ENGINEERING RESEARCH JOURNAL (ERJ)

Vol. 2, No. 37 July. 2018, pp. 51-57.

Journal Homepage: www.feng.bu.edu.eg

Optimizing the Performance of Reactive Powder Concrete

M. Osama Ramadan1, Amr Gamal1, Mona Sayed1, Amr Meawad2

1Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering at Shoubra, Benha University

2Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Helwan University.

Abstract. This paper investigates the optimized performance of reactive powder concrete. The effect of binder content
and incorporation of steel fiber and/or quartz powder on fresh, mechanical and microstructure properties of RPC
specimens were studied. The resistance to chloride penetration was tested for some specimens.The results show that
the compressive and splitting tensile strength of RPC specimens enhanced as the binder content increased. Also, the
incorporation of steel fiber and/or quartz powder significantly improves the strength and chloride penetration
resistance properties.The effect of binder content, steel fiber and quartz powder on the microstructure of RPC was
explained using XRD and SEM analysis. Unhydrated cement phases and calcium silicate hydrate were indicated in
the XRD diffract grams. The SEM images showed the compact interfacial zones and limited small pores in specimens
with high binder content and incorporated with steel fiber and quartz powder.

KEYWORDS: Reactive powder concrete (RPC); steel fiber; X-ray diffraction (XRD); Scanning Electron Microscope
(SEM); Chloride permeability.

1. INTRODUCTION microscope (SEM) with energy dispersive x-ray

The excellent mechanical properties, low
permeability and superior durability in aggressive
environment of reactive powder concrete (RPC) has
led it to be considered as ultra-high performance
concrete that has long service-life. RPC has
satisfied the need of construction world to produce
concretes with higher performance and better
durability that enables it to resist penetration of
sulfate and chloride ions [1-6].
RPC can be produced by mixing very fine materials
and elimination of coarse aggregate to reduce gaps
between particles and hence reduce voids. RPC
with very fine powders (cement, silica fume, fly ash
and quartz powder), low water to binder ratio, high
water reducer super plasticizers and fibers has
achieved a compressive strength which is three to
six- fold greater than that of ordinary concrete [7-
10] and tensile strength reached up to 10 -20 MPa
[11-13]. In the last decades, RPC has been
progressively attracting the attention of engineers
and widely known as ultra-high performance
concrete (UHPC) due to its advanced properties [14
and 15].Realizing the great potential of RPC, many
researchers worked on improving preparation
procedures to facilitate its production using
available raw materials [16-19].Scanning electron
(EDAX) were used to identify the structural phases
resulted from hydration reaction and to explore the
pore structure. X-ray diffraction could help to
understand the reaction in a complicated matrix like
RPC.
General characteristic behavior of RPC mortar
under aggressive environment of chemical abrasion
shows that it takes too many years to declare the
deterioration of an RPC element [20]. So,
acceleration of chemical abrasion by using the
technique of aqueous minerals diffusion into RPC
is a practically suitable approach to obtain results in
considerably shorter periods of time. Results from
chemical abrasion experiments should determine
the permeability degree of RPC. It also contributes
to assure RPC microstructure integrity.
Reactive powder concrete can be considered as
promising material that provides ultra-high strength
and excellent durability. However, limited research
has been carried out in RPC in Egypt[16]. This
paper investigates fresh and mechanical properties
of reactive powder concrete, as well as the change
in microstructure because of different factors, such
as binder content and incorporation of steel fiber
and/or quartz powder in the mix design, aiming to

