Improving silica fume for concrete by surface treatment

Surface treatment of silica fume with sulfuric acid prior to incorporation in a cement matrix resulted in composites exhibiting increases in tensile strength by 12%, tensile modulus by 72%, tensile ductility by 57%, abrasion resistance by 20%, loss tangent by 30-80%, flexural storage modulus by 80-120%, and flexural loss modulus by 160-300%, relative to the values obtained by using as-received silica fume.