The present investigations are proposed to study the acid resistance behavior of M40 grade SCC with partial replacement of cement with mineral admixture Fly Ash at 10, 20, and 30%. Rational method of mix design was adopted for mix design of M40 grade SCC for the trial mixes in the absence of BIS code for SCC mix design. Experimental investigations were carried out to study the acid resistance of SCC from hydrochloric acid (HCl) and sulphuric acid (H2So4) which are effective acids expected to cause damage for strength and durability of structures, by observing the effect for 14, 28 and 60days strengths and performance at different percentages of mix with flyash. Based on these studies, inference was drawn for durability of structures exposed to such aggressive environment.

1. 193
International Journal of Research and Innovation (IJRI)
International Journal of Research and Innovation (IJRI)
ASSESSMENT OF SELF COMPACTING CONCRETE IMMERSED IN ACIDIC SOLU-
TIONS WITH PARTIAL REPLACEMENT OF CEMENT WITH MINERAL
ADMIXTURE
K. Santosh Gautham1
, S.Uttamraj 2
,
1 Research Scholar, Department of Civil Engineering, Aurora's Scientific Technological and Research Academy, Hyderabad, India.
2 Assistant professor , Department of Civil Engineering, Aurora's Scientific Technological and Research Academy, Hyderabad, India.
*Corresponding Author:
K. Santosh Gautham,
Research Scholar, Department of Civil Engineering,
Aurora's Scientific Technological and Research Academy,
Hyderabad, India.
Published: August 03, 2015
Review Type: peer reviewed
Volume: II, Issue : III
Citation: K. Santosh Gautham, Research Scholar (2015) "AS-
SESSMENT OF SELF COMPACTING CONCRETE IMMERSED
IN ACIDIC SOLUTIONS WITH PARTIAL REPLACEMENT OF CE-
MENT WITH MINERAL ADMIXTURE"
INTRODUCTION
GENERAL
Concrete is the most widely used material and it is likely
to gain much more importance in the coming future be-
cause of recent developments and inventions. Concrete
has undergone several changes in its composition, man-
ufacture and handling with the development of admix-
tures that can modify the behavior significantly earlier the
performance parameter of concrete such as workability,
tensile strength and durability were assumed to be re-
lated to its compressive strength the greater the com-
pressive strength the better the performance. Now the
performance criteria is specified besides the compressive
strength, all the predefined properties can be adopted but
suitable composition of mix and admixture
Even though the concrete has achieved significant pro-
gress in material science and construction technology,
still it is having its own limitations, viz concrete cannot
flow through past obstructions and in to nook and corners
though compaction is essential for achieving strength and
durability of concrete., since concrete is not produced un-
der ideal conditions at site, we do often end up with poor
results, leading to rock pockets sand streaks and honey
combing structures with poor workmanship problems.
The best remedy for all above problems is utilization of
self-compacting concrete.
BACKGROUNDSELF-COMPACTING CONCRETE (SCC)
Self-Compacting Concrete
Self-consolidating concrete is a highly flowable concrete
that spreads into the form without the need of mechanical
vibration. Self-compacting concrete is a non-segregating
concrete that is placed by means of its own weight. The
importance of self-compacting concrete is that is main-
tains all concrete’s durability and characteristics, meet-
ing expected performance requirements.
In certain instances the addition of super plasticizers and
viscosity modifier are added to the mix, reducing bleeding
and segregation. Concrete that segregates loses strength
and results in honeycombed areas next to the formwork.
A well designed SCC mix does not segregate, has high de-
formability and excellent stability characteristics.
Self-Compacting Concrete Properties
Self-compacting concrete produces resistance to segrega-
tion by using mineral fillers or fines, and using special
admixtures. Self-consolidating concrete is required to
flow and fill special forms under its own weight, it shall
be flowable enough to pass through highly reinforced ar-
eas, and must be able to avoid aggregate segregation. This
type of concrete must meet special project requirements
in terms of placement and flow.
