Durability performance of concrete containing condensed silica fume

The paper describes a short-term study carried out to examine the durability performance of various condensed silica fume (CSF) concretes in comparison to portland cement (PC) and PC/ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) controls up to the age of 28 days. Mix proportions were designed to provide 28-day strengths of 30, 40, and 50 MPa for the PC controls and these were used for all binder combinations considered. Concrete durability was inferred from a suite of durability index tests designed to measure concrete resistance to gas, liquid, and ion transport mechanisms. It is shown that concrete durability is dramatically improved through the use of CSF. Optimum performance was achieved through the use of CSF as a 10% addition by mass to the initial binder content. The work also confirms CSF's effectiveness when used in ternary binder blends with PC and GGBS, with these mixes out-performing the controls and selected binary-blended PC/CSF mixes. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.