materials

Article
Correlation between the Compressive Strength and Ultrasonic
Pulse Velocity of Cement Mortars Blended with Silica Fume:
An Analysis of Microstructure and Hydration Kinetics
Geuntae Hong 1 , Sangwoo Oh 1 , Seongcheol Choi 1 , Won-Jong Chin 2 , Young-Jin Kim 2 and
Chiwon Song 2, *

1 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chung–Ang University, 84 Heukseok-Ro, Dongjak-Gu,

Seoul 06974, Korea; [email protected] (G.H.); [email protected] (S.O.); [email protected] (S.C.)
2 Structural Engineering Research Institute, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology,
283 Goyangdae-Ro, Ilsanseo-Gu, Goyang-Si 10223, Gyeonggi-Do, Korea; [email protected] (W.-J.C.);
[email protected] (Y.-J.K.)
* Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: The effect of the replacement rate of silica fume (SF) on the correlation between the
compressive strength and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) of cement mortar was experimentally
analyzed. Specimens were fabricated with different replacement rates of SF, the compressive strength
and UPV were measured, and isothermal calorimetry and mercury intrusion porosimetry tests were
conducted to analyze the effects of replacement on the hydration kinetics and microstructures on
these properties. Field emission scanning electron microscopy analysis was performed to observe SF





 particles and microstructure. The substitution of SF changed the cement mortar’s hydration kinetics
Citation: Hong, G.; Oh, S.; Choi, S.;
and microstructures, resulting in different strengths and UPVs depending on the replacement rate.
Chin, W.-J.; Kim, Y.-J.; Song, C. The compressive strength and UPV for cement mortars blended with SF also showed a different
Correlation between the Compressive exponential relationship depending on the SF replacement rate.
Strength and Ultrasonic Pulse
Velocity of Cement Mortars Blended Keywords: compressive strength; hydration kinetics; microstructure; silica fume; ultrasonic pulse velocity
with Silica Fume: An Analysis of
Microstructure and Hydration
Kinetics. Materials 2021, 14, 2476.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14102476 1. Introduction
With the need for CO2 reduction catching up with the cement industry, various
Academic Editor: Sara Cattaneo
studies [1–4] on its industrial by-products (e.g., fly ash, ground granulated blast-furnace
slag, and silica fume) have been conducted. These industrial by-products, supplementary
Received: 21 April 2021
Accepted: 7 May 2021
cementitious materials (SCMs), have been reported to improve the service life of concrete
Published: 11 May 2021
structures because they significantly improve strength and durability by changing the
microstructures of the cement matrix. In particular, silica fume (SF) is one of the most
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
effective SCMs in improving the durability and mechanical performance of cementitious
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
materials. Recently, the increasing demand for long-span bridges and high-rise buildings
published maps and institutional affil- has resulted in an increase in the research in this area [5–12]. Perraton et al. experimentally
iations. demonstrated that the chloride ion diffusion in concrete significantly decreased as the
amount of SF added increased [7]. Dotto et al. suggested that the addition of SF in concrete
has a great effect in protecting against corrosion of the reinforcement bars [8]. Although
results have differed among researchers, it is generally reported that the substitution of
Copyright: © 2021 by the authors.
an appropriate amount of SF increases the compressive strength and tensile strength of
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
cementitious materials at all ages [9–12]. The improvement in durability and mechanical
This article is an open access article
performance of cementitious materials by SF is caused by the following factors: pore-size
distributed under the terms and refinement, cement-matrix densification, reaction with free lime, and interfacial transition-
conditions of the Creative Commons zone refinement [13–15].
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// The mechanical properties of cementitious materials blended with SF are sensitive
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ to environmental factors, mixture proportions, raw-material properties, and age, com-
4.0/). pared with those of normal cementitious materials [16,17]. Therefore, using SF-blended

Materials 2021, 14, 2476. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14102476 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/materials