Self-compacting concrete with a similar water content or
cement binder ratio will usually have a slightly higher
strength compared with traditional vibrated concrete, due
to the lack of vibration giving an improved interface be-
tween the aggregate and hardened paste.
The concrete mix of SCC must be placed at a relatively
higher velocity than that of regular concrete. Self-com-
pacting concrete has been placed from heights taller than
5 meters without aggregate segregation. It can also be
used in areas with normal and congested reinforcement,
with aggregates as large as 2 inches.
Abstract
The present investigations are proposed to study the acid resistance behavior of M40 grade SCC with partial replace-
ment of cement with mineral admixture Fly Ash at 10, 20, and 30%. Rational method of mix design was adopted for mix
design of M40 grade SCC for the trial mixes in the absence of BIS code for SCC mix design. Experimental investigations
were carried out to study the acid resistance of SCC from hydrochloric acid (HCl) and sulphuric acid (H2
So4
) which are
effective acids expected to cause damage for strength and durability of structures, by observing the effect for 14, 28 and
60days strengths and performance at different percentages of mix with flyash. Based on these studies, inference was
drawn for durability of structures exposed to such aggressive environment.
1401-1402

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International Journal of Research and Innovation (IJRI)
Self-Compacting Concrete Uses
Self-compacting concrete has been used in bridges and
even on pre-cast sections. One of the most remarka-
ble projects built using self-compacting concrete is the
Akashi-Kaikyo Suspension Bridge. In this project the SCC
was mixed on-site and pumped through a piping system
to the specified point, located 200 meters away. On this
particular project the construction time was reduced from
2.5 years to 2 years.
Self-Compacting Concrete Benefits
Using self-compacting concrete produce several benefits
and advantages over regular concrete. Some of those ben-
efits are:
• Improved constructability.
• Labor reduction.
• Bond to reinforcing steel.
• Improved structural Integrity.
• Accelerates project schedules.
• Reduces skilled labor.
• Flows into complex forms.
• Reduced equipment wear.
• Minimizes voids on highly reinforced areas.
• Produces superior surface finishes.
• Superior strength and durability.
• Allows for easier pumping procedure.
• Fast placement without vibration or mechanical con-
solidation.
• Lower noise level produced by mechanical vibrators.
• Produces a uniform surface.
• Allows for innovative architectural features.
• It is recommended for deep sections or long-span ap-
plications.
• Produces a wider variety of placement techniques.
EXPERMENTAL PROGRAM
GENERAL
The aim of experimental program is to compare the self-
compacting concrete made with and without fly ash at
10,20 and 30% as a replacement to cement and check-
ing out the compressive strength variations for each cube
after curing with normal water and acid up to 14,28 and
60 days respectively. The basic test carried out on con-
crete samples are discussed in this chapter, followed by
brief description about mix design and curing procedure
adopted. At the end, the various test conducted on the
specimen are discussed.
MATERIALS USED
The ingredients of concrete can be classified in to two
groups namely active and in active group, the active
group consists of cement and water, where as in active
comprises of fine and coarse aggregate
Cement
Cement is a hydraulic binder, i.e. a finely ground inor-
ganic material which, when mixed with water, forms a
paste which sets and hardens by means of hydration re-
actions and processes and which, after hardening, retains
its strength and stability even under water. Cement con-
stituent is only 10% of the mix, it is the active portion of
the binding medium and the only scientifically controlled
ingredient of the concrete.
Water
Generally cement requires about 3/10 of its weight of wa-
ter for hydration. Hence minimum water content is 0.35.
Water is an important ingredient of concrete as it actively
participates in chemical reaction with cement. Since it
helps to form strength giving cement gel, the quantity and
quality of water is required to look carefully. This addi-
tion of water must be kept to be the minimum, adding too
much water reduce the strength of concrete.
