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Review study towards effect of Silica Fume on the fresh and hardened
properties of concrete

Article · April 2018

DOI: 10.12989/acc.2018.6.2.145

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Advances in Concrete Construction, Vol. 6, No. 2 (2018) 145-157
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12989/acc.2018.6.2.145 145

Review study towards effect of Silica Fume on the fresh

and hardened properties of concrete
Ashhad Imam, Vikash Kumar and Vikas Srivastava
Department of Civil Engineering, Shepherd Institute of Engineering and Technology, Sam Higginbottom
University of Agriculture, Technology & Sciences, Allahabad 211007, U.P, India

(Received November 9, 2017, Revised February 22, 2018, Accepted March 5, 2018)

Abstract. This paper presents a review on the use of Silica Fume (SF) as a mineral admixture in the
concrete. Distinctive outcome from several researches have been demonstrated here, particularly
emphasizing on the fresh and hardened properties of concrete when blended with Silica Fume (Micro-silica
or Nano-silica). The results showed a substantial enhancement in the mechanical properties of concrete
when replaced with SF. The review also presented a brief idea of percentage replacement of SF in case of
normal and high-strength concrete. A decreasing trend in workability (slump value) has been identified
when there is a increase in percentage replacement of SF. It can be concluded that the optimize percentage
of replacement with SF lies in the range of 8-10% particularly for compressive strength. However the
variation of blending goes up to 12-15% in case of split tensile and flexure strength of concrete. The study
also demonstrates the effect of silica fume on durability parameters like water absorption, permeability,
sulphate attack and chloride attack.
Keywords: Silica Fume; workability; compressive strength; split tensile strength; flexure strength

1. Introduction

1.1 Background

Silica Fume possess a high reactive pozzolanic property, while it is used in concrete because of
its fine particles, large surface area and high SiO2 content. Silica fume is much fined separated
silica obtained as a by-product in industry. It is used as an admixture in the concrete mix and it has
significant effects on the properties of the resulting material (Panjehpour et al. 2011).
Silica fume, also known as micro silica is an amorphous (non-crystalline) polymorph of silicon
dioxide. It is an ultrafine powder collected as a by-product of the silicon and ferrosilicon alloy
production. It is extremely fine with particles size less than 1 micron and with an average diameter
of about 0.1 microns, about 100 times smaller than average cement particles. Its behaviour is
related to the high content of amorphous silica (>90%). The reduction of high-purity quartz to
silicon at temperatures up to 2,000ºC produces SiO2 vapours, which oxidizes and condense in the
low temperature zone to tiny particles consisting of non-crystalline silica (Singh et al. 2016).

Corresponding author, Assistant Professor, E-mail: [email protected]

Copyright © 2018 Techno-Press, Ltd.

http://www.techno-press.org/?journal=acc&subpage=7 ISSN: 2287-5301 (Print), 2287-531X (Online)
146 Ashhad Imam, Vikash Kumar and Vikas Srivastava

Silica Fume was firstly obtained in Norway (Oslo) in 1947, during filtration of the exhaust
gases from furnaces as fumes. The large portion of these fumes contained very fine powder of high
percentage of silicon dioxide. Since the 1970s, filtration of gases has started at large scale and, in
1976, first standard NS 3050 was granted to use silica fume in factory-produced cement Newman
and Choo (2003). It is a high quality material used in the cement and concrete industry. It has been
reported that if a typical dosage of silica fume of 8-10% by weight of cement is added in concrete,
then its effect is between 50,000 and 100,000 microspheres percent particle; that is, concrete mix
will be denser and cohesive due to fine particles of silica fume (Tomas et al. 2012).
Silica Fume can be utilised as material for supplementary cementations to increase the strength
and durability conforming to AASHTO M 307 or ASTM C 1240. According to the Florida
Department of Transportation (2004), the quantity of cement replacement with silica fume should
be between 7% and 9% by mass of cementation materials (Bhanja and Sengupta 2005).
Now a days, the use of high performance concrete is in great demand in the construction
industry. For improved strength and durability, the use of silica fume as the replacement of cement
has been found to be an appropriate admixture. The mechanical property especially compressive
strength of the concrete has been investigated with an objective to find an optimum dose of silica
fume replacement. Different researchers have arrived at different optimum value.

