Cement and Concrete Composites 99 (2019) 203–213

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Cement and Concrete Composites

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/cemconcomp

The physical and chemical impact of manufactured sand as a partial T

replacement material in Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC)
Rui Yanga,b, Rui Yua,c,∗, Zhonghe Shuia,c, Cheng Guoa,b, Shuo Wua, Xu Gaoa, Shu Pengb
a
State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architectures, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China
b
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China
c
Wuhan University of Technology Advanced Engineering Technology Research Institute of Zhongshan City, Xiangxing Road 6, 528400, Zhongshan, Guangdong, China

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: In this paper, a type of typical locally available manufactured sand (MS) was utilized, and its effect on the
Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) properties of Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) were studied, based on physical and chemical points of
Manufactured sands views. According to the modified Andreasen and Andresen [1] (MAA) model, the natural river sand (RS) were
Flowability partially replaced by manufactured sand to design UHPC. Then, the properties of the developed UHPC were
Heat of hydration
evaluated. The obtained experimental results shown that the addition of angular MS can disturb the particle
Porosity
packing skeleton of UHPC. Moreover, the flowability and volume stability of the developed UHPC can also be
negatively affected by the inclusion of MS. Especially the UHPC autogenous shrinkage, which could be even
increased by 39.2%, when 50% of RS was replaced by MS. Additionally, based on the chemical reaction and
microstructure development points of view, the use of MS at replacement levels up to 50% has limited influence
on the hydration process and pore size distribution of UHPC, while the micro-hardness and SEM measurements
showed that the connection of cementitious matrix with MS was more compact than that with RS, which should
be attributed to the typical surface characteristics of the utilized MS particles.

1. Introduction some provinces even have no river sand resources (e.g. Guizhou).
Therefore, to widen the application of UHPC, it is important to find
Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) is one of the most ad- some easily available substitute aggregates to replace river sand in
vanced cement-based construction material. It has outstanding me- producing UHPC, especially in the river sand resource-poor areas.
chanical and durability properties, such as compressive strength [2,3], Manufactured sand (MS) is a kind of artificial fine aggregates from
malleability [4,5], impact resistance [6], chloride penetration re- natural stone based on a series of breaking and grinding techniques.
sistance and freezing-thawing resistance [7–9], which has been applied Due to the difference among mother rock composition during crushing,
to the pre-stressed hybrid pedestrian bridge, beams and road bridge. A and the reduction ratio, the produced MS grains normally show dis-
representative UHPC mixture proportion consist of binders, aggregates, tinctive particle shapes compared to natural river sand [25–30]. In
chemical admixtures, and a small amount of water [10–13]. In this general, the crushing process tends to produce sharp edged, and an-
highly packed particles skeleton, the aggregate plays an important role gular particles. Compared with more rounded natural sands, the rough-
in normal concrete and UHPC, the aggregate could directly affect me- angular particles in MS can yield a granular critical state friction angle
chanical and durability properties in normal concrete [14–17], simi- [31–34]. To clearly understand the influence of MS on the properties of
larly, the aggregate also affect these properties of UHPC [18,19]. concrete, many investigations have been executed and shown in
Nowadays, based on available literature, the most widely used fine available literature [35–40]. For instance, Shen et al. [41] studied the
aggregates in UHPC was natural river sand [20,21]. However, one characterization of MS, for example, surface properties, particle shape,
alarming fact, which should never be ignored, that the natural river and behavior in concrete. Prakash et al. [42] studied the mechanical
sand is non-renewable resource. In some regions, RS has already been properties of MS concrete and RS concrete. The experimental results
exceedingly exploited, which has threatened the safety of bridges, the presented that the mechanical properties of MS concrete were better
stability of river banks, and ecological system [22–24]. Besides, the than RS concrete. Donza et al. [43] investigated the effect of MS on the
natural river sand is a typical local material. For instance, in China, mechanical properties of concrete. The results shown that the shape and

∗
Corresponding author. State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architectures, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China.
E-mail address: r.yu@whut.edu.cn (R. Yu).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2019.03.020
Received 27 December 2018; Received in revised form 14 March 2019; Accepted 19 March 2019
Available online 23 March 2019
0958-9465/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
R. Yang, et al. Cement and Concrete Composites 99 (2019) 203–213

Table 1
Chemical composition of the used powders in this study (wt. %).
Compositions Na2O MgO Al2O3 SiO2 P2O5 SO3 K2 O CaO Fe2O3 LOI