Aggregate
Aggregate are important constituents in concrete. They
are body to the concrete, reduce shrinkage and effect
economy. Aggregates were considered as chemically inert
material. The mere fact that the aggregates occupy 70 to
80 percentage of volume of concrete. Water and aggre-
gates are natural materials and can vary to many extent
in many of their properties. Aggregates can be classified
on the basis of the size of aggregate as coarse and fine
aggregate.
Coarse Aggregate:
The size of aggregate more than 4.75 mm is considered as
coarse aggregate. For heavily reinforced concrete member
the nominal maximum size of aggregate should usually be
restricted to 5mm less than the minimum, clear distance
between the main bars or 5 mm less than the minimum
cover to the reinforcement, whichever is smaller.
Fine Aggregate:
Aggregate of size less than 4.75mm is considered as fine
aggregate. The fine aggregate should be hard, clean and
free from adherent coating and organic matter and shall
not contain appreciable amount of clay. The fine aggre-
gate shall be of quartz, light grey and shall be free from
silt.it shall be angular shape of grains approximately to
spherical form and shall be well graded.
Admixtures
A material other than water, aggregate or cement that is
used as an ingredient of concrete or mortar to control set-
ting and early hardening, workability or to provide ad-
ditional cementing properties. These may be mineral or
chemical type.
Mineral Admixtures:
SCC invariably incorporates mineral admixtures like Fly
As, GGBS, Silica Fume, and Rice Husk etc...The mineral
admixture we used is Fly Ash.

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International Journal of Research and Innovation (IJRI)
Fly Ash
Fly ash is obtained by electrostatic or mechanical pre-
cipitation of dust-like particles from the flue gases from
furnaces fired with pulverized coal. Ash obtained by other
methods shall not be used in cement.. Fly ash can be
used as pozzolona or cementing material in concrete. Fly
ash may be siliceous or calcareous in nature. The for-
mer has Pozzolanic properties; the latter may have, in
addition, hydraulic properties with the growing threat to
ecology and environment due to increased production of
fly ash. Extensive researches going on for the probable
utilization of fly ash. Now it has become a widely used
material both in producing pozzolona cement and also for
making various type of concrete. In SCC fly ash increase
the workability and at the same time is economical.
Chemical Admixtures:
SCC invariably incorporates chemical admixtures, in par-
ticular a HRWRA and sometimes VMA.HRWRA helps in
achieving excellent flow at low water content and VMA
reduces bleeding and improves the stability of the con-
crete mixture. An effective VMA can also bring down the
powder requirement and still give the required stability.
Super plasticizing admixtures:
The use of super plasticizers (high range water reducer)
has become a quite common practice. This class of water
reducers were originally developed in Japan and Germa-
ny in the early 1960s; they were introduced in the United
States in the mid-1970s.
Viscosity modifying admixture:
Admixture that modify the cohesion of the SCC without
significantly altering its fluidity are called viscosity modi-
fying admixture (VMA). Viscosity Modifying Admixtures
make the concrete more tolerant to variations in the water
content of the mix so that plastic viscosity is maintained
and segregation prevented. The concrete has become
more robust to small, but normal changes in the moisture
of the aggregate. However, they should not be regarded
as a way of avoiding the need for a good mix design and
careful selection of other SCC constituents.
TEST METHODS ON CEMENT AND AGGREGATE
Soundness of Cement:
Unsoundness of cement means, that the cement having
excess lime, magnesium sulphates, etc. due to excess of
these items there will be volume changes and large expan-
sions, there by reduces the durability of the structures.
Aim: To find out the soundness of cement.
Apparatus: Le-Chatelier Apparatus, Cement, Water,
Glass plate.
