Durability and Micro-structure of Reactive Powder Concrete

Durability of traditional reactive powder concrete （RPC） with rich cement and high volume of fly-ash reactive powder concrete （FRPC） were studied. The X-diffraction and scanning electron microscope （SEM） measurement was imployed to analyze the microstructure. The results show that both types of RPC have higher compressive strength, less volume shrinkage ratio and better carbonation-, chloride-, freezing-resistances than the conventional concrete. The results of X-diffraction indicate that they basically have C-S-H as the main composition without Ca（OH）2 crystal and ettringite. SEM results show that hydration products of FRPC is mainly Ⅲ-C-S-H which is piled up closely like densely arranged stone body and it has very compacted structure, in addition, Ca/Si ratio of C-S-H gel is lower than 1.5.

Impact Resistance of Reactive Powder Concrete

The impact behaviour of three types of reactive powder concretes （RPC） was studied using the split Hopkinson press bar （SHPB） testing method. These RPC were prepared with steel fiber volume fraction of 0%, 3%, and 4%, respectively. The stress-strain relationship, strain rate sensitivity threshold value, dynamic strength increase factor, modulus of elasticity and failure pattern of these RPC specimens subjected to impact load were investigated. From the tests, the strain rate sensitivity threshold value of 50 s-1 was obtained. The experimental results showed that when the strain rate increased from the threshold value to 95 s-1, the maximum stress of RPC increased by about 20% and the modulus of elasticity of RPC increased by about 30%. The failure pattern of RPC specimens with steel fiber reinforcement was very different from that of the RPC matrix specimen when subjected to impact loading. Under similar impact loading rate, cracks developed in the steel fiber reinforced RPC specimens, whilst the RPC matrix specimens were broken into small pieces.

EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL STUDIES ON DYNAMIC COMPRESSIVE BEHAVIOR OF REACTIVE POWDER CONCRETES

Split Hopkinson pressure bar （SHPB） technique is used to determine the dynamic strength of reactive powder concretes （RPCs） with different steel-fiber contents. Two types of pulse shapers with different thicknesses are considered to reduce the high-frequency-oscillation effect and achieve a nearly constant strain rate over a certain deformation range. It is known that the compressive strength of concrete-like materials is hydrostatic-stress-dependent, and the apparent dynamic strength enhancement comes from both the effects of the hydrostatic stress and strain rate. In order to differentiate them, numerical method is used to calculate the contribution of the hydrostatic stress, and then the genuine strain-rate effect on dynamic compressive strength of RPCs is determined. In addition, the effect of steel-fibers on dynamic strength and failure mode of RPCs is discussed.

Size effect on compressive strength of reactive powder concrete

In this paper the coefficient and law of the size effect of RPC were studied through experiments and theoretical analysis. The size-effect coefficients for the compressive strength of RPC are deduced through experiments.They indicate that RPC without fiber behaves quite the same as normal or high strength concrete.The size effect on compressive strength is more prominent in RPC containing fiber.Bazant's size effect formula of compressive strength applies to RPC.A formula is given to predict the compressive strength of cubic RPC specimens 100 mm on a side where the fiber dosage ranges from 0-2%.

Preparation of Reactive Powder Concrete Using Fly Ash and Steel Slag Powder

To decrease the cement and SF content of RPC by using ultra-fine fly ash （UFFA） and steel slag powder （SS）, the effect of these mineral admixtures on compressive strength of RPC were investigated. The experimental results indicate that the utilization of UFFA and SS in RPC is feasible and has prominent mechanical performance. The microstructure analysis （SEM and TG-DTG-DSC） demonstrated that the excellent mechanical properties of RPC containing SS and UFFA were mainly attributed to the sequential hydration filling effect of the compound system.

