Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
com
Construction
and Building
Received 5 October 2006; received in revised form 22 November 2006; accepted 1 December 2006
Available online 18 January 2007
Abstract
An experimental investigation was conducted on the effect of thermal shock during cooling on residual mechanical properties of fiber
concrete exposed to elevated temperatures from 200 to 800 °C. Various cooling regimes were used including natural cooling, spraying
water for a series of durations from 5 to 60 min, and quenching in water. The temperature determination results prove that the rapid
cooling regimes such as quenching in water, or water spraying for 30 min or more, caused an action of ‘‘thermal shock’’ to concrete under
elevated temperature, characterized by a high temperature decreasing rate ranged from 25 to 44 min/°C. The experimental results indi-
cate that, compared with natural cooling, thermal shock induced by water quenching and spraying water caused more severe damage to
concrete, in terms of greater losses in compressive strength, tensile splitting strength, and fracture energy. The fact that the impact of
spraying water for 30 min or more on mechanical properties was almost the same as that of water quenching, indicates that spraying
water for 30 min or more could cause thermal shock to a similar degree to water quenching, which is in good agreement with the results
of the temperature determination. Hybrid fiber (steel fiber and polypropylene fiber) can enhance residual strength and fracture energy of
concrete subjected to thermal shock induced by rapid cooling from high temperatures up to 800 °C to room temperature.
Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: High temperature; Thermal shock; Mechanical properties; Fiber reinforcement; High-performance concrete; Fire; Rapid cooling
0950-0618/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2006.12.002
G.-F. Peng et al. / Construction and Building Materials 22 (2008) 948–955 949
Nevertheless, most research data of residual strength after medium sand, with the modulus of fineness of 2.5.
exposure to high temperature were obtained under condi- Coarse aggregate: crushed limestone, particle size
tions of natural cooling [1,2,7,8], which should differ obvi- between 5 and 25 mm. High-range water reducing agent,
ously from cooling regimes in a real fire, where water at a dosage from 1.0% to 2.5% of cement contents to
spraying is usually used for fire extinguishing and conse- maintain slump of mixtures from 100 to 150 mm. The
quently thermal shock is induced to concrete. It has been diameter of the polypropylene fiber (PP fiber) was
reported that water cooling caused more severe decrease 20 lm, while the diameter of steel fiber was 2 mm, as
in strength compared to natural cooling [9–11]. Therefore, given in Table 1.
the effect of cooling regimes on mechanical properties of
concrete is of great concern, especially after a fire case 2.2. Experimental procedure
was reported [12,13], which happened in the city of Hengy-
ang, Hunan Province, China, November 3rd, 2003. In this Five types of concretes were prepared, of which mix pro-
case, an 8-storey reinforced concrete building collapsed cat- portions and compressive strength at 3 days and 28 days
astrophically during fire extinguishing and twenty fire fight- are given in Table 2. Cube specimens of 100 mm size were
ers died from the building collapse. Furthermore, apart used for strength determination, and beams of 100 mm
from these reports on the effect of cooling on plain concrete height, 100 mm width and 400 mm length, were used for
with no fiber [9–13], there is little literature on properties of fracture energy determination. After demolding, the speci-
fiber concrete subjected to various cooling regimes. mens were cure in water at 20 °C till 58 days.
As it has been found in a preceding investigation by the At 58 days, the specimens were taken from curing water,
authors [14] that using hybrid fiber (steel fiber and polypro- and dried under temperature of 105 °C in order to avoid
pylene fiber) is an optimum approach for enhancing fire undesirable explosive spalling of concrete when exposed
resistance of HSC/HPC, this paper presents an investiga- to high temperature. The specimens were exposed to high
tion on the effect of cooling regimes, including natural temperatures in an electric furnace, 200, 400, 600, and
cooling, spraying water for a series of durations from 5 800 °C, respectively. The time–temperature curve of the
to 60 min, and quenching in water, on residual mechanical furnace is given in Fig. 1. The ISO 834 curve in Fig. 1 is
properties of high-performance concrete incorporating a standard time–temperature curve for fire resistance test-
hybrid fiber after exposure to high temperatures from 200 ing recommended in ISO standard, ISO 834. For each
to 800 °C. exposure to high temperature, the target temperature was
maintained for 1 h. After exposure to high temperatures,
2. Experimental details the specimens were subjected to various cooling regimes
as given in Table 3. Under each cooling regime, six cubes
2.1. Raw materials (three cubes a batch for compressive strength, and the
other three cubes a batch for tensile splitting strength deter-
Cement: ordinary Portland cement, strength grade minations, respectively) and two beams (for fracture energy
42.5 MPa (which was compressive strength at 28 days, determination) were used for each type of concrete. After
determined on mortar specimens at a mix proportion the specimens cooled down to room temperature, compres-
of cement:sand:water = 1:3:0.5 by mass, according to sive strength, tensile splitting strength, and fracture energy
Chinese Standard GB/T 17671-1999 [15]). Fine aggregate: were measured respectively.
