Adding limestone fines as cementitious paste replacement to improve tensile strength, stiffness and durability of concrete

The addition of a filler such as limestone fines (LF) to fill into the voids between aggregate particles can reduce the cementitious paste volume needed to produce concrete. In previous studies, it has been found that the addition of LF to reduce the cementitious paste volume would substantially increase the cube strength, and reduce the heat generation and shrinkage of the concrete produced. In this study, the authors aimed to evaluate the effects of adding LF as cementitious paste replacement on the tensile strength, stiffness and durability of concrete. For the evaluation, a series of concrete mixes with LF added to replace an equal volume of cementitious paste were tested for their workability, cube strength, tensile splitting strength, modulus of elasticity, water penetration depth and chloride permeability. The results showed that the addition of LF as cementitious paste replacement would at the same water/cement ratio, and even at the same cube strength, improve the tensile strength, stiffness and durability of concrete.