MICRO SILICA

CONCRETE
Guided By:
Mr. Srishyam M.S

Presented By:
Shibin Mohamed Iqbal

Asst. Professor
Dept. Of Civil

Roll No.16
S1 Mtech CEM

MES CE

MES CE
1

Overview

Introduction
Microsilica in concrete
Experiment
Case study
Examples
Conclusion
reference
2

Introduction
What is micro silica?
o Very fine non crystalline silica produced
in electric arc furnaces as a byproduct of
the production of elemental silicon or
alloys containing silicon;
o ACI 116R
o a.k.a condensed silica fume

 Mean particle size-between 0.1 & 0.2

microns
Spherical in shape
Particles almost 100 times smaller than
cement particles
Chemical composition-largely silica( 90%)
remaining other metallic oxides and some
carbon.

Item

Requirement
(%)

SiO2

97.6

Al2O3

0.70

Fe2O3

0.28

CaO

0.30

MgO

0.50

K2O

0.80

Na2O

0.26
5

 Extracted at smelting plants is available in

two grades- standard and refractory
Standard commonly used for concrete
Refractory even finer with high silica
content and used in other specialized
products

Fig.1. Micro silica particles

(source: http://cipremier.com/100032005)
7

Micro silica production

Fig.2. Silica fume being discharged from a smelter,

before environmental regulations were put into effect.
(source: www.silicafume.org )
8

Fig.4. flow diagram showing production of silicon

metal and silica fume obtained as by product
(source: www.silicafume.org )
9

 Raw materials put into smelter

Materials are blended into a charge
for the furnace
Heated to a temperature of 20000C
Silica fume collected in bag house
filter of the exhaust of smelter.

10

Fig.5.
Raw materials:
1. Wood chips (top)
2. Coal (top right)
3. Quartz gravel (right)
(Source:
www.silicafume.org )
11

Hood

Fig.6. Charging deck of a furnace.

(source: www.silicafume.org )
12

Fig.3. baghouse filter

(Source:
http://www.tethis-lab.com/ )

13

Microsilica forms

As-produced powder
Water-based slurry
Densified
Blended silica-fume cement
Pelletized

14

Fig.6
Top left: as produced
microsilica
Left: densified microsilica
Top: slurried microsilica
(source: www.silicafume.org)
15

Micro silica in concrete

Why use micro silica in concrete?
o
o
o
o

Micro silica is a waste product

Treated as breathable dust
Contains trace amounts of crystalline quartz
Requires lots of safety precautions and
equipment to handle
o Once incorporated into concrete, there is no
potential for dust generation
o Regular safety precautions for concrete
handling will do
16

 Optimum percentage of
microsilica in concrete
o optimum value of compressive strength
achieved in 10% replacement of
microsilica. (D.K.S Roy and Amitava Sil)
o Compressive strength decreases when
cement replacement is above 15% of
microsilica. (V. Ajay et.al)
o Strength of 15% replacement more than
normal concrete. (V. Ajay et.al)

17

 Improvement of concrete by
micro silica through two
mechanisms
o Pozzolonic effect
o Micro filler effect

18

 Pozzolonic effect
o On hydration of cement two products are
formed
CSH and
Ca(OH)2
o silicon dioxide in SF will react with Ca(OH) 2 to
produce more aggregate binding CSH.
o the reaction reduces the amount of calcium
hydroxide which does not contribute to
strength.
o Also calcium hydroxide combines with carbon
dioxide to form soluble salts which will cause
leaching and efflorescence in concrete.
o Concrete also vulnerable to sulphate attack,
chemical attack and adverse alkali- aggregate

19

 Micro filler effect

o Micro silica is extremely fine material.
o Average diameter 100 times finer than
cement
o At a typical dosage of 10% by weight of
cement, approximately 100,000 particles for
each grain of cement will fill the water spaces
in fresh concrete.
o This eliminates bleed and weak transition
zone between aggregate and paste found in
normal concrete.
o Micro filler effect also reduces permeability
and improves paste to aggregate bond in SF
concrete compared to conventional concrete.
o Micro silica reacts rapidly to give high early
strength and durability.

