ICCBT2008

Effect of Elevated Temperature on the Concrete Compressive Strength

H. A. M. Bishr, Sana'a University, YEMEN

ABSTRACT This work aims to show the effect of elevated temperature on the residual compressive strength of concrete made with available ordinary Portland cement, crushed basalt aggregate, sand and silica fume added in the form of a dry powder as a percentage of the cementitious material. Variables of this study are temperatures (20 to 900o C), different Silica fume contents (0% to 15%). The samples were cured in water tanks for 28 days prior to heating. After heating of the samples in the oven to the desired temperatures allowed to cool to the room temperatures and tested under compression. The average of the three readings obtained is used to represent the condition of the experimental test. The study showed that the compressive strength of silica fume concrete and normal concrete decreases when exposed to high temperatures where the silica fume concrete is more sensitive to elevated temperatures than normal concrete. The residual compressive strength ranged between (62 81%) of the original value around 900o C. Keyword: Compressive strength, High temperature, Silica fume

*Correspondence Authr: H. A. M. Bishr, Sana'a University, Yemen

ICCBT 2008 - A - (019) pp217-220

Effect of elevated temperature on the concrete compressive strength

1.

INTRODUCTION

Concrete with some additives has been used in special structures, such as nuclear reactors and storage tanks for crude oil and hot waters, whereas concrete subjected to elevated temperature [1]. Silica fume is being strongly suggested as admixture to improve the properties of concrete in general and its durability in particular. It is used as a partial replacement or an addition to cement to modify both the physical structure and the chemical environment of concrete. Silica fume concrete is used in structures under normal temperature conditions. Properties of Silica fume concrete under ambient temperature conditions have received considerable research attention [2-4]. [7] studied the effect of additives on the concrete properties subjected to elevated temperatures using two different local aggregates. However, the behavior of Silica fume concrete at elevated temperature has not sufficiently been covered. It is essential to understand the residual compressive strength of Silica fume concrete.

2.

EXPERIMENTAL WORK

To perform the objectives of this study, basalt aggregate concrete was mixed according to ASTM C192. The specifications of the specimens, concrete proportions and testing conditions are as follows: Cube specimens with dimensions 100*100*100 mm3. Cement : Ordinary Portland Cement 350 kg/ m3 Coarse aggregate: Basalt aggregate (crushed stones) Fine aggregate : Local sand Water : 175 Liters (W/C = 0.50) Silica fume ratio: 0, 5, 7, 10, 15 % Temperatures : 20, 150, 300, 500, 700, 900o C. Curing age : 28 days The silica fume used in this study was sprinkled by hand in several layers with the cement and aggregates to ensure a reasonable uniform distribution prior to water addition. For each testing condition, three specimens were used and the averages of the three readings were obtained. The total number of cube specimens was 90. The specimens were cured in water tanks prior to heating, after 28 days of curing, the specimens were taken out of tanks and placed in the electric oven, its temperature capacity is 1200o C. Specimens were left in the oven for 4 hours to achieve a uniform temperature distribution across them. After that, specimens were allowed to cool in the oven for 20 hours, a total of 24 hours of heating and cooling past the curing age. A loading rate of 3 kN/s was used to get the residual compressive strength of concrete.

3.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The measured values of the residual compressive strength for the various mixes at elevated temperatures are shown in figure 1. Also, the ratio of the residual compressive strength of concrete at elevated temperatures to that at ambient temperature is shown in table 1.