C 0.09 1.61 4.18 19.2 0.09 3.35 0.78 64.93 3.32 2.49
SF 0.13 0.47 0.25 94.65 0.17 0.69 0.84 0.36 0.15 2.29
FA 0.33 0.23 38.01 46.44 0.06 0.69 0.88 7.5 3.12 2.79

(C: Cement, SF: Silica Fume, FA: Fly Ash).

size distribution of MS have a significant effect on the water demand

and rheological of the mortar. A mass of fines particles in MS primarily
gains the yield stress of the paste. A lot of fines also contributes to the
plastic viscosity due to increase inter-particle friction. And then the
sharp-edged of MS significantly influence on the plastic viscosity. Li
et al. [45] studied the influence of MS characteristics on the abrasion
resistance and mechanical properties of pavement concrete, and the
effect of limestone filler content in MS on durability of different class of
concrete. The obtained results indicate that the MS was comparable
with RS, and a certain stone powder content in MS can contribute to the
strength development, abrasion resistance and durability of the con-
crete. In summary, it can be noticed that, in most cases, the MS was
applied in the production of normal or normal strength concrete. With
an increase of the requirements on concrete properties from construc-
tion industry, it is needed to clarify whether the MS is also suitable to be
utilized in producing advanced concrete (e.g. UHPC).
At present, from available literature, there were few studies on
preparation of UHPC by MS. For example, Wille et al. [46] reported the
MS could be used to produce a UHPC with a spread of 290 mm and a
compressive strength of 150 MPa after 28 days. Sobuz et al. [47] stu-
Fig. 1. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of RS and MS. died the effect of water-cement ratio and admixture content on the
working and mechanical properties of UHPC with MS. Sukhoon Pyo
et al. [48] studied the influence of fiber content on mechanical prop-
physical properties of MS could increase the interlocking between paste
erties of UHPC with MS. Shen et al. [37] presented a ultra high strength
and aggregate, thus improving the compressive strength of the con-
concrete (UHSC) prepared by MS, in which the particle size of MS was
crete. Westerholm et al. [44] studied the rheological properties of the
0.075–25 mm and the UHSC compressive strength was more than
mortar contain MS. The results indicated that the shape and particles
130 MPa after curing for 28 days. Nevertheless, by far, the

Fig. 2. SEM images of natural river sand (RS) and manufactured sand (MS).

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Fig. 3. The surface roughness of natural river sand (RS) and manufactured sand (MS).

investigations regarding UHPC with MS were more focusing on the 2. Materials and methods
macro properties and practical application, while the intrinsic me-
chanisms and micro-level studies were less executed. For example: 1) 2.1. Materials
the effect of MS angular particles on the particle packing skeleton of
UHPC; 2) the influence of included fine powders from MS on the hy- First of all, CEM II, silica fume, and fly ash were used as binder
dration process of UHPC, and so on. Therefore, to obtain enough the- materials in this study. Their chemical constitutions were displayed in
oretical guidance for an application of UHPC with MS in the future, a Table 1. Then, two types of natural sands (0–0.6 mm and 0.6–1.25 mm
deeper investigation of physical and chemical characteristics of UHPC RS) and two types of manufactured sands (0–0.6 mm and
with MS was needed. 0.6–1.25 mm MS) were applied here. At last, the workability of UHPC
Based on the premises mentioned above, the object of this study to was adjusted by superplasticizer (polycarboxylic-ether based, solid
clarify the physical and chemical characteristics of locally available content of 20% and the water-reducing capacity of PCE was greater
manufactured sands induced impacts on properties of UHPC. The MS than 30%).
was utilized to partially replace RS by 10–50% in producing UHPC. To clearly understand the difference between RS and MS, a series of
Then, the macro and micro properties of the developed UHPC were tests were executed and the obtained results were shown as follows. For
evaluated, such as flowability, mechanical properties, micro-hardness, instance, the X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of fine aggregates were
pore structure and microstructure development. showed in Fig. 1. As can be noticed, the main composition of RS (mainly
SiO2) and MS (mainly CaCO3) was different. Fig. 2 shown the Scanning
Electron Microscopic (SEM) images of RS and MS particles. It is clear
that the RS grain has round appearance, smooth surface and relatively

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Fig. 5. Particle size distribution of the solid constituents and optimized grading
Fig. 4. The shape coefficient of the natural river sand (RS) and manufactured curves of different mixtures.
sand (MS).