Procedure:
i) The cement is gauged with 0.78 times the water re-
quired for standard consistency (0.78P) in a standard
manner and filled in to the Le-Chatelier mould kept on
the glass plate.
ii) The mould is covered on the top with another glass
plate.
iii) The whole assembly is immersed in water at tempera-
ture of 27o
C to 32o
C and kept there for 24 hrs.
iv) Measure the distance between the indicator points.
v) Submerge the mould again in water, heat the water
up to boiling point in 30 minutes and keep it boiling for
3 hrs.
vi) Remove the mould from hot water and allow it to cool
and measure the distance between the indicator points.
vii) The distance between these two measurements gives
the expansion of cement.
viii) This must not exceed 10mm for OPC, RHC, LHC, etc.
ix) If the expansion is more than 10mm, the cement is
unsound.
Result: The soundness of cement= 8mm
Le-Chatelier Apparatus
Normal Consistency of Fineness of Cement
Aim: To determine the percentage of water required for
preparing cement paste of standard consistency, used for
other tests.
Apparatus: Vicat apparatus with plunger, I.S. Sieve No.
9, measuring jar, weighing balance
Procedure: The vicat apparatus consists of a D- frame
with movable rod. An indicator is attached to the mov-
able rod, which gives the penetration on a vertical scale.
A plunger of 10 mm diameter, 50 mm long is attached to
the movable rod to find out normal consistency of cement.
Take 300 gm of cement sieved through I.S. Sieve No. 9
and add 30% by weight (90 ml) water to it. Mix water and
cement on a non-porous surface thoroughly with in 3 to 4
minutes. The cement paste is filled in the vicat mould and
top surface is leveled with a trowel. The filled up mould
shall be placed along with its bottom non-porous plate
on the base plate of the vicat apparatus centrally below
the movable rod. The plunger is quickly released into the
paste. The settlement of plunger is noted. If the penetra-
tion is between 33 mm to 35 mm from top (or) 5 mm to
7 mm from the bottom, the water added is correct. If the
penetration is less than required, the process is repeated
with different percentages of water till the desired pen-
etration is obtained.

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International Journal of Research and Innovation (IJRI)
Result: The normal consistency of cement =5mm
Mix design for SCC by Rational Method:
Input data
Grade of concrete: M40
Bulk density of course aggregate: 1338 kg/m3
Bulk density of fine aggregate: 1463 kg/m3
Calculation of coarse and fine aggregate:
Packing Factor (y)= 1.175 – 0.0008 x Grade of concrete(x)
= 1.175 – 0.0008 x 40
= 1.143
Content of course aggregate:
Wg
= PF x WgL (1-(S/a))
Wg
= 1.143 x 1338 (1-0.542)
= 700.434kg
Content of fine aggregate:
Ws
= PF x WsL (S/a)
Ws
= 1.143 x 1463(0.542)
= 906.337kg
Calculation of cement content:
Cement content(y) = 10.238 + 9.535 x grade of concrete(x)
= 10.238 + 9.535 x 40
= 391.638kg
Calculation of water cement ratio:
Grade of concrete (y) = 22.456 x (w/c)-1.17
40 = 22.456 x (w/c)-1.17
W/c = 0.6105
Calculation of fly ash:
% fly ash in total powder (y)
= 68.43 – 0.535 x grade of concrete (x)
= 68.43 – 0.535 x 40
= 47.03 %
Calculation of super plasticizer:
The dosage of SP used was ranging from 1.5 to 1.8% by
weight of cement.
1.5% of cement content = 1.5% x 391.638
= 5.875kg
Calculation of viscosity modifying agent:
The dosage of VMA used was ranging from 0.1 to 1.5% by
weight of cement.
0.5% of cement content = 0.5% x 391.638
= 1.958kg
ESTIMATED QUANTITIES RATIOS
SCC (M40) mix design ratios
Cement CA FA Fly ash Water SP VMA
391.638 700.434 906.337 184.187 239.094 5.875 1.958
1 1.7885 2.3142 0.4703 0.6105 0.015 0.0049
TEST METHODS ON FRESH SELF COMPACTING CON-
CRETE
SCC differ from conventional concrete in that its fresh
properties are vital in determining whether or not it can
be placed satisfactorily. The various aspects of workabil-
ity which control its filling ability, its passing ability and
its segregation resistance all need to be carefully control
to ensure that its ability to be placed remains acceptable.
