EFFICIENCY FACTOR FOR SILICA FUME & METAKAOLINE AT

VARIOUS REPLACEMENT LEVELS

R. Malathy*, Kongu Engineering College, India
K. Subramanian, CIT, Coimbatore, India
32nd Conference on OUR WORLD IN CONCRETE & STRUCTURES: 28 - 29 August 2007,
Singapore

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32nd Conference on OUR WORLD IN CONCRETE & STRUCTURES: 28 29 August 2007, Singapore

EFFICIENCY FACTOR FOR SILICA FUME & METAKAOLINE AT

VARIOUS REPLACEMENT LEVELS
R. Malathy*, Kongu Engineering College, India
K. Subramanian, CIT, Coimbatore, India

Abstract
The mineral admixtures are generally industrial by products and their use can
provide a major economic and environmental benefit. The combined use of
chemical and mineral admixtures can help to develop high performance concrete
(HPC). Use of chemical admixtures reduces the water content, thereby reducing the
porosity within the hydrated cement paste. The effectiveness of chemical admixtures
such as super plasticizers depends on the cement chemistry, fineness and ambient
temperature. Mineral admixtures act as pozzolanic materials as well as fine fillers;
thereby the microstructure of hardened cement matrix becomes denser and
stronger. Also the concrete with mineral admixtures provides lower permeability
reduced heat of hydration, reduced alkali-aggregate reaction, higher strength and
resistance to Chemical attack. However, the effect of these mineral admixtures (MA)
and chemical admixtures (CA) on the performance of concrete depends upon their
properties. Hence it is necessary to know the effectiveness of different admixtures
towards the development of strength and also their optimum replacement.
To produce HPC, there are many types of mineral admixtures used to improve its
strength and performance. Among the various mineral admixtures, the contribution
of each MA towards the improvement of strength of concrete is different for their
different replacement levels. Hence this research is to find the efficiency factor for
different mineral admixtures like silica fume (SF) and metakaoline (MK) with different
replacement levels so that according to the target strength, the corresponding MA
can be replaced to get HPC using Bolomey equation was used.
So far, the cement is replaced with the same percentage by weight of MA
without considering their specific gravity and efficiency. But the efficiency of MA like
silica fume and metakaoline are more than that of cement. That is equivalent weight
of cement for 1 kg of SF and MK is more than 2 kg. Hence if the efficiency of MAis
considered, the reduction of equivalent cement content will be more and hence the
economical mix proportion can be achieved. This paper presents an efficiency factor
for silica fume and metakaoline at 7 days and 28 days at different replacement levels
Keywords: High performance concrete, efficiency factor, silica fume, metakoline

