This study evaluated the strength properties of high performance concrete (HPC) using ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) and crushed sand as partial replacements for cement and natural sand. Several HPC mixes with M60 grade were tested by replacing cement with 30-50% GGBS and fine aggregate with 5-25% crushed sand. The results showed that compressive strength increased up to 65.3 MPa at 28 days for a mix with 40% GGBS and 15% crushed sand replacement. The study concluded that GGBS and crushed sand can be effectively used as partial replacements in HPC to improve strength properties while providing an economical alternative to conventional materials.

1. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 – 6308 (Print),
ISSN 0976 – 6316(Online), Volume 5, Issue 6, June (2014), pp. 94-100 © IAEME
94
STRENGTH PROPERTIES OF HIGH PERFORMANCE CONCRETE USING
GGBS AND ROBO SAND
M. Vijaya Sekhar Reddy1*
, M. Seshalalitha2
1*
HOD and Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering Srikalahasteeswara Institute of
Technology, Srikalahasti, and Research Scholar at Sri Venkateswara University College of
Engineering, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India
2
Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering Srikalahasteeswara Institute of Technology, Srikalahasti
ABSTRACT
Concrete is considered as durable and strong material, reinforced concrete is one of the most
popular materials used for construction around the world. Reinforced concrete is exposed to
deterioration in some regions especially in coastal regions. Therefore researchers around the world
are directing their efforts towards developing a new material to overcome this problem. This scenario
leads to the use of additive materials to improve the quality of concrete. As an outcome of the
experiments and researches, cement based concrete which meets special performance with respect to
workability, strength and durability known as “High Performance Concrete” was developed. High
performance concrete (HPC) is a concrete meeting special combinations of performance and
uniformity and normal mixing. This leads to examine the admixtures to improve the performance of
the concrete. On the other side, cost of concrete is attributed to the cost of its ingredients which is
scarce and expensive, this leading to usage of economically alternative materials in the production.
This requirements is drawn the attention of investigators to explore new replacements of ingredients
of concrete. The present experimental study focuses on the mechanical properties of M60 HPC
concrete with partial replacement of Cement by Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) and
fine aggregate by Robo sand (crusher dust) with the addition of superplasticizer.
Keywords: High Performance Concrete, Compressive Strength, Granulated Blast Furnace Slag,
Robo Sand, Superplasticizer.
1. INTRODUCTION
High Performance Concrete (HPC) is that which is designed to give optimized performance
characteristics for the given set of materials, usage and exposure conditions, consistent with
requirement of cost, service life and durability.
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2. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 – 6308 (Print),
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The American Concrete Institute (ACI) defines HPC “As concrete which needs special
combinations and uniformity requirements that cannot always be achieved routinely by using
conventional materials and normal mixing, placing and curing practices”.
High performance in a broad manner can be related to any property of concrete. It can mean
excellent workability in the fresh state like self leveling concrete or low heat of hydration in case of
mass concrete, or very rigid setting and hardening of concrete in case of sprayed concrete or quick
repair of roads and airfields, or low imperviousness of storage vessels, or very low leakage rates of
encapsulation containments for contaminating material.
The SCMs such as flyash, Blast furnace slag, silica fume and metakiolin which are generally
very fine, may be finer than cement, when added to concrete in right proportion can improve the
strength and durability of concrete drastically and high strength and high performance concrete is
obtained in this manner. One major concern about the concrete is its sustainability. Every tone of
cement produces equal amount CO2 through consumption of fuel in burning and decomposition of
CaCO3 thus control of Green House gas emission is major issue in the context of sustainable
concrete. Use of SCM, especially other industrial by-product such as blast furnace slag, flyash in
concrete to reduce OPC clinker consumption is currently being considered as a major step towards
achieving sustainability of concrete. Composite cements containing more than one SCM can be used
where ever appropriate.
2. MATERIALS USED IN THE TEST PROGRAM
2.1 Cement
Cement is a binding material, which is the combination of two raw materials called
calcareous and argillaceous materials. Zuari-53 grade ordinary Portland cement confirming to IS:
12269 -1987 were used in concrete. The physical properties of the cement are listed in Table .1
Table 1: Physical Properties of Zuari 53 Grade Cement
S.no Properties Test results Limits as per is
12269:1987
1. Fineness (m2
/kg) (Specific surface) 290 >225
2. Initial setting time(minutes) 160 >30
3. Final setting time(minutes) 260 <600
4.
Soundness(mm)
by Lechatlier
by autoclave
1
0.03
<10
<0.8
5.
Compressive strength(MPa)
3 days 39 >27
7 days 48 >37
28 days 60 >53

3. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 – 6308 (Print),
ISSN 0976 – 6316(Online), Volume 5, Issue 6, June (2014), pp. 94-100 © IAEME
96
2.2 Aggregates
A crushed granite rock with a maximum size of 20mm was used as coarse aggregate. Natural
sand from Swarnamukhi River in Srikalahasti was used as fine aggregate. The fineness modulus is 3
for fine aggregate and for coarse aggregate is 7.18 individual aggregate were blended to get the
desired combined grading. The specific gravity of aggregates is given in Table. 2. The individual
sieve analysis of aggregate is given in Table. 3 & 4.
Table 2: Specific Gravity of Aggregates
Table 3: Sieve Analysis of Fine Aggregate
Table 4: Sieve Analysis of Coarse Aggregate
IS sieve size
(mm)
Weight
retained(gm)
% weight
retained
Cumulative %
weight
retained
% passing
80 0 0 0 100
40 0 0 0 100
20 956 19.12 19.12 80.88
10 4.24 80.48 99.6 0.4
4.75 20 0.4 100 0
2.36 0 0 100 0
1.18 0 0 100 0
600 0 0 100 0
300 0 0 100 0
150 0 0 100 0
Total Cumulative % Of Weight Retained 718.72/100
= 7.18
Specific gravity of coarse aggregate 2.74
Specific gravity of fine aggregate 2.62
S.no IS Sieve
size
(mm)
Weight
retained
in
(gm)
% of
weight
retained
Cumulative
weight
retained
in(gm)
%
cumulative
weight
retained
%
of
finer
1 4.75 12 2.4 12 2.4 97.6
2 2.36 85 17 97 19.4 80.6
3 1.18 135 27 232 46.4 53.6
4 0.6 47 9.4 279 55.8 44.2
5 0.425 50 10 329 65.8 34.2
6 0.3 132 26.4 461 92.2 92.2
7 0.15 19 3.8 480 96 96
8 0.075 18 3.6 498 99.6 0.4
9 Pan 2 0.4 500 100 0

4. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 – 6308 (Print),
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2.3 Water
Portable water was used for mixing and curing of concrete cubes.
2.4 Supplementary Cementing Materials
2.4.1 Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag
Ground granulated blast furnace slag is the granular material formed when molten iron blast
furnace slag is rapidly chilled by immersion in water. It is a granular product with very limited
crystal formation, is highly cementitious in nature and, ground to cement fines, and hydrates like
Portland cement. It has been supplied by M/S Thosila Pvt Limited in Vizag and the physical &
chemical properties are listed below in the Table.5
Table 5: Physical & Chemical Composition of GGBS
Chemical & Physical properties GGBS
Fineness(m2
/kg) 275
Soundness(mm) 10
Initial setting time(min) 230
Insoluble residue 1.5%
Magnesia 14%
Sulphur 2.50%
Loss of ignition 3%
Manganese 2%
Chloride 0.1%
Moisture 1%
Glass 67%
Compressive strength at 7 days (MPa) 12
Compressive strength at 28 days (MPa) 32.5
2.5 Robo Sand (Crusher Dust)
Robo sand is the sand manufactured in the stone quarries. It is a substitute for the river sand
used in the construction. Robo sand or crusher dust obtained from local granite crushers was used as
partial replacement of fine aggregate in the present investigation to cast the concrete cubes. The
fineness modulus of Robo sand is 3.02. The specific gravity of Robo sand is 2.62 respectively.
Table 6: Sieve Analysis of Robo Sand
S.No IS
Sieve
Size
(mm)
Particle
Size
(mm)
Weight
Retained
in
(gm)
% of
Weight
Retained
Cumulative
Weight
Retained in
(gm)
%
Cumulative
Weight
%
of
Finer
1 4.75 4.75 6.0 1.2 6.0 1.2 98.8
2 2.36 2.36 93 18.6 99 19.8 80.2
3 1.18 1.18 124 24.8 223 44.6 55.4
4 0.6 0.6 44 8.8 267 53.4 46.6
5 0.425 0.425 61 12.2 328 65.6 34.4
6 0.3 0.3 108.5 21.7 436.5 87.3 12.7
7 0.15 0.15 44.5 8.9 481 96.2 3.8
8 0.075 0.075 16 3.2 497 99.4 0.6
9 Pan Pan 3.0 0.6 500 100 0.0

5. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 – 6308 (Print),
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2.6 Chemical Admixture
VARAPLAST PC 100: A High performance concrete superplasticizer based on modified
polycarboxilic ether supplied from M/S Akarsh Specialities, Chennai. The properties are listed in the
Table. 7.
Table 7: Properties of Superplasticizer
Supply forms Liquid
Colour Brown
Specific gravity 1.08
Chloride content Nil
3. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
The High Performance Concrete cubes of size 150mmx150mmx150mm were tested for
Compressive strength at 7 & 28 days in the Compression testing machine of maximum capacity 2000
tons in accordance with IS: 516-1959.
Table 8: Mix Proportion for M60 HPC
Materials Cement Fine aggregate Coarse aggregate Water
Weight
Cement =
385 kg/m3
GGBS (SCM)=
165 kg/m3
699.36 kg/m3
1114.4 kg/m3
140 kg/m3
Total = 550 kg/m3
Ratio 1 1.27 2.02 0.25
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
In the present investigation, importance has been given to study the mechanical properties
like workability characteristics & compressive strength for M60 HPC mix with different percentage
replacement of Fine aggregate and Cement by Robo sand and GGBS respectively. The results of
high performance concrete samples are compared with controlled concrete (100 OPC). The
compressive strength results are represented in the Table .9 and the corresponding bar chart is
represented in Fig 1.

6. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 – 6308 (Print),
ISSN 0976 – 6316(Online), Volume 5, Issue 6, June (2014), pp. 94-100 © IAEME
99
Table 9: Test Results for M60 Grade Concrete
S.no Grade of concrete Trail
Workability
slump range
75-100 (mm)
Compressive
strength of 7
days (MPa)
Compressive
strength of 28
days (MPa)
1. Controlled concrete T1 100 38.2 62
2.
M60+GGBS (30%) +
ROBO sand (5%)
T2
100 39 62.8
3.
M60+GGBS (30%) +
ROBO sand (15%)
T3
100 40.3 64.7
4.
M60+GGBS (30%) +
ROBO sand (25%)
T4
100 39.5 63.2
5.
M60+GGBS (40%) +
ROBO sand (5%)
T5
100 40 63
6.
M60+GGBS (40%) +
ROBO sand (15%)
T6
100 40.6 65.3
7.
M60+GGBS (40%) +
ROBO sand (25%)
T7 100 40.2 64.2
8. M60+GGBS (50%) +
ROBO sand (5%)
T8 100 38.1 62.5
9. M60+GGBS (50%) +
ROBO sand (15%)
T9
100 39.3 63.4
10.
M60+GGBS (50%) +
ROBO sand (25%)
T10
100 38.5 62.9
Fig 1: Variation of Compressive Strength for 7and 28 Days of M60 HPC Mix
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 T9 T10
CompressivestrengthN/mm2
TRIAL MIXES
7 days
28 days

7. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 – 6308 (Print),
ISSN 0976 – 6316(Online), Volume 5, Issue 6, June (2014), pp. 94-100 © IAEME
100
5. CONCLUSIONS
In M60 grade of concrete as the water-cement ratio of 0.25 is insufficient to provide the good
workability, hence superplasticizer is necessary for the development of HPC.
It is observed that the maximum compressive strength achieved in M60 grade of concrete is
65.3 MPa with 40% replacement of cement by Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag and 15%
replacement of Fine Aggregate by Robo sand.
From the experimental results the Robo sand can be used as an alternative material for the fine
aggregate and GGBS can be partially replaced with the cement.
The scope scope for using high performance concrete in constructional activities are more such
as precast, prestressed bridges, multistoried buildings, bridges and structures on coastal areas.
To affect this change, we will have to revive the designing of structures by encouraging use of
high performance concrete mixes.
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