Mechanical Properties and Durability of Plain and Blended Cement Concrete
Alhassan, A. Yunusa1 & Yunus Ballim2
1Department of Civil Engineering, Federal Polytechnic Idah, Nigeria
2School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Corresponding Author: Alhassan, A. Yunusa
ABSTRACT
The durability performance of Reinforced Concrete (RC) is influenced by those physical and chemical characteristics of concrete that control the diffusion of gases and liquids through its pores and ions dissolved in the pore water. In the present paper, properties of concrete made with plain and blended cement were characterized in terms of physical and chemical composition at early-age. In addition, the effects of inland exposure condition on the durability performance of the concrete were also investigated. Concrete cubes were made using various concrete mixtures of water-binder ratios (w/b) = 0.40, 0.50, 0.60, 0.75 and binder contents = 300, 350, 400, 450 kg/m3. Concrete cube of 100 mm size were cast and cured in water for 3, 7, or 28 days, then characterized at early-ages in terms of its physical and chemical properties. Companion concrete samples are exposed indoors or outdoors to undergo carbonation under natural environment. At the end of the varying exposure period, the concrete cube samples were characterized at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months in terms of carbonation depths. The results of the concrete early-age properties and medium-term durability characterisation were analyzed. The results show that, increased knowledge of concrete materials and concrete early-age properties is vital in durability considerations for RC structures.
Keywords: Reinforced concrete; Concrete durability; Pore structure; Pozzolans; Portland blended cement.
