Research on Compressive Strength of Manufactured Sand Concrete Based on Response Surface Methodology

Abstract

Due to the impact of economic and social development on the environment, there is an increasing demand for manufactured sand to replace natural sand as fine aggregate for concrete. At the same time, the effect of admixtures on the rheological properties and compressive strength of concrete is crucial in civil engineering applications. In this study, with the Box–Behnken test model, we analyzed and investigated the impact of a composite admixture of stone powder (SP), pulverized fuel ash (PFA), and silicon fume (SF) on the compressive strength of siliceous manufactured sand concrete using response surface methodology (RSM). At the same time, the rheological properties of the siliceous artificial sand and river sand concrete were analyzed. The prediction of the compressive strength of siliceous artificial sand concrete was developed using multiple regression analysis, the factors of which were SP, PFA, and SF content, and the response value was compressive strength. Furthermore, response surface and contour lines were used to analyze the impact of composite admixtures. It is shown that the compounding of SP, PFA, and SF improve the rheological properties of manufactured sand concrete. For the single factor, SP has the greatest effect on the compressive strength of mechanism sand concrete and SF has the least effect. For compounding, SP and PFA have the most significant effect on the compressive strength of artificial sand shotcrete, and the compounding of PFA and SF have the least effect.