Design and application of UHPC with high abrasion resistance

Abstract This study presents the design and application of concrete with enhanced abrasion resistance and volume stability. Specifically, Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is selected as a promising matrix for abrasion resistance application due to the introduction of silica fume and steel fiber. Then, locally available manufactured sand (MS) has been added to the matrix to further improve the abrasion resistance. To expand the field application of UHPC based abrasion resistance material, the volume stability has been enhanced via the employment of internal curing agent (ICA) and expansive agent (EA). The effect of factors, i.e., the needle-like content in MS, the steel fiber dosage, the single and synergistic effect of the addition of ICA and EA, has been studied systematically. The results confirmed the positive effect attributed by the introduction of high needle-like content MS and steel fiber in the enhancement of anti-abrasion property, while highlighted the advance caused by the combined use of ICA and EA in improving the volume stability. After that, via a step-by-step design methodology, an optimized proportion of anti-abrasion UHPC can be determined. Moreover, the field application of the developed anti-abrasion UHPC has also been comparatively studied.