Recap

• Concrete Ingredients
• Portland Cement
• Aggregates
• Fresh Concrete Properties
• Admixtures

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 Concrete Components
Air Admixtures
Portland Cement Accelerators
Set Retarders
Water reducers
Water

Mineral Admixtures
Sand Fly ash
Silica Fume
Aggregates Rice Husk
Gravel Other Pozzolona

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 Coming Up Next
• Mineral Admixtures/Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCM)

4
 Supplementary Cementitious Material (SCM)
• A material, when used in combination with Portland cement,
contributes to the properties of concrete through hydraulic or
pozzolanic activity or both

• Fly ash
• Silica fume
• Slag cement
• Natural Pozzolans
• Calcined Shale
• Metakaolin
• Calcined clays

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Supplementary Cementitious Material (SCM)
• Supplementary cementing materials are added to concrete as part
of the total cementing system. They may be used in addition to or
as a partial replacement of Portland cement or blended cement in
concrete, depending on the properties of the materials and the
desired effect on concrete.
• Many of these materials are byproducts of other industrial
processes. Their use is desirable not only for their sustainability,
given the environmental and energy conservation; but also for the
performance benefits they provide to concrete.

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Supplementary Cementitious Material (SCM)
• Supplementary cementitious materials may be used to improve a
particular concrete property, such as controlling heat of hydration
in mass concrete or resistance to alkalisilica reactivity.
• The quantity used is dependent on the properties of the materials
and the desired effect on concrete performance.
• The appropriate amount to use should be based on field
performance or established by testing to determine the correct
dosage rate and to verify whether the material is indeed
improving the property.

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 Pozzolanic Reaction: Effect 1
• A hydraulic material reacts chemically with water to form
cementitious compounds. Gel
C3S + H → CSH + CH
C2S + H → CSH + CH

• Calcium hydroxide (CH) has little or no cementitious properties

and contributes little to the strength of the hydrated material. It is
often considered to be a weak link in concrete as it is easily
leached by water and attacked by chemical agents.

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 Pozzolanic Reaction: Effect 1
• A pozzolan is a siliceous or aluminosiliceous material that, in
finely divided form and in the presence of moisture, chemically
reacts with the calcium hydroxide to form calcium silicate hydrate
and other cementitious compounds.
CH + S + Water → CSH

• Refinement of porosity
• Densification of cement-aggregate interface
• Enhancement to mechanical properties and durability

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 Pozzolanic Reaction: Effect 2
• Physical Filler Effect
• In addition to the benefits of the pozzolanic reaction, mineral additions
with adequate particle size distribution can lead to a physical filler effect
(reduction of porosity between cement grains)

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Supplementary Cementitious Material (SCM)
• Fly ash
• Silica fume
• Slag
• Natural Pozzolans
• Calcined Shale
• Metakaolin
• Calcined clays

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SCMs: Fly ash

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 Fly Ash
• Fly ash is the most widely used SCM in concrete
• It is a by-product of coal burning power plants
• It is a finely divided residue (a powder resembling cement) that
results from the combustion of pulverized coal in electric power
generating plants. Upon ignition in the furnace, most of the
volatile matter and carbon in the coal are burned off.

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 Fly Ash
• During combustion, the coal's mineral impurities (such as clay,
feldspar, quartz, and shale) fuse in suspension and are carried
away from the combustion chamber by the exhaust gases.

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 Fly Ash
• In the process, the fused material cools and solidifies into
spherical glassy particles called fly ash. The fly ash is then
collected from the exhaust gases by electro-static precipitators or
bag filters, as a finely divided powder

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 Classification of Fly Ash
• ASTM C618: 2 classes of fly ash
• Class F fly ash
• Class C fly ash

Class F fly ash Class C Fly ash

Produced from burning bituminous Produced from burning sub-bituminous coal
coal
Low calcium fly ash High calcium fly ash
SiO2 + Al2O3 + Fe2O3 > 70% SiO2 + Al2O3 + Fe2O3 > 50%
Pozzolanic properties Pozzolanic and cementitious properties

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 Physical Properties of Fly Ash
• Most fly ash particles are generally
fine solid spheres
• It is generally tan or grey in colour.
• The particle sizes in fly ash vary from
less than 1 µm to more than 100 µm
with the typical particle size
measuring under 20 µm. The surface
area is typically 300 to 500 m2 /kg.

