Mechanical and Durability Performance of Quaternary Blended Cement Concrete Incorporating Fly Ash, GGBS, Silica Fume, and Metakaolin

Authors

  • Saurab Jain M. Tech Scholar Department of Civil Engineering, Swami Vivekanand Subharti University, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, INDIA
  • Ritu Sharma Department of Civil Engineering, Swami Vivekanand Subharti University, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, INDIA
  • Mayankeshwar Singh Department of Civil Engineering, Swami Vivekanand Subharti University, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, INDIA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55544/jrasb.5.3.10

Keywords:

Blended Cement Concrete, Fly Ash, GGBS, Silica Fume, Metakaolin, Durability Performance

Abstract

With the growing environmental issues that come from making Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), there has been a push to create more sustainable, high-performance concrete by way of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). In this study we set out to look at the mechanical and durability credentials of quaternary blended cement concrete where fly ash, metakaolin, silica fume and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) are used in part to replace OPC.

We put together an experimental programme under controlled lab conditions to prepare and test a number of different concrete mixes. Our evaluation covered the workability of the fresh concrete as well as the properties of the hardened material – compressive, split tensile and flexural strength were all measured at different curing intervals. To get a handle on durability we ran tests for water absorption, permeability, sulfate resistance and chloride penetration. We also turned to microstructural analysis via SEM, XRD and TGA to see what was happening with pore refinement and hydration.

What the data showed is that the SCMs make a marked improvement over standard OPC concrete in terms of overall performance. The quaternary blend in particular proved to have better strength and a denser microstructure thanks to the extra calcium silicate hydrate (C–S–H) and synergistic pozzolanic reactions, while also being less permeable. We would argue then that quaternary blended cement concrete is an effective means of delivering a durable, high-quality building material and one that lessens the environmental footprint of cement production.

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References

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Published

2026-06-25

How to Cite

Jain, S., Sharma, R., & Singh, M. (2026). Mechanical and Durability Performance of Quaternary Blended Cement Concrete Incorporating Fly Ash, GGBS, Silica Fume, and Metakaolin. Journal for Research in Applied Sciences and Biotechnology, 5(3), 81–89. https://doi.org/10.55544/jrasb.5.3.10

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 3 (2026): June Issue

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2026 Saurab Jain, Ritu Sharma, Mayankeshwar Singh

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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