International Journal of

Advanced Structures and Geotechnical Engineering

ISSN 2319-5347, Vol. 02, No. 01, January 2013

Evaluating the Effect of Bentonite on Strength and Durability of High

Performance Concrete
JUNAID AKBAR, BASHIR ALAM, MUHAMMAD ASHRAF, SALMAN AFZAL,
ASFANDYAR AHMAD, KHAN SHAHZADA
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Engineering & Technology, Peshawar, Pakistan
Email: shah_civil2003@yahoo.com, khanshahzada@nwfpuet.edu.pk
Abstract: Two very basic possessions of concrete are being addressed by this research work i.e. Durability and
Compressive Strength of concrete. The major variable that is introduced in the research work is Bentonite as
partial replacements by weight of cement. The experimental program explained by this explosion contains two
parts. The first part was to investigate the potential use of Bentonite to evaluate its impact on Compressive
strength of High Performance Concrete (HPC). An HPC batch, properly mix designed was primed, aiming at
strength of 6000psi. Super plasticizer was also introduced to attain high workability. Some part of the batch was
treated for a Compressive Strength test. The second part of research work addresses its effect on Durability of
concrete. For this purpose the rest of the batch was exposed to a cycle of wetting and drying in sulfate ironic
atmosphere, the solution containing 50 g/l of Na2SO4. The durability was measured in terms of resistance
offered to the penetration of sulfate ions into the concrete. Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity testing was performed for
this purpose and the quality of concrete was checked. It was seen from the results that Bentonite resulted in poor
early stage and good later stage Compressive strength when compared with Control samples. On the other hand
it showed very good resistance to sulfate attack. Control samples which were exposed to sulfate environment
were affected very harshly. The main conclusions drawn from this research work is that Bentonite can be
used in a place where later stage strength is required. And for durability purposes it gives good results at every
stage.

Keywords- UPV Testing, UTM Testing, Sulfate Attack.

I. Introduction
The Normal Cement Concrete structures require
costly repairs during their service life as they
deteriorate before their service life is achieved. Four
main environmental phenomenons affect concrete.
They are alkali-aggregates reaction, freezing and
thawing of concrete, corrosive action of
reinforcement, sulfate attack. In each case, concrete
is penetrated by chemical solutions causing damages.
[1]. High performance concrete (HPC) enhances the
durability and/or high strength which results in
economical and long-lasting structures. [2].The less
permeable HPC resists the permeability of aggressive
solutions and, therefore making concrete more
durable. Pozollanic materials which are used as
cementitious materials result in high compressive
strengths, above 40 MPa (6000 psi). The sulfate attack
can be well-defined as a sequence of chemical
reactions, in the existence of sulfate ions, which
arises in hardened concrete. The product obtained
from these reactions holds larger volume than the
reactants thus causing internal stresses in the concrete.
These stresses lead to cracks in the concrete and
reduce the life span of the concrete structure. [8]. The
degradation caused by sulfate attack depends on
several factors including the exposure conditions. The
exposure conditions may be continuous immersion in
sulfate environment, exposure to cyclic wetting and
drying and partial immersion with evaporation.
[9].The characteristics and suitable use of clays and
nutrients as alternative of cement in concrete is under
study since decades.
Blended cements containing higher amount of natural
pozzolans shows excellent ability to reduce the alkali-
silica expansion and yields almost equal strength to
Portland cement at the age of 91 days. [3].The
mechanical and durability properties of metakaolin
clay and silica fume concretes have been also studied.
It is found that metakaolinite-clay concrete has
superior strength development and similar chloride
resistance to silica-fume concrete. [4].The effect of
metakaolin clay replacement of cement on the
durability of concrete to sulfate attack has also been
investigated. The study showed that metakaoline
replacement of cement increased the sulfate resistance
of the concrete. The sulfate resistance of metakaoline
concrete increased with increasing the metakaolin
replacement level. The sulfate resistance of
metakaolin concrete at w/c ratio of 0.5 is more than, at
w/c ratio of 0.6. [5]. Research has also been carried
out on the use of bentonite clay as replacement of
cement. Hassan et al. (2003) found out the reactivity
index of mortar cubes containing Jehangira bentonite
as replacement of cement. He concluded that 40 per
cent replacement of bentonite in mortar and 25 per
cent replacement in concrete yielded satisfactory
results when used AS SUCH (without any heat
treatment). [6]. Badshah (2003) found out the
optimum replacement of Jehangira bentonite as
pozzolana on the basis of XRD diffraction analysis
and compressive strength results. He also studied the
sulfate resistance of concrete utilizing Jehangira
bentonite. He concluded that 20 per cent of bentonite

