Mechanical properties of lime powder blended cementitious composites

Abstract

Cementitious composites are well known for its reasonable strength and high ductility. The recent trends were in developing High Performance Cementitious Composites (HPC) which possesses better strength and durability properties. For achieving high performance, it consumes more cement and the water-binder ratio will be considerably low. That is, only a part of the total cement content will be taking part in hydration and the remaining will be acting as fillers in the mixes. This study aimed to reduce the cost of the mix by replacing this filler part of the cement by locally available lime powder without compromising its strength. Also, accelerated curing such as steam curing is required for the achievement of high strength at the early stages. In this study, normal water curing was adopted to mimic the actual site conditions. The base mix of the composite was developed by replacing 30% of the cement with lime powder. The mix was then reinforced with 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2% crimped fibres by volume. Strength characteristics were studied along with the resistance to damage under low velocity impact test. It was observed that, under the normal water curing, strength development was at low rate and the 28 day strength was considerably less. Addition of fibres helped in improving strength and the better results were shown by the mix reinforced with 2% steel fibres by volume.