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.
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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.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 25 • Issue 10 • October 2013
Pages: 1574 - 1578
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
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