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Concrete is a versatile material with tremendous applications in civil engineering construction. Structural concrete elements are generally made with concrete having a compressive strength of 20 to 35 MPa. Lately, there is an increase in use of high strength concrete (HSC) in major construction projects such as high-rise buildings, and bridges involving members of different sizes and shapes. The compressive strength of concrete is used as the most basic and important material property in the design of reinforced concrete structures. It has become a problem to use this value as the control specimen sizes and shapes are different from country to country. In India, the characteristic compressive strength is usually measured based on 150 mm cubes [1]. But, the ACI code of practice specifies the design compressive strength based on the standard 150x300 mm cylinders [2]. The use of 100x200 mm cylinders gained more acceptance as the need to test high strength concrete increases [3]. In this context the size and shape of concrete becomes an important parameter for the compressive strength. In view of the significance of compressive strength of concrete and due to the fact that the structural elements of different sizes and shapes are used, it is proposed to investigate the effect of size and shape of the specimen on the compressive strength of concrete. In this work, specimens of plain as well as Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete (GFRC) specimens are cast in order to carry out a comparative study.

Curing is essential if concrete is to perform the intended function over the design life of the structure while excessive curing time may lead to the escalation of the construction cost of the project and unnecessary delays. Where there is a scarcity of water and on sloping surfaces where curing with water is difficult and in cases where large areas like pavements have to be cured, the use of curing compound may be resorted to. The parameters of the study include the curing period [1, 3, 7, 14 and 28 day], curing method [conventional wet curing, membrane forming compound curing and accelerated curing] and the type of cement [Ordinary Portland Cement(OPC) 43 grade, Portland Pozzolana Cement(PPC) 43 grade and Ordinary Portland Cement(OPC) 43 grade +10% Silica Fume(SF) replacement for cement]. In all a total of 99 cube specimens were cast and cured under different conditions before testing. Test results indicate a drop in strength at all ages for concretes with PPC and the one in which 10% OPC is replaced by silica Fume(SF) in comparison with the concrete with OPC. Curing by membrane forming curing compound yielded nearly the same results as that of conventional wet curing for concrete with OPC and there was a marginal decrement in concrete with PPC. Predicted 28-day strength of concrete from the accelerated curing test was found to be on a conservative side compared to control concrete.

This research work is aimed at investigating the flexural fatigue behavior of Steel Fiber Reinforced Recycled Aggregate Concrete (SFRRAC). This study gains importance in view of the wide potential for demolished concrete to serve as a source of quality aggregate feed stock in a variety of structural and non-structural applications. This is a continuation of a series of investigations being conducted aimed at optimizing the utilization of recycled aggregate concrete in rigid pavements. A total of 72 standard flexure specimens of 100mm x 100mm x 450mm were cast and tested for flexure under both static and fatigue loading. The parameters of the investigation included the different replacements of recycled aggregate in natural aggregate, presence of steel fiber and different stress levels. The study showed that the recycled aggregates can be used in rigid pavements also and the inclusion of fibers can benefit the fatigue performance of recycled aggregate concrete.