Materials 2021, 14, 2476 2 of 15

cementitious materials at an actual construction site requires a technology that can ac-
curately estimate the mechanical properties. Compressive strength that changes with
age can be estimated by using the ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) test. The UPV test
is a non-destructive test that can estimate the compressive strength and detect defects
in concrete and can be easily applied in both laboratory and field environments. Thus,
several studies [18–22] on its efficacy have been conducted, and estimations of compressive
strength, elastic modulus, and setting have been carried out using the UPV method [20–24].
Demirboğa et al. assessed the relationship between compressive strength and UPV accord-
ing to the substitution amount of blast-furnace glass powder and fly ash [22]. ABO–Qudais
analyzed the relationship between the compressive strength and UPV of concrete with
different water-to-cement ratios and aggregate gradations [23]. Ashrafian et al. evaluated
the compressive strength of fiber-reinforced concrete incorporating nano-silica via UPV [24].
Additionally, studies have examined the relationship between compressive strength and
UPV for cementitious materials in terms of mixture proportions. UPV is closely related
to the mechanical properties and microstructures of cementitious materials [25–27], both
of which are greatly influenced by the hydration reaction between the binder materials
and water. Therefore, the effect of the replacement rate of SF on the correlation between
compressive strength and UPV should be analyzed from a material point of view.
This study aimed to comprehensively investigate various factors related to the com-
pressive strength and UPV of cement mortars blended with SF and to analyze their corre-
lation. To this end, cement mortar specimens with SF replacing other binder materials at
replacement rates of 0, 10, 20, and 30% were fabricated. The compressive strength and UPV
of each specimen were measured at 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28 days of age. The microstructure and
hydration kinetics were analyzed by mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and isothermal
calorimetry experiments, respectively. The variation in the compressive strength and UPV
of each specimen and their correlation were determined. Field emission scanning electron
microscopy (FE-SEM) analysis was also performed to evaluate the effect of age and SF
addition on the microstructural change of the cement matrix.

2. Experiment
2.1. Materials and Mixture Proportions
Type-I Portland cement (Ssangyong Cement Industrial Co. Ltd., Seoul, Korea) and
SF (Elkem Materials Co. Ltd., Kristiansand, Norway) were used as binder materials.
The SiO2 content of SF was 93.1%. The surface areas of the cement and SF were 3300
and 217,000 cm2 /g, respectively. Table 1 shows the chemical compositions of the binder
materials. Figures 1 and 2 show the SEM images and cumulative particle-size distribution
of the binder materials. It can be seen that the particle size of SF is very small compared
to that of cement. The fine aggregate was standard sand with more than 98% of SiO2 by
mass. A polycarboxylic acid chemical admixture (Rheobuild SP8HU (SR), BASF Japan Ltd.,
Tokyo, Japan) was used to enhance the workability.

Table 1. Chemical compositions of the binder materials.

Oxide Cement (mass%) SF (mass%)

SiO2 20.6 93.10
Al2 O3 4.9 0.62
Fe2 O3 3.0 0.41
CaO 61.8 0.66
MgO 2.6 1.16
K2 O 0.6 –
Na2 O 0.2 0.67
SO3 2.3 <0.01
LOI1 2.4 2.71
– 98.8 –
1 LOI: loss on ignition.
Materials 2021, 14, 2476 3 of 15

Figure 1. SEM images of binders: (a) Cement (magnification of 10,000×); (b) Silica fume (magnification of 10,000×); (c)
Cement (magnification of 50,000×); (d) Silica fume (magnification of 50,000×).

Figure 2. Particle-size distributions of the binder materials.

Table 2 shows the cement mortar mixture proportions with a binder weight of 1000 g.
The variations in the mixture proportions are in replacement rates of SF at 0, 10, 20, and
30% (by binder replacement). The ratios of binder-to-sand and water-to-binder are 1.0 and
Materials 2021, 14, 2476 4 of 15

0.25, respectively. To minimize the effect of the chemical admixture, the amount added was
equal to 2.0% of the binder weight in all specimens. In Table 2, the numbers following the
letter “S” in the ID of the specimen indicate the replacement rate of SF by the weight of
the binder.

Table 2. Mixture proportions of the specimens (Unit: g).