Table 2
good regularity, while the MS has rough surface, sharp edges and cor- Mix proportion of UHPC (kg/m3).
ners. Fig. 3 illustrated the roughness of the RS and MS. As can be seen,
Mixture C SF F RS0-0.6 RS0.6-1.25 MS0-0.6 MS0.6-1.25 W SP
the tested average roughness of the RS and MS were 30.64 μm and
39.31 μm, respectively. This obtained experimental results were in ac- RS100 750 144 200 770 220 0 0 210 45
cordance with that from SEM observation (as shown in Fig. 4), in which RS10-1 750 144 200 693 220 77 0 210 45
RS10-2 750 144 200 770 198 0 22 210 45
the angularly index and form 2D results of RS and MS were presented.
RS10-3 750 144 200 693 198 77 22 210 45
Compared to that of RS, the MS has larger angularity index and form 2D RS20-1 750 144 200 616 220 176 0 210 45
values, which implies that the utilized MS particle was angular and non- RS20-2 750 144 200 770 176 0 44 210 45
spherical. The particle size distributions (PSDs) of the utilized MS and RS20-3 750 144 200 616 176 176 44 210 45
RS were presented in Fig. 5. It can be noticed that in the particle size RS30-1 750 144 200 539 220 231 0 210 45
RS30-2 750 144 200 770 154 0 66 210 45
range of 0.6–1.25 mm, the PSD of MS was quite similar as that of RS. RS30-3 750 144 200 539 154 231 66 210 45
Nevertheless, in the range of 0–0.6 mm, the particle size of MS was RS40-1 750 144 200 462 220 308 0 210 45
much smaller than that of RS, which means more fine powders were RS40-2 750 144 200 770 132 0 66 210 45
included in the MS. This could be attributed to the cracking and RS40-3 750 144 200 462 132 308 88 210 45
RS50-1 750 144 200 385 220 385 0 210 45
grinding technique processes of MS production.
RS50-2 750 144 200 770 110 0 110 210 45
RS50-3 750 144 200 385 110 385 110 210 45
2.2. Experimental methodology
(C: cement, F: fly ash, SF: silica fume, RS0-0.6 and RS0.6-1.25: natural river sand
0–0.6 mm and 0.6–1.25 mm, MS0-0.6 and MS0.6-1.25: manufactured sand
2.2.1. UHPC mix design method and sample preparation
0–0.6 mm and 0.6–1.25 mm, W: water, SP: superplasticizer).
In this research, the UHPC mixture design was based on the closest
packing theory, by employing MAA model [1]. The detailed calculation
method was referred to literature [13].

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Table 3
Deviation of mixture.
Mixture RS100 RS50-1 RS50-2 RS50-3