20

Effects of microsilica in
concrete
Effects on fresh concrete
o Improved workability
Small size and spherical shape have a
lubricating effect on concrete upto 15%
replacement.
o More cohesive
Thixotropic
Less prone to segregate even at very high
workability
Absence of bleed water
Hence suitable for grouts and pumped concrete
21

 Effects on hardened concrete

o
o
o
o
o
o

Higher Strength
Higher abrasion resistance
Reduced creep
Reduced Permeability
Reduced reaction with acids and sulphates
Better Durability

22

experiment
Conducted by Prof. Dilip Kumar
Singha Roy of NIT Gurgapur and
Amitava Sil, scientist, IPIRTI,
Kolkata.
Aim
o To study the effect of partial replacement of
cement by SF (from 5% to 10% with step of
2.5%) on M20 grade concrete designed with OPC
53 grade cement, sand and course aggregate.
23

 Materials
o
o
o
o

53 grade Portland cement

Zone II sand
12.5mm- 20mm downgraded aggregate
Commercial micro silica grade 920D (specific
surface=21.4, bulk density=620kg/m3)
o Mix proportion 1:1.485:3.143 for M20 grade (IS
10262:2009) concrete with the following
ingredients
Cement = 533.05kg/m3
Sand= 791.58kg/m3
Well graded aggregate = 1675kg/m3
water cement ratio = 0.45 for all mixes
24

 Sample preparation and properties

studied
o Aggregates, cement and SF is charged in to
mixer machine
o Dry mix followed by addition of water
o Then rotated sufficiently to achieve uniform
and high workable mix
o Compaction factor have been measured.

25

Fig.6. Compaction factor test apparatus

(source: Basic Civil Engineering- SS
Bhavikatti)
26

o The concrete then placed into

150mm cube,
150mm diameter x 300mm high cylinder
100mm x 100mm x 500mm prism moulds
o Vibrated with standard vibrator
o 24 hour curing in moulds with hessian clothes at 20 to
240C followed by under water curing until the day of
testing.
o 7 days and 28 days compressive strength of cubes and
cylinder, split tensile strength and flexural strength have
been measured.

27

Fig.7. Concrete Moulds

1. Cube 150 x 150 x 150mm
(top)
2. Prism- 100 x 100 x 500mm
(top right)
3. Cylinder 150mm x 300mm
(right)
(source: www.forneyonline.com )
28

 Test results and discussions

A.

Fresh state
1. Mix character:
o Have Shown more cohesiveness than OPC- due
to superfine nature of particles.
o Exhibited satisfactory character in relation to
segregation and bleeding.
o But with increase in percentage of SF, the
stickiness in concrete was observed.
2. Workability
o Workability increases as percentage of SF is
increased from 5% till 10%.
o SF concrete as susceptible to poor workmanship
as ordinary concrete and all normal site
operations should be performed to the optimum
requirements.
29

B. Hardened state
1. Compressive strength
o When cement replaced by SF, the maximum
7 days compressive strength is observed to
be 4.32% higher than normal concrete.
o At 28 days the strength is observed to be
19.6% higher than normal concrete.
o For cylinders, maximum 7 days compressive
strength is 4.32% higher than normal
concrete
o And maximum 28 days strength was
observed to be 16.82% higher than normal
cement concrete.
30

Fig.8. Variation of 28 days cube and cylinder

compressive strength for different percentages
of SF replacing cement.
(source: Dilip Kumar Singha Roy, Amitava Sil, 2012)

31

Table.1. Compressive strengths of cube and

cylinder corresponding to the microsilica content.

(Source: Dilip Kumar Singha Roy. et al, 2012)

32

2. Split tensile strength

Maximum cylindrical split tensile strength
was found to be 38.5% more than that of
normal concrete (10% replacement).

Fig.9. Variation of 28 days flexural and split tensile

strength for different percentage of SF replacing
cement.

33

3. Flexural strength
o 28 days flexural strength was found to be 21.13%
higher than normal concrete for 10% cement
replacement. (Fig.9)
o This value is far more than value calculated from
the relation 0.7fck (fck is the characteristic
strength of concrete) as specified by IS: 4562002.
o SF reacts with free lime of cement and
contributing to strength development
o SF bind themselves tightly with cement hydrates
in the forms of flocks and make more spaces for
the hydration products.
o As SF content is increased, the bond of the
hydrated cement paste with the aggregate, is
greatly improved allowing the aggregate to
participate in stress transfer in a better way and
hence, the increase in strength is observed.
34

 From the experiment we can

conclude that:
o Till 10% replacement of cement by micro silica,
there is a marked improvement in compressive
strength and flexural strength.
o Micro silica concrete maybe recommended in
places where high early strength development
is essential.

