High-Performance

Concrete
 Characteristics of High-
Performance Concretes
 High strength
 High early strength
 High modulus of elasticity
 High abrasion resistance
 High durability and long life in
severe environments
 Low permeability and diffusion
 Resistance to chemical attack
High-Performance
Concrete
 Characteristics of High-
Performance Concretes
 High resistance to frost
and deicer scaling damage
 Toughness and impact
resistance
 Volume stability
 Ease of placement
 Compaction without
segregation
 Inhibition of bacterial and
mold growth
High-Performance
Concrete
 Materials Used in High-
Performance Concrete (1)
Material Primary Contribution/Desired Property
Portland cement Cementing material / Durability
Blended cement
Cementing material /
Fly ash / Slag / Silica fume
Durability /
Calcined clay/ Metakaolin
High strength
Calcined shale
Superplasticizers Flowability
High-range water reducers Reduce water-cement ratio
Hydration control admix. Control setting
High-Performance
Concrete
 Materials Used in High-
Performance Concrete (2)
Material Primary contribution/Desired property
Retarders Control setting
Accelerators Accelerate setting
Corrosion inhibitors Control steel corrosion
Water reducers Reduce cement and water content
Shrinkage reducers Reduce shrinkage
ASR inhibitors Control alkali-silica activity
Polymer/latex modifiers Durability
Optimally graded aggr. Improve workability/reduce paste

High-Performance
Concrete
 Selected Properties of High-
Performance Concrete (1)
Property Test Method Criteria that may be specified
High Strength ASTM C 39 40-140 MPa @ 28 to 91 days
H-E Comp. Strength ASTM C 39 20-30 MPa @ 3-12 hrs.or 1-3 days
H-E Flex. Strength ASTM C 78 2-4 MPa @ 3-12 hrs.or 1-3 days
Abrasion Resistance ASTM C 944 0-1 mm depth of wear
Low Permeability ASTM C 1202 500 to 2000 coulombs
Chloride Penetration AASHTO T Less than 0.07% Cl at 6 months
259/260
High Resistivity ASTM G 59 —
Low Absorption ASTM C 642 2% to 5%
High-Performance
Concrete
 Selected Properties of High-
Performance Concrete (2)
Property Test Method Criteria that may be spec.
Low diffusion coeff. Wood, Wilson, Leek 1000 x 10-13 m/s
Resistance to sat. solution in wet/dry
No deterioration after 1 yr.
chemical attack environment
Sulphate attack ASTM C 1012 0.1% max. exp. @ 6 mos.
High Mod.of Elast. (E) ASTM C 469 More than 40 GPa
High resistance to ASTM C 666 Durability Factor 95-100 @
F/T damage Procedure A 300 -1000 cycles
High resistance to Rating 0-1 or mass loss 0 to
ASTM C 672
deicer scaling 0.5 kg/m3 after 50-300 cycles
Low shrinkage ASTM C 157 Less than 400 millionths
High-Performance
Low creep ASTM C 512 Less than normal concrete
Concrete
 High-Early-Strength
Concrete
 High-early compressive strength
ASTM C 39 (AASHTO T 22)
20 to 28 MPa (3000 to 4000 psi)
at 3 to 12 hours or 1 to 3 days

 High-early flexural strength

ASTM C 78 (AASHTO T 97)
2 to 4 MPa (300 to 600 psi)
High-Performance at 3 to 12 hours or 1 to 3 days
Concrete
 High-Early-Strength
Concrete
May be achieved by —
 Type III or HE high-early-strength
cement
 High cement content
400 to 600 kg/m3
(675 to 1000 lb/yd3)
 Low water-cementing materials ratio
(0.20 to 0.45 by mass)
 Higher freshly mixed concrete
temperature
 Higher curing temperature
High-Performance
Concrete
 High-Early-Strength
Concrete
May be achieved by —