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 Engineering Research Journal (ERJ) M. Osama Ramadan et al.
achieve the optimal conditions for producing
reactive powder concrete using local materials.
Materials and methods
Materials
An ordinary Portland cement (OPC) CEM I 52.5N,
provided by MISR Beni-Suef cement plant, was
used satisfying the Egyptian Standard Specification
(ESS 4756-1/2009) [21]. Silica fume (SF), meets
the ASTM C 1240 [22], was supplied from
Egyptian Ferro Alloys Corporation while the quartz
powder (QP) was purchased from the Egyptian
Company for Manufacturing Electrical Insulators.
Fine aggregate was natural siliceous sand, obtained
from El-Arish City in North Sinai, Egypt. Sand was
sieved using 0.60 mm sieve to remove any
impurities and to obtain maximum 0.60 mm
nominal size, which was suitable for casting
reactive powder concrete. The physical properties
and chemical compositions of the raw materials are
summarized in Tables 1 and 2, respectively.
A clean corrugated steel fiber was used to enhance
the strength. The fiber was purchased from Master
Chemical Technology Company in Egypt with
initial length of 9 mm and diameter of 0.8 ± 0.02
mm. Poly carboxyl ate high-range water-reducing
admixture (Glenium C315), supplied by BASF
Chemical Company, was used to enhance the
workability of concrete and to reduce the high
amount of mixing water. Sodium chloride and
sodium hydroxide were used to study the chloride
penetration of RPC specimens.
Table 1: Physical properties of raw materials.
Table 2: Chemical composition of raw materials.
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Vol. 2, No. 37 July. 2018, pp. 51-57
Mixture proportions and fabrication of RPC
specimens
Trial mixes for RPC include three batches with four
mix designs in each batch were prepared, as shown
in Table 3, to evaluate the structural performance of
RPC produced using Egyptian local materials. The
amount of silica fume in all mixes was kept constant
at 30% by weight of cement. This percentage
selected based on previous work [23].
To ensure a good homogeneity of RPC mixture, a
high-speed mortar mixer was used with a maximum
capacity of 5 Kg. The sand was blended first with
cement and silica fume. In some mixes, steel fiber
and/or quartz powder were carefully dispersed in the
mixtures to achieve uniform mixes. The dry mixture
was blended for about 2 min prior to addition of half
of the volume of water while mixing the mixture for
about 4 min, and then the second half volume of
water with superplasticizer was gradually added and
mixed again for about 5 min.
Table 3: Mix designs of the reactive powder
concrete specimens.
NOTE: OPC = ordinary Portland cement; SF = silica
fume; QP = quartz powder; SP = super plasticizer.
Steel molds with internal dimensions of
100 × 100 × 100 mm were used to produce RPC for
compressive strength test. The mixture was cast in
three consecutive layers, into the molds and
trampled with a vibration table for about 30 s.
Cylinder specimens of 200 mm high and 100 mm
diameter were cast to study the splitting tensile
strength, while specimens of 50 mm high and 100
mm diameter were prepared for permeability
penetration test. All specimens were covered with
plastic cover to avoid water loss and demoded after
24 hours, cured in water for testing times.
Test methods
Flow ability and mechanical strength
The flow ability of all mixtures was measured using
flow table according to ASTM C230-80 [24]. A
digital compression testing machine with a
 Engineering Research Journal (ERJ) M. Osama Ramadan et al.
maximum capacity of 2000 kN was used to measure
the compressive strength of the cubic specimens at
different curing ages. The splitting tensile strength
was measured according to ASTM C496 [25].
Permeability
Permeability was measured by chloride penetration
test, ASTM C1202-17 [26], Figure 1. After 56 days
curing in water, the selected specimen was placed in
the cell and sealed with silicon sealant. One side
attached to a chamber with 3% NaCl solution and the
other one with 0.3 N NaOH solution, Figure 1, and
the amount of electrical current, produced by 60
volts, passed for 6 hours period was monitored every
30 mins.
Figure 1: Rapid chloride penetration test setup
Chemical and phase compositions
Axios, sequential WD-XRF spectrometer
(PANalytical, USA) was used to determine the
chemical composition of raw materials. X-ray
diffraction (XRD) (PANalytical Xpert Pro MRD
Diffract meter, Amsterdam, Netherlands) was used
to examine the different phases in raw materials as
well as the RPC specimens at certain ages.
Microstructure analysis
The microstructure was examined using scanning
electron microscope (SEM, Model JSM-5410;
JEOL, Tokyo, Japan).
Results and discussions
Flow ability and compressive strength of RPC
trial mixtures
The flow ability of the trial mixtures are presented in
Figure 2. The average spread diameter of the RPC
mixtures ranged between 175 to 225 mm. The results
indicated that, the presence of quartz powder in the
mix design resulting in diminution flow ability.
Also, the flow ability was reduced with higher
cement content.
Figure 2: Flowability of RPC mixtures.
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Vol. 2, No. 37 July. 2018, pp. 51-57
The results of compressive strength test conducted
on all the 12 RPC trial mixtures after 7, 14, 28, 56