(efnarc 2002)
A concrete mix can only be classified as self-compacting
concrete if the requirements for all three characteristics
are fulfilled.
• Filling ability: Ability to fill a formwork completely under
its own weight.
• Passing ability: Ability to overcome obstacles under it
own weight without hindrance. Obstacles are e.g. rein-
forcement and small openings etc.
• Segregation resistance: Homogeneous composition of
concrete during and after the process of transport and
placing.
Slump Flow Test method
The slump flow is used to assess the horizontal free flow
of SCC in the absence of obstructions. It was first devel-
oped in Japan for use in assessment of underwater con-
crete. The test method is based on the test method for de-
termining the slump. The diameter of the concrete circle
is a measure for the filling ability of the concrete.
Assessment of test
This is a simple, rapid test procedure, though two people
are needed if the T50 time is to be measured. It can be
used on site, though the size of the base plate is some-
what unwieldy and level ground is essential. It is the most
commonly used test, and gives a good assessment of fill-
ing ability. It gives no indication of the ability of the con-
crete to pass between reinforcement without blocking, but
may give some indication of resistance to segregation. It
can be argued that the completely free flow, unrestrained
by any boundaries, is not representative of what happens
in practice in concrete construction, but the test can be
profitably be used to assess the consistency of supply of
ready-mixed concrete to a site from load to load.
Equipment
The apparatus is shown in figure.
• Mould in the shape of a truncated cone with the inter-
nal dimensions 200 mm diameter at the base, 100 mm
diameter at the top and a height of 300 mm, conforming
to EN 12350-2
• Base plate of a stiff non absorbing material, at least
700mm square, marked with a circle marking the central
location for the slump cone, and a further concentric cir-
cle of 500mm diameter
• Trowel

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International Journal of Research and Innovation (IJRI)
• Scoop
• Ruler
• Stopwatch (optional)
Procedure
1. About 6 litre of concrete is needed to perform the test,
sampled normally.
2. Moisten the base plate and inside of slump cone, place
base plate on level stable ground and the slump cone cen-
trally on the base plate and hold down firmly.
3. Fill the cone with the scoop. Do not tamp, simply strike
off the concrete level with the top of the cone with the
trowel.
4. Remove any surplus concrete from around the base of
the cone.
5. Raise the cone vertically and allow the concrete to flow
out freely.
6. Simultaneously, start the stopwatch and record the
time taken for the concrete to reach the 500mm spread
circle. (This is the T50 time).
7. Measure the final diameter of the concrete in two per-
pendicular directions.
8. Calculate the average of the two measured diameters.
(This is the slump flow in mm).
9. Note any border of mortar or cement paste without
coarse aggregate at the edge of the pool of concrete.
Interpretation of result
The higher the slump flow (SF) value, the greater its
ability to fill formwork under its own weight. A value of
atleast650mm is required for SCC. There is no generally
accepted advice on what are reasonable tolerances about
a specified value, though ± 50mm, as with the related flow
table test, might be appropriate.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
TEST RESULTS
The following tables gives the test results of compressive
strength of self-compacting concrete with the addition of
fly ash admixture at different percentages after the effect
of normal(water) and acid curing (HCL & H2
SO4
).
Compressive strength test of cube
The following results are the compressive strengths of
self-compacting concrete of M40 grade with different per-
centages of fly ash mix after curing the cubes in normal
water at 14, 28, 60 days.
Showing Strengths of cubes immersed in normal wa-
ter
Mix type Strength in Mpa
(M40) 14 days 28 days 60 days
SCC Normal 38.53 57.17 63.02
FA 10% 36.43 55.57 62.85
FA 20% 33.21 51.63 59.34
FA 30% 32.68 47.53 55.89
SCC cube on effect of sulphuric acid curing.