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 Chemical Properties of Fly Ash
• Fly ash is primarily silicate glass containing silica, alumina, iron,
and calcium.
• The chemical composition of fly ash depends on the source of the
coal. Because of the variety of coal types mined, the composition
of fly ash covers a very wide range.
• The performance of fly ash in concrete is strongly influenced by its
chemical composition and fly ash from different sources can
behave very differently.

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 Filler effect of fly ash
• Fly ash has a filler effect less effective than silica fume

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 Hydration Products of Cementing Binders

• Through pozzolanic activity, fly ash combines with free lime to produce similar
cementitious compounds (CSH) to those formed by the hydration of Portland
cement
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 Pozzolanic Activity of Fly ash
• Pozzolanic activity of a fly ash depends on its mineralogy,
chemical composition and fineness
• Finer fly ash has higher pozzolanic activity
• Pozzolanic activity is determined in terms of a compressive
strength index
• Specification: 7 and 28 days compressive strength of mortar in
which 20% by mass of cement is replaced by fly ash, should be at
least 75% of that of an equivalent mortar made with pure Portland
cement

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SCMs: Silica fume

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 Silica Fume
• Silica fume, also referred as microsilica or condensed silica fume, is
a by-product material in the manufacture of silicon
• Silica fume rises as an oxidized vapor from the 2000°C furnaces.
When it cools it condenses and is collected in huge cloth bags.
The condensed silica fume is then processed to remove impurities
and to control particle size.

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 Silica Fume
• Condensed silica fume is essentially silicon dioxide (usually more
than 85%) in noncrystalline (amorphorous) form.
• Since it is an airborne material like fly ash, it has a spherical shape.
• It is extremely fine with particles less than 1 µm in diameter and
with an average diameter of about 0.1 µm, about 100 times smaller
than average cement particles.
• Silica fume is sold in powder form but is more commonly available
in a liquid.

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 Silica Fume
• Silica fume is typically used in amounts between 5% and 10% by
mass of the total cementitious material. It is used in applications
where a high degree of impermeability is needed and also in
high-strength concrete.

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 Physical Properties of Silica Fume
• Silica fume is composed of very tiny spherical amorphous (non-
crystalline) particles. It is extremely fine with particles less than 1
µm in diameter and with an average diameter of about 0.1 µm,
about 100 times smaller than average cement particles

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 Physical Properties of Silica Fume
• Condensed silica fume has a surface Cement and silica fume at
area of about 20,000 m2/kg same magnification
• For comparison, tobacco smoke’s
surface area is about 10,000 m2/kg.
• Type I and Type III cements typically
have surface areas of about
300-400 m2/kg and 500-600 m2/kg,
respectively.

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 Physical Properties of Silica Fume
• The color of silica fume is gray. Specially processed white silica
fume is available when color is an important consideration.
• Silica fume is sold more commonly in powder form but is also
available internationally as a slurry

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 Chemical Properties of Silica Fume
• Silica fume is predominantly composed of silicon dioxide, SiO2, in
non-crystalline, glassy (amorphous) form.
• When produced during the manufacture of silicon metal, the silica
content is usually above 90% by mass and may even be as high as
99%.

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Comparison of Silica Fume

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SCMs: Slag cement

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 Slag Cement
• Ground granulated blast furnace slag, also called slag cement, is
made from iron blast-furnace slag
• It is a non-metallic hydraulic cement consisting essentially of
silicates and aluminosilicates of calcium developed in a molten
condition simultaneously with iron in a blast furnace.
• The molten slag at a temperature of about 1500°C is rapidly
cooled by quenching in water to form a glassy sand like
granulated material.

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 Physical Properties of Slag Cement
• The granulated slag has rough
and angular-shaped particles
• It is ground to produce slag
cement, a fine powder
material of approximately the
same or greater fineness than
Portland cement.

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 Physical Properties of Slag Cement
• The granulated material, which ground
to <45 microns, has a surface area
fineness of about 400-600 m2/kg.
• The appearance of the finished
product resembles white cement.

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 Chemical Properties of Slag Cement
• The chemical composition of slag cement depends mainly on the
composition of the charge to the blast furnace
• In the presence of water and an activator (CaOH or NaOH
supplied by Portland cement), slag cement hydrates and sets in a
manner similar to Portland cement.
• Slag cement will hydrate and set in the absence of an activator,
but the process is very slow.

