Title: A New Mixture Proportioning Method for Performance- Based Concrete

Author(s): K. Bharadwaj, O. B. Isgor, W. J. Weiss, K. S. T. Chopperla, A. Choudhary, G. D. Vasudevan, D. Glosser, J. H. Ideker, and D. Trejo

Publication: Materials Journal

Volume: 119

Issue: 2

Appears on pages(s): 207-220

Keywords: durability; mixture proportioning; supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs); thermodynamic modeling

DOI: 10.14359/51734301

Date: 3/1/2022

Abstract:
A new mixture proportioning method is developed for performance-based concrete with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). The method is based on the thermodynamic calculations of the properties for concrete and identifying the mixtures that satisfy a predefined set of performance criteria. This new approach considers the chemical composition and reactivity of SCMs while proportioning concrete mixtures. Performance criteria examples are shown for a bridge deck (corrosion and freezing-and-thawing damage), an unreinforced pavement (salt damage), and a foundation (moderate sulfate and alkali-aggregate reaction). The method is used to proportion concrete mixtures satisfying these three performance criteria using four ashes per mixture. Experiments show that these mixtures met the targets. The proposed approach can proportion mixtures that are optimized for predefined performance using a wide range of SCMs, which can be useful in reducing the cost and carbon footprint of concrete.