Abstract
An analytical model was developed to describe the influence of silica fume on the mechanical behavior of ultra-high-performance concrete. The model defines a single parameter, , which estimates the thickness of paste surrounding all inert, unhydrated cement, and unreacted silica fume particles. The model considers adjustments for partially hydrated cement and partially reacted silica fume to model more accurately the total surface area in the system. The adjustments made for partial hydration and reaction enable the model to be applied to both water-starved and water-saturated mixtures. The compressive strengths of 82 UHPC mixtures containing eight different sources of silica fume were compared with model results, and results suggested that increasing paste thickness led to a decrease in the measured compressive strength.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge Ashley Harmon for assistance with specific surface area measurements for silica fume, Monica Ramsey for assistance with Blaine fineness testing of other materials, and Norman Burgos for help with sample preparation. The work described herein was funded under the US Army Basic Research Program under PE 61102, Project T22, Task 02, Material Modeling for Force Protection, and was managed and executed at the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center. Permission to publish was granted by the Director, Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 33 • Issue 3 • March 2021
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 11, 2020
Accepted: Jul 23, 2020
Published online: Dec 30, 2020
Published in print: Mar 1, 2021
Discussion open until: May 30, 2021
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