1. INTRODUCTION
The mineral admixtures are generally industrial by products and their use can provide a major
economic and environmental benefit. Thus the combined use of chemical and mineral admixtures
can help to develop high performance concrete with high durability. While designing mixture
proportion for the high performance concrete for the required strength, it is necessary to know the
efficiency of the mineral admixture used at its different replacement level and at different ages. When
the efficiency factor is known then the cement content can be reduced according to the equivalent
cement content of each mineral admixture. Therefore, it is necessary to know the effectiveness of
different admixtures towards the development of strength and also their optimum replacement. The
paper presents the mix design procedure for HPC by considering efficiency factor of silica fume,
metakaoline and fly ash at different replacement levels and at different ages.
2. BACKGROUND
The efficiency of a pozzolan is generally defined in terms of the strength characteristics with the
control concrete as the reference. However, knowing the improvement in durability due to the addition
of pozzolanas, it is well recognized that other characteristics like durability factors can also be used
for such an evaluation, though the exact methodology of the durability test has to be clearly defined.
But it is accepted that, in general, the strength of the concrete is a reasonable indicator of the
1
durability for at least the well-designed concretes. Smith (1967) proposed a factor known as the
cementing efficiency k such that a mass f of fly ash would be equivalent to a mass kf of cement in
terms of strength development. He found that the strength and workability of the fly ash concrete with
effective w/b ratio [w/(c+kf)], is comparable to that of the conventional concrete without fly ash having
same water content and w/b ratio. Based on his experimental results, the value of the cementing
efficiency factor k was reported to be 0.25 up to 25% fly ash as MA. The effectiveness of
superplasticizer (SP) depends on the dosage used, ambient temperature, cement chemistry, fineness
and other characteristics of the binder. When the water content decreased in a concrete mix for a
given w/c ratio, correspondingly the cement content decreases but at the same time the amount of SP
needed to achieve the desired workability increases. Thus the saving in the cost of cement can
2
compensate for the extra cost of SP (Rougeron and Aitcin (1990)) . Hence it is necessary to obtain
optimum dosage of superplasticizer to achieve the required workability.A recent study on concretes
containing different cements and fly ashes (fly ash contents up to 28% and with water cement ratios
varying between 0.5 and 0.65) has shown that a value of 0.5 is more appropriate for the efficiency
3
factor (Schiessl and Hardti (1991)) . They pointed out some variation in efficiency factor with
precentage replacement and age. One important contribution of this work was that it defined explicitly
the consequent reduction in water cementitious materials ratio of fly ash concrete as compared to the
water cement ratio of the reference concrete.
4

The CEB-FIP model code (1994) proposed an efficiency value as 0.4 for replacement levels
5
between 15% and 40% fly ash. Munday et al (1983) observed that this method based on efficiency
was insensitive to the type of cement, curing conditions etc., and hence not suitable for rich mixes.
6
Ganesh Babu and Siva Nageswara Rao (1993) reported that the contribution of the fly ash is not a
constant determined solely by its physical and chemical characteristics but also varies depending on
7
the type of cement, w/c ratio etc. Siva Nageswara Rao (1996) proposed two efficiency factors, first,
a general efficiency factor and the second factor, corresponds to the percentage replacement. If the
efficiency factor is known, the strength of MA mixes can be determined by modifying the Bolomey
8
(1927) equation as
S= A1 [c/w] + A2

for no MA Mix

(2.1)

S = A1([c+kf)/w] + A2

for MA Mix

(2.2)
3

Where S is the compressive strength in MPa, c is the cement content in kg/m , f is the MA content in
3
kg/m , k is the efficiency factor and A1, A2 are arbitrary constants. These arbitrary constants are
reported to be influenced by type, size and grading of aggregate, type of cement, period of curing etc
9
(Gilkey (1961)) . Hence, it is necessary to obtain strength to effective w/b ratio relationship for a given
10
set of materials and for the same workability. Babu et al (2000) proposed a method to assess the
efficiency of the pozzolanas under various conditions at the different percentages of replacement.
Also a new method suggested for the proportioning of concretes with pozzolanas using those
11
efficiency factors. Bharatkumar et al (2001) proposed a mix proportioning method to obtain strength
to effective w/b ratio relationship for a given set of materials and for the same workability. When MA is
used, its effect on the strength of concrete varies significantly depending on the properties of MA and
12
with the characteristics of concrete mixture. Bhanja and Sengupta (2002)
developed a

mathematical model to predict a 28 day compressive strength of silica fume for w/c = 0.3 to 0.42 with
5% to 30% silica fume. They obtained the 28 day strength ratio between silica fume and control
concrete as
2

fSF / fc = 1.0063 + 0.0159 (SF%) + 0.0007 (SF%) - 0.00003 (SF%)

(2.3)

