Study of Cost effectiveness in Design of Structures with High Performance Concrete

Abstract

High Performance Concrete can be considered as a logical development of cement concrete in which the ingredients are proportioned and selected to contribute efficiently to the various properties of cement concrete in fresh as well as in hardened states. Higher strength is one of the features of High Performance Concrete which provides significant structural advantages. The three major components contributing to the cost of a structural member are concrete, steel reinforcement and formwork .This paper aims at comparing these major components when concrete of higher grade is used in the design and to establish that High strength concrete provides the most economical way for designing the load bearing members and to carry a vertical load to the building foundation through columns.
The mix design variables affecting the concrete strength which are the most critical in the strength development of concrete includes water-cementitious material ratio, total cementitious material, cement-admixture ratio, amount of super plasticizer dose .These factors are to be analyzed in order to obtain a mix for concrete of higher grade.The design aid presently available gives design charts for design of members for concretegrade upto Fck=40N/mm².Design curves for Fy=250N/mm²,415N/mm² and Fck=60N/mm², Fck=70N/mm² using MATLAB have been drawn and given for aiding in
the design of structures designed with these higher grade of concrete.