1.2 Production and form of silica fume

Silica fume (SF) is a by-product of the smelting process in the silicon and ferrosilicon industry.
The reduction of high-purity quartz to silicon at temperatures up to 2,000ºC produces SiO2
vapours, which oxidizes and condense in the low temperature zone to tiny particles consisting of
non-crystalline silica. By-products of the production of silicon metal and the ferrosilicon alloys
having silicon contents of 75% or more contain 85-95% non-crystalline silica. The by-product of
the production of ferrosilicon alloy having 50% silicon has much lower silica content and is less
pozzolanic. Therefore, SiO2 content of the silica fume is related to the type of alloy being
produced. Silica fume is also known as micro silica, condensed silica fume, volatized silica or
silica dust. The American concrete institute (ACI) defines silica fume as a “very fine non-
crystalline silica produced in electric arc furnaces as a by product of production of elemental
silicon or alloys containing silicon”. It is usually a grey colour powder, somewhat similar to
Portland cement or some fly ashes. It can exhibit both pozzolanic and cementitious properties.
Silica fume has been recognized as a pozzolanic admixture that is effective in enhancing the
mechanical properties to a great extent. The physical composition of silica fume Diameter is about
0.1 micron to 0.2 microns; Surface area about 30,000 m²/kg and Density varies from 150 to 700
kg/m³. Fig. 1 shows the schematic diagram of silica fume production. The silica fume is collected
in very large filters in the bag house and then made available for use in concrete (Siddique and
Khan 2011).

1.3 Physical properties of silica fume

The property of silica fume depends on the type of production as well as the process used for its
manufacturing. It is in powder form whose particle size is 100 times smaller than that of Portland
cement. Silica Fume can be obtained in three forms i.e., powder, condensed and slurry. The colour
of SF varies from light to dark grey or white which is because of the different manufacturing
process and is influenced by some of the parameters like wood chip composition, furnace
 Review study towards effect of Silica Fume on the fresh and hardened properties of concrete 147

RAW MATERIALS

Carbon: coke, coal, wood chips

SMELTING FURNACE
Silicon metal
Temperature 2000ºc

Bag house filter As-produced silica

fume
Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of silica fume production (Siddique and Khan 2011)

Table 1 Typical physical properties of silica fume

Properties Bulk density Surface area (BET)
Particle size Specific gravity
Authors (kg/m3) (m2/kg)
Toutanji and Bayasi (1999) 0.14 mm 225 2.3 20,000
Kumar et al. (2014) - 240 2.34 20,000
Detwiler and Mehta (1989) 0.1µ - 2.2 20,000
Mohyiddeen and Maya (2015) 1µ 576 2.2 20,000

temperature, ratio of wood chip to the coal used, exhaust temperature, and type of metal produced.
Table 1 shows a brief detail of the physical properties of SF adopted by several authors.

1.4 Chemical properties of silica fume

Silica fume is produced during a high-temperature reduction of quartz in an electric arc furnace
when the main product is silicon or ferrosilicon. Due to the large amount of electricity needed,
theses arc furnaces are located in countries with well-provided electrical capacity including
Scandinavia, Europe, Canada, USA, South Africa, and Australia. The chemical process is complex
and it depends on the temperature of the producing. The SiC formed, initially plays important
intermediate roles. At temperatures >1520°C, the reaction follows as (SiO2+3C=SiC+2CO) but at
temperatures >1800°C, the reaction mechanism changes as (3SiO3+2SiC=Si+4SiO+2CO). The
unstable gas diffuses in the furnace where it reacts with oxygen to give the silicon dioxide as
(4SiO+2O2=4SiO2) (Panjehpour et al. 2011). Below Table 2 demonstrates a variation of several
chemical compositions of SF adopted by several authors.

