**5. Applications of concrete incorporating SCMs**

Concrete mixes, with different SCMs, are currently used in different applications that requires high early strength, superior mechanical properties, and increased durability. The following represents main applications in residential and heavy construction applications:

### **5.1 High-rise residential construction**

HPC, including SCMs, mixes are currently used in the construction of structural members in high-rise buildings. The use of HPC in high-rise construction started in the 1970s in the metropolitan areas within the United States including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Recently HPC mixes with the high flowing ability (SCC characteristics) are used in pumping concrete floors in the City of Jeddah's Kingdom Tower and the Iconic Tower in Egypt's New Administrative Capital (shown in **Figure 9**).

#### **5.2 Precast/prestressed bridge construction**

Prefabricated prestressed girders with spans up to 60 meters are increasingly used in bridge construction, including accelerated bridge construction projects [30]. In order to increase the productivity of prestressing facilities, very high early strength is required before strands are released. Some prestressing facilities require

**Figure 9.** *Iconic tower—Egypt's new administrative capital.*

**Figure 10.** *UHPC bridge construction projects in the United States [32].*

24-h compressive strength in excess of 70 MPa to release larger strands of 15- and 18-mm. diameter. Thus, SCMs, mainly silica fume, are incorporated in the concrete mix to ensure high early strength due to increased binder content and avoid girder cracking upon strand release [31]. UHPC is increasingly used in the construction industry, especially in heavy construction applications, with emphasis on long-span precast/prestressed girder bridges construction. In early 2000s, the first UHPC bridge was built in the United States using Ductal concrete (with 38% SCMs content) and steel fibers incorporated in the mix. The first UHPC bridge—known as Mars Hill Bridge—was constructed in the state of Iowa using FHWA funding. The successful construction of the Mars Hill bridge and the attained advantages resulted in the construction of a large number of UHPC bridges, mainly on the east coast of the United States, are shown in **Figure 10**.

*Application of Supplementary Cementitious Materials in Precast Concrete Industry DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.100249*

**Figure 11.** *UHPC architectural pours.*
