Optimizing the Effects of Mineral Admixtures and Curing Regimes on Sustainable Non-proprietary UHPC

The proprietary ultra-high-performance concretes (UHPCs) are well-known for outstanding mechanical properties and durability. Despite the potential of the proprietary UHPC, factors including high cost, more complicated manufacturing than conventional concrete, and CO2 emission due to the large cement dosage hinder the prevalent application of the proprietary UHPC. This research aims to provide an economic, duplicatable, and ecofriendly non-proprietary UHPC with an energy saving curing regime. The effects of three mineral admixtures including silica fume, fly ash, and ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS), combined with three curing regimes are studied. The 28- and 56-day compressive strengths are compared to select the combination of mineral admixture and curing regime which gives the highest strength-to-cost ratio. The experiment results demonstrated that a non-proprietary UHPC with commercially available components within Japan through conventional equipment. Experiment results showed that: (1) GGBS non-proprietary UHPC cured at ambient produces the highest strength-to-cost ratio; (2) silica fume is the most sensitive to the elongation of thermal curing; (3) thermal curing is not essential in boosting the compressive strength of non-proprietary UHPC.