Residual Compressive and Tensile Strength of Concrete Containing Supplementary Cementitious Materials after Exposure to Elevated Temperatures

A significant number of engineering structures around the world are exposed to fire on a daily basis. The most important effect of fire on the structure is elevated temperatures, which may reach more than 1000 degrees Celsius and cause not only thermal stresses and deformations but also diminished mechanical properties of materials comprising the structure. Fire-related collapses have been observed in numerous structural fires. However, many reinforced concrete structures exposed to fire do not demonstrate notable apparent damage and survive despite having experienced elevated temperatures before the fire is put out. Estimating the residual strength of such structures is of critical importance when deciding whether such structures can be safely used after fire. Moreover, in many industrial applications, there is a need to concrete that can withstand repeated long-term cycles of elevated temperatures without diminished mechanical properties. The objective of this paper is to investigate the effects of silica fume and fly ash as two widely used supplementary cementitious materials on the residual strength of concrete exposed to elevated temperatures and evaluate while such materials can be of benefit in improving the strength retention in case of heat exposure. Using 19 mix designs, a series of 570 concrete cylinders was fabricated using different water to cement ratios (0.35, 0.5, and 0.65), silica fume replacement ratios (0, 10, and 15 percent), and fly ash replacement ratios (0, 10, 20, and 30 percent). The specimens were cured in water for 56 days, after which they were placed in a rate-controlled large-scale electrical furnace, and their residual compressive and tensile strengths were measured before heat, and after heat exposure for 2-, 12-, and 24-hour heating cycles with temperatures reaching 200, 400, and 600 degrees Celsius. To eliminate the risk of explosive spalling, all specimens were preheated at a temperature of 100 degrees for 24 hours before the main heating cycle. Results showed that the compressive and tensile strengths did not reduce noticeably after exposure to 200 degrees but demonstrated a significant drop after exposure to 400- and 600-degree cycles. In many cases, the residual compressive and tensile strengths of specimens were found to be smaller than those predicted in previous studies. The square root equation widely used in the literature was found to provide a reasonable lower-bound estimate of the residual splitting tensile strength of concrete from the residual compressive strength; however, a linear trend was identified to provide a more accurate estimate for the results of this study. Moreover, due to less scatter, the splitting tensile strength was found to be a better indicator of heat damage in the structure than the compressive strength. The use of silica fume did not result in a meaningful trend in the residual compressive strength but reduced the residual tensile strength of specimens. Fly ash, on the other hand, could increase the residual compressive strength of the specimens but reduces the residual tensile strength. The results suggest that generally, and with few exceptions, these two supplementary cementitious materials are not recommendable choices for improving the strength retention of concrete in case of heat exposure.