The Effect of Aggregate Gradation on Engineering Properties of High Performance Concrete

The main theme of this paper is to study the effects of aggregate packing types on the engineering properties of high performance concrete (HPC). Three types of aggregate packing (primitive, dense, gap gradation) and five kinds of paste amount (1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, 2.0 of void content within aggregate) are the major parameters to evaluate the properties of HPC. The test result indicates that the denser the aggregate packing the better the workability and engineering properties are under sufficient paste content. The application of the densified mixture design algorithm (DMDA) on designing HPC for every aggregate packing type can obtain high flowability and suitable strength growth. The strength efficiency of HPC designed by DMDA is much higher than that by the traditional one. The significant contribution of the aggregate packing to the performance of hardened HPC is obvious. The conclusion is that by applying DMDA, the gap-graded aggregate or other marginal material may be utilized to produce HPC.