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SCMs: Natural pozzolans

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 Natural Pozzolans
• Natural pozzolans have been used for centuries. Many of the
Roman, Greek, Indian, and Egyptian pozzolan concrete structures
can still be seen today.
• Name originates from the town of Pozzuoli near Naples in Italy.
• The most common natural pozzolans used today are process
materials, which are heat treated in a kiln and then ground to a
finer powder, they include:
• Calcined clay
• Calcined shale
• Metakaolin
• Less common natural pozzolans include rice husk ash (RHA) and
volcanic ashes.

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 Natural Pozzolans
• Metakaolin is a dehydroxylated form of the clay mineral kaolinite.
Stone that are rich in kaolinite are known as china clay or kaolin,
traditionally used in the manufacture of porcelain.
• The particle size of metakaolin is smaller than cement particles,
but not as fine as silica fume

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Effects of SCMs on
Freshly Mixed Concrete

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 Water Demand
• Of all the different SCMs, fly ash (Class C and F) has the most
beneficial effect on water demand.
• Concrete mixtures containing fly ash generally require less water
(about 1% to 10% less at normal dosages) for a given slump than
concrete containing only Portland cement.
• Higher dosages can result in greater water reduction

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 Water Demand
• The use of slag cement also typically results in a reduction in the
water demand of concrete although the impact is dependent on
the slag fineness and is less marked than with fly ash.
• In general, water demand for a given slump in concrete mixtures
with slag cement will be 3-5% lower than ordinary Portland
cement concrete.

• The water demand of concrete containing silica fume increases

with higher amounts of silica fume. Some mixtures may not
experience an increase in water demand when only a small
amount (less than 5%) of silica fume is present.

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 Water Demand
• Calcined clays and calcined shales generally have little effect on
water demand at normal dosages; however, other natural
pozzolans can significantly increase or decrease water demand.
• The use of finely ground calcined clay, such as metakaolin, may
lead to an increased water demand, especially when used at
higher dosages.
• The increased requirement for water can be offset by the use of
water-reducing chemical admixtures.

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The Impact of SCM Characteristics on the Fresh Properties of Concrete

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 Workability
• Generally, the use of fly ash, slag cement, and calcined clay and
shale increase workability. This means that for a given slump,
concrete containing these materials are generally easier to place,
consolidate, and finish.
• Mixes that contain high dosages of supplementary cementitious
materials, especially silica fume, can increase the “stickiness” of a
concrete mixture.
• Adjustments, such as the use of high-range water reducers, may be
required to maintain workability and permit proper compaction and
finishing.

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 Workability
• The use of SCMs generally aids the pumpability of concrete.

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The Impact of SCM Characteristics on the Fresh Properties of Concrete

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 Bleeding and Segregation
• In general, the finer the supplementary cementing material, the
lower the bleed rate and bleeding capacity.
• Increasing the SCM content will also typically lower bleeding.
• Concretes using fly ash generally exhibit less bleeding and
segregation than plain concretes. This effect makes the use of fly
ash particularly valuable in concrete mixtures made with
aggregates that are deficient in fines.
• The reduction in bleed water is primarily due to the reduced water
demand of mortars and concretes using fly ash

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Bleeding and Segregation

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 Bleeding and Segregation
• The effect of slag cement on bleeding and segregation is
generally dependent on its fineness.
• Slag cements ground finer than portland cement tend to reduce
bleeding.
• The incorporation of silica fume in concrete has a very profound
effect on bleeding. Concrete mixtures containing normal levels of
silica fume (5% to 10%) and water-to cementitious materials ratios
below 0.50 may not bleed.
• Because of this, special attention needs to be paid to placing,
finishing, and curing operations when using silica fume.

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 Bleeding and Segregation
• Calcined clays and calcined shales have little effect on bleeding.
The effect will depend on fineness and level of replacement.
• For instance a very finely ground calcined clay such as metakaolin
will reduce bleeding

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The Impact of SCM Characteristics on the Fresh Properties of Concrete

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 Setting Time
• The use of SCMs will generally retard the setting time of concrete
• The extent of set retardation depends on many factors including
the fineness and composition of the SCM and the level of
replacement used, amount and composition of the Portland
cement or blended cement, water-to-cementitious materials ratio
(w/cm), and temperature of the concrete.
• Set retardation is an advantage during hot weather, allowing more
time to place and finish the concrete.

