Influence of temperature on the compressive strength of high performance and ultra-high performance concretes

Abstract

The heating up of high-performance concretes under fatigue load in cyclic pressure threshold test raises the question of the mechanisms and influences of this heat development. Of particular interest is how the heating affects the fatigue strength and what the causes of this are. In order to be able to answer this basically, two test series—one with an HPC and one with a UHPC—were carried out in which the temperature influence on the static compressive strength in a range of −25°C to 90°C was determined. In addition, different storage conditions are being considered in order to question previous findings. In this article, the state of the art is briefly presented and the test program based on it. Then, the production and storage of the specimen, their preparation and the used measurement technique are explained. The results obtained are presented with regard to concrete strength, type of storage, moisture content and, in the main part, the influence of temperature. A discussion of the results in relation to the state of knowledge follows. General insights are acquired, which will be very helpful for further work in the field of fatigue research on high performance concretes.