Table 1
Characteristics of fibers
Type Density (g/cm3) Diameter Length (mm) Aspect ratio Tensile strength (MPa) Elastic modulus (GPa)
PP fiber 0.91 20 lm 20 1000 560–770 3.5
Steel fiber 7.80 2 mm 30 15 650–800 200
Table 2
Mix proportions and compressive strength of concretes prepareda
Type of concrete W/B Quantity (kg/m3) Compressive strength (MPa) at 28 days
C W S G SF PP-F S-F
26C 0.26 535 156 597 1153 64 0 0 83.5
26P1 0.26 519 151 579 1122 62 0.91 0 88.6
26P2 0.26 515 150 575 1112 62 2.73 0 83.4
26H1 0.26 527 154 588 1139 63 0.60 80 87.2
26H2 0.26 528 154 589 1139 63 1.82 70 89.3
a
W/B for water/binder ratio (mass), C for ordinary Portland cement (OPC), SF for silica fume, S for sand, G for coarse aggregate, W for water, PP–F
for 20 lm polypropylene fiber (PP fiber), and S-F for steel fiber respectively.
950 G.-F. Peng et al. / Construction and Building Materials 22 (2008) 948–955
1400
1200
Temperature (°C)
1000
800
ISO 834 curve
600
400
Table 3
Various cooling regimes used in the experiment
a
Specimen type, high temperatures Natural cooling 5 min Spraying 30 min Spraying 60 min Spraying Quenching in
water
p p p p p
Cubes for compressive strength, 200, 400, 600, and
800 °C
p p p p p
Cubes for tensile splitting strength, 200, 400, 600,
and 800 °C
p p p
Beams for fracture energy, 400, and 600 °C None None
a
Relative temperature of room air and cooling water during the tests was 25 °C.
G.-F. Peng et al. / Construction and Building Materials 22 (2008) 948–955 951
Temperature (°C)
Depth 3 cm
Depth 5 cm
600
Temperature (°C)
Depth 5cm
600
a0=50
400
Quenching
s=260 B=100
200
All in mm
Depth 3 cm
Depth 5 cm
The temperature determination results are shown in 600
Figs. 6 and 7 for concrete 26C, and in Figs. 8 and 9 for
26H1. These results indicate that the inner temperature 400
decreasing rate of a specimen during cooling, either under
quenching or under water spraying for 60 min, was signif- 200
Water spraying
0
Furnace temperature 0 60 120 180 240 300 360
1000
Depth 1cm Time (min)
Depth 3 cm
Depth 5 cm
Temperature (°C)
400
icantly higher than that of the specimen subjected to natu-
Quenching ral cooling. In general, the specimens subjected to
200 quenching, or water spraying for 60 min, could cool to
100 °C within 20 min. For 26C subjected to quenching,
0 temperature at 10 mm depth dropped from 754 to 103 °C
0 60 120 180 240 300 360 within 15.5 min; temperature at 30 mm depth dropped
Time (min) from 745 to 102 °C within 17.5 min; and temperature at
Fig. 6. Temperature of furnace and concrete 26H1 subjected to 50 mm depth dropped from 727 to 102 °C within
quenching. 19.5 min. These results prove that the cooling regimes such
952 G.-F. Peng et al. / Construction and Building Materials 22 (2008) 948–955
Residual compressive
of temperature decreasing ranged from 25 to 44 min/°C, 60 min spray
strength (MPa)
80 Water quenching
which was calculated from Figs. 6–9. It can be concluded
that, in terms of thermal shock, water spraying for dura- 60
tion of 30 min or more is in consistency with quenching
in water. Nevertheless, if the duration for water spraying 40
was too short, for example 5 min, it can be seen from Figs.
