Concrete mix design for high strength self-compacting concrete using metakaolin

• The proposed mix design methodology is based on efficiency approach.
• The methodology has been working successfully for the design of high strength SCCs.
• SCCs with strengths ranging from 80 to 120 MPa can be easily designed using metakaolin.
• High strengths of nearly 120 MPa could be developed with reasonable confidence.

Metakaolin is a highly reactive pozzolanic admixture and has got significant potential for the development of concrete composites such as High Strength High Performance Concrete (HSHPC) and self compacting concrete (SCC), if appropriately designed. However, for obtaining the required performance in any of these concrete composites, metakaolin should be properly proportioned so that the resulting concrete would satisfy both the strength and performance criteria requirements of the structure. The present work is an effort towards obtaining a new mix methodology for the design of high strength self compacting metakaolin concretes based on the efficiency concept. The methodology has been successfully verified through a proper experimental investigation and the self compacting metakaolin concretes were evaluated for their self compactability and strength characteristics. The results indicate that the proposed method can be capable of producing high strength SCC of about 120 MPa.