Title:
Approach to the Proportioning of High-Strength Concrete Mixes
Author(s):
P. L. J. Domone and M. N. Soutsos
Publication:
Concrete International
Volume:
16
Issue:
10
Appears on pages(s):
26-31
Keywords:
aggregates; compressive strength; high-strength concrete; microsilica; mix proportioning; slump; superplasticizer; Materials Research
DOI:
Date:
10/1/1994
Abstract:
An experimental investigation has demonstrated that a volumetric approach to the proportioning of high-strength concrete mixes is of value. The voids' content of aggregate mixtures was measured, and the amount of low water-cement ratio (0.23 to 0.38) portland cement paste to give adequate workability determined. The paste content was expressed as overfill, i.e., the volume over and above that required to just fill the voids in the fully compacted aggregate system. Initial mixes used coarse and fine aggregates combined to give minimum voids (i.e., maximum density), but the minimum cement contents for a given slump were obtained with reduced fine aggregate. These optimum fine aggregate content mixes also gave higher strength. The optimum proportioning procedure and strength measurements were repeated for mixes with up to 15 percent of the portland cement replaced by microsilica.