Thermal Expansion Study and Microstructural Characterization of High-Performance Concretes
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 25, Issue 10
Abstract
Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is a family of emerging materials for building and construction applications. Behavior of UHPCs at high temperature is very important to their reliability and safety. In the current study, two UHPC materials were studied using the thermomechanical analysis (TMA) technique between room temperature and 800°C. Both reversible and irreversible phase transformations were observed from the TMA results, which were likely attributable to the quartz transformation and the dehydroxylation transitions, respectively. Thermal expansion coefficients exhibited significant variations in different temperature regimes. Postmortem scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examinations revealed extensive cracking in the heated samples. In addition, microporosities were observed in the calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H) phase as a result of phase changes during heating.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This research was carried out at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with UT-Battelle, LLC. This work was sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate, Infrastructure Protection and Disaster Management Division: Ms. Mila Kennett, Program Manager. Permission to publish was granted by the Director, Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory, ERDC. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. The characterization equipment used in this study was managed by the HTML User Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Vehicle Technologies Program.
References
Barsoum, M. W. (1997). Fundamentals of ceramics, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Behloul, M., Chanvillard, G., Casanova, P., and Orange, G. (2002). “Fire resistance of ductal ultra high performance concrete.” Proc., 1st FIB Congress, FIB Int., Osaka, Japan, 421–430.
Cheyrezy, M. (1999). “Structural applications of RPC.” Concrete, 33(1), 20–23.
Cheyrezy, M., Maret, V., and Frouin, L. (1995). “Microstructural analysis of RPC (reactive powder concrete).” Cement Concr. Res., 25(7), 1491–1500.
DiPaolo, B. P., Green, B. H., Boone, R. N., and Magee, R. E. (2010). “An investigation of UHPC/RPC materials for enhanced penetration resistance.” ERDC technical note, ERDC/GSL TN-10-1, Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS.
Gani, M. S. J. (1997). Cement and concrete, Chapman and Hall, New York.
Kalifa, P., Chene, G., and Galle, C. (2001). “High-temperature behaviour of HPC with polypropylene fibres: From spalling to microstructure.” Cement Concr. Res., 31(10), 1487–1499.
Kingery, W. D., Bowen, H. K., and Uhlmann, D. R. (1976). Introduction to ceramics, 2nd Ed., Wiley-Interscience, New York.
Mehta, P. K., and Monteiro, P. J. M. (2006). Concrete: Microstructure, properties, and materials, 3rd Ed., McGraw-Hill, New York.
Naus, D. J. (2010). “A compilation of elevated temperature concrete material property data and information for use in assessments of nuclear power plant reinforced concrete structures.”, Oak Ridge, TN.
Neeley, B. D., and Walley, D. M. (1995). “VHS concrete.” Mil. Eng., 87(572), 36–37.
Taylor, H. F. W. (1997). Cement chemistry, Thomas Telford, London.
Wang, J.-A., Mattus, C. H., and Ren, F. (2009). “Basic research on the materials characterization of ultra-high performance concretes: Impact and penetration resistance aspect.”, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN.
Wang, J.-A., and Ren, F. (2010). “Thermal and mechanical characterization of advanced concrete materials.”.
Wang, X. S., Wu, B. S., and Wang, Q. Y. (2005). “Online SEM investigation of microcrack characteristics of concretes at various temperatures.” Cement Concr. Res., 35(7), 1385–1390.
Wu, C., Oehlers, D. J., Rebentrost, M., Leach, J., and Whittaker, A. S. (2009). “Blast testing of ultra-high performance fibre and FRP-retrofitted concrete slabs.” Eng. Struct., 31(9), 2060–2069.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 14, 2012
Accepted: Sep 18, 2012
Published online: Sep 22, 2012
Discussion open until: Feb 22, 2013
Published in print: Oct 1, 2013
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.