REACTIVE POWDER CONCRETE

25th APRIL 2012

PRESENTED BY-: MOHIT KUMAR (1DS08CV061)

GUIDED BY-: K.V.MAHESH CHANDRA

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION COMPOSITION MICROSTRUCTURE OF RPC DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HPC AND RPC PROPERTIES OF RPC MIXING AND PLACING OF RPC

BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS OF RPC

APPLICATIONS OF RPC CONCLUSION REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION

Concrete is the most popular engineering material and its structure has become more complex in recent years. Use of addictives have grown considerably. Even then its brittle nature and weak in tension characteristics have prevented full utilization of its properties. Need for a new material for superior performance and better tension resistance.

EVOLUTION OF CONCRETE OVER YEARS

IDEA BEHIND RPC

At strengths above 150 MPa coarse aggregate form the weakest link in concrete. The only way to increase strength further is to remove coarse aggregates. This is the concept of RPC and was first developed by P. Richard and M. Cheyrezy. RPC was first produced in the early 1990s by researchers at Bouygues laboratory in France.

RPC is a high strength ductile material formulated from a special combination of constituents..

COMPOSITION OF RPC
COMPONENTS CEMENT SAND SELECTION PARAMETERS GRADE 55 COST AND AVAILABILITY FINENESS PURITY ASPECT RATIO PARTICLE SIZE 1-100 MICRONS 150-600 MICRONS 5-25 MICRONS 0.1-1 MICRONS L=13-25 mm DIA=.15-.25mm TYPES OPC MEDIUM FINENESS NATURAL CRUSHED CRYSTALLINE HIGHLY REFINED STRAIGHT

QUARTZ POWDER SILICA FUMES STEEL FIBERS

SUPERPLASTICIZER

LESS RETARDING

POLYACRYLATE BASED

Water-Cement Ratio varies between 0.13-0.22.

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COMPONENTS
CEMENT SAND QUARTZ POWDER SILICA FUMES STEEL FIBERS SUPERPLASTICISER

FUNCTION PARAMETERS
BINDING PROPERTY GIVES STRENGTH TO AGGREGATE MAXIMUM REACTIVITY DURING HEAT TREATING VOID FILLING AND ENHANCES RHEOLOGY IMPROVES DUCTILITY REDUCES WATER-CEMENT RATIO

MICROSTRUCTURE OF RPC

Powder quartz looks like tiny embedded grains. No portlandite and silica crystals. Very compact zone along the fibers. Microcracks in the vicinity of sand crystals.

Xray tomogram of RPC core

MICROSTRUCTURE OF RPC

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RPC AND HPC

RPC Strength greater than 90MPa . No reinforcement required. Steam curing necessary for gaining strength. Costly and used for very high quality costruction.

HPC Strength between 60-90MPa.

Reinforcement is required.
Stream curing not necessary. Relatively cheaper. More microcracks.

Less number of microcracks.

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PROPERTIES OF RPC

1. COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH :-Very high compressive strength of 200MPa(depending on steel %). -Way greater than HPC.

-Known to have achieved strength

in tune of 800MPa!!

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2. FLEXURAL STRENGTH :-Ability of the material to resist deformation under load. -The flexural strength of RPC is about 15000psi (100MPa) at first cracking is higher than ultimate flexural strength of normal concrete. -By increasing steel fibers percentage even higher flexural strength is possible. .

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3.RESISTANCE TO CHLORIDE ON PENETRATION:It is resistant to chloride attack due to absence of pore structures. Resistance increase with increase in curing temperature.

4.HOMOGENEITY:- It has very high homogeneity as all the coarse aggregate is eliminated. - Maximum size of dry aggregate used is 600m.

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5.TENSILE STRENGTH:. It has a high tensile strength of 20-50MPa which is twice as strong as normal concrete in compression. Tensile Strength of 6-13MPa after first cracking.

6.YOUNGS MODULUS:The youngs modulus of RPC varies from 50-75 GPa.

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7.DURABILITY:Great durability and water permeability decreases with age. Nearly impermeable and high resistance to acid attack due disconnected pore structure.

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8.LIGHTWEIGHT:- RPC is very lightweight due to absence of heavier coarse aggregates.

9.COMPACTNESS:-As the aggregates are blended and proportioned to an adequate size distribution RPC has a high density . -Pressure is applied before and during the curing process to ease greater compactness resulting in greater strength.

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MIXING AND PLACING OF RPC

Mixing and placing of RPC similar to normal concrete. Trial mixture approach is suitable for proportioning.