20
7 and 9 that temperature would drop from 761 to 582 °C at
10 mm depth in 26H1, and from 743 to 681 °C at 10 mm 0
depth in 26C, after which the specimens would still 0 200 400 600 800 1000
undergo natural cooling from 582 to 681 °C, respectively. Temperature (°C)
It can be found from the results in Figs. 6–9 that there
Fig. 11. Residual compressive strength of polypropylene fiber concrete,
was only a slight difference between the temperature drop- 26P1.
ping rate of the specimens under quenching in water and
that under water spraying for 60 min, i.e. quenching caused
the temperature dropping rate slightly higher. Moreover, 100 Natural cooling
26H1 incorporating both PP fiber and steel fiber had both 5 min spraying
Residual compressive
a temperature rising rate during heating and a temperature 80 30 min spraying
60 min spraying
strength (MPa)
dropping rate during cooling slightly higher than those of
Water quenching
plain concrete 26C, as steel fiber could increase thermal 60
conductivity of hybrid fiber concrete 26H1.
40
3.2. Effect of cooling regimes on residual compressive
strength 20
0
The results of residual compressive strength of the five 0 200 400 600 800 1000
types of concrete subjected to various cooling regimes are Temperature (°C)
given from Figs. 10–14, respectively. It is obvious in these
figures that residual compressive strength of concrete was Fig. 12. Residual compressive strength of polypropylene fiber concrete,
significantly influenced by the cooling regimes. For each 26P2.
type of concrete under an identical target temperature,
among the five cooling regimes, natural cooling maintained
a relatively higher value of residual compressive strength, 140 Natural cooling
Residual compressive
80 Water quenching Fig. 13. Residual compressive strength of hybrid fiber concrete, 26H1.
Residual tensile
80 60 min spraying
Water quenching
4
60 Water quenching
40 3
20 2
0 1
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Temperature (°C) 0
0 200 400 600 800
Fig. 14. Residual compressive strength of hybrid fiber concrete, 26H2.
Temperature (°C)
Residual tensile
30 min spray
4 60 min spray
3.3. Effect of cooling regimes on residual tensile splitting Water quenching
strength 3
2
The results of residual tensile splitting strength of the
five types of concrete subjected to various cooling regimes 1
are given from Figs. 15–19 respectively. Similar to the
0
results of residual compressive strength, residual tensile 0 200 400 600 800
strength under natural cooling was still relatively higher Temperature (°C)
than that under the other cooling regimes at each target
Fig. 17. Residual tensile splitting strength of polypropylene fiber concrete,
temperature. Concrete incorporating PP fiber lonely, iden-
26P2.
tified by 26P1 or 26P2, suffered a loss in tensile strength
more considerably than concrete incorporating hybrid fiber
(steel fiber and PP fiber), identified by 26H1 or 26H2.
It is shown in Figs. 16 and 17 that 26P1 or 26P2 concrete Natural cooling
incorporating PP fiber lonely had a low value of residual 8 5 min spraying
30 min spraying
tensile strength under 400 °C, which was almost equal to 7
splitting strength (MPa)
60 min spraying
that under 600 °C, implies that concrete incorporating PP
Residual tensile
6 Water qunching
fiber was rather severely damaged by exposure to 400 °C. 5
Compared with the results in Figs. 16 and 17, hybrid
4
fiber concrete performed significantly better, characterized
by a much slower decrease in tensile strength for tempera- 3
2
1
7 Natural cooling 0
Spray-5 min 0 200 400 600 800 1000
splitting strength (MPa)
6
Spray-30 min Temperature (°C)
Residual tensile
5 Spray-60 min
Water quenching Fig. 18. Residual tensile splitting strength of hybrid fiber concrete, 26H1.
4
3
ture increasing from 200 to 800 °C, as shown in Figs. 18
2 and 19. It is known from previous researches [1] that PP
1 fiber can help HSC/HPC improve resistance to thermally
induced explosive spalling. Nevertheless, the results in the
0
0 200 400 600 800 present investigation indicate that hybrid fiber (steel fiber
Temperature (°C) and PP fiber) can enhance fire resistance of HSC/HPC in
the form of relatively high residual strength, at the mean-
Fig. 15. Residual tensile splitting strength of plain concrete, 26C.
954 G.-F. Peng et al. / Construction and Building Materials 22 (2008) 948–955
5 5 min spray
concrete increased for 400 °C, but decreased for 600 °C.
Residual tensile
Natural cooling
energy (W/m2)
15000
Spray-5 min as compressive strength, tensile splitting strength, and frac-
10000 Spray-30 min ture energy. The fact that the impact of spraying water for
30 min or more on mechanical properties was almost the
5000
same as that of water quenching, indicates that spraying
0 water for 30 min or more could cause thermal shock to a
2 400 60 0
similar degree to water quenching, which is in good agree-
Temperature (°C)
ment with the results of the temperature determination.
