Effect of Perlite on Thermal Conductivity of Self Compacting Concrete

Cement concrete pavement slabs used in highway construction are planer structures. Apart from regular factors considered in analysis of concrete pavements, temperature effects influence the slab size, joint spacing and temperature reinforcement design. The thermal performance of concrete pavement is governed by its thermal properties viz. coefficient of thermal expansion, specific heat and thermal conductivity. Studies have been undertaken to assess the thermal properties of normal concrete. The measurement of thermal conductivity for Self Compacting Concrete (SCC) has been proposed in this paper. SCC is a highly flowable and non-segregating concrete. SCC has the ability to flow through congested reinforcements efficiently irrespective of the structure geometry. An experimental program has been undertaken, to assess the thermal conductivity values for M-40 grade of SCC mixes with manufactured sand. Class C flyash has been used as a cement replacement material. Perlite has been used as fine sand replacement material. The thermal conductivity values were measured using Guarded Hot Plate method (ASTM C177) as recommended in ACI 122R. This paper is an attempt to present the experimental results obtained for thermal conductivity studies undertaken on M-40 grade of SCC with optimized flyash dosage and perlite dosage. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.