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On the compressive strength development of high-performance concrete and paste—effect of silica fume

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Abstract

The compressive strength development of sealed high-performance concrete and paste specimens, with and without silica fume, have been studied from 1 day and up to 4 years. The paste and concrete specimens were prepared in such a way that segregation was avoided and the silica fume became well dispersed. Under these conditions silica fume increased the strength of paste just as much as it increased the strength of concrete. It appears that the enhancing effect of silica fume on concrete strength is due to an improved strength of the paste phase as a whole, and not due to an improved bond strength between the paste phase and the aggregate particles, as has been suggested earlier. The concretes and the pastes with 10% silica fume appeared to loose strength over a period of time before the strength increased again.

Résumé

La résistance en compression des pâtes et des bétons à hautes performances, avec ou sans fumée de silice, a été étudiée sur une durée de un jour à quatre ans. Les deux types d'échantillons ont été préparés selon les mêmes principes: minimisation des effets de ségrégation et répartition la plus homogène possible de la fumée de silice. Dans ces conditions, la résistance de la pâte est autant améliorée que celle du béton par l'ajout de fumée de silice. II semble que l'effet de la fumée de silice sur la résistance en compression du béton ne soit pas uniquement dû au renforcement de la liaison pâte-granulat, comme le suggèrent les publications antérieures, mais également à l'amélioration de la résistance de la pâte seule. Par ailleurs, la résistance des pâtes et des bétons contenant dix pour cent de fumée de silice semble diminuer pendant un laps de temps avant d'augmenter de nouveau.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. R&D Dept., Norcem A.S., N-3950, Brevik, Norway

    K. O. Kjellsen

  2. The Icelandic Building Research Institute, IS-112, Reykjavik, Iceland

    O. H. Wallevik

  3. Department of Structural Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology, S-100 44, Stockholm, Sweden

    M. Hallgren

Authors
  1. K. O. Kjellsen
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  2. O. H. Wallevik
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  3. M. Hallgren
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Kjellsen, K.O., Wallevik, O.H. & Hallgren, M. On the compressive strength development of high-performance concrete and paste—effect of silica fume. Mat. Struct. 32, 63–69 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02480414

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