Permeability properties of self-consolidating concrete containing various supplementary cementitious materials

• Several amounts of SCM were used as binary, ternary and quaternary blends in SCC.
• Silica fume, Class C and F fly ash, metakaolin and slag were studied in one paper.
• Good correlation was established between permeable voids and water absorption rate.
• SCM reduced the permeability of almost all mixtures.
• Class C fly ash improved the permeability better than Class F fly ash.

In this study, permeability properties of 17 self-consolidating concrete (SCC) mixtures containing various supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) were investigated by different experimental approaches. The effects of SCM type and content on the compressive strength, rapid chloride ion permeability (RCPT), water penetration depth, water absorption and sorptivity were studied. For these purposes, various amounts of silica fume (SF), metakaolin (MK), Class F fly ash (FAF), Class C fly ash (FAC) and granulated blast-furnace slag (BFS) were utilized in binary, ternary, and quaternary cementitious blends. Results showed that partial replacement of PC by SCM increased the compressive strength of control mixtures at 28 and 90 days (except for FAF at 28 days). Mixtures containing MK presented a better performance compared to other SCM at 7 days. The utilization of SCM reduced the RCPT results of almost all mixtures compared to the control mixtures and the reduction was more significant with an increase in the SCM content. All of the mixtures containing SCM had lower penetration depths when compared to reference mixtures at 28 and 90 days. Good correlations were established between the percentage of permeable voids and water absorption. Moreover, there was an inverse but almost linear relationship between permeable voids content and compressive strength of the mixtures.