 Chemical admixtures
 Silica fume (or other
supplementary cementing
materials)
 Steam or autoclave curing
 Insulation to retain heat of
hydration
 Special rapid hardening cements
High-Performance
Concrete
 Strength Data for Fast-Track
Bonded Overlay
Compressive strength, Flexural strength, Bond strength,
Age MPa (psi) MPa (psi) MPa (psi)
4 hours 1.7 (252) 0.9 (126) 0.9 (120)
6 hours 7.0 (1020) 2.0 (287) 1.1 (160)
8 hours 13.0 (1883) 2.7 (393) 1.4 (200)
12 hours 17.6 (2546) 3.4 (494) 1.6 (225)
24 hours 23.9 (3467) 4.2 (604) 2.1 (302)
7 days 34.2 (4960) 5.0 (722) 2.1 (309)
28 days 40.7 (5900) 5.7 (830) 2.5 (359)

High-Performance
Concrete
 Strength Development of
HE Strength Concrete

Cement = 390 kg/m3

(697 lb/yd3)
w/c = 0.46

High-Performance
Concrete
 Strength Development of
HE Strength Concrete

Cement = 504 to 528 kg/m3

(850 to 890 lb/yd3)
w/c = 0.46

High-Performance
Concrete
 Effect of Blanket Insulation

High-Performance
Concrete
 High-Strength Concrete
 90% of R/M concrete
20 MPa - 40 MPa @ 28-d
(most 30 MPa – 35 MPa)

 High-strength concrete
by definition —
28 day – compr. strength
 70 MPa (10,000 psi)

High-Performance
Concrete
 High-Strength Concrete Materials
Cements —
 Base selection on:
 mortar-cube tests
 comparative concrete strengths at 28,
56, 91 days
 Use cement yielding highest concrete
strength at extended ages (91-days)
 Cement should have min. 7-day mortar
cube strength of 30 MPa (4350 psi)
 Trial mixture with cement contents
between 400 and 550 kg/m3 (675 and
930 lb/yd3)
High-Performance
Concrete
 High-Strength Concrete Materials
Aggregates —
 9.5 - 12.5 mm (3/8 - 1/2 in.) nominal
maximum size gives optimum
strength
 Combining single sizes for required
grading allows for closer control and
reduced variability in concrete
 For 70 MPa and greater, the FM of
the sand should be 2.8 – 3.2. (Lower
may give lower strengths and sticky
mixes)
High-Performance
Concrete
 High-Strength Concrete Materials

Supplementary Cementing Materials —

 Fly ash, silica fume, or slag often

mandatory
 Dosage rate 5% to 20% or higher
by mass of cementing material.
 Some specs. – silica fume 10%
max.

High-Performance
Concrete
 High-Strength Concrete Materials
Admixtures —
 Use of water reducers, retarders,
HRWRs, or superplasticizers —
mandatory in high-strength concrete
 Air-entraining admixtures not necessary
or desirable in protected high-strength
concrete.
 Air is mandatory, where durability in a
freeze-thaw environment is required ie.
bridges, piers, parking structures
 Recent studies:
 w/cm ≥ 0.30—air required
 w/cm < 0.25—no air needed
High-Performance
Concrete
 High-Strength Concrete
Mixing —
 Central Plant or Truck Mixers
 Truck mixing — reduce loads to
90% of rated capacity
 Prequalification of concrete
suppliers is recommended
 Field trials with full loads delivered
to the site or a mock-up are
essential to assess the batching,
mixing, transporting and placing
High-Performance systems to be used
Concrete
 High-Strength Concrete
Placing, Consolidation, and Curing
 Delays in delivery and placing
must be eliminated
 Consolidation very important to
achieve strength
 Slump generally 180 to 220 mm (7 to 9
in.)
 Little if any bleeding—fog or
evaporation retarders have to be
applied immediately after strike off to
minimize plastic shrinkage and crusting
High-Performance  7 days moist curing
Concrete
 Mix Proportions and Properties of
High-Strength Concrete
C + SF + FA C + SF
Cement, Type I, kg/m3 475 564
Silica fume, kg/m3 24 89
Fly ash, kg/m3 59 —
HRWR Type F, liters/m3 11.6 20.11
Retarder, Type D, liters/m3 1.05 1.46
Water to cementing materials ratio 0.29 0.22
Slump, mm 248 254
Compressive strength, 28d, MPa 92 117
Compressive strength, 91d, MPa 105 124
Modulus of elasticity, 91d, GPa 49.9 56.5
High-Performance
Drying shrinkage, 369d, millionths 677 527
Concrete
 Mix Proportions and Properties of
High-Strength Concrete
C + SF + FA C + SF
Cement, Type I, lb/yd3 800 950
Silica fume, lb/yd3 40 150
Fly ash, lb/yd3 100 —
HRWR Type F, fl oz/yd3 300 520
Retarder, Type D, fl oz/yd3 27 38
Water to cementing materials ratio 0.29 0.22
Slump, in. 9.75 10
Compressive strength, 28d, psi 13,300 17,000
Compressive strength, 91d, psi 15,170 18,030
Modulus of elasticity, 91d, million psi 7.24 8.20
High-Performance
Drying shrinkage, 369d, millionths 677 527
Concrete
 Two Union Square
Seattle, 1988
 Cement: 513 kg/m3 (865 lb/yd3)
 w/c: 0.25 0.25
 Silica fume: 43 kg/m3 (72 lb/yd3)
 Fine aggr.: 685 kg/m3 (1155 lb/yd3)
 HRWR: 15.7 L/m3 (420 oz/yd3)
 28d strength: 119 MPa (17,200 psi)
 91d strength: 145 MPa (21,000 psi)