35

Advantages
High early compressive strength
High tensile, flexural strength, and modulus of
elasticity
Very low permeability to chloride and water
intrusion
Enhanced durability
Increased toughness
Increased abrasion resistance on decks, floors,
overlays and marine structures
Superior resistance to chemical attack from
chlorides, acids, nitrates and sulfates
life-cycle cost efficiencies.
Higher bond strength

36

Disadvantages

Availability
Higher water requirement
Skilled labour
Application economical only on large scale

37

Case study-I

Fig.8. Kinzua Dam, USA.

(source: elkem)

38

 Rehabilitation of kinzua dam, USA

high performance microsilica concrete
eroded much slower than previous stateof-the-art concretes used to repair the
dam.
Inspections of the dam at 10 years service
backed up these findings estimating that
the dam had a potential lifetime many
times longer than achieved before the
repair.
39

 concrete mixture
o Cement
= 386kg/m3
o Silica fume slurry (46% dry powder)
=
156kg/m3
o Coarse aggregate
= 971kg/m3
o Fine aggregate
= 824 kg/m3
o Water: cement ratio
= 0.28
o Fresh properties
Average air content
=3.2%
Average slump
= 250mm
Average unit weight
= 2444kg/m3

40

Case study - II
A parking structure was built in general Mitchel
airport, Milwaukee, Wisconsin with the following
requirements:
o Resist chloride ion penetration
o Attain compressive strengths of:
14 Mpa at 36 hours
40MPa at 56 days
o Parking structure for 2300 vehicles
o Structure was post tensioned
o Requirement of 36 hour strength was to allow post
tensioning
o Microsilica concrete alternative was found to be less
than half the cost of conventional method.
41

 Concrete Mixture:
o Portland cement,
= 335 kg/m3
o Fly ash, Class C = 60 kg/m3
o Silica fume
= 17 kg/m3
o w/cm
= 0.35
o WRA
= 440 mL/m3
o Slump, maximum = 230 mm

42

 Result
Compressive strength,
36 hours
> 14 MPa

Slump used:

150- 90 mm

43

Fig.9. Parking structure,

G.M.Airport, Milwaukee.
(source: Rocole, et.al)

44

Other examples
Petronas Tower, Kuala
Lampur
Columns: Grade 80
Beams: Grade 60
Pumped 88 storeys
high
Triple blend:
OPC/flyash/microsilica

45

Burj Khalifa,
Dubai
350 000 m3 high
strength concrete (80
and 60 MPa spec)
Pumping all the way
single stage
Ternary blends
PC/FA/SF

46

Dubai International Airport

Microsilica concrete extensively used for
durability reasons in sub-terrain concrete
and in high-strength structural concrete
elements in the extensions of the Dubai
airport (2 million m3)

47

conclusions
Silica fume concrete facilitates the
adoption of lower water cement ratio.
better hydration of cement particles
including strong bonding amongst
particles.
Maximum compressive strength is noted
for 10% replacement of cement with silica
fume and the values are higher than those
of normal concrete.
Split tensile strength and flexural strength
of the micro silica concrete are increased 48

Contd
As SF concrete is more compact and more
durable in nature and hence with some
degree of quality control, it may be used in
places where there is a chance of chemical
attack, frost action, etc.
With good quality control, high early strength
can be achieved in SF concrete which may be
useful in various structural constructions such
as high-rise buildings, bridges, chimneys,
machine foundations, runways , etc.
49

reference
D.K.S Roy, Amitava Sil, effect of partial replacement of cement by
silica fume on hardened concrete, IJETAE, (August 2012),pp472-475.
V. Ajay, C.Rajeev and yadav R.K.,effect of microsilica on the strength
of concrete with ordinary portland cement, Res.J.Engineering Sci.,
(sept. 2012), pp1-4.
Magudeaswaran P, Eswaramoorthi P, Experimental investigations of
mechanical properties on microsilica and fly ash as partial cement
replacement of high performance concrete, IOSR-JMCE, (Jun. 2013),
pp 57-63.
Faseyemi Victor Ajileye, Investigations on Microsilica (Silica Fume) As
Partial Cement Replacement in Concrete, GJRECS, (Jan.2012), pp 1723.
Prof. V.S. Ghutke, Prof. P.S.Bhandari, Influence of silica fume on
concrete, IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSRJMCE) p-ISSN: 2320-334X pp 44-47.

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