13

Papadakis et al (2002) proposed a faster procedure for experimental determination of the k value
using the concept of pozzolanic activity index.
14
Aitcin (1998) proposed a very simple method which can be used for both air entrained and non-air
entrained high performance concrete. The procedure involves the following steps: water binder ratio
(from the graph), water content (from table depending upon the saturation point of superplasticizer),
superplasticizer dosage (assume 1% if saturation point is not known), coarse aggregate content as a
function of its shape and entrapped air content (assumed value).
15
Francois de Larrard and Thierry Sedran (2002) proposed a mix proportioning for high performance
concrete considering packing density and segregation ability of dry packing particles. They focused on
the properties of fresh concrete and the mechanical properties of hardened concrete using a model of
aggregate particles surrounded by a cement-based matrix. The practical example is also presented,
dealing with the design of special HPC for pavement application.
3. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE
The aim of this research is to find out efficiency of silica fume and metakaoline so as to develop a mix
design procedure by considering the efficiency factor for silica fume and metakaoline, with different
replacement levels at 7 days and 28 days. Hence, according to the target strength, the corresponding
quantity of mineral admixture can be replaced for cement to get HPC, if the efficiency factor for
mineral admixtures is known.

4. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMME
4.1 Materials
Cement
Ordinary Portland cement of 43 grade conforming to IS: 8112 1989 and similar to ASTM type III
(C150 95) was used for the present experimental investigation. Its specific gravity is 3.15. The
cement was tested as per the procedure given in IS: 4031 and IS: 4032.
Fine aggregate
Natural river sand with fraction passing through 4.75 mm sieve and retained on 600 m sieve was
used and tested as per IS: 2386. The fineness modulus of sand used is 2.81 with a specific gravity of
2.65.
Coarse aggregate
Crushed granite coarse aggregates of particle shape average and cubic was used for the present
investigation. The coarse aggregates were tested as per the procedure given in IS: 2386. The
fineness modulus of coarse aggregate is 7.6 and the specific gravity is 2.65.
Water
Potable tap water available in the laboratory with pH value of 7.01 and confirming to the
requirements of IS: 456 - 2000 was used for mixing concrete and curing the specimens as well.
Silica Fume
Silica fume is a by - product resulting from the reduction of high purity quartz with coal in electric arc
furnaces in the manufacture of silicon and ferrosilicon alloys. The fume has a high content of
amorphous silicon dioxide from the gases escaping from the furnace. Its physical properties and
chemical properties are shown in Table 1
Metakaoline
High reactivity metakaoline, which is manufactured by the high temperature treatment of specially
selected kaolin under controlled conditions. It is mineral admixture, having good pozzolanic
properties. It reacts with free lime produced during the hydration of cement to form additional
cementitious products. Its physical and chemical properties given by the manufacturer are shown in
Table 2.
Superplasticizer
In this investigation, superplasticizer Conplast SP 430, based on sulphonated naphthalene polymers,
complies with IS 9103- 1999, BS: 5075 part 3 and ASTM C 494, Type F was used. Some of the
properties of the superplasticizer, as given by the manufacturer, were given in Table 3.

