Influence of silica fume on long-term strength of mortars containing different aggregate fractions

An experimental investigation on the influence of high-strength cement with silica fume on long-term strength of mortar is reported. The effect of aggregate size and specific surface of aggregate on the variation of compressive strength has been studied. It has been observed that the early strength development was very significant with the addition of silica fume in mortars. It was also found that the size of the aggregate and its specific surface play a very significant role on the strength of the mortar. The strength of mortar increases initially and then gradually decreases as the grain size and the specific surface of aggregate increases. The modulus of elasticity increases as the compressive strength of the mortar increases. Significant strength losses have been observed in both silica fume and non-silica fume mortars at the age of 180 days