An Experimental Investigation on Strength Characteristics of Concrete with Partial Replacement of Silica Fume and Metakaolin with Cement on M-30 Grade of Concrete

One of the approaches in improving the durability of concrete is to use blended cement materials such as fly ash, silica fume, slag and more recently, metakaolin. By changing the chemistry and microstructure of concrete, pozzolans reduce the capillary porosity of the cementitious system and make them less permeable to exterior chemical sources as well as reducing the internal chemical incompatilities such as alkali-silica reaction. The concrete industry is known to leave an enormous environmental footprint on Planet Earth. First, there are the sheer volumes of material needed to produce the billions of tons of concrete worldwide each year. Then there are the CO2 emissions caused during the production of Portland cement. Together with the energy requirements, water consumption and generation of construction and demolition waste, these factors contribute to the general appearance that concrete is not particularly environmentally friendly or compatible with the demands of sustainable development. Thus, use of these supplementary cementitious materials can reduce the effects of cement causing severe environmental impact. This study presents the results of different mechanical properties of concrete such as compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural concrete by partially replacing cement with metakaolin and silica fume. The replacement of metakaolin is varied from 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% and silica fume from 6%, 8% and 10%. The property of concrete in fresh state that is the workability is also studied during the present investigation. The optimum doses of silica fume and metakaolin in combination were found to be 6% and 15% (by weight) respectively, when used as part replacement of ordinary Portland cement.