Strength and Toughness of Steel Fibre Reinforced Reactive Powder Concrete Under Blast Loading

The blast resistance of structures used in buildings needs to be investigated due to the increased threat of a terrorist attack. The damage done by Composition B or Powergel to steel fibre reinforced reactive powder concrete （SFRPC） panels and ordinary reinforced concrete （RC） panels of equivalent static flexural strength is compared. A 0. 5 kg charge was detonated at a distance of 0. 1 m from the 1. 3 m × 1. 0 m × 0. 1 m （thick） panels, which were simply supported and spaning 1.3 m. Dynamic displacement measurements, high-speed video recording and visual examination of the panels for spall and breach were undertaken. The SFRPC panels withstood the bare charge blast better than the reinforced ordinary concrete panels. Neither type of panel was breached using a O. 5 kg charge, The RC panel exhibited more spalling when Composition B was used. Under successive Composition B loading conditions, the RC panel was breached. In comparison the SFRPC panel was not breached. Exposure to fragmenting charge loading conditions confirmed these performance differences between the SFRPC panel and the reinforced ordinary concrete panel.

Preparation and Dynamic Tensile Behavior of C200 Green Reactive Powder Concrete

A new type of green reactive powder concrete (GRPC) with compressive strength of 200 MPa is prepared by utilizing composite mineral admixtures, natural fine aggregates, and short and fine steel fibers. The quasi-static mechanical properties (mechanical strength, toughness, fracture energy and interfacial bonding strength) of GRPC specimens, cured in three different types of regimes, are investigated. The experimental results show that the mechanical properties of the C200 GRPC made with the powder binders that is composed of 40% of Portland cement, 25% of ultra fine slag, 25% of ultra fine fly ash and 10% of silica fume are better than the others'. The corresponding compressive strength, flexural strength and fracture energy are more than 200 MPa, and 30 000 J/ m2 respectively. The dynamic tensile behavior of the C200 GRPC is also investigated through the split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) according to the spalling phenomenon. The dynamic testing results demonstrate that strain rate has an important effect on the dynamic tensile behavior of GRPC. With the increase of strain rate, its peak stress and relevant strain increase. The GRPC exhibits an excellent strain ratio stiffening effect under the dynamic tensile load with high strain ratio, resulting in a significant change of the fracture pattern.

Corrosion Behavior of Steel Fibers in Reactive Powder Concrete with High Volume of Mineral Admixtures

The corrosion behavior and the effects of temperature on critical chloride content (Ccrit) of steel fibers in RPC were analyzed by a pH meter, ion chromatography, mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), and electrochemical techniques. It was found that the suspension pH value, the chloride binding capacity, and the total porosity of RPC were lower than those of high-performance concrete (HPC). The pore structure of RPC mainly consisted of gel pores. The Ccrit values of steel fibers in RPC and HPC at 20 ℃ were 1% and 2%, respectively. When the temperature reached 50 ℃, the Ccrit value of steel fibers in HPC decreased significantly, whereas it remained unchanged in RPC. The corrosion rate of corroded fibers in both RPC and HPC started to decrease with the rise in temperature.

Experiment Study on Shock Induced Reaction Process of Ti+Si Reactive Powder

A phenomenon of shock wave reacceleration was studied when Ti＋Si reactive powder is loaded by a high-speed flyer.The self-propagating reaction in the Ti＋Si reactive powder was triggered by the high speed impaction of the flyer launched by a two-stage gas gun.In the process of self-propagating reaction,a strand of optical fiber and the electric pins were used to measure the velocity of shock wave propagation.The experimental results showed that the initial velocity of shock wave in the reactive powder was a few hundred meters per second,and then it decreased obviously with the increase of propagation distance.This phenomenon was also verified in the process of a pure Si powder loaded by a shock,while the phenomenon of shock wave reacceleration was not observed in the Ti＋Si reactive powder.

