High Strength Concrete
High Strength Concrete
High Strength Concrete
It is important to note the high-strength and highperformance concrete are not synonymous.
Concrete is defined as high-strength concrete solely on
the basis of its compressive strength measured at a given
age.
In the 1970s, any concrete mixtures that showed 40 MPa
or more compressive strength at 28-days were designed as
high-strength concrete.
Later, 60-100 MPa concrete mixtures were commercially
developed and used in the construction of high-rise
buildings and long-span bridges in many parts of the
world.
Definitions
The definition of high-performance concrete
is more controversial.
Mehta and Aitcin[1] used the term, highperformance concrete (HPC) for concrete
mixtures possessing high workability, high
durability and high ultimate strength.
[1]
Definitions
ACI defined high-performance concrete as
a concrete meeting special combinations of
performance and uniformity requirements
that cannot always be achieved routinely
using conventional constituents and normal
mixing, placing, and curing practice.
[1]
Typical Classification
Normal Strength
20-50 MPa
High Strength
50-100 MPa
100-150 MPa
Especial
Microstructure
Microstructure
From the general principles behind the
design of high-strength concrete mixtures, it
is apparent that high strengths are made
possible by reducing porosity,
inhomogeneity, and microcracks in the
hydrated cement paste and the transition
zone.
Microstructure
The utilization of fine pozzolanic materials in highstrength concrete leads to a reduction of the size of the
crystalline compounds, particularly, calcium hydroxide.
Consequently, there is a reduction of the thickness of the
interfacial transition zone in high-strength concrete.
The densification of the interfacial transition zone allows
for efficient load transfer between the cement mortar and
the coarse aggregate, contributing to the strength of the
concrete.
For very high-strength concrete where the matrix is
extremely dense, a weak aggregate may become the weak
link in concrete strength.
Materials - Cement
Almost any ASTM portland cement type can be
used to obtain concrete with adequate rheology
and with compressive strength up to 60 MPa.
In order to obtain higher strength mixtures while
maintaining good workability, it is necessary to
study carefully the cement composition and
finenesses and its compatibility with the chemical
admixtures.
Experience has shown that low-C3A cements
generally produce concrete with improved
rheology.
Materials -- Aggregate
In high-strength concrete, the aggregate plays an
important role on the strength of concrete.
The low-water to cement ratio used in highstrength concrete causes densification in both the
matrix and interfacial transition zone, and the
aggregate may become the weak link in the
development of the mechanical strength.
Extreme care is necessary, therefore, in the
selection of aggregate to be used in very highstrength concrete.
Materials -- Aggregate
The particle size distribution of fine aggregate that meets
the ASTM specifications is adequate for high-strength
concrete mixtures.
If possible, Aitcin recommends using fine aggregates with
higher fineness modulus (around 3.0). His reasoning is as
follows:
a) high-strength concrete mixtures already have large amounts of
small particles of cement and pozzolan, therefore fine particles of
aggregate will not improve the workability of the mix;
b) the use of coarser fine aggregates requires less water to obtain
the same workability; and
c) during the mixing process, the coarser fine aggregates will
generate higher shearing stresses that can help prevent floculation
of the cement paste.
Mechanical Behavior
Stress-strain curve is more linear
The strain corresponding to the maximum
stress increases with strength
The post-peak domain gets steeper
The ultimate deformation decreases with the
increasing strength
Strength
Based on 289 observations of moist-cured
high-strength concrete samples made with
Type III cement, Mokhtarzadeh and French
obtained the following relationship
[
fcm
= fc28
0.89 + 0.97t
Long-term strength
Iravani and MacGregor suggested the following
strength values for sustained loading:
70 to 75% (of the short-time loading strength) for
65 MPa concrete
75 to 80% for 95 MPa concrete, without silica
fume
85 to 90% for 105 MPa concrete, with silica fume
85 to 90% for 120 MPa concrete, with silica fume
Elastic Modulus
Great care should be taken if using wellestablished equations developed for normalstrength concrete to estimate the elastic
modulus of high-strength concrete.
Extrapolation beyond the validity of the
equations often leads to overestimation of
the elastic modulus.
Elastic Modulus
for normal weight concrete with 21 MPa <
fc < 83 MPa
where Ec is the elastic modulus of concrete,
fc the compressive strength.
60000
40000
river gravel
Crushed Graywack
Crushed Quartz
Crushed Limestone
Crushed Andesite
Blast furnace slag
Calcined bauxite
Crushed Cobble
Crushed Basalt
Lightweight CA
Lightweight FA + CA
Model
20000
0
0
50
100
150
200
ch
Vc
(
=
+ Vw ) Vh
Vci + Vwi
where and are the current and initial volume of cement, and
and are the current and initial volume of water, respectively.
Examples of application
Examples of application
Prof. Zia has shown that for 29-m spans
with 80 Mpa concrete instead of 40 Mpa
allow a 17% increase in span.
Examples of application
Jobse has demonstrated that by increasing
the compressive strength of concrete from
40 Mpa to 70 Mpa the number of supports
could be reduced from nine to four
Petronas Towers
Pertronas Towers
Structural Economy
Efficient method of concrete placement
Simplified construction joints
Reduced vibration due to high wind