Fifty-Year Developments in High Strength Concrete

In order to utilize present day technology to the full, users of concrete must become conversant with the many recent developments that have made it possible to build smaller lighter structures or structural components using high strength concrete. The paper emphasizes the importance of cement and aggregate characteristics on the strength of conventional Portland cement concrete, and then shows how high compressive strengths can be achieved using conventional materials and compaction techniques. It then shows how a change to high alumina cement can be advantageous in achieving very high early strength with otherwise conventional materials and techniques. Newer, sometimes fairly complex, and generally more expensive methods of achieving high strength involve high pressure compaction, polymer impregnation, and fiber reinforcement. In each case, the basic technology is described, the range of strengths attainable is defined, and actual and potential field applications are identified.