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 Setting Time
• However, during cold weather, pronounced retardation can occur
with some materials, significantly delaying finishing operations.
• Accelerating admixtures can be used to decrease the setting time.
• Lower-calcium Class F fly ashes, slag cement, and most natural
pozzolans tend to delay the time of setting of concrete. At normal
laboratory temperatures the extent of the retardation is generally
in the range of 15 minutes to one hour for initial set and 30
minutes to two hours for final set.

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 Setting Time
• Silica fume is generally used at relatively low replacement levels
and has little significant impact on the setting behavior of
concrete.
• Likewise, metakaolin and calcined shale and clay have little effect
on setting time unless used at high dosage replacement rates for
portland cement.

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The Impact of SCM Characteristics on the Fresh Properties of Concrete

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 Heat of Hydration
• The majority of supplementary cementing materials (fly ash,
natural pozzolans, and slag cement) typically have a lower heat of
hydration than portland cement.
• Consequently their use will reduce the amount of heat built up
during hydration in a concrete structure. Supplementary
cementitious materials are often used purposely to reduce the
heat energy of mass concrete
• When Class F fly ash is used in cementitious systems, the
contribution to the heat of hydration by the fly ash is
approximately 50% of that of portland cement. This value is an
accepted approximation
 Heat of Hydration
• Class C fly ash is less commonly used in mass concrete because its
heat of hydration is higher than that of Class F.
• The heat of hydration of Class C fly ash depends on the CaO
content.
• For low-CaO Class C fly ashes, the heat of hydration may be similar to that
of Class F fly ash.
• However, for higher-CaO Class C fly ashes, the heat of hydration may be
similar to that of cement.
 Heat of Hydration
• When used in sufficient quantities, slag cement reduces the
temperature rise of concrete. The amount of reduction is based on
the proportion of slag in the concrete.
 Heat of Hydration
• Silica fume typically contributes a heat of hydration that is equal to
or somewhat greater than that of Portland cement depending on
the dosage level.
• Unless specific testing is done to determine the heat of hydration
of a specific mix design, an acceptable approximation is that the
contribution to the heat of hydration of the cementitious system
by silica fume is 100% to 120% that of Portland cement
• However, for a given strength, use of silica fume typically reduces
total cementitious materials content which results in a lower heat
of hydration
 Heat of Hydration
• Calcined clay imparts a heat of hydration similar to moderate heat
cement.
• However, metakaolin has a heat of hydration equal to or
somewhat greater than that of portland cement.
• A good estimate is that the heat of hydration of metakaolin is
100% to 125% that of portland cement
The Impact of SCM Characteristics on the Fresh Properties of Concrete

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Effects of SCMs on
Hardened Concrete

