The effects of silica fume and fly ash on the scaling resistance and flexural strength of pavement concretes

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Silica Fume (SF) and Fly Ash (FA) additives on the frost salt scaling resistance and flexural strength properties of pavement concrete. An attempt is also made to attain a more durable and higher strength concrete by a suitable combination of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), SF and FA. SF and FA are used as cement replacement in proportions of 0, 5, 10% and 0, 5, 10, 15% by weight respectively. Flexural strength is tested after 7, 28 and 91 days of the lime saturated water curing period. The experimental results indicate that using FA only decreases while SF only slightly increases 28-days flexural strength. On the other hand, using SF and FA together shows relatively more strength gain. Among all those tested, maximum 28 days flexural strength of 4.53 MPa is obtained for the mix proportions of 85% OPC + 10% FA and 5% SF. SF significantly decreases the amount of liquid absorption by capillary suction and has a significant effect on the scaling resistance. In addition, all the ternary mixtures showes better scaling resistance than the control mixture with 100% OPC.