ID of Binder Chemical
Sand Water
Specimen Admixture
Cement SF
S00 1000 –
S10 900 100
1000 250 20
S20 800 200
S30 700 300

2.2. Test Methods

Dry cement, SF, and sand were mixed for 5 min to ensure a homogenous distribution.
Next, water and chemical admixture were added to the mixture and mixed at a low
speed (140 ± 5 rev/min) for 3 min. The wall of the mixer bowl was scraped to prevent
heterogeneous mixing by the mixture attached to the wall, and the fresh cement mortar
mixtures were mixed at an intermediate speed (285 ± 10 rev/min) for 5 min. The mixtures
were then cast into molds.
The compressive strengths of the cement mortar specimens were measured at different
ages (1, 3, 7, 14, and 28 days) in accordance with the ISO 679 standard. After casting the
fresh cement mortar mixtures into a 40 × 40 × 160 mm3 beam-shaped mold, they were
cured at room temperature (23 ± 1 ◦ C) under sealed conditions, using aluminum foil tape,
to prevent moisture escaping. Upon completion of curing, the specimens were split in
half in the transverse direction and the compressive strength was measured. The arrival
time of the ultrasonic pulse was measured with a cylindrical specimen having a size of
100 × 200 mm2 using the Ultracon-170 ultrasonic detector (MKC Korea, Seoul, Korea) for
UPV analysis. The transducer has a frequency of 52 kHz. The specimen was cured in a
sealed state in the same environment as the compressive strength measurement specimen.
To measure the heat evolution rate of the specimens with age, an isothermal calorime-
try test was conducted using a TAM-AIR isothermal calorimeter (TA Instruments, New
Castle, DE, USA) in accordance with ASTM C1702 standards. After mixing fresh cement
mortar, approximately 4 g of the mixture was put into a glass ampoule, and the isother-
mal calorimetry test was conducted at room temperature for 28 days. The MIP test for
microstructure analysis was performed using the specimens fractured after measuring
the compressive strength. The specimens were cut into 10 × 10 × 10 mm3 cuboid shapes.
Subsequently, the specimens were immersed in an acetone solution for 24 h at room tem-
perature in order to stop the hydration reaction. Thereafter, the specimens were placed
in an oven at 60 ◦ C for 24 h to remove acetone and moisture from the specimens. Finally,
measurements of total porosity and pore-size distributions of the specimens at 1, 3, 7, 14,
and 28 days of ages were performed using Micromeritics’s AutoPore IV9500 (Micromeritics
Instrument Corp., Norcross, GA, USA). In addition to the MIP test, FE-SEM (Carl Zeiss,
Sigma, Oberkochen, Germany) analysis was also performed on a fractured specimen to
confirm the microstructure of the cement matrix after measuring the compressive strength
in the same manner as the MIP test. The FE-SEM used in this study has the advantage
of less radiation damage to the sample because it can observe high magnification at a
low-speed voltage. The specimens were cut into 1 × 1 mm2 thin film forms, which were
immersed in acetone solution and dried in an oven. Subsequently, their surfaces were
coated with Pt prior to the SEM analysis.
Materials 2021, 14, 2476 5 of 15

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Hydration Kinetics and Microstructures
Figure 3 shows heat evolution rate curves for each specimen until 72 h. The curves
generally consist of five stages: initial reaction, induction period, acceleration period,
deceleration period, and a period of slow continuous reaction [28]. The peaks in the initial
reaction appeared within minutes after the cement and water were mixed. In the induction
period, the heat evolution rate rapidly decreases; however, heat is still generated by the
hydration reaction, which is related to calcium silicate hydrate (C–S–H) formation with
a low Ca/Si ratio as a protective layer over the surface of the cement clinker particles.
The layer is destroyed at the end of this period, and various ions begin to be eluted from
the surface of the unhydrated cement and enter an acceleration period, during which
the silicate eluted from the cement particles reacts rapidly and the rate of heat evolution
reaches its peak following the initial reaction. The rate of heat evolution occurring during
the acceleration period is influenced by the formation rate of C–S–H [29]. The magnitude of
the peak in the acceleration period tended to decrease as the SF replacement rate grew. The
peak values for S00, S10, S20, and S30 were 3.77 mW/g at 20.87 h, 3.73 mW/g at 14.01 h,
2.88 mW/g at 15.19 h, and 2.08 mW/g at 19.02 h, respectively. The appropriate replacement
of SF accelerates heat evolution by activating nucleation in the pore solution [30,31]. In
addition, as SF has pozzolanic reaction characteristics, it does not react chemically at
an early age. Therefore, it appears that the replacement of SF reduces the rate of heat
evolution of cementitious materials at an early age [32]. The cement mortar specimens
blended with SF are more dominantly affected by the latter, making the peak value reduce
gradually during the acceleration period as the SF replacement rate increased. Increased
SF replacement also shortened the induction period. During the first few minutes of the
hydration reaction, alkali ions and Ca2+ ions are rapidly released from the cement particles.
SF particles adsorb calcium ions on the surface and reduce the concentration of Ca2+ in the
pore solution, boosting the dissolution of C3 S and accelerating the hydration reaction [33].
After the induction ends, the cement particles are covered with hydration products, and
the hydration reaction gradually slows. The rate of heat evolution is affected mainly by ion
diffusion during this period.