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 Strength
• The extent to which strength development of concrete is
influenced by supplementary cementitious materials will depend
on many factors such as:
• composition and amount of SCM,
• cement chemistry (particularly its alkali content),
• mixture proportions of the concrete and
• temperature conditions during placement and curing.
 Strength
• In general, supplementary cementing materials (fly ash, slag
cement, silica fume, calcined shale, and calcined clay (including
metakaolin)) all contribute to the long-term strength gain of
concrete.
• Concretes made with certain highly reactive fly ashes (especially
high-calcium Class C ashes) or slag cements can equal or exceed
the control strength in 1 to 28 days.
• Some fly ashes and natural pozzolans require 28 to 90 days to
exceed control strength, depending on the mixture proportions
and curing conditions.
• Tensile, flexural, torsion, and bond strength are affected in the
same manner as compressive strength.
Strength
Strength
 Strength
• Because of its increased reactivity and cementitious behavior, Class
C fly ash makes a greater contribution to early age concrete
strength than Class F fly ash.
• Class C fly ash generally achieves the same or similar strength as
the control after 3 to 7 days assuming comparable ambient
temperature.
• Slag cement at a 35% replacement can reach the same strength as
a mixture without SCM after around 7 days assuming comparable
total cementitious material contents, w/cm, and ambient
placement and curing temperature.
 Strength
• Because of its fine particle size, high surface area, and highly
amorphous nature, silica fume reacts very rapidly in concrete and
its contribution to strength is seen very early on.
• Between 3 and 28 days, the silica fume concrete invariably shows
superior strength gain compared with the control, assuming
comparable ambient placement and curing temperatures.
• Silica fume also aids in increasing the early strength gain of fly
ash-cement concretes.
• Other very fine, highly reactive pozzolans, such as metakaolin,
might be expected to show similar behavior.
 Strength
• Effect of Silica Fume on Strength
 Strength
• Supplementary cementitious materials are often used in the
production of high-strength concrete.
• Fly ash has been used in production of concrete with strengths up
to 100MPa (15,000 psi).
• With silica fume, ready mix producers now have the ability to
make concrete with strengths up to 140 MPa (20,000 psi), when
used with high-range water reducers and appropriate aggregates
Strength
 Permeability
• With appropriate design of the concrete mixture, control of w/cm,
and adequate curing; fly ash, slag cement, and natural pozzolans
generally reduce the permeability of concrete.
• Silica fume and metakaolin are especially effective in this regard.
Permeability
Permeability
 Corrosion Resistance
• When concrete is properly cured, SCMs can help reduce
reinforcing steel corrosion by reducing the permeability of
concrete to water, air, and chloride ions.
• Concrete with fly ash shows a slight improvement in the reduction
to chloride ion ingress for concrete at an early age, but improves
over time, reaching very low values at one year.
• Concrete with slag cement and some other pozzolans generally
exhibits similar behavior.
 Corrosion Resistance
• The incorporation of silica fume can have a dramatic effect,
producing concrete with very low chloride penetrability after just
28 days or so. Only very small improvements at later ages are
observed.
• Concrete with metakaolin behaves in a similar manner to silica
fume.
• Concrete containing silica fume or metakaolin is often used in
overlays and full-depth slab placements on bridges and parking
garages. These structures are particularly vulnerable to corrosion
due to chloride-ion ingress.
Corrosion Resistance
 Alkali-Silica Reactivity (ASR)
• Alkali-silica reactivity (ASR) can be controlled through the use of
SCMs.
• Supplementary cementitious materials provide additional CSH to
chemically tie up the alkalies in concrete and reduce its permeability.
• The calcium content of the fly ash is an indicator of how the material
behaves with regard to controlling ASR.
• Low-calcium fly ash (Class F) is clearly the best at controlling ASR.
• The efficiency of fly ash in this role decreases as the calcium oxide
content increases above about 20% CaO.
• At optimum dosage, Class C ashes can also reduce reactivity but to a
lesser degree than most Class F ashes.
Alkali-Silica Reactivity (ASR)
 Alkali-Silica Reactivity (ASR)
• ASR expansion decreases with use of slag cement.
• The effect of silica fume on ASR resistance appears strongly
dependent on the alkali available in the concrete system.
• Metakaolin is also a highly reactive pozzolan and is nearly as
effective on ASR resistance as silica fume – requiring a typical
replacement level of somewhere between 10 to 15% to control
expansion under these test conditions.
Alkali-Silica Reactivity (ASR)
Alkali-Silica Reactivity (ASR)
 Sulfate Resistance
• With proper proportioning and material selection, most
supplementary cementing materials can improve the resistance of
concrete to sulfate or seawater attack.
• This is done primarily by reducing permeability and by reducing
the amount of reactive elements needed for expansive sulfate
reactions.
• Concretes with Class F ashes are generally more sulfate resistant
than those made with Class C ashes.
• Slag cement and calcined clay are generally considered beneficial
in sulfate environments.
• Silica fume has been shown to provide sulfate resistance
equivalent to slag and fly ash.
Sulfate Resistance
 Freeze-Thaw Resistance
• As discussed previously, the freeze-thaw resistance of concrete is
dependent on the air void system of the paste, the strength of the
concrete, the water-to-cementitious materials ratio, and the
quality of aggregate relative to its freeze-thaw resistance.
• These properties in general are not influenced by SCMs with the
exception of surface scaling.
Freeze-Thaw Resistance
 Chemical Resistance
• Supplementary cementitious materials often reduce chemical
attack by reducing the permeability of concrete.
• Although many of these materials may improve chemical
resistance, they do not make concrete immune to chemical attack.
• Concrete in severe chemical exposure may need additional
protection using barrier systems.