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This paper presents the experimental results of a research carried out on the strength and permeability related properties of high performance concretes made with binary and ternary cementitious blends of fly ash (FA) and metakaolin (MK). The replacement ratios for FA were 10% and 20% by weight of Portland cement and those for MK were 5% and 10%. Compressive strength, chloride permeability, water sorptivity, and water absorption properties of concretes were obtained in this study for different testing ages up to 90 days. The influences of fly ash, metakaolin, and testing age on the properties of concretes have been identified using the analysis of variance. The statistical based regression models and the response surface method with the backward stepwise techniques were employed in the multi-objective optimization analysis. That is carried out by maximizing compressive strength while minimizing chloride permeability, water sorptivity, and water absorption. It was observed that fly ash and especially metakaolin were very effective on the aforementioned properties of the concretes, depending mainly on replacement levels and duration of curing. The results indicated that the ternary use of fly ash and metakaolin with the approximate cement replacement values of 13.3% and 10% respectively has provided the best results for the testing age of 90 days, when the optimized strength and permeability based durability properties of the concretes are concerned. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This study reports the finding of an experimental study carried out on the durability related properties of the lightweight concretes (LWCs) including either cold bonded (CB) or sintered (S) fly ash aggregates. CB aggregate was produced with cold bonding pelletization of class F fly ash (FA) and Portland cement (PC) while S aggregate was produced by sintering the fresh aggregate pellets manufactured from FA and bentonite (BN). Two concrete series with water-to-binder (w/b) ratios of 0.35 and 0.55 were designed. Moreover, silica fume (SF) with 10% replacement level was also utilized for the purpose of comparing the performances of LWCs with and without ultrafine SF. The durability properties of concretes composed of CB and S aggregates were evaluated in terms of water sorptivity, rapid chloride ion permeability, gas permeability, and accelerated corrosion testing after 28 days of water curing period. The compressive strength test was also applied to observe the strength level at the same age. The results revealed that S aggregate containing LWCs had relatively better performance than LWCs with CB aggregates. Moreover, the incorporation of SF provided further enhancement in permeability and corrosion resistance of the concretes.

One of the most remarkable drawbacks of the reinforced concrete structural elements is the corrosion of reinforcement. Especially, in marine structures or in such environments where chloride contamination risk exist this issue gains much importance. In this study, chloride contamination of the concrete was implemented by adding 0%, 1.5%, 3%, and 5% NaCl by weight of the total binder content, into concrete. To assess the influence of high reactivity metakaolin (MK) incorporation on the corrosion resistance of the chloride contaminated concrete, 5% and 15% MK replacement levels by the total weight of the binder were assigned in concrete production. The corrosion behaviors of reinforcing bars embedded in concretes were monitored through accelerated corrosion test, corrosion current density and the corresponding corrosion rate by linear polarization technique (LPR). Moreover, the electrical resistivity of concrete was measured. Analysis of the test results indicated that MK was proved to be effective in inhibiting the active corrosion of concrete even at severe chloride contamination levels.