4.2 Mix proportioning

The ACI method was adopted for obtaining reference concrete mix proportion having a slump of 2550 mm with water cement ratio (w/c) = 0.4. The water content for reference mix was found to be 196
3
kg/m . To obtain the operating water content, the mix proportions for various water contents (190-150
3
kg/m ) were established by keeping the fine aggregate and w/c ratio same. Mix proportions for two
extreme w/b ratios (0.40 and 0.30) with and without MA were obtained by keeping the operating water
and coarse aggregate content constant and test specimens were cast. The fine aggregate content
was adjusted to obtain the same total volume of concrete per unit mass by considering the low
specific gravity of MA. A tilting drum type mixer machine was used for preparing the concrete. The
following sequence of mixing was arrived at based on a few trials. Fifty percent of total quantity of
water was added first, and then coarse aggregate, sand and cementitious material was added. The
remaining water was added in steps with SP. Slump test measurements were carried out on fresh
concrete to evaluate its workability. Slight variation in SP dosage was effected to account for changes
in ambient temperature and humidity during the mixing and casting. To validate the proposed method,
specimens were also cast having w/b = 0.35 with and without MA. The concrete mix proportion and
the fresh concrete properties are given in Table 4.
4.3 Preparation and testing of test specimens
All the test specimens such as standard 150 mm cubes and cylinders of 150 mm diameter and 300
mm height were cast using steel moulds and care was taken to see that the moulds were filled with
concrete in three equal layers and were compacted well using a table vibrator. The specimens were
demoulded after 24 hours and cured in water. The mechanical properties of hardened concrete, such
as compressive strength and split tensile strength were evaluated in accordance with IS: 516 -1959.
5 ANALYSIS OF TEST RESULTS
5.1 Optimum dosage of superplasticizer and Operating water Content
With the use of superplasticizer, the water content in a mix could be reduced which in turn reduces
the cement content. The extent of reduction in water content depends on various factors. To study
the effectiveness of SP, Marsh cone test was conducted and the optimum dosage of SP for cement
and MA was found to be 1.8% by weight of binders. As per Bharatkumar et al (2001), the operating
3
water content fixed as 170 kg/m , the optimum dosage of SP obtained was 0.6% by weight of binder.
5.2 Evaluation of efficiency factor of mineral admixtures
The results of the compressive strengths of concrete mixtures with mineral admixtures at various
replacement levels at 7 and 28 days are given in Table 5. Based on the compressive strength results
of various mixes without any MA having w/c ratio of 0.30 and 0.40, the constants in Bolomey equation
(Eq. 2) were evaluated by linear regression. It was seen that the constant A1, which is slope of the
compressive strength vs c/w plot (Eq. 5.1)) was almost the same at different ages ( 20) in the range
of c/w ratios considered. However, the constant A2, which is the intercept appears to vary quite
considerably with age ( 6.17 and 3.83) at 7 and 28 days respectively.
These relationships were used to obtain the efficiency factor k for cement replacement materials as:
S = A1 (c+kf)/ w + A2

(1)

k = (1/f) {-c + w [S-A2] / A1}

(2)

where
k = Efficiency factor
S = Compressive strength
3
c = Weight of cement in kg/m
3
w = Weight of water in kg/m
3
f = Weight of mineral admixture in kg/m
A1 and A2 are constants
Value of k was obtained from the strength results for w/b ratio of 0.30 and 0.40 for MA at different
replacement levels and at 7 & 28 days. It was seen that the curing period and the percentage
replacement influences the efficiency factor. The variation in the value of k is assumed to be constant
for the range of w/b investigated (0.30-0.40). The average values of efficiency factor obtained from
the strength values for 0.30 and 0.40 w/b ratios are given in Table 6.

The efficiency factor for fly ash showed increasing trend as the curing period was increased
indicating slower pozzolanic reaction at early age. Thus, it is essential that the concrete containing fly
ash requires prolonged curing. Fly ash mixes showed decreasing trend as the replacement level was
increased, whereas, silica fume and metakaolin mixes showed increasing trend as the replacement
level was increased with age. The efficiency factor for silica fume and metakaoline mixes was greater
at 28 days than that at 7 days shown in Fig.1. When comparing the efficiency factors of silica fume
and metakaolin at different replacement levels, the efficiency factor for silica fume was greater than
that of metakaoline in both 7 and 28 days. But for both the admixtures, the efficiency factor was
greater than 1 at 7 days and greater than 2 at 28 days.
The compressive strengths predicted using Eq. 2 for w/b of 0.35 was found to be within 8% of
experimental results (Table 7). Thus, the constants A1and A2 and efficiency factors (for each
replacement level) could be obtained from the compressive strength values for the two extreme w/b
ratios, could be used for arriving at mix proportion for any strength in between, with slight adjustment
in fine aggregate and binder content without changing coarse aggregate and operating water content.
Figs. 2 &3 showed the comparison between predicted and experimental values for silica fume,
metakaolin and fly ash concretes and the maximum variation was found to be 8% among those
three concretes.
6. CONCLUSIONS

