Macro- and Microstructural Investigations on Strength and Durability of Pumice Concrete at High Temperature
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 18, Issue 4
Abstract
The strength and durability performance of concretes incorporating of finely ground pumice as cement replacement (by mass) subjected to high temperatures up to is described. The strength properties were assessed by unstressed residual compressive strength, while durability was investigated by crack pattern observations, the rapid chloride permeability test (RCPT), mercury intrusion porosimetry, microhardness testing, and differential scanning calorimetry. The results of RCPT revealed that concrete durability deterioration commences at temperatures that are lower than those at which compressive strength deterioration commences. Such a loss of durability can be explained by a weakened interfacial transition zone between the hardened cement paste (hcp) and aggregate and by the concurrent coarsening of the hcp pore structure. When pumice is included, an improvement of fire resistance was observed, as characterized by the higher residual compressive strength and improved durability. Pumice concrete showed good performance with a higher residual strength, higher chloride resistance, and higher resistance against deterioration, particularly at temperatures below as compared to the control normal Portland cement concrete. The improved performance of pumice concrete can be attributed to the substitution of pumice for cement, which leads to refinement of the pore structure and a lower quantity of calcium silicate hydrate. The deterioration of both strength and durability of pumice concrete increased with the increase of temperature up to due to a substantial reduction in residual strength and increase in pore volume and pore diameter. The serviceability assessment of pumice concrete after a fire should therefore be based on both strength and durability considerations.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The writer is grateful to the Technical Staff of the Materials Laboratory of the Department of Civil Engineering, Papua New Guinea University of Technology, for the preliminary tests and the preparation of the specimens. Sincere gratitude is extended to Tradescan Private Ltd. (Bangladesh) for providing a generous financial support to this research project.
References
Bazant, Z. P., and Kaplan, M. F. (1996). Concrete at high temperatures: Material properties and mathematical models, Longman, London.
Cao, H. T., Bucea, L., McPhee, D. E., and Christie, E. A. (1992). “Corrosion of steel in solutions and cement pastes.” Corrosion of Steel Reinforcement in Concrete: Final Rep., Cement and Concrete Association of Australia, Melbourne, Australia.
Castillo, P., and Durrani, A. J. (1990). “Effect of transient high temperature on high strength concrete.” ACI Mater. J., 87(1), 47–53.
Chan, S. Y. N., Peng, G. F., and Anson, M. (1996). “Comparison between high-strength and normal-strength concrete subjected to high temperature.” Mater. Struct., 29(12), 616–619.
Chan, S. Y. N., Peng, G. F., and Anson, M. (1999). “Residual strength and pore structure of high-strength concrete and normal-strength concrete after exposure to high temperatures.” Cem. Concr. Compos., 21(1), 23–27.
Chan, Y. N., Luo, X., and Sun, W. (2000). “Compressive strength and pore structure of high-performance concrete after exposure to high temperature up to .” Cem. Concr. Res., 30(2), 247–251.
Crook, D. N., and Murray, M. J. (1970). “Regain of strength and firing of concrete.” Mag. Concrete Res., 22(72), 149–154.
Cruz, C. R., and Gilen, M. (1980). “Thermal expansion of Portland cement paste, mortar and concrete at high temperatures.” Fire Mater., 4(2), 66–70.
Diamond, S. (2000). “Mercury porosimetry: An inappropriate method for the measurement of pore size distributions in cement-based materials.” Cem. Concr. Res., 33(10), 1517–1525.
Dias, D. P. S., Khoury, G. A., and Sullivan, P. J. E. (1990). “Mechanical properties of hardened cement paste exposed to temperatures up to .” ACI Mater. J., 87(2), 160–165.
Diederichs, U., Jumppanen, U. M., and Penttala, V. (1989). “Behavior of high strength concrete at high temperatures.” Rep. No. 92, Dept. of Structural Engineering, Helsinki Univ. of Technology, Helsinki, Finland.
Ghosh, S., and Nasser, K. W. (1996). “Effects of high temperature and pressure on strength and elasticity of lignite fly ash and silica fume concrete.” ACI Mater. J., 93(1), 51–60.
Hertz, K. D. (1992). “Danish investigations on silica fume concretes at elevated temperatures.” ACI Mater. J., 89(4), 345–347.
Hossain, K. M. A. (1999a). “Properties of volcanic ash and pumice concrete.” IABSE Rep. 80, Int. Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering, Zurich, Switzerland, 145–150.