Analysis on plastic properties of reactive powder concrete continuous beams reinforced with GFRP bars

To study the plastic properties of reactive powder concrete continuous beams reinforced with GFRP bars,the calculation programs for moment redistribution coefficients are prepared by using nonlinear analysis methods such as moment-curvature,conjugate beam method and so on. By comparing the test results of existed FRP bars reinforced concrete continuous beams with simulation results,the accuracy of the calculation program is verified. Then 18 simulated GFRP bars reinforced reactive powder concrete continuous beams are selected whose change parameters are reinforcement ratio of mid-span and middle support. Through the nonlinear analysis of simulated beams,moment redistribution coefficients under mid-span concentrated loads,one-third point loads and uniformly distributed loads are obtained respectively. Thus the formula of moment redistribution coefficients is obtained by fitting moment redistribution coefficients and factors. The results show that the reactive powder concrete continuous beams reinforced with GFRP bars have good plastic properties.

Surface Morphology of Reactive Powder Concrete Containing Soil

Recent studies have revealed that concrete can be used as a media to contain As （arsenic） removed from drinking water. Concrete, which is a composite material, has been effective in solidifying hazardous wastes and contaminated soils. A research project was conducted to study the effects of uncontaminated soil and arsenic contaminated soil on the microstructure of concrete to qualitatively define the mechanisms of the encapsulation of soils containing inorganic material such as arsenic by application of solidification/stabilization technique. This research paper focused on studying the surface morphology of RPC （reactive powder concrete） containing soil.

The Effect of Various Polynaphthalene Sulfonate Based Superplasticizers on the Workability of Reactive Powder Concrete

A superplasticizer is a type of chemical admixture used to alter the workability(viscosity)of fresh concrete.The workability of fresh concrete is often of particular importance when the water-to-cement(w/c)ratio is low and a particular workability is desired.Reactive Powder Concrete(RPC)is a high-strength concrete formulated to provide compressive strengths exceeding 130MPa and made of primarily powders.RPC materials typically have a very low w/c,which requires the use of a chemical admixture in order to create a material that is easier to place,handle and consolidate.Superplasticizer are commonly used for this purpose.Superplasticizers are developed from different formulations,the most common being Polycarboxylate Ether(PCE),Polymelamine Sulfonate(PMS),and Polynaphthalene Sulfonate(PNS).This study investigates the effect of various PNS based superplasticizers on the rheological performance and mechanical(compressive strength)performance of a RPC mixture.Six distinctive types of PNS based superplasticizers were used;three of various compositional strengths(high,medium,low range)from a local provider,and three of the same compositional strengths(high,medium,low)from a leading manufacturer.The properties investigated were the individual superplasticizers’viscosity,the concrete workability,determined through a mortar spread test,the concrete viscosity,and the compressive strength of the hardened RPC mixtures measured at 7,14,and 28 days.Two separate RPC mixtures were prepared,which contained two different water-to-cementitious ratios,which consequently increases the dosage of superplasticizer needed,from 34.8L/m3 to 44.7L/m3.The results show that the name brand high range composition produced the overall highest spread,lowest viscosity,and a highest compressive performance.However,the local provider outperformed the name brand in the mid and low range compositions.Lastly,the rheology assessment also confirmed that the name brand high range,and RPC fabricated with the name brand high range,developed the lowest viscosities.

Stress-strain relationship for reactive powder concrete with recycled powder under uniaxial compression

The recycled powder(RP)from construction wastes can be used to partially replace cement in the preparation of reactive powder concrete.In this paper,reactive powder concrete mixtures with RP partially replacing cement,and natural sand instead of quartz,are developed.Standard curing is used,instead of steam curing that is normally requested by standard for reactive powder concrete.The influences of RP replacement ratio(0%,10%,20%,30%),silica fume proportion(10%,15%,20%),and steel fiber proportion(0%,1%,2%)are investigated.The effects of RP,silica fume,and steel fiber proportion on compressive strength,elastic modulus,and relative absorption energy are analyzed,and theoretical models for compressive strength,elastic modulus,and relative absorption energy are established.A constitutive model for the uniaxial compressive stress-strain relationship of reactive powder concrete with RP is developed.With the increase of RP replacement ratio from 0% to 30%,the compressive strength decreases by 42% and elastic modulus decreases by 24%.