The proposed method of mix proportioning combined the use of super plasticizer and cement
replacing material for obtaining economical HPC mix. Since the efficiency of mineral admixtures
are considered the corresponding cement content is reduced and hence energy savings,
industrial waste management can be achieved.
Since the quantity of binders is optimized, the cracks, shrinkage and other draw backs due to
more finers can be avoided.
The efficiency factor for silica fume and metakaoline replaced concrete mixes show increasing
trend as the replacement level is increased up to 10% , whereas, fly ash mixes show decreasing
trend.
The combinations of MA will improve not only strength, also workability and durability of concrete.
There was an increase in total binder content as the effective w/b ratio decreases. However, as
the MA content increases, the cement required per unit strength reduces. Thus, it is possible to
effectively utilise the cement by adopting the lower effective w/b ratio with higher MA content.
Predicted values of the compressive strength for intermediate w/b ratio compared well with the
experimental results ( 4 to 8 %) obtained in the present investigation.
Efficiency factor for silica fume and metakaolin concrete with all replacement levels is greater than
1 at 7 days itself whereas efficiency factor for fly ash is less than 1 even at 28 days at all
replacement levels.

REFERENCES
1. SMITH, I. A. (1967): The design of fly ash concretes, Proc. Inst. Civil Eng. London, Vol. 36,
pp.769-90.
2. ROUGERON, P., AITCIN, P.C. (1990): Optimisation of the composition of a high performance
concrete, Cement Concrete Aggregates, Vol.16, No.2, pp.115-24.
3. SCHIESSL, HARDTLI (1991): Efficiency of flyash in concrete-evaluaiton of ibac test results,
Technical Report of Institute fur Bauforsching, RWTH, Aachen, pp. 1-31.
4. CEB-FIP (1994): Application of high performance concrete, Report of CEB-FIP working group on
HS/HPC, pp.69.
5. MUNDAY J. G. L., ONG, L. T., DHIR, R. K. (1983): Mix proportioning of concrete with PFA:
Critical review. Fly ash, Silica fume, Slag and other Mineral By-Products in Concrete, SP-79, ACI,
Detroit, 1983, Vol. I, pp.267-288.
6. GANESH BABU, K. AND SIVA NAGESWARA RAO, G. (1993): Efficiency of fly ash in concrete,
Cement Concrete Composites, Vol.15, pp.223-229.
7. SIVA NAGESWARA RAO, G. (1996): Effective utilisation of flyash in concrete for aggressive
environment, Ph.D. Thesis , IIT, Madras, 1996.
8. BOLOMEY, J. (1927). durecissenment des Mortiers ets Benton, Tech Suisse Romande Nos, 16
:22/24.
9. GILKEY, H. J. (1961): Water-cement ratio vs. strength-another look, ACI. J. Proc. 1961, Vol.57,
No.10, pp.1287-312.

10. BABU. K. G., RAO. G. S. N. AND PRAKASH. P. V. S. (2000): Efficiency of Pozzolans in cement
composites, Concrete 2000. Edited by R.K.Dhir and Roderick Jones, Published by E&FN Spon,
IBN041,9181202, pp.497-507.
11. BHARATKUMAR,
B.H.,
NARAYANAN,
R.,
RAGHUPRASAD,
B.K.
AND
RAMACHANDRAMURTHY, D.S. (2001): Mix proportioning of High Performance Concrete, Cement
and Concrete Research, Vol. 23, pp.71-80.
12. BHANJA. S. AND SENGUPTA, B. (2002): Investigation on the composite structure of silica fume
concrete using statistical methods, Cement and Concrete Research, Vol.32, pp.1391-1394.
13. PAPADAKIS, V. G. ET. AL. (2002): Supplementary cementing materials in concrete Part II: A
fundamental estimation of the efficiency factor, Cement and Concrete Research, Vol.32, pp.15331538.
14. AITCIN, P.-C. (1998). High Performance Concrete, E & FN spon, An Imprint of Routledge London
and New York.
15. FRANCOIS DE LARRARD AND THIERRY SEDRAN (2002). Mixture Proportioning of High
Performance Concrete, Cement and Concrete Research, Vol.32, pp.1699-1704.