Figure 3. Rate of heat evolution of cement mortars blended with SF up to 72 h of age.

Figure 4 shows the cumulative heat of the hydration reaction. Across the specimens,
the heat of hydration was produced mostly before 3 days of age, and the amount of heat
generated gradually decreased with age. As mentioned earlier, SF in the early ages merely
acts as a filler in the cement matrix and does not react chemically; therefore, the heat
evolution during the acceleration period gradually decreased as the SF replacement rate
Materials 2021, 14, 2476 6 of 15

increased. Therefore, as the amount of replacement increased, the cumulative heat of the
hydration value tended to decrease at early ages. However, due to the pozzolanic reaction
of SF, the hydration heat soared gradually with increasing SF replacement rates after 3 days
of age. The rates between the cumulative heat of hydration at 3 days and that at 28 days
were 84.72% in S00, 74.06% in S10, 73.80% in S20, and 75.08% in S30. At 28 days of age, the
cumulative heat of hydration for the S00 specimen was the highest at 290.99 J/g, and the
values for S10, S20, and S30 specimens were 95.72, 91.74, and 91.14%, compared with the
S00 specimen.

Figure 4. Cumulative heat of hydration of cement mortars blended with SF.

Figure 5 shows the variation in total porosity of each specimen at 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28 days
of age. As the age increased, the hydration and the pozzolanic reaction of the cement and
the SF gradually reduced the total porosity by filling the pores with hydration products.
As the replacement rate of SF increased, the porosity decreased, and this tendency became
more pronounced at later ages. At 1 d of age, the porosities of S10, S20, and S30 specimens
were −1.93, −4.04, and −4.91, respectively, compared with that of S00 specimens. However,
at 28 days of age, the difference was −2.76, −6.01, and −8.65, respectively. In other words,
the porosity of cement mortar decreased at an early age as the SF replacement rate increased,
and this trend became larger at a later age. At an early age, SF reduces porosity by acting
as a simple filler in the cement matrix. However, at a later age, the SF acts as a filler and
reacts with CH hydration product produced by the hydration of cement to form additional
C–S–H. As seen above, this leads to an increase in the total cumulative heat of hydration,
reducing porosity more intensely at later ages.

Figure 5. Total porosities of cement mortars blended with SF.

Materials 2021, 14, 2476 7 of 15

Figure 6 shows the variation in the differential pore-size distribution curve with age.
The pores in cementitious materials with porous properties are divided according to their
diameter and, in this study, they were divided into mesopores (6–50 nm) and capillary pores
(>50). In all specimens, peaks occurred in the mesopore range with diameters between
25–50 nm at 1, 3, and 7 days of age. The magnitude of the peak gradually decreased as
products from SF’s pozzolanic reaction and the hydration reaction of cement-filled the pores
in the cement matrix with age. In addition, the magnitude of the diameter peak tended to
increase rapidly with increasing SF replacement rates. This is caused by the refinement of
the microstructure, owing to the filling effect of the SF in the cement matrix [15,34]. The
peak diameter value gradually decreased with age. The differential pore-size distribution
curve was flattened and did not have a peak as the replacement rate of SF increased. This
phenomenon is caused by the pozzolanic reaction of SF. The bolstered hydration effect
due to the pozzolanic reaction of the SF becomes more pronounced as the age increases.
Therefore, as the replacement rate of SF and age increase, the pores in the empty state are
filled with hydration products, resulting in a flat differential pore-size distribution curve.
Additionally, the peak values in the mesopores increased with the SF replacement rate at
early ages, but the peak in the capillary pores, which significantly affects the mechanical
properties of cementitious materials, decreased. Later in age, as the replacement rate of SF
increased, the magnitude of the observed peak values tended to decrease overall, regardless
of pore size, owing to further hydration effects of the SF.

