The concrete need curing for cement hydration that is a chemical reaction in each step require water supply throughout the time period. The traditional concrete cured by external method that prevents the concrete surface dry so that keeping the concrete mixture wet and warm. The internal curing was adopted in normal and high strength concrete such as reactive powder concrete. In present paper, experimental approach is to study the mechanical properties of reactive powder concrete cured internally with thermostone material. The materials that adopted to evaluate and find out the influences of the internal curing on the mechanical properties of reactive powder concrete is focused with different curing methods such as in water, air and combined water and air. Thermostone aggregate are used as partial sand replacement by volume with different percentages to explore the percentage that effects of the concrete mechanical properties. Test results showed that the best partial replacement by thermostone is 5% gave enhancement and increase in compressive strength and flexural resistance strength (modulus of rupture) and concrete density. Highest increasing of compressive strength is 10.07in case of 5% partial replacement at 90 days. In case of cured the specimens up to 90 days, the increase in modulus of rupture is 4.53%

To achieve sustainability in the field of civil engineering, there has become a great interest in developing reactive powder concrete RPC through the use of environmentally friendly materials to reduce the release of CO2 gas produced from cement factories as well as contribute to the recycling of industrial wastes that have a great impact on environmental pollution. In this study, reactive powder concrete was prepared using total binder content of 800 kg/m3, water to binder ratio (0.275), and micro steel fibers  1% by volume of concrete. The experimental program included replacing fly ash with (8, 12, 16) % by cement weight to find the optimal ratio, which achieved the best mechanical properties of (RPC) at 7, 28, and 90 days with standard curing. Some mechanical properties of reactive powder concrete (flow, compressive strength, tensile strength, and density) were verified. The results at 28 days showed that the compressive strength (96.5) Mpa, tensile strength (9.38) Mpa, and density (2395 kg/m3). The results showed that the percentage of replacement of 8% of fly ash with cement is the optimal percentage, which achieved the highest resistance compared to the others. The results also indicated that it is possible to develop RPC using fly ash with a high withstand stress, tensile strength, and density.

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In order to implement the concept of sustainability in the field of construction, it is necessary to find an alternative to the materials that cause pollution by manufacturing, the most important of which is cement. Because factory wastes provide siliceous and aluminous materials and contain calcium such as fly ash and slag that are used in the production of high-strength geopolymer concrete with specifications similar to ordinary concrete, it was necessary for developing this type of concrete that is helping to reduce CO2 (dioxide carbon) in the atmosphere. Therefore, the aim of this study was to study the influence of incorporating various percentages of slag as a replacement for fly ash and the effect of slag on mechanical properties. This paper showed the details of the experimental work that has been undertaken to search and make tests the strength of geopolymer mixtures made of fly ash and then replaced fly ash with slag in different percentages. The geopolymer mixes were prepared using a ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS) blend and low calcium fly ash class F activated by an alkaline solution. The mixture compositions of fly ash to slag were (0.75:0.25, 0.65:0.35, 0.55:0.45) by weight of cementitious materials respectively and compared with reference mix of conventional concrete with mix proportion 1:1.5:3 (cement: sand: coarse agg.), respectively. The copper fiber was used as recycled material from electricity devices wastes such as (machines, motors, wires, and electronic devices) to enhance the mechanical properties of geopolymer concrete. The heat curing system at 40 oC temperature was used. The results revealed that the mix proportion of 0.45 blast furnace slag and 0.55 fly ash produced the best strength results. It also showed that this mix ratio could provide a solution for the need for heat curing for fly ash-based geopolymer.

One of the most important problems that faces the concrete industry in Iraq is the deterioration due to internal sulfate attack , since it  reduces the compressive strength and increases the expansion of concrete. Consequently, the concrete structure may be damage .The effects of total and total effective sulfate contents on high strength concrete (HSC) have been studied in the present study. The research studied the effect of sulfate content in cement , sand and gravel , as well as comparing  the total sulfate content with the total effective SO3 content. Materials used were divided into two groups of SO3 in cement ,three groups of SO3 in sand ,and two groups of SO3 in gravel. The results show that considering the total effective sulfate content is better than the total content of sulfates since the effect of sulfate in each constituent of concrete, depends on it's granular size .The smaller the particle size of the material the more effective is the sulfate in it. Therefore, it is recommended to follow the Iraqi specification for total effective sulfate content, because it gives more flexibility to the use of sand and gravel with higher sulfate content. The results of compressive strength at 90-days show that the effect of total effective SO3 content of ( 2.647% , 2.992% , 3.424% ) that correspond to total sulfate of ( 3.778%, 3.294%, 4.528%)  decrease the compressive strength by (7.53%, 11.44%, 14.59%) respectively.