Table 1 properties of silica fume

Test particulars

Results obtained

Bulk density D
(kg/m3)
Bulk density U
(kg/m3)
Specific gravity
Specific surface
area(m2/gm)

600-700 (when
packed)

Requirements
(ASTM-1240)
500-700

200-350 (when
packed)
2.2

-2.1-2.3

20.9

15.30

Test particulars
Average particle size, ( m)
Residue 325 Mesh (% max)
B.E.T Surface Area (m2/gm)
Pozzolan Reactivity
(mg Ca(OH)2 / gm)
Specific Gravity
Bulk Density (kg/m3)
Brightness
Physical form

Results obtained
1.5
0.5
15
1050
2..5
300 30
80 2
Off-white Powder

Table 2 Properties of metakaoline

Chemical
component
SiO2
Al2O3
Fe2O3
MgO
CaO
Na2O
K 2O
C
S
Loss of ignition
(C +S)

% by
weight
90-96
05-0.8
0.2-0.8
0.5-1.5
0.1-0.5
0.2-0.7
0.4-1.0
0.5-1.4
0.1-0.4
0.7-2.5

Requirements
(ASTM
1240)
85 min
2.5 max
6 max

Chemical
compound
SiO2 + Al2O3 + Fe2O3
CaO
MgO
TiO2
Na2O
K2O
Li2O
L.O.I

Table 3 Properties of Super plasticizer (Conplast 430)

% by
weight
96.88%
0.39%
0.08%
1.35%
0.56%
0.06%
Nil
0.68%

Properties
Type
Specific gravity
Chloride content
Recommended dosage
Approximate additional air entrainment
Solids content
Compatibility
Workability

Results obtained
Sulphonated naphthalene formaldehyde condensate
1.220 to 1.225 at 30 C
Nil as per IS : 456 and BS: 5075
0.6- 1.5 litres per 100 kg of cement
1% at normal dosages
40%
All types of cement except high alumina cement
Produce high workable flowing concrete mix with out
segregation and requires no compaction
Minimizing segregation and improving surface finish
Early strength up to 40 to 50 %
Increase in density and impermeability

Cohesion
Compressive strength
Durability

Table 4 Mix proportions and fresh concrete properties.

a) For w/b = 0.3

Mix designation
3

Cement (kg/m )
3
Silica Fume(kg/ m )
3
Metakaoline(kg/ m )
3
Fine aggregate (kg/m )
SP (Conplast 430) % by
weight of binder
Slump (mm)