and 90 days of water curing are illustrated in Figure
3. Comparable to normal concrete, the compressive
strength increased with prolonged curing period, but
these values were greater than that achieved by high
strength concrete or normal concrete, as reported [8
and 9].
Figure 3: Compressive strength of RPC specimens at
different ages.
Due to the change in the mix designs, well-thought
out in this study, there are variations in compressive
strength values at each curing period. As shown in
the figure, the compressive strength after 7-days in
the range 40 – 80 MPa, 55 – 100 MPa after 28-days
and 70 – 110 MPa after 90-days. The effect of mix
designs on the performance of RPC will be detailed
discussed in the following sections. The studied
mixtures thoroughly investigated using Rapid
chloride penetration test and microstructure tests
were optimum RPC samples based on their
compressive strength.
Factors affecting the RPC performance
Effect of binder content
The effect of two binder contents (OPC + silica
fume) on the performance of RPC was studied on
mix designs BFQ800, BFQ900 and BFQ1000. Figure 4
compares the compressive strength, at different
curing ages, for three specimens with different
binder contents. It is noted that, the binder content
had a significant effect on compressive strength at
early ages (7-28 days), since the compressive
strength increases as the binder content increase. At
longer ages (90 days) the binder content has no
obvious effect on the compressive strength and the
values are close together.
Table 4 summarizes the results of splitting tensile
strength test of cylinder specimens cured in water
for 90 days for six different mix designs.
Comparing the results of BFQ800, BFQ900 and
BFQ1000, which contain different binder content,
revealed that the increase of binder content
improves the splitting tensile strength. The tensile
strength improved 5.6% by increasing the cement
content from 800 to 900 kg/m3, and by 16.8%
 Engineering Research Journal (ERJ) M. Osama Ramadan et al.
higher with cement content 1000 kg/m3. This could
be attributed to improvements in the particle density
of the matrix and the coalescent force between
small particles.
Figure 4: Effect of binder content on compressive
strength at various curing ages.
Table 4: Tensile Strength values for RPC
It is believed that, the resistance of reactive powder
concrete to chloride penetration in seawater is a
critical parameter for the evaluation its service-life.
The results revealed that all RPC mixes have very
low range of rapid chloride ion penetrability.
According to the results, the increase of binder
content enhances the resistance of concrete to
chloride penetration, Figure 5.
Figure 5: The change in chloride ions penetration as a
function of mix design.
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Vol. 2, No. 37 July. 2018, pp. 51-57
Figure 6: The XRD of pattern of BFQ800, BFQ900 and
BFQ1000 at 90 days.
The XRD patterns of BFQ800, BFQ900 and BFQ1000
after 90 days curing in water are shown in Figure 6.
It is clear from the figure, the presence of features
peaks of unhydrated cement, tricalcium silicate
(C3S) and dicalcium silicate (C2S). A quartz peaks
are clearly observed at 2θ = 26.66°, 20.86° and
50.18°. In the XRD pattern of BFQ1000, the main
quartz peaks intensity was approximately lower than
that of BFQ900 and BFQ800. This finding corresponds
to the excess cement content in the BFQ1000 mixture
and indicates much silica is consumed by the
hydration product of cement (portlandite). It should
also be noted that ettringite was not observed by
XRD. None of its characteristic peaks were
identified in the XRD pattern. This phenomenon
could be explained by the very low water to cement
ratio. The XRD pattern revealed that no portlandite
peaks appeared in the mixtures. The absence of
portlandite was attributed to the presence of silica
fume which reacted with calcium hydroxide
produced from hydration of cement to form
additional CSH through a pozzolanic reaction.
The RPC is composed of fine aggregates and
complex matrix phases of cement clinker and cement
hydration products, between them a reactive
interface is formed. Scanning electron microscope
 Engineering Research Journal (ERJ) M. Osama Ramadan et al.
(SEM) is used to study the effect of binder content
on the properties of the matrix. As shown in Figure
7, the structure of all hardened RPC specimens, with
different binder content, was very dense due to low
water to cement ratio as well as high fineness of
cement and silica fume, used to fabricate RPC,
which bring the binder grains into a closer
configuration and hence a compact interfacial zone
with limited small pores.
Figure 7: Microstructure observation of hardened
RPC containing different binder content with
different zoom
The SEM observation indicated that, the pore size
was reduced with the increase in the binder content
which reflected on the strength values, as previously
indicated. Furthermore, the SEM confirmed that,
unhydrated cement particles and homogenous
calcium silicate hydrate gel are only found and no
portlandite or ettringite could be indicated in all
specimens.
Effect of steel fiber and quartz powder
The effect of incorporation of steel fiber and quartz
powder on the performance of RPC was studied on
mix designs B900, BF900, BQ900 and BFQ900. The
incorporation of steel fiber into RPC matrix can