Figure 6. Pore-size distribution of cement mortar blended with SF: (a) S00 specimen; (b) S10 specimen; (c) S20 specimen;
(d) S30 specimen.
Materials 2021, 14, 2476 8 of 15

3.2. Compressive Strength

Figure 7 shows the development of compressive strength with age for each specimen.
The compressive strength gradually increased due to the change in the microstructure
with age. Additionally, the compressive strength tended to increase at all ages with the
replacement rate of SF, and, in particular, the compressive strength increase rate was
largest at later ages. Compared to the compressive strength of the S00 specimen, the
3 days strength of the S10, S20, and S30 specimens increased by 9.86, 26.25, and 38.47%,
respectively, and the 28 days strength increased by 11.99, 38.54, and 55.14%, respectively.
This result is observed because the microstructure of the cement matrix becomes denser,
owing to the pozzolanic reaction of SF (refer to Figures 4 and 5). SF acts as a simple filler
in the cement matrix at an early age, thereby increasing the compressive strength of the
specimen by dispersing the load concentration. As the hydration products filled the pores
via further hydration from the pozzolanic reaction as well as the role of SF as a filler,
densification was amplified, resulting in a higher strength enhancement effect [35].

Figure 7. Compressive strength of cement mortar blended with SF.

Figure 8 shows the results of a regression analysis on the correlation between com-
pressive strength and porosity. The compressive strength of the specimens varies inversely
with porosity, which is consistent with the results of other studies [36,37]. Compressive
strength and porosity show a direct linear relationship in all specimens. The correlation
coefficient for the relationship between compressive strength and porosity is higher than
0.9406. The linear slope reflects the increase in compressive strength caused by the decrease
in porosity, and there are slight differences for each specimen. As the replacement rate of SF
increases, the absolute value of the linear slopes tends to gradually increase. This indicates
that even with the same level of decrease in porosity, the compressive strength would
decrease more significantly as the replacement rate of SF increases. Additionally, as shown
in Figure 8, when the specimen had the same porosity in the range from approximately
13% to 30%, the compressive strength decreased as the replacement rate of SF increased.
As shown in Figure 6, as the replacement rate of SF increased, the peaks in the capillary
pores and mesopores gradually decreased and increased, respectively. The volume fraction
of the large capillary pores has a greater effect on the compressive strength of the cemen-
titious materials than the volume fraction of the small mesopores. Therefore, when the
SF-replaced specimen and the reference specimen have the same porosity, the strength of
the former should be greater, because the capillary pore-volume fraction of the former is
small. However, as shown in Figure 8, the strength tended to decrease as the replacement
rate of SF increased. This result is due to the presence of SF agglomerate, which reduces
the porosity of the cementitious materials, but from a mechanical point of view, it functions
Materials 2021, 14, 2476 9 of 15

as a large pore. The evidence supporting this fact is the SEM image shown in Figure 9.
More specifically, the porosity is reduced by the SF particles acting as a simple filler, which
has the effect of dispersing the concentration of the load. However, the SF particles exist
in an unhydrated state and are not connected to the hydration products existing around
them, as shown in Figure 9, causing them to behave like one large pore when analyzed in
terms of mechanical properties. These results were found in the S10 specimen with a low
SF replacement rate as well as the S30 specimen with a high SF replacement rate, regardless
of age. Therefore, even if the porosity of the specimen is the same, its compressive strength
will gradually decrease because the effective porosity with respect to mechanical properties
increases with the replacement rate of SF.

Figure 8. Compressive strength as a function of porosity.

Figure 9. Cont.
Materials 2021, 14, 2476 10 of 15

Figure 9. SEM images of SF particles in the cement matrix: (a) S10 specimen at 3 days; (b) S10 specimen at 28 days; (c) S30
specimen at 3 days; (d) S30 specimen at 28 days.

