Reactive Silica Sand Powder Concrete (RSSPC) Uniaxial Compressive Strength Investigation

Abstract

Nowadays, high-strength concrete is an integral part of so many high-rise buildings. In accordance with the ACI 211.1-91 the mixture aggregate size should be less than 0.5 inches in order to achieve a uniaxial compressive strength greater than 9000 psi. On the other hand, finding a suitable aggregate grading distribution of concrete mix design is a big deal; hence force, the authors propose a mix proportion with no coarse aggregate still withstand enough strength. Silica sand powder concrete is a type of concrete with actually no coarse material in its own composition. In this concrete, the only aggregate is silica sand powder in which its size is less than 150 μm that is very small in size. According to the ASTM C 33, this concrete is classified as an ultra-fine aggregate concrete. The research interest is to find the compressive strength of this particular concrete under different conditions of curing and consolidation to compare each approach with each other. In this article, the young concrete specimen was compacted with a pressing or vibrating process. It is worthwhile to mention that to show the role of temperature on the curing process, the concrete specimen was cured both in 20∘C lime water or autoclaved in 90∘C oven.