Hossain, K. M. A. (1999b). “Performance of volcanic ash concrete in marine environment.” Proc., 24th OWICS Conf., National Univ. of Singapore, Singapore, 209–214.
Hossain, K. M. A. (1999c). “Fire durability of light weight volcanic pumice concrete with special reference to thin walled filled sections.” Proc., Durability of Building Material and Components 8, Canadian Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, Ottawa, 149–158.
Hossain, K. M. A. (2003a). “Blended cement using volcanic ash and pumice.” Cem. Concr. Res., 33(10), 1601–1605.
Hossain, K. M. A. (2003b). “Effect of volcanic pumice on the corrosion resistance and chloride diffusivity of blended cement mortars.” J. Adv. Concr. Tech., 1(1), 54–62.
Igarashi, S., Bentur, A., and Mindess, S. (1996). “Microhardness testing of cementitious materials.” Adv. Cem. Based Mater., 4(2), 48–57.
Igarashi, S., and Kawamura, M. (1994). “Effects of a size in bundled fibers on the interfacial zone between the fibers and the cement paste matrix.” Cem. Concr. Res., 24(4), 695–703.
Khoury, G. A. (1992). “Compressive strength of concrete at high temperatures: A reassessment.” Mag. Concrete Res., 44(161), 291–309.
Khoury, G. A., Grainger, B. N., and Sullivan, P. J. E. (1985). “Transient thermal strain of concrete: Literature review, conditions within specimen, and behavior of individual constituents.” Mag. Concrete Res., 37(132), 131–144.
Lin, W. M., Lin, T. D., and Powers-Couche, L. J. (1996). “Microstructures of fire-damaged concrete.” ACI Mater. J., 93(3), 199–205.
Malhotra, H. L. (1956). “Effect of temperature on the compressive strength of concrete.” Mag. Concrete Res., 8(23), 85–94.
Mehta, P. K. (1999). “Advancements in concrete technology.” Anim. Reprod. Sci., 96(4), 69–76.
Mohamedbhai, G. T. G. (1986). “Effect of exposure time and rates of heating and cooling on residual strength of heated concrete.” Mag. Concrete Res., 38(136), 151–158.
Nasser, K. W., and Marzouk, H. M. (1979). “Properties of mass concrete containing fly ash at high temperatures.” ACI J., 76(4), 537–551.
Ollivier, J. P., and Massat, M. (1996). “The effect of the transition zone on transfer properties of concrete.” Interfacial transition zone in concrete: RILEM report II, J. C. Maso, ed., RILEM, Cachan Cedex, France, 117–131.
Petzold, A., and Rohr, M. (1970). Concrete for high temperatures, Maclare, London.
Phan, L. T. (1996). Fire performance of high strength concrete: A report of the state-of-the-art, Building and Fire Research Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Md.
Piasta, J. (1984). “Heat deformations of cement phases and the microstructure of cement paste.” Mater. Struct., 17(102), 415–420.
Poon, C.-S., Azhar, S., Anson, M., and Wong, Y.-U. (2001). “Comparison of the strength and durability performance of normal- and high-strength pozzolanic concretes at elevated temperatures.” Cem. Concr. Res., 31(9), 1291–1300.
Riley, M. A. (1991). “Possible new method for assessment of fire-damaged concrete.” Mag. Concrete Res., 43(155), 87–92.
Sanjayan, G., and Stocks, L. J. (1993). “Spalling of high-strength silica fume concrete in fire.” ACI Mater. J., 90(2), 170–173.
Sarshar, R., and Khoury, G. A. (1993). “Material and environmental factors influencing the compressive strength of unsealed cement paste and concrete at high temperatures.” Mag. Concrete Res., 45(162), 51–61.
Schneider, S. (1988). “Concrete at high temperatures—A general review.” Fire Saf. J., 13(1), 55–68.
Shah, S. P., and Ahmad, S. H. (1994). High-performance concretes and applications, Edward Arnold, London.
Washburn, E. W. (1921). “Note on a method of determining the distribution of pore sizes in a porous materials.” Proc., National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) of the USA, 7(4), 115–116.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 18 • Issue 4 • August 2006
Pages: 527 - 536
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Jul 15, 2004
Accepted: Jul 6, 2005
Published online: Aug 1, 2006
Published in print: Aug 2006
Notes
Note. Associate Editor: Jason Weiss
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.