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H. A. M. Bishr

It is clear that the compressive strength of concrete decreases at elevated temperature except around 300o C where a considerable increase in the compressive strength is observed. This is may be due to the evaporation of the free water content which accelerates the hydration and hence increases the compressive strength till 300o C. For temperatures higher than 300o C, the strength of Silica fume concrete starts to decrease. According to [5] this decrease is attributed to the fact that chemically-bound water starts to disintegrate and evaporate at this stage. The compressive strength of concrete with 15% silica fume after four hours of exposure at 150, 300, 500, 700, 900o C was 102, 118, 94, 57, and 19 % of its unheated strength respectively, while the compressive strength of blended cement concrete was 103, 112, 95, 78, and 38% of the original unheated value which means that silica fume concrete is sensitive to high temperatures. Silica fume concrete samples start to lose the integrity above 500o C, where the compressive strength of the specimen is reduced to around 25% of the original value at 900o C. [6] reported that the increase in the compressive strength of concrete heated at 200o C was as a result of the internal autoclaving formed in cement paste. The temperature range between 100 to 300o C is the most favorable for the formation of such conditions because the steam is liberated most intensively during this range and additional hydration of cement grains results. The results from [7] are obtained using two different local aggregates indicate similar trends of decreasing strength with high temperatures of SFC. The peak value of the strength was around 400o C and spalling noticed for some specimens with low water-cement ratio. It should be pointed out that the change in the results between this research and [7] was due to the difference in the experimental details such as mix proportions and testing conditions.

4.

CONCLUSIONS

The following conclusions can be drawn from this study: 1. The compressive strength of concrete with or without silica fume decreases with increasing temperature, the peak value in the ratio of the compressive strength at high temperature to that at ambient temperature is observed around 300o C. This peak value could be attributed to the evaporation of free water inside the concrete. 2. Silica fume concrete is more sensitive to high temperatures than blended cement concrete where the poor performance of silica fume concrete, exposed to elevated temperature, compared to plain concrete can be attributed to the effect of vapor pressure built-up inside the concrete causing expansion and cracking because of the highly dense structure. 3. For all mixes, the compressive strength was found to increase after four hours of exposure to an elevated temperature up to 300o C. An obvious reduction in the compressive strength was observed after exposure to 700o C, increasing the temperature up to 900o C causes serious deterioration where the decreasing ratio in the compressive strength reached to 81% of the unheated strength.

ICCBT 2008 - A - (019) pp217-220

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Effect of elevated temperature on the concrete compressive strength Table (1): The ratio of the residual compressive strength of concrete at elevated temperatures to that at ambient temperature

20 1 1 1 1 1

150 1.02 1.1 1.05 1.01 1.03

300 1.18 1.22 1.21 1.13 1.12

500 0.94 0.89 0.93 0.91 0.95

700 0.57 0.71 0.7 0.74 0.78

900 0.19 0.22 0.29 0.26 0.38

15% SF 10% SF 7% SF 5% SF 0% SF

70 Compressive Strength (MPa) 60 50 40 7% SF 30 5% SF 20 0% SF 10 0 20 150 300 500 700 900 Temperature, C 15% SF 10% SF

Figure 1. Effect of temperature on the concrete strength

REFERENCES
[1]. Felicetti, R. and Gambarova, P. G.,"Effect of high temperature on the residual compressive strength of high strength siliceous concrete" ACI Materials Journal, Vol. 95, No. 4, July-August 1998, pp. 395-406. [2]. Mehta, P.K.," Pozzolanic and cementitious by-production concrete another look" ACI Sp-114, 1989. [3]. Anon, F.,"How microsilica improves concrete", Concrete Construction, Vol. 30, No. 4, pp. 327329. [4]. Carlson, M., Hope, R. and Pedersen, J.,"Use of condensed silica fume in concrete", ACI Publication No. SP 91-50, pp. 1013-1030. [5]. Khoury, G.A., The effect of elevated temperature on concrete. Ph.D. Thesis University of London, London, England. [6]. Piasta, J., Sawicz, Z. and Rvdzinski, l., "Changes in the structure of hardened cement paste due

to high temperature", Materials and Structure Journal, pp. 100-109, 1984. ]7[. ( " " .
Lotfi Algori, Effects of amixtures on Concrete Properties exposed to Fire, Sana Universit, Yemen

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