Development of High Strength Concrete with Locally Available Materials

Abstract

Recent developments in concrete technology, especially during the last decade have made it possible to produce the High Strength Concrete (HSC) on commercial scale. The advantages of using high strength concrete are numerous, as it can economize variety of construction works such as long span bridges, off-shore structures and high rise buildings. The concrete mixtures contain high cement contents, low water cement ratio, high quality aggregates and several admixtures (such as a super plasticizer and Pozzolan). When properly mixed, consolidated and cured, such mixtures give high strength, durability and excellent performance. For this research 25 mix designs were prepared to study the effect of addition of silica fume ranging from 5 to 25 percentages with varying water to cementitious ratio i.e. from 0.18 to 0.26. The aggregate from Kiriana hills (Sargodha) and sand from Lawrancepur was used in the experimental work. The strength development results are analyzed and an optimum percentage of 15 per cent silica fume is recommended for the economy of HSC.