The Role of Paste Volume on Performance of Concrete

This paper describes how the influence of paste quality [water-cementitious material ratio (w/cm), binder type, admixtures, etc.] on concrete properties has been extensively studied. However, there is only a small amount of data on how the volume fraction of paste in concrete may or may not affect these properties. The paper reviews existing data on this subject. Apart from workability, most engineering properties as well as durability characteristics are not negatively affected by a reduction of the paste volume. Low paste volume concrete therefore represents an interesting option to produce economical concrete, both from ecological and economical point of view. This nevertheless requires compensating the workability loss by proper usage of admixtures. The general advantages and limitations of this approach are discussed.