1.5 Experimental variations adopted by several authors

Past researchers have performed several experimental setups for the replacement of cement by
silica fume with varying replacement level. In this paper, parametric variations adopted by
148 Ashhad Imam, Vikash Kumar and Vikas Srivastava

Table 2 Chemical composition of silica fume samples

Oxides SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 MgO Na2O
CaO (%) K2O (%) SO3 (%) LOI (%)
Authors (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
Sandvik and Gjorv
92.1 0.5 1.4 0.5 0.3 0.7 0.3 - 2.8
(1992)
Hooton and
96.65 0.23 0.07 0.31 0.04 0.56 0.15 0.17 2.27
Titherington (2004)
Fuat et al. (2008) 81.35 4.48 1.42 0.80 1.47 - - 1.34 3.4
Detwiler and Mehta
96.0 0.1 0.6 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.1 - 1.7
(1989)
Kumar et al. (2014) 90-96 0.5-3.0 0.2-0.8 0.1-0.5 0.5-1.5 0.04-0.1 0.2-0.7 0.1-2.5 0.7-2.5
Koksal et al. (2015) 85.35 1.42 2.39 0.80 1.47 - - 1.34 3.4
Turkel and Altuntas
92.26 0.89 1.97 0.49 0.96 1.31 0.42 0.33 2.05
(2009)
2.0
Khan et al. (2014) 91.4 0.09 0.04 0.93 0.78 2.41 0.39 0.01
Behnood and Ziari
91.7 1 0.9 1.68 1.8 - 0.10 0.87 2
(2008)
Khater (2013) 94.92 0,02 1.28 0.03 0.01 0.15 0.28 0.02 3.28

Table 3 Experimental variations adopted by several authors

Super plasticizers Replacement Concrete
Authors Material used w/c ratios
type level grade
OPC by QNCC, silica 0, 5, 10,
Ajileye (2012) 0.38 M30
fume 15, 20 25%
Amudhavalli and OPC 53 grade, silica CONPLAST-SP 0, 5, 10,
0.36 M35
Mathew (2012) fume (grade 920D) 430 15, 20%
Amarkhail (2015) OPC, silica fume 0, 5, 10,15% 0.3 M40
Rathore and Walia OPC 43 grade, silica 0, 2.5, 5.
Shaliplast SP-431 - M55 & M60
(2016) fume 7.5, 10%
Singh et al. (2016) OPC 43, silica fume - 0, 5, 10, 15% - M30
Sundararaman and OPC 53, rice husk ash 0, 5, 10, 15,
- 0.40 M20
Azhagarsamy (2015) & silica fume 20, 25%
Pradhan and Dutta OPC 43, silica fume CONPLAST- SP 0, 5, 10,
0.50 -
(2013) (grade 920D) 430 15, 20%
OPC 53, silica fume 0, 2.5, 5,
Roy and Sil (2012) - 0.45 M20
(grade 920D) 7.5, 10%
OPC 53, fly ash grade CONPLAST- SP 0.33, 0.34,
Kumar et al. (2014) 0, 10, 20, 30% M60
C, silica fume 430 0.35, 0.36
Mohyiddeen and Portland Pozzolana CONPLAST- SP
0, 4, 8, 12% 0.45 M30
Maya (2015) cement, silica fume 430

different researchers for carrying out their experiment to ascertain the properties of concrete by the
addition of SF have also been included. Table 3 shows a brief description of the experimental
variations adopted by several authors:
 Review study towards effect of Silica Fume on the fresh and hardened properties of concrete 149

60
50
50
40
Slump (mm)

30
20
20 16
8
10
0
5 10 15 20
Silica Fume (%)

Fig. 2 Slump values for different replacement levels of silica fume (Amarkhail 2015)