IJASGE 020101 Copyright © 2012 BASHA RESEARCH CENTRE. All rights reserved.
 JUNAID AKBAR, BASHIR ALAM, MUHAMMAD ASHRAF, SALMAN AFZAL,
ASFANDYAR AHMAD, KHAN SHAHZADA

replacement in concrete yields satisfactory results but Table IV. Physical properties of Silica Fume
any further addition reduces strength drastically. State Amorphous sub-micron powder
Sulfate resistance of concrete increases as the Color Grey to medium gray Powder
pozzolana replacement increases. At 20 per cent of
Solubility Insoluble
bentonite replacement, a maximum resistance to
sulfate resistance of mortar in 2 per cent sulfate Size 1/100 times of Cement particles
solution is achieved. [7]. Specific 2.10 to 2.40
Gravity
II. Materials and Methods Bulk Density Densified 38 to 45 lb/ft3 (608 to 720
Cement used in the project was Ordinary Portland kg/m3)
Cement meeting the requirements of ASTM C150 Bulk Density Undensified 12 to 20 lb/ft3 (192 to
Type І cement. Fineness of cement was determined 320 kg/m3
using ASTM C184. [10].The aggregate was purchased Nature Pozzolanic
locally, naturally available. Tests were performed to
obtain required data. [11], [12], [13]. The properties of Super Plasticizer was purchased from SIKA Company.
cement, course and fine aggregates are tabulated in The physical properties are listed in Table V.
table I.
Table V. Physical properties of Silica Fume
Table I: Properties of materials Code RB-850
Form Brown Liquid
Description Cement CA FA Type Polynapthalena Concrete
Finess Modulus 1.78 - 3.66 based
Specific Gravity 2.44 2.61 2.45 Form Liquid
Density at 25˚C Approximately 1.18 kg/lit.
Water Absorption 0.88% 0.68 2.04
pH Approximately 8
Bentonite was purchased from a local company from Dosage 1.5% by weight of cement
Kharkhano and was sourced from Jahangira. Water Content 20%
Necassary tests were performed and are tabulated in Reduction
Table II. Fresh clean drinking water was used for mixing and
Table II. Physical properties of Bentonite curing.

Color Light Yellow III. Mix Proportion

Following ACI 211.1, our mix design was aimed for
Size Pass from sieve# 200 Ordinary Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) having
compressive 28 days strength of 6000psi for control
Free swell 60% by volume
samples. The data gathered from the experimental
Nature Pozzolanic procedure on the concrete ingredients is tabulated
Table VI.
The XRF test results for bentonite are tabulated in
Table VI. Data obtained from various tests of
Table III.
mix design for Control samples
Table III. XRF Test Results for Bentonite Nominal Maximum size of 1 inch
coarse aggregate
Compound Amount
Fineness Modulus of fine 3.66 -
SiO2 49.634
aggregate
Al2 O3 21.118 Specific Gravity of coarse 2.61 -
Fe2 O3 3.235 aggregate
CaO 12.563 Moisture Absorption of 0.68 %
MgO 3.591 coarse aggregate
SO3 0.163 Moisture Content in coarse 0.02 %
K 2O 2.091 aggregate
Na2O 0.449 Specific Gravity of fine 2.45 -
aggregate
Ti O2 0.498
Moisture Absorption of fine 2.04 %
MnO 0.07 aggregate
P 2 O5 0.119 Moisture Content in fine 2.41 %
Cr2 O3 0.007 aggregate
Rodded Bulk density of 96.94 lbs./ft3
Silica Fume was purchased from SIKA Company. The coarse aggregate
physical properties are listed in Table IV.

International Journal of Advanced Structures and Geotechnical Engineering

ISSN 2319-5347, Vol. 02, No. 01, January 2013, pp 1-5
 Evaluating the Effect of Bentonite on Strength and Durability of High Performance Concrete

For control sample having strength of 6000psi, the

mix proportion prepared is tabulated in Table VII. In this way, achieving a rapid procedure of
determining the sulfate attack in concrete cylinders it
Table-VII. Mix proportion Values was aimed, since the alternate cooling and heating
increased the probability of sulfate ingress into the
Quantity specimen. Other Control cylinders were placed in
S. No. Material
(kg/m3) normal water and were shifted to oven along with the
other cylinders for the same interval. Then Ultrasonic
1. Cement 11720
Pulse Velocity testing was performed on the samples,
2. Fine Aggregate 18820 after taking them out from oven and before immersing
them into the sulfate solution, on daily basis for 30
3. Coarse Aggregate 28887 days.
4. Water 4805
II. Results And Discussions
Compressive Strength Test
Results obtained from the compression tests are
Table IX: Compressive Strength Results ( MPa )
tabulated in Table III. They are also shown in
graphical view in Figure I.
Type of 7 14 28 56 91
Concrete days days days days days
2 3 3 3 4
Control (C)
9.3 5.4 7.6 9.7 0.3
Bentonite 2 2 2 3 3
(CB) 2.6 4.6 8.6 3.1 6.2