Investigation on thermophysical properties of reactive powder concrete

The thermophysical properties,such as thermal conductivity,thermal diffusivity,specific heat capacity and linear thermal expansion of reactive powder concrete(RPC) with different steel fiber volumetric fractions are investigated by means of high temperature tests. The thermophysical characteristics of RPC with different fiber volumes under different temperatures are analyzed and compared with those of the common high-strength concrete and high-performance concrete. The empirical relationships of thermophysical properties with temperature and fiber volume are identified. By the heat transfer and solid physics methods,the microscopic physical mechanism of heat transfer process and heat conduction properties of RPC are investigated,and the theoretical formulas of specific heat capacity and thermal expansion coefficient are derived,respectively. The effects of temperature and steel fibers on the specific heat capacity and the thermal expansion coefficient are quantitatively analyzed and the discriminant conditions are provided. It is shown that the experimental results are consistent with the theoretical prediction.

An experimental investigation of the thermal spalling of polypropylene-fibered reactive powder concrete exposed to elevated temperatures

Polypropylene fibers are embedded to prevent reactive powder concrete （RPC） from spalling failure under high temperatures. This paper probes the influence of embedded fibers at various volumetric dosages on the thermomechanical properties of polypropylene-fibered reactive powder concrete （PPRPC） exposed to high tem- peratures up to 350 ℃ and on the spalling performance and characteristics up to 600 ℃. The thermomechanical prop- erties include the characteristic temperature for spalling, and residual strengths, such as the compressive strength, split tensile strength, and flexural tensile strength. A high- definition charge-coupled device camera and scanning electron microscope technology were employed to capture the spalling processes and to detect the microstructural changes in the materials with various fiber dosages. To understand and characterize the mechanism by which polypropylene fibers influence the thermal spalling of RPC, a numerical model to determine the moisture migration and vapor pressure transmission during spalling was developed in this paper. It showed that there was an optimal volu- metric dosage of fibers to prevent PPRPC from explosive spalling. The relationships between the mechanical char- acteristics of PPRPC and the fiber dosages were derived based on experimental data.

Hydration Products of Cement-silica Fume-quartz Powder Mixture under Different Curing Regimes

Composition, morphology, and structure of hydration products in hardened pastes of three kinds of blended cement（cement-silica fume, cement-quartz powder and cement-silica fume-quartz powder） hydrated under different curing regimes（standard curing, 90 ℃ steam curing, 200 ℃ and 250 ℃ autoclave curing） were investigated by X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscope equipped with EDAX system. Results showed that the main hydration products in three kinds of hardened pastes under standard curing condition are all C-S-H gels, CH, and AFt. Under 90 ℃ steam curing condition, the main hydration products of cement-silica fume and cement-silica fume-quartz powder are C-S-H gels, whereas those of cement-quartz powder are C-S-H and CH. Under 200 or 250 ℃ autoclave curing condition, no obvious crystallized CH phase is found in hardened pastes of three kinds of blended cement, and C-S-H gels are transformed into one or more crystalline phases such as tobermorite, jennite, and xonotlite. The chemical composition and morphology of these crystalline phases depend on the composition of mixture and autoclave temperature.

Optimization of Strength Properties of Reactive Powder Concrete by Response Surface Methodology

The main objective of this study is to optimize the fresh and strength properties of reactive powder concrete incorporated with industrial by-products like ultra-fine ground granulated blast furnace slag as cement substitute and added with coal bottom ash and recycled concrete fines as partial replacement of quartz sand by response surface methodology through design of experiment approach.Totally four responses namely slump,compressive strength(C-28),flexural strength(F-28),and split-tensile strength(S-28)after 28 days of curing period were considered.The statistical study on the reactive powder concrete includes the modeling of regression,normal probability plots,surface plot analysis,and optimization of process variables.The regression models of the considered responses(slump,C-28,F-28,and S-28)were tested.The results obtained from the analysis of variance(ANOVA)and Pareto chart were used to determine the statistical significance of the process variables.The influence of the variables on the responses was studied by means of the surface plot analysis.The optimal proportion of the variables against the responses was obtained through optimization response.The resulted regression equations were in the form of second-order polynomial equation and the prediction of strength properties was found to be in line with the experimental results.The difference of proportion of variance indicated that only 0.43%,6.42%,5.15%,and 9.7%of deviations cannot be expressed by the analysis.The ANOVA and Pareto charts represented the high significance and appropriateness of the linear term of slump response and the two-way interaction term of strength responses.The results of the optimization response revealed the optimal proportions of recycled concrete fines and coal bottom ash as 19.15%and 7.02%,respectively.