2. Properties of fresh concrete

2.1 Effect of silica fume on workability of concrete

Lot more study has been carried out to assess the properties of fresh concrete with different
level of replacements of silica fume. This property of fresh concrete has been checked by several
authors and some of the findings are explained here in this study. Kadri and Dual (1998) identified
an increasing trend in workability within a range of 5-6% when cement was partially replaced by
10% of silica fume whereas Khayat et al. (1997) found a loss of 15 to 20 mm slump when cement
was replaced with 7.5% of silica fume. His findings were further supported by Yogendran et al.
(1987) who in his research have also substantiated a decreasing trend in workability when the
replacement level of silica fume is increased. Moreover the researchers like Ramkrishnan and
Shriniwasan (1982), Nader (2007), Srivastava (2012) have performed the experiment on
replacement of cement by silica fume and they reported that the workability of fresh concrete
decreases with the increasing percentage of silica fume and in some rare cases it improves the
workability as well as Mohyiddeen and Maya (2015) obtained an increasing trend in the
workability of concrete when the percentage of copper slag increases and workability of concrete
decreases when the percentage of silica fume increases. It can be concluded that the decrease in the
workability with silica fume is due to high specific surface of silica fume whereas increase in
workability with copper slag is due to low water absorption.
Amarkhail (2015) found that the overall workability of the fresh concrete was low because of
low water/cement ratio (w/c=0.3). He observed that up to 10% cement may be replaced by silica
fume without harming the concrete workability. Fig. 2 depicts the variation in slump values with
the varying replacement percentage of SF.
Wong and Razak (2005) studied the fresh properties of blended concrete by adopting three
different w/c ratios of 0.27, 0.30 and 0.33. At each w/c ratio, cement was replaced with 0, 5, 10,
and 15% silica fume. Table 3 shows a variation of Slump with different degrees of replacement at
specific w/c ratio. It is concluded in the study that the large variation of workability across
mixtures was due to the constant super plasticizer dosage used for mixtures with the same w/c
ratio.
150 Ashhad Imam, Vikash Kumar and Vikas Srivastava

Table 3 Slump values for different w/c ratios and silica fume replacement Wong and Razak (2005)
Mixture W/C ratios Slump (mm) W/C ratio Slump (mm) W/C ratio Slump (mm)
Control 165 225 240
SF 5% 100 215 180
0.27 0.30 0.33
SF10% 50 117 100
SF 15% 35 30 35

3. Properties of hardened concrete

3.1 Effect of silica fume on compressive strength

Several researches have been carried out for the enhancement of compressive strength of
concrete with different percentage variation of silica fume blending. Perumal and Sundararajan
(2004) examined the effect of silica fume on the high performance concrete or high strength
concrete and performed the test for M60, M70 and M110 concrete grades for mixes and
investigated to arrive at the maximum levels of replacement of cement with Silica fume.
Compressive strengths of these grades of concrete have been fond at 28 days curing and an
optimum replacement level of silica fume was found to be 10%. Moreover, Hanumesh et al.
(2015) investigated the mechanical properties of concrete incorporating silica fume as partial
replacement of cement (5, 10, 15 and 20%) for M 20 grade of concrete. The result shows that the
maximum compressive strength of concrete gained at 10% silica fume blending which can be said
as the optimum dose. But a decreasing trend in compressive strength is observed when the
replacement level exceeds 10%. From 10% there is a decrease in compressive strength. On the
hand, Katkhuda et al. (2009) investigated on the influence of silica fume addition on high strength
light weight concrete. They replaced silica fume by 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25% with w/c ratio varying
in the range of 0.26 to 0.42. They reported the maximum compressive strength for different w/c
ratios as for 0.26, 0.30 & 0.34, 0.38 and 0.42 are 61.75 N/mm2 at 15% SF replacement and 56.23
& 52 N/mm2 at 20% SF replacement and 46.15 & 40.95 N/mm2 at 25% SF replacement
respectively. In addition to this, Ismeik (2009) performed the effect of mineral admixtures on
mechanical properties of high strength concrete made with locally available materials. He adopted
different replacement levels of SF as 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, and 15% for three different w/c ratios (0.30,
0.35 & 0.40). He observed that the maximum value of compressive strength was obtained as 50
N/mm2 at 28 days for which the optimum replacement of silica fume was 10% at 0.30 w/c ratio
where as the minimum compressive strength was found as 37 N/mm2 at 0.40 w/c ratio. Similarly,
Amudhavalli and Mathew (2012) also investigated the effect of silica fume on strength of the
concrete with a constant w/c ratio of 0.36 and the replacement level of silica fume taken as 5, 10,
15, and 20%. The maximum compressive strength for 7 days and 28 days are 38.3 & 47.3 Mpa
respectively and the optimum percentage replacement of silica fume was observed at 15%.
Kumar and Dhaka (2016) worked on partial replacement of cement with silica fume and its
effects on concrete properties for M35 concrete mix with varying percentage level of silica fume is
5, 9, 12, and 15% by weight of cement. The optimum percentage replacement of SF was found to
be 12% for which the maximum compressive strength was obtained. The maximum compressive
strength for 7 days and 28 days was found as 30.95 N/mm2 & 46.14 N/mm 2 respectively.
Moreover, Ajileye (2012) also investigated the effect of SF on the properties of concrete by
 Review study towards effect of Silica Fume on the fresh and hardened properties of concrete 151

