A new mix design method for high performance concrete under tropical conditions

High performance concrete (HPC) has become more popular in recent years. However, mix proportioning of HPC is a more critical process than normal strength concrete (NSC). Mix design methods of NSC are not directly applicable for designing HPC mixes. Tropical countries usually show substantial variations in temperature and humidity. These variations have profound effect on properties of HPC as mix proportions are usually decided at laboratory conditions. Therefore, mix design of HPC in tropical climate requires special attention to incorporate the variation in its properties. This paper presents a new method for proportioning HPC mixes considering effects of varying humidity and temperatures by exposing them to different artificially created environments. Proposed method is experimentally found to be valid and provides mix proportions giving desired workability and strengths.