deviation 229.89 374.59 220.96 446.57

In this paper, the UHPC matrix with different percentage of MS were

listed in Table 2. Compared with the reference samples, 10%, 20%,
30%, 40% and 50% of RS (by mass) were replaced by MS in the mix-
ture. Four examples of integral gradation curves were given in Fig. 5. In
general, a small deviation between the integral gradation curve and the
target curve means that the real accumulation of all the utilized parti-
cles is close to the ideal accumulation, vice versa. To study the effect of
the MS on grain accumulation quantitatively, the deviation was cal-
culated here. To be specific, the deviation between the calculated curve
and the target curve was evaluated. Some detailed results were shown
in Table 3 and Fig. 5b. As can be noticed that the deviation of the
mixture for RS100 was 229.89, while the value for RS50-3 was 446.57. Fig. 7. Results of flow test.
This represents the severely deterioration in the accumulation of par-
ticles when the RS (0–1.25 mm) was replaced by MS (0–1.25 mm).
Moreover, the deviation of RS50-2 was smaller than that of the RS100, 40 × 40 × 160 mm. They were demolded 24 h, and then it was placed
which means that the accumulation of particles was optimized when and cured in the maintenance room (20 °C and RH > 95%), until the
the RS (0.6–1.25 mm) was substituted by MS (0.6–1.25 mm). Ad- age of 3, 7, 28, the compressive strengths were tested by standard-EN
ditionally, the deviation of the RS50-1 was 1.6 times larger than that of 196-1 [50]. At first, three-point bending testing were obtained six
the RS100. In summary, when the RS was replaced by MS in the particle samples, then those samples were employed to measured compressive
size range of 0.6–1.25 mm, the UHPC skeleton was slightly affected. In strength, and the load rate was maintained at 1.5 N/(mm2·s) during
contrary, when the RS was substituted by MS was the size range of testing. The average values of six compressive strengths were reported.
0–0.6 mm, more fine particles were included in the UHPC, which can
obviously disturb its particle packing system. 2.2.5. Autogenous shrinkage test
Based on the previous studied [13,20], the water-to-binder was The Autogenous shrinkage of UHPC measurement were employed
0.225 and the SP accounts for 4% of the binder. The mixing procedure based on Chinese national standard GB/T 50082-2009 [51]. The non-
was shown Fig. 6. contact sensor was employed to measure the autogenous shrinkage. The
size of mold was 100 × 100 × 515 mm. The detailed experimental
method was referred to literature [20].
2.2.2. Roundness of surface test
The VHX-900 was employed to characterize the roundness of sur-
2.2.6. Hydration kinetics test
face, the samples (100 RS and MS) of surface roughness were measured
The isothermal heat of each sample was measured by ATM AIR
which the average value was reported. The results were shown in Fig. 3.
isothermal calorimeter at 25 °C. Based on samples preparation de-
scribed above. When the mortar was over, and 24.75 g mortar was
2.2.3. Flowability test weighed which put into the volumetric flask, mechanically seal, the
To evaluate the fresh behavior of the developed UHPC, EN1015-3 container was placed into the calorimeter. The heat evolution and total
was applied in this research [49]. The conical cone of top diameter was heat released of the sample was continuously monitored for the first 7
70 mm, the bottom diameter was 100 mm, and height was 60 mm. days of hydration.
Firstly, the fresh of UHPC was put into a mold, then the conical cone
was vertically lifted. Eventually, two diameters perpendicular to each 2.2.7. Microstructure analysis
other were measured. Their mean value was reported. To understand the influence of the MS on the microstructure de-
velopment of the design UHPC, three test methods were applied. The
2.2.4. Mechanical properties test pore structure of the UHPC samples was analyzed using mercury in-
All the fresh concrete was poured into moulds with the sizes of trusion porosimetry (MIP, namely AutoPore IV-9500). Firstly, the

Fig. 6. Mixing procedure for UHPC.

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characterized the microstructure of UHPC in Backscattered electron

mode. The local mechanical performance of UHPC which was estimated
by Micro-hardness test. Micro-strength was calculated to the micro-
hardness, utilizing a bearing capacity analysis [52–54].

3. Results and discussions

3.1. Fresh behavior of the developed UHPC with manufactured sand

The flowability of the developed UHPC with MS was shown in

Fig. 7. It is clear that the fluidity was continuously reduced with an
increase of the MS substitution percentage. Compared with the re-
ference sample, the fluidity decreased by 11.7% when the replacement
(0–1.25 mm) rate was 50%, and the fluidity only decreased by 5.0%
when the substitute ratios (0.6–1.25 mm) was 50%. This phenomenon
indicated that the MS (0–1.25 mm) can more significantly reduced the
UHPC flowability. This observed phenomenon can be mainly attributed
to the surface properties and particle size distribution of MS [44,55].
Firstly, the surface of MS was rough, multi-ridges. The increase of in-
ternal friction between the paste and the MS in UHPC, result in the
slurry flow needs to overcome greater resistance. Secondly, there were
more fine powder materials in the MS, which can absorb a certain of
free water and simultaneously led to a decrease of UHPC flowability
[44].