80 Amudhavalli (2012) kumar (2016) Aileye (2012) Menon (2013) Mazloom (2004)
28 days curing
70
Compressive Strength (N/mm2)

60 7 days curing

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20
Silica Fume (%)
Fig. 3 Variation of compressive strength at different level of silica fume for 7 and 28 days curing

adopting a replacement level of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25% at 0.38 w/c ratio for M30 mixes. He also
demonstrated an increasing trend in compressive strength up to 10% of SF variation. On the hand,
a clear statement is reported by ACI Committee 226 (1987) that the main contribution of silica
fume to concrete strength development at normal curing temperature takes place from about 3 to
28 days. It is also reported that the admixture appears to be more efficient pozzolan than fly ash.
Furthermore, several researches have also been carried out to assess the effect of SF blending on
the mechanical properties of concrete by Mohyiddeen and Maya (2015), Menon et al. (2013) and
Mazloom et al. (2004). Fig. 3 depicts a combined result of different researchers for compressive
strength of concrete at different level of SF replacement for 7 and 28 days of curing age.

3.2 Effect of silica fume on split tensile strength

Several researches have been carried out to assess the performance of concrete in terms of split
tensile strength at different percentage variation of silica fume replacement. Hanumesh et al.
(2015) identified the mechanical properties of concrete by incorporating Silica Fume as Partial
Replacement of Cement (5, 10, 15 and 20%). They affirmed an increasing trend in split tensile
strength by the use of silica fume up to 10% replacement of cement above which the split tensile
strength tends to decrease. The optimum percentage of replacement of cement by silica fume was
found as 10% for M20 grade of concrete. However, Sasikumar and Tamilvanan (2016) performed
an experimental investigation by adopting a variation level of SF up to 50% for M 30 grade of
concrete. They found an optimum percentage of silica fumes at 25% for maximum split tensile
strength for 7 and 28 days age of curing. Moreover, Katkhuda et al. (2009) investigated on the
influence of silica fume on high strength light weight concrete by replacing 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25%
of SF with w/c ratio varying from 0.26 to 0.42. They reported an optimum percentage to be 15%
152 Ashhad Imam, Vikash Kumar and Vikas Srivastava

6 Amudhavalli (2012) Kumar (2016) Menon (2013)

28 days curing
5
Split tensile Strength (N/mm2)

7 days curing

0
0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20
Silica Fume (%)
Fig. 4 Variation of split tensile strength at different level of silica fume for 7 and 28 days curing

for 0.26 and 0.30 w/c ratios where as 20% optimum replacement was found at 0.34, 0.38 and 0.42
w/c ratios.
Menon et al. (2013) investigated on the effect of silica fume on the fresh and hardened
properties of fly ash-based self-compacting geopolymer concrete (SCGC). They focused on the
concrete mixes with a fixed water-to-geopolymer solid (W/Gs) ratio of 0.33 by mass and a
constant total binder content of 400 kg/m3. The mass fractions of silica fume that replaced fly ash
in this research were 5, 10, and 15%. They found the maximum split tensile strength to be 4.40 &
4.67 N/mm2 at 7 and 28 days of curing respectively at optimum dosage of 10% silica fume
replacement. Several more researches have been carried out by Amudhavalli and Mathew (2012)
and Kumar and Dhaka (2016) to assess the effect of SF replacement on split tensile strength by
adopting varying parameters in their experimental studies like w/c ratios, age of curing, percentage
of SF variation as well as for different grades of concrete. Fig. 4 depicts a combined result of
different researchers for split tensile strength of concrete at different level of SF replacement for 7
and 28 days of curing age.

