Effect of curing conditions on mechanical properties of reactive powder concrete with different dosage of quartz powder

Abstract

Reactive powder concrete (RPC) is a new generation construction material which comprises of cement, silica fume, quartz powder and silica sand with very low water–binder ratio. Elimination of coarse aggregate makes RPC a dense mix and hence ultra-high strengths have been achieved. Reactive powder concrete has applications in the field of construction of special structures such as nuclear power plants, thermal power stations, exterior walls for radiation shielding and in precast industries. However, in the present scenario, standard guidelines are not available for production, i.e. mix design and curing, of RPC. In the present investigation, RPC is produced with the content of silica fume as 15% and water-to-binder ratio of 0.2. The dosage of superplasticizer and quartz powder is varied in definitive range. Various mix designs were prepared to cast cubes, cylinders and beam specimens. The mechanical properties, i.e. compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexure strength, are investigated under different curing conditions as normal curing and steam curing. The results indicated that the mechanical properties increased considerably due to steam curing compared to normal curing. The increment of dosage of quartz powder increased the compressive strength and the maximum strength of 172 N/mm2 is achieved.