Fire Performance of Heavyweight Self-Compacting Concrete and Heavyweight High Strength Concrete

In this study, the fresh and hardened state properties of heavyweight self-compacting concrete (HWSCC) and heavyweight high strength concrete (HWHSC) containing heavyweight magnetite aggregate with 50, 75, and 100% replacement ratio, and their performance at elevated temperatures were explored experimentally. For fresh-state properties, the flowability and passing ability of HWSCCs were assessed by using slump flow, T500 mm, and J-ring tests. Hardened-state properties including hardened density, compressive strength, and modulus of elasticity were evaluated after 28 days of mixing. High-temperature tests were also performed to study the mass loss, spalling of HWSCC and HWHSC, and residual mechanical properties at 100, 300, 600 and 900 °C with a heating rate of 5 °C/min. Ultimately, by using the experimental data, rational numerical models were established to predict the compressive strength and modulus of elasticity of HWSCC at elevated temperatures. The results of the flowability and passing ability revealed that the addition of magnetite aggregate would not deteriorate the workability of HWSCCs and they retained their self-compacting characteristics. Based on the hardened densities, only self-compacting concrete (SCC) with 100% magnetite content, and high strength concrete (HSC) with 75 and 100% magnetite aggregate can be considered as HWC. For both the compressive strength and elastic modulus, decreasing trends were observed by introducing magnetite aggregate to SCC and HSC at an ambient temperature. Mass loss and spalling evaluations showed severe crack propagation for SCC without magnetite aggregate while SCCs containing magnetite aggregate preserved up to 900 °C. Nevertheless, the mass loss of SCCs containing 75 and 100% magnetite content were higher than that of SCC without magnetite. Due to the pressure build-up, HSCs with and without magnetite showed explosive spalling at high temperatures. The residual mechanical properties analysis indicated that the highest retention of the compressive strength and modulus of elasticity after exposure to elevated temperatures belonged to HWSCC with 100% magnetite content.