3.3 Effect of silica fume on flexure strength

The past researches demonstrate a clear estimate of the dose of silica fume towards the
enhancement of flexural strength of concrete. Some of the findings on flexure strength
improvement are illustrated in this study to substantiate the above statement.
Katkhuda et al. (2009) replaced SF by 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25% with w/c ratio varying from 0.26
to 0.42 for 28 days of curing. The optimum percentage for maximum flexural strength was found
as 15% for w/c 0.26, 20% for w/c 0.30 & 0.34 and 25% for w/c 0.38 & 0.42. Similarly, Ismeik
(2009) also investigated the effect of mineral admixtures SF (by varying 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, and 15%)
on mechanical properties of high strength concrete for different w/c ratios (0.30, 0.35 & 0.40). He
 Review study towards effect of Silica Fume on the fresh and hardened properties of concrete 153

12 Amudhavalli (2012) Amarkhail (2015) Kumar (2016) Menon (2013)

28 days curing
10
7 days curing
Flexural Strength (N/mm2)

0
0 5 10 15 0 5 10 15
Silica Fume (%)
Fig. 5 Variation of flexure strength at different level of silica fume for 7 and 28 days curing

found the maximum value of flexural strength to be 10 N/mm2 at 28 days for which the optimum
replacement of silica fume was 15% for 0.30 w/c ratio whereas the minimum flexural strength was
found as 6.6 N/mm2 at 0.40 w/c ratio. He also concluded that the flexure strength tends to increase
with decrease in w/c ratios for each percentage variation of silica fume.
Amudhavalli and Mathew (2012), Amarkhail (2015) adopted a similar variation in replacement
level of SF i.e., 5, 10, 15, 20% for 7 and 28 days of curing period at different w/c ratios as 0.36
and 0.30 respectively. Both have found increasing flexure strength for 15% of optimum
replacement of Silica Fume.
On the other hand, Roy and Sil (2012) studied the effect of partial replacement of cement by
silica fume on hardened concrete and observed that the flexure strength in increased by
approximately 39% and 21% to those of the normal concrete when 10% of cement is replaced by
SF. Similarly, Kumar and Dhaka (2016) also investigated the partial replacement of cement with
silica fume by 5, 9, 12 and 15% by weight of cement for 7 and 28 days curing. Maximum flexural
strength was found at 12% replacement of silica fume.
Furthermore, Mohyiddeen and Maya (2015) also worked on the effect of silica fume on
concrete containing copper slag as fine aggregate for M30 grade of concrete with the silica
variation of silica fume of 4, 8 and 12% and fine aggregate replacement with copper slag at 20, 40
and 60%. They tested flexural strength for different concrete mixes at 28 days found the maximum
value of flexural strength as 7.5 N/mm2 at optimum replacement level of 8% silica fume and 40%
copper slag. In addition to this, Menon et al. (2013) investigated the effect of silica fume on the
fresh and hardened properties of fly ash-based self-compacting geopolymer concrete (SCGC).
They found an increase in flexural strength up to 4.29 and 4.56 N/mm2 for 7 and 28 days
respectively at 10 % replacement level of silica fume as an optimum percentage. Fig. 5 depicts a
combined result of different researchers for flexural strength of concrete at different level of SF
replacement for 7 and 28 days of curing age.
154 Ashhad Imam, Vikash Kumar and Vikas Srivastava

