Mechanical and Water Transport Properties of HSC with Different SCMs

Pozzolanic materials and their usage in concrete production are nowadays widely spread. Their application as additives is inherent especially for the purpose of high strength concrete. This article deals with evaluation and comparison of the influence of two different supplementary cementitious materials on the properties of high strength concrete: natural pozzolana (NP) and finely crushed brick (FCB). The studied characteristics are basic physical properties with connection to mechanical parameters, and next to this, characterization of water transport. In the scope of this study results revealed better pertinence of finely crushed brick, as the appropriate replacement of cement was found out to be up to 30%, whilst for natural pozzolana only 10% of cement substitution is favourable. The open porosity as the first indicator of both mechanical and water transport properties appeared to be lower in all studied mixtures with FCB than in the case of NP. With increasing ratio of the additive to cement there is significant worsening of mechanical and water transport parameters when NP is involved. The behaviour of mixtures with FCB is better even when high amount of cement is substituted.