The following results are compressive strengths of self-
compacting concrete of M40 grade with different percent-
ages of fly ash mix after curing the cubes with 5% concen-
tration of sulphuric acids at 14, 28, 60 days.
Strength of cubes immersed in sulphuric acid of 5 %
concentration
Mix type
(M40)
Strength in Mpa
14 days 28 days 60 days
SCC Normal 35.21 54.34 59.37
FA 10% 34.23 51.03 59.63
FA 20% 32.53 49.52 57.26
FA 30% 30.95 44.93 52.68

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International Journal of Research and Innovation (IJRI)
SCC Cube WithThe Effect On Hydrochloric Acid Curing
The following results are compressive strengths of self-
compacting concrete of M40 grade with different percent-
ages of fly ash mix after curing the cubes with 5% concen-
tration of hydrochloric acids at 14, 28, 60 days.
Strength of cubes immersed in hydrochloric acid of 5
% concentration
Mix type
(M40)
Strength in Mpa
14 days 28 days 60 days
SCC Normal 36.23 55.93 63.53
FA 10% 36.07 53.85 62.09
FA 20% 33.62 50.83 59.34
FA 30% 30.43 45.34 54.32
Compressive Strength Test Machine under Process
GRAPHS
The following graphs shows the strength variations with
respective to time with normal and acid curing.
SCOPE FOR FURTHER STUDY ON SCC
The following experimental studies can be conducted in
future with respect to self-compacting concrete
• The addition of more percentage of fly ash i.e. more than
30% , shows the effect on resistance to acid on self-com-
pacting concrete.
• Different strengths such as flexural strength, tensile
strength etc. can be known with the effect of acid on SCC.
• The effect on strength, creep and shrinkage of self-com-
pacting concrete due to different mix proportion with re-
placement of mineral admixture at different proportions
can be calculated.
• Different mineral admixture such as GGBS, Rice Husk
etc. can be used for the experiment with higher grade and
can be tested different strengths.
CONCLUSION
The following conclusions are drawn from the test results
and analysis presented in this paper:
• Percentage decrease in weights of the specimens with-
out and with immersion in HCL and H2
So4
solutions of 5
% concentration at 28 days was found to be 5.834, 6.132
and 5.481 % & 4.247, 3.498, 4.984 % on average of each
10, 20, and 30 % of fly ash respectively.
• From these results it has been identified that the inten-
sity of attack by H2
S04
is comparatively more than the
attack of HCL on the specimens.
• The percentage decrease in compressive strength of the
specimens without and with immersion in HCL and H2
S04
solution of 5 % concentration after 28 days was found to
be 3.09, 1.54 and 4.60 % and 8.16, 4.08, 5.47% average
of each 10, 20, and 30 % respectively.

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International Journal of Research and Innovation (IJRI)
• For 30% fly ash replacement the fresh properties ob-
served were good as compared to 10%, 20% fly ash re-
placement. Hence if we increase the fly ash replacement
we can have better workable concrete.
• The acid resistance of SCC with fly ash was higher when
compared with concrete mixes without fly ash at the age
of 14, 28, 60 days.
• Compressive strength loss decrease with the increase in
fly ash in concrete.
• The compressive strength of cubes are less in H2
So4
cur-
ing when compared with HCL and normal curing. With
the increase in flyash content the resistance to acid in-
creases and, the strengths of cubes slowly increases with
time, but final strength obtains are same as normal mix.
• When the specimen is immersed in acid solutions for 14,
28, 60 days respectively the average reduction in weight
increases, and the weight is decreased when fly ash con-
tent is increased in the concrete. Compressive strength
loss decreases with the increase in fly ash in concrete.
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Author
K. Santosh Gautham,
Research Scholar,
Department of Civil Engineering,
Aurora's Scientific Technological and Research Academy,
Bandlaguda,Hyderabad,
India.
S.Uttamraj,
Assistant Professor,
Department of Civil Engineering,
Aurora's Scientific Technological and Research Academy,
Bandlaguda,Hyderabad,
India.