3.4 Effect of silica fume on durability parameters

Distinctive research have been carried out to assess the durability aspects of concrete when
blended with Silica Fume. This section deals with an overview of research outcomes obtained for
the durability parameters of Silica Fume concrete. On the same line, authors like Ramakrishnan
and Srinivasan (1982), Song et al. (2010) reported about the significance of Silica Fume blending
in concrete with respect to its absorption co-efficient which was found to be less than the normal
concrete (i.e., OPC). This revealed that the silica fume concrete becomes less prone to
permeability which in turn making the concrete to be more impermeable as by adding silica fume
with cement, makes the microstructure of concrete denser. It has also been found that the
permeability of concrete is dramatically reduced as silica fume replacement ratio goes beyond 8 to
12%. However, if this replacement exceeds 12%, the permeability is quite marginal and in some
cases it increases for increased water to binder ratio. They also observed a reduction in
permeability with increase in fineness of Silica Fume. Similarly, Diaz and Delvasta (2005) and
Shekarchi et al. (2009) reported that the incorporation of silica fume improves water absorption
properties of the Portland cement based composites owing to a reduction of permeable voids. It is
noted that the coefficient of capillary absorption was lowered when a pozzolanic material was
added to a cementitous matrix. The effect is very pronounced in the case of silica fume. It is also
reported that addition of silica fume retarded the action of chloride ions which cause breakdown of
passive protective film surrounding the steel reinforced bars placed in mortars. Shekarchi et al.
(2009) concluded that the addition of 7.5% silica fume resulted in a significant reduction in
chloride diffusion in concrete. However, an increase of silica fumes content from 7.5 to 12.5%,
exhibited little effect on the reduction in permeability.
On a similar note, Gjorve (1995) reported that condensed silica fume substantially increase the
resistance to chloride penetration. Replacement up to 9% of silica fume in high grade concrete
may reduce the chloride diffusivity by a factor of about five. He concluded that if properly
dispersed condensed silica fume is combined with a low water cement ratio, it appears that
concrete structures with an excel performance can be constructed even in the most aggressive and
hostile environment. Moreover, Khayat et al. (1997) reported that the rapid chloride ion
permeability of concrete made with blended silica fume cement was four to five times lower than
the referral OPC concrete. Similarly, Chung et al. (2010), Elahi et al. (2010) also accounted about
the increased efficiency of blended concrete resistance towards chloride ion diffusion because of
adsorption of chloride ion to C-S-H layers and the improved microstructure by the pozzolanic
reaction. It was reported by ACI Committee-234, (2000) that the use of silica fume will produce a
much less permeable concrete, however the concrete will be of lesser mass per unit volume. It is
also trusted by the committee that the low permeability characteristics of silica fume concrete and
the corresponding improvements in long term durability will provide the single most significant
improvement to the concrete construction industry. On the other hand, Lee et al. (2005) observed
the use of silica fume with beneficial effect in terms of controlling the strength loss of OPC matrix
due to its pozzolanic reaction and the consequent reduction of calcium hydroxide, when employed
in the sodium sulphate environment. The silica fume matrix does not easily permit the permeation
and diffusion of sulphate ions originating from the sodium sulphate solution.

4. Conclusions

Based on the review, it is quite clear that mineral admixture like Silica Fume has proved to be
 Review study towards effect of Silica Fume on the fresh and hardened properties of concrete 155

the most promising blending material to provide a good quality concrete. The following
generalized conclusions can be drawn on the properties of fresh and hardened concrete.
I. Silica Fume is considered as a highly reactive pozzolanic material which provides an
increased cohesiveness in concrete due to its high fineness modulus which consequently results
into a high amount of water requirement to maintain the desired workability. However, the
requirement of water may be offset by adding plasticizer.
II. The workability of concrete with Silica Fume greatly depends on the particle size, specific
surface area, particle shape, and replacement level. In general, smaller the particle size and
higher the specific surface of mineral admixture increases the water demands of concrete. The
workability of fresh concrete decreases with the increasing in the percentage of silica fume.
III. The compressive strength of concrete increases with the increase in replacement level of
Silica Fume in a range of 8-12% below which no significant change in compressive strength
can be expected. Rather, a decreasing trend in compressive strength is anticipated if the
replacement level is going beyond 12%. Also, It is found that the compressive strength
decrease with increasing w/c ratio followed by an increase in Silica Fume replacement.
IV. The split tensile strength of concrete shows an increasing tendency up to a limit of 10-
15%. It can be said that the split tensile strength decreases with increasing w/c ratio followed
by an increase in Silica Fume replacement. However, a similar trend is observed in case of
flexure strength in a replacement range of 10-15%.
V. Durability parameters like water absorption, permeability, sulphate attack and chloride
penetration resistance are higher in case of concrete blended with silica fume as compared to
normal OPC concrete.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of Sam Higginbottom University of
Agriculture Technology and Sciences (SHUATS), Allahabad for providing the resources used in
the conducting this review work.

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