Fig. 21. Residual fracture energy of hybrid fiber concrete, 26H1. Hybrid fiber (steel fiber and PP fiber) can enhance both
G.-F. Peng et al. / Construction and Building Materials 22 (2008) 948–955 955
residual strength and fracture energy of concrete subjected [7] Chan YN, Peng GF, Anson M. Residual strength and pore structure
to thermal shock induced by rapid cooling from elevated of high-strength concrete and normal strength concrete after exposure
to high temperatures. Cem Concr Comp 1999;23:23–7.
temperature up to 800 °C. [8] Khoury GA. Compressive strength of concrete at high temperatures:
For each type of concrete under identical target temper- reassessment. Mag Concr Res 1992;44:291–309.
ature, among the five cooling regimes, natural cooling [9] Luo X, Sun W, Chan SYN. Effect of heating and cooling on residual
maintained a relatively higher value of residual compres- strength and microstructure of normal strength and high-perfor-
sive strength. The similar results were also obtained on ten- mance concrete. Cem Concr Res 2000;30:379–83.
[10] Ishihara S, Gshima T, Nomura K. Crack propagation behavior of
sile splitting strength and fracture energy. This means that cermets and cemented carbides under repeated thermal shocks by the
residual mechanical properties might be overestimated in improved quench test. J Mater Sci 1999;34:629–36.
most previous literature, where natural cooling rather than [11] Nassif AY. Postfiring stress–strain hysteresis of concrete subjected to
rapid cooling was usually employed. various heating and cooling regimes. Fire Mater 2002;26:103–9.
[12] Anonymous. Problems arising from the Hengyang fire case to the
philosophy of fire fighting in China (in Chinese). China News Weekly
Acknowledgements 2003; November 17.
[13] Chen JQ. Key issues in the ‘‘11-03’’ building fire and collapse case in
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial sup- the city of Hengyang (in Chinese). Fire Sci Technol (China)
port of the National Science Foundation of China (Project 2004;23:99–102.
No. 50478060) and the PanDeng Foundation of Beijing [14] Peng GF, Yang WW, Zhao J, Liu YF, Bian SH, Zhao LH. Explosive
spalling and residual mechanical properties of fiber-toughened high-
JiaoTong University. Shanghai Bekaert-Ergang Company performance concrete subjected to high temperatures. Cem Concr Res
Ltd. is acknowledged for providing steel fiber and TaiAn 2006;36:723–7.
XianDai Plastic Products Company is acknowledged for [15] Chinese Standard, GB/T 17671-1999 Method for determination of
providing polypropylene fiber. strength of cement mortar (ISO method). pp. 1–13.
[16] RILEM, FMC1 determination of the fracture energy of mortar and
concrete by means of three-point bend tests on notched beams. In:
References RILEM technical recommendations for the testing and use of
construction materials, London: E&FN SPON; 1994. pp. 99–101.
[1] Phan LT. Fire performance of high-strength concrete: a report of the [17] Peng GF, Chan SYN, Anson M. Chemical kinetics of C–S–H
state-of-the-art, NISTIR 5934. Building and Fire Research Labora- decomposition in hardened cement paste subjected to elevated
tory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, temperatures up to 800 °C. Adv Cem Res 2001;13:47–52.
MD; 1996. [18] Nielsen CV, Bicanic N. Residual fracture energy of high-performance
[2] Schneider U. Concrete at high temperatures – a general review. Fire and normal concrete subjected to high temperatures. Mater Struct
Safety J 1988;13:55–68. 2003;36:515–21.
[3] Chan YN, Peng GF, Anson M. Fire behavior of high-performance [19] Baker G. The effect of exposure to elevated temperatures on the
concrete made with silica fume at various moisture contents. ACI fracture energy of plain concrete. Mater Struct 1996;29:383–8.
Mater J 1999;96:405–9. [20] Zhang B, Bicanic N, Pearce CJ, Balabanic G. Residual fracture
[4] Kalifa P, Chene G, Galle C. High-temperature behavior of HPC with properties of normal- and high-strength concrete subject to elevated
polypropylene fibers from spalling to microstructure. Cem Concr Res temperatures. Mag Concr Res 2000;52(2):123–36.
2001;31:1487–99. [21] Prokopski G. Fracture toughness of concretes at high temperatures. J
[5] Bentz DP. Fibers, percolation and spalling of high performance Mater Sci 1995;30:1609–12.
concrete. ACI Mater J 2000;97:351–9. [22] Chen B, Liu JY. Residual strength of hybrid-fiber-reinforced high-
[6] Purkiss JA. High-strength concrete and fire. Concrete (UK) strength concrete after exposure to high temperatures. Cem Concr
2000:49–50. Res 2004;34:1065–9.