3.3. Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV)

Two transducers were placed on both ends of each cylindrical cement mortar specimen,
and the UPV (V) was determined by:

V = L/t (1)

where L represents the length of the longitudinal specimen and t is the time taken by
the ultrasonic pulse to pass through the specimen. Figure 10 shows the variation in the
UPV of each specimen with age. In all specimens, the UPV gradually increases with
age, although the greatest rate of increase occurs at an early age, as with compressive
strength. The pores filled with moisture are filled with hydration products and, owing
to the hydration of cement and the pozzolanic reaction of SF, the volume fraction of the
solid phase increases. As a result, areas in the solid phase are connected to each other and
the porosity decreases, gradually increasing the UPV. In particular, the UPVs increase in
all specimens mostly at an early age as the cement matrix becomes denser, owing to the
high heat of hydration and the rapid change in its microstructure. The UPV of the S00,
S10, S20, and S30 specimens at 3 days as a percentage of the value at 28 days were 94.2,
90.9, 89.4, and 88.0%, respectively. The chemical reaction between cement and SF slowed
such that the UPV increase rate gradually decreased in later ages (refer to Figure 4). As
shown in the graph, the UPV of the S00 specimen was the highest until 7 days of age, and
the UPV of the S20 specimen was the highest at 14 and 28 days of age. The S10 specimen
showed the lowest UPV among all specimens, regardless of age. The difference in the UPV
value between different replacement rates of SF was large at an early age; however, the
difference tended to decrease gradually with age. As the replacement rate of SF increased,
the development of the UPV after the early age showed a tendency to gradually increase.
This tendency is closely related to the result of the pozzolanic reaction by SF in which the
microstructure becomes denser than that of the S00 specimen (refer to Figure 6).
Materials 2021, 14, 2476 11 of 15

Figure 10. Ultrasonic pulse velocity development of each specimen according to the age range.

Since the ultrasonic pulse is transmitted through the solid phases, the UPV of ce-
mentitious materials having porous characteristics has a proportional relationship with
the volume fraction of the solid phase and an inverse relationship with porosity [26,38].
Therefore, as shown in Figure 5, as the porosity decreases with increased SF replacement
rate, the UPV should show a linear relationship as it increases with the SF replacement rate
regardless of age. However, the UPV has a nonlinear relationship with the replacement rate
of SF, as shown in Figure 10. The UPV of cementitious materials is greatly influenced by
the density of the specimen as well as changes in the microstructure owing to the chemical
reaction between the cement, SF, and water [21,26]. The density of SF used in this study
is approximately two-thirds of that of cement. As shown in Table 2, the amount of water,
aggregate, and chemical admixture are all the same except for the binder materials, and
the variation in the mixture proportions in this experiment is only in the replacement rate
of SF. As all the specimens are cured under a sealed state to prevent moisture transfer to
the outside, the density of each specimen has the same value at all ages. Therefore, as the
replacement rate of SF increases, the density of the specimen decreases at all ages and,
from this point of view, the UPV of the specimen should decrease as the SF replacement
rate increases. Additionally, Wang et al. experimentally demonstrated that UPV gradually
decreases in pore size in the case of having the same porosity [39]. As shown in Figure 6,
the peak in the pore-size distribution of cementitious materials occurred increasingly in
the mesopore size range rather than the capillary pore-size range as the replacement rate
of SF increased. That is, as the replacement rate of SF increases, the overall pore size of
cementitious materials tends to decrease. Thus, because the UPV of cementitious materials
is complexly influenced by the porosity, density, and pore size of the specimen, it is judged
that the replacement rate of SF and UPV have a nonlinear relationship.

3.4. Relationship between Compressive Strength and UPV

Figure 11 shows the exponential relationship between compressive strength and UPV
for 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28 days of age in each specimen. Various studies [22,40–42] have shown
that the relationship can be estimated by

f c = A · e B ·V (2)

where f c is the compressive strength and A and B are empirical constants. As shown in
Figure 11, the compressive strength increased with UPV in all specimens, and the curve
shape of each specimen differed. The regression coefficients for A and B and the correlation
coefficient R2 of each specimen are shown in Table 3. There was a very strong exponential
relationship between the compressive strength and UPV, of which the correlation coefficient
Materials 2021, 14, 2476 12 of 15

was higher than 0.9603. Compared with the specimens blended with SF, the S00 specimen
showed a relatively steep change in compressive strength, owing to the difference in the
development rate of the UPV. As the replacement rate of SF increased, the regression
coefficient, A, gradually increased. The regression coefficient, B, rapidly decreased when
SF was substituted while continuing to fall gradually with the growing replacement rate of
SF. The correlation of the compressive strength and UPV in relation to the replacement of
SF and its ratio is complexly affected by various factors, such as the filling effect, the change
in microstructure caused by further hydration of the pozzolanic reaction, and density
of the SF.