3.2. Mechanical properties of the developed UHPC with manufactured sand

Fig. 8 showed the compressive strengths of the designed UHPC at 3,

7, and 28 days, respectively, when different particle size of RS were
replaced by MS. It can be noticed that the addition of MS (0–0.6 mm
and 0–1.25 mm) could enhance the compressive strength of UHPC.
When the substitution rate was less than 30%, the variation in com-
pressive strength was not obvious. When the substitution rate was more
than 40%, the compressive strength can be increased by more than
8.7%. The maximum compressive strength enhancement was about
14.6%, which was obtained in the mixture when 40% of RS was re-
placed by MS (0–1.25 mm).
Based on available literature, the effect of aggregate type on me-
chanical properties of cementitious composites can be easily found, and
some obtained experimental results are even contradictory [56,57]. As
commonly known, to obtain a UHPC with advanced compressive
strength, a dense particle packing skeleton was very important. In this
study, due to the inclusion of fine powder materials, the addition of MS
(0–0.6 mm and 0–1.25 mm) can significantly disturb the UHPC particle
packing system, as mentioned in Section 2.2.1. Based on the obtained
particle packing skeleton, the disturbed effect was described in Fig. 9,
which described degradation mechanism of MS in closest packing, and
then the interlocking between MS and paste was shown. This could be
attributed to the following reasons: 1) In the particle packing model
(e.g.MAA particle packing model), all the utilized particles were treated
as spherical particles, in which case the packing density were the only
parameter to obtain UHPC with superior mechanical properties; 2)
Compared with RS, the surface of MS was rough, which would increase
the coupling force between slurry and aggregate because of the edge-
angle of the MS particle. Moreover, the interlocking between the MS
particles were also beneficial for improving the ability of UHPC to resist
Fig. 8. Results of compressive strength.
external force [43]; 3) There were a large amount of fine powder ma-
terials in MS, which could absorb free water and reduce water to binder
specimens were broken into approximately 5 mm pieces, and then to ratio of UHPC cementitious system [45]. This could further enhance the
stop hydration the specimens soaked in ethyl alcohol. The samples were compressive strength of UHPC. In summary, although the addition of
dried at 50 °C in drying oven for 20 h before experiment. And then the MS may slightly disturb the particle packing of UHPC, its rough surface,
specimens were carried out under high pressure of 413.70 MPa and low interlocking and fine powders were beneficial for increasing the com-
pressure of 0.28 MPa, respectively. The 7 and 28 day of samples were pressive strength.
tested, respectively. The Scanning Electron microscopy (SEM) was

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Fig. 9. The disturbed accumulation model.

Fig. 10. Results of autogenous shrinkage of UHPC mixtures with various MS

additions.

3.3. Autogenous shrinkage of the developed UHPC with manufactured sand

To study the dimensional stability of the developed UHPC with MS,

the autogenous shrinkage test was characterized, and the obtained ex-
perimental results were presented in Fig. 10. As can be seen, the au-
togenous shrinkage of UHPC always showed an increasing trend with
enhancing of curing age. When 50% of RS (0.6–1.25 mm) was replaced
by the MS, its autogenous shrinkage increase rate was slightly larger
than RS100 in first four days, and then they were growing at the same
rate. When 50% of RS (0–0.6 mm, 0–1.25 mm) was replaced by the MS,
its autogenous shrinkage increase rate was significantly more than
RS100. To be specific, the autogenous shrinkage values of RS100, RS50-
1, RS50-2 and RS50-3 were 791 ppm, 916 ppm, 792 ppm and
1101 ppm at 7 days, respectively. Compared with the RS100, the au-
togenous shrinkage of RS50-3 was increased by 39.2%. These obtained
experimental results in this study were in a line with that from Su-
khoon's research [48]. In general, when the MS with fine particles
Fig. 11. Pore structure analysis results of the UHPC after curing at 7 days.
(< 125 μm) were added, the autogenous shrinkage could be sig-
nificantly increased.

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Fig. 12. Pore structure analysis results of the UHPC at 28 days.

Fig. 13. Effect of different sand on the hydration kinetics of UHPC cementitious
Table 4 system.
Critical pore radius of UHPC mixes at different ages (nm).
Mixture RS100 RS50-1 RS50-2 RS50-3 cause UHPC internal self-drying, which was followed by an increase of
autogenous shrinkage.
7d 17.1 17.11 13.74 13.74
28 d 4.52 7.23 7.23 5.16
3.4. Pores structure of the developed UHPC with manufactured sand

