Transport properties of self compacting concrete with limestone filler or fly ash

The durability of a cementitious material is greatly influenced by the permeability of the material for potentially aggressive substances. As the pore structure of self compacting concrete (SCC) might be different in comparison with traditional concrete (TC), some changes in durability behaviour may occur. At this moment however, it is unclear how significant these differences will be with regard to the concrete practice. In this paper, the gas and water transport in SCC with limestone filler or fly ash is investigated experimentally. Nine different concrete compositions are considered: one TC and eight SCC mixtures. Some important parameters like the water/cement (W/C) and cement/powder ratio (C/P), type of filler (limestone filler and fly ash), type of aggregate and type of cement are considered. The results of the gas and water transport are discussed and linked to experimental data concerning pore volume. Lower transport properties can be obtained by using fly ash instead of limestone as filler material, by lowering the W/C ratio, decreasing the C/P ratio at a constant W/C ratio or using blast furnace slag cement instead of portland cement. The effect of changing from gravel to crushed limestone is small. SCC is differing strongly of TC with respect to the apparent gas permeability. This difference is probably due to the differences in pore volume, as seen from MIP results.