Figure 11. Exponential relationship between UPV and compressive strength according to the replace-
ment rate of SF.

Table 3. Regression coefficient and least square of each specimen for compressive strength and
UPV relationship.

Regression Coefficient ( fc =A·eB·V ) Correlation

ID of Specimen
Coefficient, R2
A B
S00 0.0920 0.001009 0.99
S10 1.1429 0.000618 0.99
S20 1.7198 0.000557 0.97
S30 2.2614 0.000535 0.96

As seen in Figure 11, when the UPV of the specimen was the same in the range of
approximately 4000–6000, the compressive strength increased with the replacement rate
of SF. This is closely related to the microstructure of the specimen. Figure 12 shows the
correlation between UPV and porosity. As shown in the graph, when the UPV of the
specimen was the same within the UPV range of approximately 4000–6000, the porosity
decreased as the SF replacement rate increased. Therefore, porosity decreases as the
replacement rate of SF increases at the same UPV. Thus, the compressive strength is
increased by dispersing the load concentrated in the pores.
Materials 2021, 14, 2476 13 of 15

Figure 12. Correlation between UPV and porosity according to the replacement rate of SF.

4. Conclusions
In this study, the correlation between the compressive strength and UPV of cement
mortars blended with SF was analyzed for up to 28 days. For this purpose, cement mortars
were prepared for varied SF replacement rates, and their compressive strengths and UPVs
were measured. Additionally, isothermal calorimetry and MIP experiments were conducted
to analyze the hydration kinetics and microstructure, to assess how the replacement rate of
SF affects the correlation between compressive strength and UPV. The test results can be
summed up as follows:
1. As SF replacement rates increased, the hydration kinetics decreased at early ages, but
it increased due to SF’s pozzolanic reaction at a later age. In addition, SF reduced
the porosity of the cement mortar by acting as a filler in the pores. The number of
mesopores increased and capillary pores decreased, as the content of SF increased.
2. As the SF replacement rate increased, the compressive strength of cement mortar
increased. The strength increased because of the filler effect of SF at an early age, and
the strength increased through the pozzolanic reaction in combination with the filler
effect at later ages.
3. The volume fraction of the solid phase increased as the pores filled with moisture
were filled with hydration products with age. The UPV of the specimen gradually
increased as the solid phases were connected. The development of UPV showed a
nonlinear relationship with the replacement rate of SF, which is closely related to the
density and microstructure of the specimen.
4. The UPV and compressive strength of cement mortar have an exponential relationship,
which differs by the replacement rate of SF. In general, the substitution of SF had a
significant effect on the relationship of the exponential function over the reference
specimen; however, variation in the replacement rate of SF was found to have a
relatively minor effect.
In previous studies on the relationship between compressive strength and UPV, a
correlation analysis was performed for all specimens regardless of the mixture proportion
of cementitious materials. The present work evaluated the effect of hydration kinetics
and microstructure changes on UPV and compressive strength due to the difference in
mixture proportions and examined the correlation between comprehensive strength and
UPV for each mixture. The findings from this study can be used to estimate the compressive
strength of cementitious materials blended with SF and provide preliminary comparison
data for studies that aim to analyze the correlation between the compressive strength and
UPV of cementitious materials containing SF and other SCMs.
Materials 2021, 14, 2476 14 of 15

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, C.S.; methodology, G.H. and C.S.; validation, S.C. and
W.-J.C.; formal analysis, S.O. and C.S.; investigation, G.H. and S.O.; resources, G.H. and W.-J.C.; data
curation, G.H. and S.O.; writing—original draft preparation, G.H. and C.S.; writing—review and
editing, C.S.; visualization, C.S.; supervision, C.S. and S.C.; project administration, G.H. and Y.-J.K.;
funding acquisition, G.H. and Y.-J.K. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of
the manuscript.
Funding: This research was funded by the Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement
(KAIA) grant funded by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (National Research for
Smart Construction Technology: grant number 20SMIP–A158708–01), and by the Basic Science
Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry
of Education (grant number 2020R1A6A3A01100577).
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: The data presented in this study are available on request from the
corresponding author.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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