To understand the influence of MS on the microstructure develop-

Table 5
Total porosity of UHPC mixes at different ages (%). ment of UHPC, the MIP was used to estimate the development of UHPC
pore structures. The results were shown Figs. 11 and 12. As can be seen
Mixture RS100 RS50-1 RS50-2 RS50-3
from the figures that the pore size of UHPC mainly located in the range
7d 10.00 10.52 10.18 9.91 of 5–20 nm at 7 days. Then, with an increase of the curing time, the
28 d 7.87 6.83 8.39 6.83 cement can continue to hydrate and fill the void between particles.
After curing for 28-days, the pore size of UHPC was mainly in the range
of 3–11 nm. In general, the pore structure difference between the
The observed phenomenon mentioned above can also be attributed UHPCs with and without MS was relatively small. To quantify analysis
to the effect of fine particles in the utilized MS. As shown in Fig. 5, the pore structure of the developed UHPC with MS, its porosity and
compared with the RS, there were more particles smaller than 75 μm in critical pore passage at 7 and 28 days were shown in Tables 4 and 5. It
MS. Based on the study of Neville [58], these particles can increase the is obvious that the porosity of all the developed UHPC remains at the
specific surface area of the UHPC particle packing system, and require same level after curing for 7 days. Then, with the going of hydration,
more water in the mixture to wet the particles surfaces when the par- many voids were constantly filled with hydration products, leading a
ticles with higher specific surface area [59]. Therefore, the water- reduction of UHPC porosity. To be specific, the porosity reduction of
binder ratio and internal humidity of the mixture with MS (0–0.6 mm or the mixture RS50-1 was the largest (about 3.69%), which was followed
0–1.25 mm) were simultaneously reduced. As normally known, the by RS50-3, RS100 and RS50-2, respectively. But the difference of por-
reduced internal humidity was one of the most important key factors to osity reduction for all the developed UHPC was still not obvious (less

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Fig. 14. Micro-hardness profiles of the specimens.

Fig. 15. BSE/SEM images for the mixture at 28 days.

than 2%). Hence, it may be summarized that, based on chemical re- noticed, the results were obviously different between the RS and MS
action point of view, the effect of included MS particles (especially the specimens. The micro-hardness of the MS sample around the aggregate
fine particles < 125 μm) on UHPC pore structure on nano scale was reached a level of 122.55 MPa, whereas the value for RS sample was
quite small. To test this hypothesis, further testing was conducted and only 114.19 MPa. A view based on materials science, such behavior of
were reported in the following two subsections. specimen prepared with the MS due to higher crystallinite proportion in
the MS. According to Perkins [60], increased crystallinite usually re-
sults in Young's modulus and a higher yield stress. It can also be said
3.5. Isothermal calorimetry
that densification of microstructure-likely because of the MS char-
acteristics-strengthens the matrix by improving the contact point in-
To clarify the influence of MS particles (especially the very fine
teractions in its constituent.
particles) on the cement hydration in UHPC, the hydration kinetic of
It is well-known that the presence of rigid and well-bonded stiff
the developed UHPC was investigated based on isothermal calorimetry,
inclusions or other inhomogeneities can restrain the stress fields de-
and the obtained results were presented in Fig. 13. In general, the hy-
veloped under the indenter, leading to an indentation size that is
dration heat release rate curve and cumulative heat release curve for
smaller than would be expected from the nature of the paste alone, and
RS100 and RS50-3 were similar to each other, which imply that the
thus the hardness of the paste was expected to increase [61].
included fine particles from MS have limited effect on cement hydration
To observe the ITZ between aggregate and cement paste, the
in UHPC. This result was consistent with previous researches [59].
backscatter scanning electron was used in this study, and the results
Hence, it can be summarized that although the fine particles
were presented in Fig. 15. As can be seen, there were obvious cracks in
(< 125 μm) from MS can absorb free water and increase autogenous
the ITZ between RS and paste, while the cracks were difficult to be
shrinkage of UHPC, they have very limited influence on cement hy-
found in the MS sample. This were mainly due to the nature of the
dration and most likely act as filler in the developed UHPC. This con-
surface properties and particles shape of aggregate. As shown in Fig. 2,
clusion was also in a line with that shown in Section 3.4 in this study.
regular shape and smooth surface for the RS particle can be noticed,
while the MS was multi-angled and its surface was rough. During the
3.6. Microstructure development and ITZ analysis cement hydration process, the rough surface and edges of MS were
beneficial for obtaining a better connection between the paste and ag-
As mentioned above, on one hand the included MS can improve the gregate. Moreover, the multi-edges may also cause the interlocking
mechanical properties of the developed UHPC, on the one hand the fine between MS particles, which could further improve the binding force
particles in MS have almost no effect on hydration kinetics of UHPC. between paste and aggregate. Hence, it can be summarized that the
Hence, to clearly understand the reason of compressive strength im- typical physical characteristics of MS were the key factor to obtain
provement for the developed UHPC, its microstructure development UHPC with advanced mechanical properties and optimized micro-
and ITZ were studied and discussed in this section. structure.
Based on the obtained results, the micro-hardness measured in the
ITZ of each mix was plotted around aggregate in Fig. 14. As can be

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