Abrasion Resistance and Nanoscratch Behavior of an Ultra-High Performance Concrete
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 29, Issue 2
Abstract
Premature deterioration of concrete due to abrasion has been a critical problem in many civil engineering structures. As a novel material, ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) shows the potential to be used as an outstanding wear resistant material whereas there is a lack of detailed research on its abrasion behavior. This study investigated the abrasion resistance of a UHPC as compared with a high performance concrete (HPC), and nanoscratch tests were carried out to understand the underlying mechanisms that govern the macrobehavior. The results indicate that the abrasion resistance of the UHPC is approximately 50% higher than that of the HPC, which is primarily the result of the higher wear resistance of the UHPC paste. The scratch test results reveal that phases with higher hardness/stiffness such as unreacted particles are much less prone to be rubbed away than low hardness/stiffness phases like hydration products. Therefore, the UHPC paste, which is primarily comprised of high-stiffness hydration gels and unreacted particles, exhibits a higher scratch resistance than the HPC paste in terms of a smaller average scratch depth.
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Acknowledgments
The Scientific and Technological Research and Development Plan of China Railway Corporation (Project No. 2013G001-A-2) is gratefully acknowledged, and the authors would like to thank China Scholarship Council for funding Sujing Zhao’s visit to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 29 • Issue 2 • February 2017
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 10, 2015
Accepted: Jul 8, 2016
Published online: Sep 2, 2016
Published in print: Feb 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Feb 2, 2017
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