Static and dynamic mechanical behaviour of ECO-RPC

Ecological reactive powder concrete (ECO-RPC) with small sized and differentvolume fraction steel fibers was prepared by substitution of ultra-fine industrial waste powder for50% to 60% cement by weight and replacement of ground fine quartz sand with natural fine aggregate.The effect of steel fiber volume fraction and curing ages on the static mechanical behaviour ofECO-RPC was studied. Using the split Hopkinson pressure bar technique, the dynamic mechanicalbehaviour of ECO-RPC was investigated under different strain rates. The results show that the staticmechanical behaviour of ECO-RPC increases with the increase of steel fiber volume fraction andcuring ages. The type of ECO-RPC with the substitution of 25% ultra-fine slag, 25% ultra-fine flyash and 10% silica fume is better than the others with compressive strength, flexural strength, andfracture energy more than 200 MPa, 60 MPa and 30 kJ/m^2, respectively. ECO-RPC has excellent strainrate stiffening effects under dynamic load. Its peak stress, peak strain and the area understrain-stress curve increase with the increase of strain rate. Its fracture pattern changes frombrittleness to toughness under high strain rates.

Fatigue Properties of RPC under Cyclic Loads of Single-stage and Multi-level Amplitude

Fatigue properties of Reactive Powder Concrete （RPC） under axial compression of single-stage and multi-level amplitude in cycles were studied. The tests reveal the fatigue life, the strain and residual life of the RPC samples. Through the analysis of the test results under cyclic loads of single amplitude, the S-N curve of RPC and the evolution rule of macro-damage of RPC were presented, which can be divided into latency stage, stable development stage and instability development stage according to the evolution pattern of the fatigue crack. Accordingly, the development of longitudinal deformation presents the similar three-stage-model, and the proportion of each stage is 15%, 75%, and 10%. According to test results, the fatigue strength reduction factor is 0.564. We brought forward an empirical formula to predict the life of RPC via total longitudinal strain and got the evolving rule for the residual strength of the RPC. The analysis of the test results under cyclic loads of multi-level amplitude shows that the strain under this loading pattern experiences three stages. The characteristic value for the residual strain was obtained. The irreversible damage and non-linear evolution of RPC was described by the development of the residual plastic strain.

Failure Patterns and Energy Analysis of Shaft Lining Concrete in Simulated Deep Underground Environments

The failure patterns and energy evolution of three types of shaft lining concrete subjected to static and dynamic loading were reported.The energy and damage characteristics of concrete were determined by means of a uniaxial hydraulic servo machine,acoustic emission (AE) equipment,a split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) and an ultrasonic wave analyser.The experimental results indicate that the confluence of multiple cracks forms a penetrating cross section in normal high-strength concrete (NHSC) under the condition of static loading,while the elastic energy that surges out at failure can cause tremendous damage when subjected to dynamic loading.A single crack was split into multiple propagation directions due to the presence of fibres in steel fibre-reinforced concrete (SFRC);adding fibre to concrete should be an effective way to dissipate energy.The non-steam-cured reactive powder concrete (NSC-RPC) designed in this paper can store and dissipate more energy than normal concrete,as NSC-RPC exhibits a strong ability to resist impact.Applying NSC-RPC to the long-service material of a shaft lining structure in deep underground engineering is quite effective.