Low water-cement ratio with high cement content still workable.

Transit and central mixers are used. Batching and sequencing mixes for optimum mix. Delays in mixing and placing should be eliminated. Self placing requires no vibration.

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MIXING AND PLACING OF RPC

Hobart Mixing Machine for RPC

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TYPICAL COMPOSITION OF RPC 200

MATERIAL AND SPECIFICATION PORTLAND CEMENT(TYPE 5) FINE SAND SILICA FUME(150-400 micron) GROUND QUARTZ SUPERPLASTICIZERS STEEL FIBRES

QUANTITY 955 kg/m 229kg/m 10kg/m 13kg/m

3 3 3 3

1051kg/m

191kg/m

TOTAL WATER
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH FLEXURAL STRENGTH

153kg/m

170-230 MPa 24-60 MPa

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CURING OF RPC

Curing is very important.

Wet curing at 200C is done for a 24 hours. Microstructure enhancement takes place in heat curing. Heat curing is done by heating the concrete at 90 C for 6 hours after wet curing. Pressure heating can also be used by heating at 1600 C with pressure.
o

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QUALITY CONTROL OF RPC

Comprehensive quality control is required both at concrete plant and site.

Routine sampling and testing.

Strict vigilance in all aspects of production. Coefficient of variance should be low and proper testing.

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BENEFITS OF RPC

Has the potential to compete with steel .

Superior strength with greater shear capacity.

Less dead load on the structure and improved seismic performance. Greater durability decreases maintenance costs. Diminishes mass transfer and negligible penetration of gases. Can be used to make thin structures without compromising on strength. Less shrinkage and creep.

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LIMITATIONS OF RPC

Least costly components of concrete are replaced by expensive components . It is becomes expensive if the amount of steel added is above 2.5%. Its long term properties are not known yet. Stiffer paste results in difficulty in finishing. No standard codes are available.

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APPLICATIONS OF RPC

High structural strength with low structural weight suggests it is a good material for greater spans and earthquake resistant buildings. First RPC bridge Sherbrooke Bridge in Canada with strength around 230 MPa has prompted RPC bridge building in North America.

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APPLICATIONS OF RPC

CONTAINMENT OF NUCLEAR WASTE:a) Due to its penetration resistance it is used for isolation and containment of nuclear waste b) It is also used for blocking and stabilization of such wastes as well as storage.

(In picture Yucca

Mountain Nuclear Waste

Project,Carlifornia)

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APPLICATIONS OF RPC

Basically structures needing thin and light materials such as roof of stadiums,long span bridges or extra security..RPC can be used

Concrete repair works.

Highway barrier construction. Retrofitting works. Construction of prestressed structures. For seawall anchors,powerplants and blast resistant buildings. Aesthetic appearance.

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SOME MORE APPLICATIONS

Seawalls in Portugal

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SOME MORE APPLICATIONS

Quinghai-Tibet Railway Bridge,China

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SOME MORE APPLICATIONS

Shawnessy Light Rail Transit Station,Canada

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SOME MORE APPLICATIONS

Repair and Retrofitting works

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CONCLUSIONS

Despite its potential it has not received wide attention in India.

It is in practice in Europe,Canada,Korea,Australia etc..

Utilisation of RPC is minimal in India mainly due to unavailability of experimental data. Booming infrastructure in India demands new technologies like RPC. It provides ultra high strength and durability and should be able to meet present as well as future demands. Further research and study needs to be conducted in this area.

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REFERENCES

1. Richard P, and Cheyrezy M, Composition of Reactive Powder Concrete, Cement and Concrete Research, Vol. 25, No.7, (1995), pp. 1501 1511. 2. Aitcin P.C, Cements of yesterday and today Concrete of tomorrow, Cement and Concrete Research, Vol. 30, (2000), pp 1349 - 1359. 3. Blais P. Y, and Couture M, Precast, Prestressed Pedestrian Bridge - Worlds first reactive powder concrete structure, PCI Journal, Vol. 44, (1999), pp. 60 - 71. 4. Dauriac C, Special Concrete may give steel stiff competition, Building with Concrete, The Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce, May 9, 1997. 5. Goltermann P, Johansen V, and Palbol L, Packing of Aggregates: An Alternative Tool to Determine the Optimal Aggregate Mix, ACI Materials Journal, Sep-Oct. 1997, pp. 435 443. 6. Reactive Powder Concrete, The Indian Concrete Journal , September (2007), pp 31-45.

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THANK YOU