Optimization of early flexural strength of pavement concrete with silica fume and fly ash by the Taguchi method

In this study, an attempt has been made to optimize the early flexural strength of concrete pavement (CP) by using the Taguchi Method. The experiments were designed using an orthogonal array technique in L 16 array with four factors, namely, the water/cementitious ratio of 0.30, 0.35, 0.40 and 0.45, four different types of gradations with maximum aggregate size of 32 mm, fly ash (FA) 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and silica fume (SF) 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% by weight of cement. The response data were analyzed using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique by the Taguchi method. According to the ANOVA table, water/cementitious ratio and SF content play significant roles for early flexural strength of CP. Moreover, the optimum conditions were found to be 0.35 water/cementitious ratio, gradation with minimum content of fine aggregates, 5% FA content and 0% SF content at 7 days curing. Maximum flexural strength of 5.31 MPa was achieved at the optimum conditions.