b) For w/b = 0.35

Mix designation

567
--724

SF
2.5
553
14
-718

SF
5
539
28
-713

SF
7.5
525
42
-709

SF
10
510
57
-703

MK2
.5
553
-14
719

MK
5
539
-28
718

MK
7.5
525
-42
715

MK
10
510
-57
711

FA
10
510
--696

FA
20
453
--669

0.5

0.6

0.6

0.6

0.6

0.6

0.6

0.6

0.6

0.6

0.6

25

30

35

40

30

25

30

35

35

45

50

NC

486
--752

SF
2.5
474
12
-747

SF
5
462
24
-743

SF
7.5
450
36
-739

SF
10
438
48
-734

MK
2.5
474
-12
749

MK
5
462
-24
746

MK
7.5
450
-36
744

MK
10
438
-48
741

FA
10
438
--728

FA
20
390
--705

0.50

0.6

0.60

0.60

0.60

0.60

0.60

0.60

0.65

0.60

0.60

25

30

35

35

35

30

35

40

40

45

50

SF
SF
SF
SF
MK
MK
MK
MK
FA
2.5
5
7.5
10
2.5
5
7.5
10
10
3
Cement (kg/m )
425 414 403 392 382 412
403
392
381
382
3
Silica Fume(kg/ m )
-11
22
33
43
-----3
Metakaolin(kg/ m )
-----11
22
33
43
-3
Fine aggregate kg/m )
804 802 796 792 788 803
799
797
794
783
SP(Conplast 430) % by
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.50
0.60
0.60 0.60 0.60 0.60 0.60
weight of binder
0
0
0
Slump (mm)
25
30
35
35
35
30
35
40
40
45
3
3
Note: Coarse aggregate content is 992 kg/m and water content is 170 kg/m for all mixes

FA
20
339
--761

Cement (kg/m )
3
Silica fume (kg/ m )
3
Metakaoline(kg/ m )
3
Fine aggregate kg/m )
SP (Conplast 430) % by
weight of binder
Slump (mm)

c) For w/b = 0.4

Mix designation

NC

NC

0.60
50

Table 5
a) Compressive strength of concrete mixture with and without mineral admixture
and with w/b ratio of 0.3.
Age

Compressive strength (MPa)

(days)

SF

SF

SF

SF

MK

MK

MK

MK

NC

2.50%

5%

7.50%

10%

2.50%

5%

7.50%

10%

60.26

62

65.56

68.44

72.67

60.89

63.56

66

63.6

28

70.26

75.28

75.56

78.67

82.76

71.56

73.6

76.15

80.3

b) Compressive strength of concrete mixture with and without mineral admixture

and with w/b ratio of 0.4.
Age
Compressive Strength (MPa)

in
days

SF

SF

SF

SF

MK

MK

MK

MK

NC

2.50%

5%

7.50%

10%

2.50%

5%

7.50%

10%

44

44.76

47.77

49.88

53.88

44.59

46.27

48.56

50.22

28

54

55.22

58

60.78

64.78

54.37

56.6

58.6

59.98

Table 7 Efficiency factor (k) at 7 days and 28 days for mineral admixtures.
Efficiency factor for mineral admixtures
Silica fume
5%
7.50%

10%

2.50%

1.81

2.56

2.61

2.84

2.15

2.61

2.75

2.93

Age
(days)

2.50%

7
28

Metakaoline
5%
7.50%

10%

1.4

1.95

2.18

2.24

1.52

2.02

2.2

2.27

Table 8 Experimental and predicted compressive strength results for w/b = 0.35
Age
days
7

28

SF

SF

SF

SF

MK

MK

MK

MK

NC

2.50%

5%

7.50%

10%

2.50%

5%

7.50%

10%

51.78

54

56

57.89

62.89

52.59

55

56.2

58.89

51

52.15

55.41

57.8

61.61

51.57

53.7

56

58.17

59.78

63.22

65.56

69.78

72.78

62

64.33

65.2

67.56

60.97

62.63

65.55

68.42

72.13

61.74

63.9

66.1

68.36

Note: Values given in bold italic numbers are predicted based on Eq. 1

3
7days

28days

2
1.5
1
0.5
0
SF2.5

SF5

SF7.5

SF10

MK2.5

MK5

MK7.5

MK10

Percentage of admixtures

Fig. 1 Comparison of efficiency factor for different replacement

levels of SF &MK at 7 and 28 days
80
NC
SF 2.5%
SF 5%
SF 7.5%
SF 10%

Experimental Values

75
70

Linear (+5% VARIAT ION)

Linear (-5% VARIAT ION)

65
60
55
50
45
45

50

55

60

65

70

75

Predicted Values

Fig. 2Experimental values and predicted values for HPC with silica fume

80
NC
MK2.5%
MK5%
MK7.5%
MK10%
Linear (+4% variation)
Linear (-4% variation)

75
Experimental Values

Efficiency factor

2.5

70
65
60
55
50
45
45

50

55

60

65

70

75

Predicted Values

Fig. 3 Experimental values and predicted values for HPC with metakaoline