significantly enhance the strength by preventing the
crack growth based on the bond of steel fiber and
cement hydrated phase. As obviously shown in
Figure 8, the compressive strength enhanced in the
specimen incorporated with steel fiber and that
enhancement is clear at later ages (56 and 90 days).
The effect of quartz powder on compressive strength
was constant along all curing ages. But in mixes
which contains quartz powder, the compressive
strength increased, and this effect cannot be
neglected. It was also noted that, the RPC specimen
incorporated both steel fiber and quartz powder
obtain the highest compressive strength.
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Vol. 2, No. 37 July. 2018, pp. 51-57
Figure 8: Effect of steel fiber and quartz powder on
compressive strength at various curing ages.
In the same manner, as summarized before in Table
4, there is a significant improvement in matrix bond
and the failure of fibrous mixes seems to be more
ductile by incorporating steel fiber in the mix design.
The splitting tensile strength improved by 10.67%
compared to non-fibrous mix. The quartz powder
content helps in bond strength due to rearrangement
of matrix particles, but it has a slight effect. Tensile
strength has increased by 1.47% when mix B900 was
compared to mix BQ900. The presence of steel fiber
and quartz powder in the mix design greatly
enhanced the splitting tensile strength.
By examining Figure 5, it can be observed that the
addition of steel fiber and quartz powder into the
concrete, effectively improved the resistance of RPC
to chloride penetration. The steel fiber has a rather
more distinct effect than quartz powder.
Figure 9 shows the XRD of hardened RPC
specimens (B900, BF900, BQ900 and BFQ900) after 90
days curing. There is a strong resemblance in the
patterns and no difference in the phases can be
detected. The phases observed are quartz,
unhydrated cement phases and calcium silicate
hydrate. The only difference observed was the
increase of peak intensity of quartz in BQ900 and
BFQ900 due to addition of quartz powder.
The compressive and tensile strength values as well
as the resistance to chloride penetration for
specimens containing steel fiber and/or quartz
powder differ a lot in comparison with specimen
without steel fiber quartz powder due to different
bond characteristics at interfacial zones. An efficient
interface bonds across steel fiber-matrix and steel
fiber-matrix-fine aggregates were confirmed using
SEM, Figure 10. The addition of steel fiber in the
mix design (Figure 10b) resulted in small voids and
a porous zone near the surface of steel fiber
comparing with convenient concrete.
Also, it is well known that using fine aggregate
(quartz powder) instead of coarse aggregates was
effective in reducing the maximum paste thickness,
leading to lower porosity in the matrix [27], which is
a key factor in the mixture design of RPC. As
 Engineering Research Journal (ERJ) M. Osama Ramadan et al.
observed in Figure 10c, the presence of quartz
powder in the mix led to a reduction of the apparent
porosity which led to denser microstructure. The
presence of steel fiber and quartz powder reduced the
porosity and improved the microstructure of the
hardened RPC specimens, Figure 10d.
Figure 9: The XRD pattern of B900, BF900, BQ900
and BFQ900 at 90 days.
Figure 10: SEM of hardened RPC (a) without steel
fiber or quartz powder, (b) with steel fiber, (c) with
quartz powder and (d) with steel fiber and quartz
powder with different zoom.
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Vol. 2, No. 37 July. 2018, pp. 51-57
Conclusions
The results of this study generally concluded the
optimal conditions for producing reactive powder
concrete, with ultra-high strength, using local
materials. The flow ability, mechanical and
microstructure properties of RPC are strongly
affected by the binder content and incorporation of
steel fiber and/or quartz powder.
An effective amount (7 wt. % of binder content) of
polycarboxylate high-range water-reducing
admixture was used to obtain an adequate fresh
mortar flow, which strongly affected by increasing
the binder content and adding steel fiber and/or
quartz powder.
High content of cement has a significant role in
increasing both compressive and splitting tensile
strengths to be 4 times and 3 times, respectively,
higher than that of the convenient concrete. Similar
trend was also observed while involving steel fibers
and quartz powder in the mixture. The chloride
permeability and chloride penetration resistance
properties of concrete were significantly improved
with the incorporation of steel fiber and quartz
powder.
XRD results did not help in distinguishing between
the phases in the different mix designs. It only
clarified the presence of unhydrated cement particles
of C2S and C3S that remained within the RPC mix
grains and the calcium silicate hydrate as a result of
cement hydration and pozzolanic reaction of silica
fume or quartz powder, which explains the improved
mechanical properties.
SEM images confirmed the presence of phases
indicated in XRD patterns and showed the compact
interfacial zones and limited small pores in
specimens with high binder content and incorporated
with steel fiber and quartz powder, which reflects on
the performance of RPC.
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