Mechanical and Durability Performance of Binary and Ternary, High Performance Concrete Using Silica Fume, Fly Ash and GGBS, for M60–M70 Grade Structural Applications

Abstract

This paper presents an experimental investigation of binary and ternary High Performance Concrete (HPC) systems using silica fume (SF), fly ash (FA), and GGBS as supplementary cementitious materials in OPC 53-grade concrete at w/b ratios of 0.30–0.35. Three binary mixes (OPC+SF at 8%, 10%, 12%) and six ternary mixes (OPC+SF+FA and OPC+SF+GGBS combinations) are designed for M60–M70 targets per ACI 363R [1] and IS 10262: 2019 [11] with PCE superplasticiser [15]. Compressive strength (3, 7, 28, 56 days), split tensile (28 days), flexural strength (28 days), rapid chloride permeability (RCPT per ASTM C1202 [8])) and water absorption are evaluated. Key findings: Binary HPC with 10% SF achieves maximum 28-day compressive strength of 72.4 MPa (+69.9% over M40 NSC reference), confirming the 10% SF optimum consistent with Aïtcin [2] and Papadakis et al. [34]. Ternary SF+FA mixes achieve lower 28-day strength (64–68 MPa) but superior long-term gain (76 MPa at 56 days), RCPT values of 428–682 coulombs (VERY LOW per ASTM C1202 [8])) and excellent acid resistance. The ternary SF+GGBS mix (T4) achieves a balanced profile: 68.2 MPa at 28 days, 76.8 MPa at 56 days, and RCPT = 486 coulombs. Both binary and ternary HPC meet IS 456 [12] M60+ requirements while achieving dramatically improved durability versus conventional NSC. Photographic documentation of all test methods and graphical analysis of all results are provided.