Mechanical Characteristics of Self-Consolidating Concretes Exposed to Elevated Temperatures.

Mechanical characteristics of self-consolidating concretes subjected to elevated temperatures up to 700°C were experimentally investigated in this paper. Eight different concretes [four self-consolidating concretes (SCC) and four conventional concretes (CC)] of different strength categories were produced. At the age of 120 days, specimens were placed in an electrical furnace and the heating was applied at a rate of 5°C/min until the desired temperature was reached. A maximum temperature of 100, 300, 500, and 700°C was maintained for 1 h. Specimens were then allowed to cool in the furnace and tested for compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and ultrasonic pulse velocity. Similar tests were also performed at room temperature (20°C) for the reference specimens. Residual strength of both SCC and CC was reduced almost similar up to the maximum temperature tested. Explosive spalling occurred in both SCC and CC of the highest strength category at temperatures greater than 380°C. The residual compressive strength of SCC mixtures was higher than the one of CC mixtures for the same strength class. The tentative spalling behavior of SCC and CC was the same and depended only on the strength category. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]