High temperature behaviour of self-consolidating concrete: Microstructure and physicochemical properties

This paper presents an experimental study on the properties of self-compacting concrete (SCC) subjected to high temperature. Two SCC mixtures and one vibrated concrete mixture were tested. These concrete mixtures come from the French National Project B@P. The specimens of each concrete mixture were heated at a rate of 1 °C/min up to different temperatures (150, 300, 450 and 600 °C). In order to ensure a uniform temperature throughout the specimens, the temperature was held constant at the maximum temperature for 1 h before cooling. Mechanical properties at ambient temperature and residual mechanical properties after heating have already been determined. In this paper, the physicochemical properties and the microstuctural characteristics are presented. Thermogravimetric analysis, thermodifferential analysis, X-ray diffraction and SEM observations were used. The aim of these studies was in particular to explain the observed residual compressive strength increase between 150 and 300 °C.