Ultra-High Strength
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I. INTRODUCTION
Reactive powder concrete is an ultrahigh strength concrete and generally strength is greater than 50 MPA, generally it is sad that
concrete strength over 42 MPA is high strength concrete. Basically material is a cement based which has an advance mechanical
property and it also has an improved physical property due to which it has high durability, it is one of type of ultra-high
performance concrete. Generally Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC) is a light weight concrete so the dead load of the structure
also reduces while applying RPC on the structure. Generally it is sad that concrete with higher compressive strength had also a
poor ductility due to cement based material but due admixture in the RPC not reduces the quality of ductility of the concrete. It
also has low porosity and have a quality to show compressive strength from 50MPA-250MPA. Reactive Powder Concrete is
composed of very fine powder material not more than 800 µm materials are cement (OPC), crushed quartz sand and micro silica
or we can also called as silica fume. Cement content of Reactive Powder Concrete goes from 750-1000 kg/m3 higher cement
content increases production cost and also cause shrinkage problem, replacing cement with mineral admixture is one of the
solution of this type of problem. Reactive powder concrete is relatively a new concrete in concrete family and the basic principal
due to which RPC is developed is explained by Richard1 and Cheyrezy1
We can also say that Reactive Powder Concrete is not a concrete because there is no coarse aggregate inside the concrete it is
one of the type of grout of high compressive strength that’s why it is also used for non-structural component or for repair work.
The main purpose of the present investigation is to compare the compressive strength between the different types of mixes and
between different curing types and condition.

Material Property
Table – 1
Material Property
O.P.C 53 GRADE
Cementicious Material Used as binder
S.G = 3.15
Quartz sand Max size 90µm Sp.gravity= 2.59
Silica fume Max size 90µm Sp.gravity= 2.25
Sand Max size 600µm Sp.gravity = 2.63
Coarse Aggregate Max size 8mm Sp.gravity = 2.77
Super plasticizer P.C based In required amount
Steel fiber L=35 mm , D=0.60mm Sp.gravity=2.8

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 Study of Reactive Powder Concrete and its Characteristics
(IJSTE/ Volume 2 / Issue 07 / 018)

II. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

In this study compressive strength of three different types of mixes i.e. Plain Reactive Powder Concrete, Original Reactive
Powder Concrete and Modified Reactive Powder Concrete are compared with each other and strengths are tested at 7 days
normal curing and 48 hours 90 oC accelerated curing.

Casting
Study on Ordinary Portland Cement, reactive mineral such as silica fume and admixture are done which has a good compatibility
with cement. Quartz sand with fine particle size 0.074-0.149mm and 0.058mm are used. Super plasticizer if it is in liquid form
than it is added with water and then with concrete. Steel fiber is crimped typed with a higher Aspect ratio, it is added because it
has high compressive and flexural strength. Size of the specimen is 70x70x70mm respectively. Cubes are casted according to
table 2
Table - 2
Casting
Composition of the mixture
1 Plain RPC
2 Original RPC
3 Modified RPC
Plain Reactive Powder Concrete is casted using the following material in table 3
Table - 3
Plain Reactive Powder Concrete
Materials Weight (kg/m3 )
Cement 775
Quartz sand 310
Sand 860
Silica fume 200
Steel fiber 165
Super plasticizer 30lit/m3
W/C 0.23
Original Reactive Powder Concrete is casted using the following material table 4
Table – 4
Original Reactive Powder Concrete
Materials Weight (kg/m3 )
Cement 935
Quartz sand 1040
Silica fume 235
Super plasticizer 30 lit/m3
W/C 0.28
Modified Reactive Powder Concrete is casted by replacing sand by coarse aggregate up to 40% using the following material in
table 5
Table – 5
Modified Reactive Powder Concrete
Materials Weight (kg/m3 )
Cement 935
Quartz sand 620
Coarse Aggregate 415
Silica fume 235
Super plasticizer 30 lit/m3
W/C 0.26

Test
Compressive strength of the following cube specimen where tested at an age of 7 days. Compressive strength due to normal
water curing of each specimen.
Table – 6
Test
Type Number of Specimen Compressive Strength (7days) MPA
PRPC 3 57
ORPC 3 52
MRPC 3 50
Compressive strength due to Accelerated curing at 48 hours 90 oC of each specimen.
Table – 7

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 Study of Reactive Powder Concrete and its Characteristics
(IJSTE/ Volume 2 / Issue 07 / 018)

Compressive strength
Type Number of Specimen Compressive Strength (MPA)
PRPC 3 78
ORPC 3 63
MRPC 3 67

Fig. 1: Comparison of Compressive strength

III. RESULT
After the comparison between all types of mixes at different curing condition it is found that accelerated curing is more effective
than normal water curing and it provide greater compressive strength as compared to normal water curing.

IV. CONCLUSION
 Over all Plain Reactive Powder Concrete gives the highest compressive strength as compared to ORPC and MRPC because
it includes steel fiber also.
 MRPC which includes coarse aggregate of size 8mm gives higher strength than ORPC.
 Accelerated curing is better than normal curing because it requires less time and gives higher strength also.
 Reactive Powder Concrete can be used at that place where application of normal concrete is not possible.
 It can be generally used as a repair material and also in the earth quake prone areas structures.

REFERENCES
[1] T.Sujatha & D.Basanthi, “Modified Reactive Powder Concrete”, IJEAR Vol. 4, Issue Spl-2, ISSN: 2348-0033, Jan - June 2014.
[2] M K Maroliya, “A State of Art- On development Of Reactive Powder Concrete”, International journal of innovative research and development, ISSN: 2278
– 0211, Vol 1 Issue 8 October 2012.
[3] N. Roux, C. Andrade, and M. A. Sanjuan, “EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF DURABILITY OF REACTIVE POWDER CONCRETE”, Journal of Materials
in Civil Engineering, Vol. 8, No. I, February, 1996, ASCE, ISSN 0899-1561/96/0001-0001-0006.
[4] Annamaria Gisario, Alberto Boschetto and Francesco Veniali, “Hole Damage in Drilling of Reactive Powder Concrete” Journal of Materials in Civil
Engineering, Vol. 23, No. 12, December 1, 2011, ASCE, ISSN 0899 1561/2011/12-1579–1588.
[5] Richard P, Cheyrezy M H,“RPC with high ductility and compressive strengths of 200Mpa order”.
[6] M.S.Shetty,"Concrete Technology".
[7] Indian Standard Code: IS10262:2009

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