Table VII: Details of Mix proportions

Mix Bentonite Coarse agg. Fine agg. Cement Plasticizer C:S:CA

w/c
type (%) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (%) Ratio

1 : 1.61 :
CC 0 28887 18820 11720 0.4 1.5
2.45
1 : 2.01 :
CB 20 28887 18820 9376 0.51 1.5
3.06

Other concrete mixes were obtained by replacing 50

cement by weight with desired amount of Bentonite
Strength (MPa)
Compressive

i.e. 20%. Other constituents were kept constant. The

detailed mix proportions are given in the Table II.
I. Test Procedure
To evaluate the effect on compressive strength
specimen cylinders were made and cured according to
ASTM 192. Standard sized cylinders each of
152.4mm in diameter and 304.8mm in length
according to ASTM 39 were tested for compressive
strength using Universal Test Machine. Plaster of
Paris was used for capping of specimen cylinders.
For durability purpose concrete cylinders which were
subjected to a curing period of 42 days. Then a sulfate
rich environment was prepared to obtain a sulfate
exposure, a solution comprised of 50g/l of Sodium
Sulfate (Na2SO4). The Bentonite and Normal concrete
cylinders were fully immersed in it. As part of
research, the concrete cylinders were exposed into
sulfate environment for 18 hours and then placed
them in an oven for 6 hours at temperature of 100C.
C
0
7 14 28 56 91 CB
Age (Days)
Figure I: Compressive Strength Results
Control samples were taken as a benchmark for
Bentonite samples. It is seen from above results that
the 7, 14, 28, 56 and 91 days strength of Bentonite
samples are 77.03, 69.39, 76.07, 83.31 and 90.03
percent respectively as that of Control samples. It can
be concluded that the early age strength of Bentonite
samples is not appreciable. But later age strength of
Bentonite sample is quite appreciable.
Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Test
Results obtained from the UPV test are also shown in
Figure II.

International Journal of Advanced Structures and Geotechnical Engineering

ISSN 2319-5347, Vol. 02, No. 01, January 2013, pp 1-5
 JUNAID AKBAR, BASHIR ALAM, MUHAMMAD ASHRAF, SALMAN AFZAL,
ASFANDYAR AHMAD, KHAN SHAHZADA

6.00

5.00

4.00
Km/Sec

3.00 C1
CP
2.00
CB

1.00

0.00
0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00
Days

Figure II: UPV Test Results

Figure II shows that the quality of Control samples

which were kept in Sulfate solution and was exposed
to continuous wetting and drying is affected very
severely (Curve: CP). ). Its quality has gone down day
by day. Bentonite containing samples (Curve CB) has
given maximum results when compared with Control
Samples (Curve C1). Its quality keeps on increasing
day by day and has attain a value equals to Control
sample by the end of 30 days

III. Conclussions
From the results obtained it can be concluded that
Bentonite can be used in structural concrete as a partial
replacement, by weight of cement, to produce durable
and reliable concrete. Bentonite can be used in
concretes where latter stages strength is required
because Bentonite results in poor early stage
compressive strength but gives good results in later
stage.

IV. Future work

Other percentages of Bentonite and Silica Fume Caping of Cylinders UTM Compression Test
should be worked out to achieve better results for
strength and durability. A similar research work needs
to be done for Chloride ingress in concrete using
Bentonite as replacement of cement.

International Journal of Advanced Structures and Geotechnical Engineering

ISSN 2319-5347, Vol. 02, No. 01, January 2013, pp 1-5
 Evaluating the Effect of Bentonite on Strength and Durability of High Performance Concrete
Callibration of UPV Taking UPV
Apparatus Measurements
Acknowledgement
I am thankful to Civil Engineering, University of
Engineering & Technology Peshawar for providing
the necessary backing in completing this research
work. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to
my advisor Dr. Bashir Alam for the continuous
support of my project study and research. I am deeply
grateful to Dr. Ashraf Tanoli and Dr. Khan Shahzada
for taking keen interest in my project work and
guiding me at various stages of the research work.
References
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Specifications for High-Performance Concrete
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[2] P. Zia, M. L. Leming, S. H. Ahmad, J. J.
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Mechanical Behavior of High Performance
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Research Program, National Research Council,
Washington, D.C., 179 pp.
International Journal of Advanced Structures and Geotechnical Engineering
ISSN 2319-5347, Vol. 02, No. 01, January 2013, pp 1-5
[3] Studies on blended cement containig a high
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