High-Performance
Concrete
 High-Durability Concrete
 1970s and 1980s focus on —
High-Strength HPC

 Today focus on concretes

with high durability in severe
environments resulting in
structures with long life —
High-Durability HPC

High-Performance
Concrete
 High-Durability Concrete
Durability Issues That HPC Can Address
 Abrasion Resistance
 Blast Resistance
 Permeability
 Carbonation
 Freeze-Thaw Resistance
 Chemical Attack
 Alkali-Silica Reactivity
(helps combat)
 Corrosion rates of rebar
High-Performance (high resistivity)
Concrete
 High-Durability Concrete
Confederation Bridge, Northumberland Strait,
Prince Edward Island/New Brunswick, 1997

 Cement: 398 kg/m3 (671 lb/yd3)

 Fly ash: 45 kg/m3 (76 lb/yd3)
 Silica fume: 32 kg/m3 (72 lb/yd3)
 w/c: 0.30
 Water Red.: 1.7 L/m3 (47 oz/yd3)
 HRWR: 15.7 L/m3 (83 oz/yd3)
 Air: 5-8%
High-Performance  91d strength: 60 MPa (8700 psi)
Concrete
 Self-Consolidating Concrete
Self-consolidating concrete (SCC) also
known as self-compacting concrete —
flows and consolidates on its own
 developed in 1980s — Japan
 Increased amount of
 Fine material
(i.e. fly ash or limestone filler)
 HRWR/Superplasticizers

 Strength and durability same as

conventional concrete
High-Performance
Concrete
 Self-Consolidating Concrete

High-Performance
Concrete
 SCC for Power Plant in
Pennsylvania—Mix Proportions
Portland cement (Type I) 297 kg/m3 (500 lb/yd3)
Slag cement 128 kg/m3 (215 lb/yd3)
Coarse aggregate 675 kg/m3 (1,137 lb/yd3)
Fine aggregate 1,026 kg/m3 (1,729 lb/yd3)
Water 170 kg/m3 (286 lb/yd3)
Superplasticizer ASTM C 494, Type F
(Polycarboxylate-based) 1.3 L/m3 (35 oz/yd3)
AE admixture as needed for 6% ± 1.5% air content

High-Performance
Concrete
 J-Ring Test for SCC

High-Performance
Concrete
 Reactive-Powder Concrete (RPC)
 Properties:
 High strength — 200 MPa
(can be produced to 810 MPa)
 Very low porosity

 Properties are achieved by:

 Max. particles size  300 m
 Optimized particle packing

 Low water content

 Steel fibers

 Heat-treatment

High-Performance
Concrete
 Mechanical Properties of RPC
Property Unit 80 MPa RPC
Compressive
MPa (psi) 80 (11,600) 200 (29,000)
strength
Flexural strength MPa (psi) 7 (1000) 40 (5800)
Tensile strength MPa (psi) 8 (1160)
Modulus of Elasticity GPa (psi) 40 (5.8 x 106) 60 (8.7 x 106)
Fracture Toughness 103 J/m2 <1 30
Freeze-thaw RDF 90 100
Carbonation mm 2 0
Abrasion 10-12 m2/s 275 1.2
High-Performance
Concrete
 Reactive Powder Concrete

High-Performance
Concrete