A review on strength development of high performance concrete

• Published in: Construction & building materials 2021-11, Vol.307, p.124865, Article 124865
• Main Authors: Dushimimana, Aloys, Niyonsenga, Aude Amandine, Nzamurambaho, Frederic
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aggregate; Autogenous shrinkage; Curing method; Fiber; High performance concrete; Shrinkage reducing additive; Strength; Superabsorbent polymer; Supplementary cementitious material
• ISSN: 0950-0618; 1879-0526
• DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.124865

•Effects of various influential factors on strength of HPC are reviewed.•Incorporation of SCMs improves strength of HPC but FA tends to lead to low early age strength.•Small size and strong aggregate enhances strength development but weak aggregates limits it.•Fibers greatly improve splitting tensile and flexural strength but do not enhance compressive strength.•Low water-to-binder ratio enhances strength but also causes autogenous shrinkage (AS).•AS can be eliminated by use of SAP, LWA and SRA. Strength is one of the most important properties of high performance concrete (HPC). Effects of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), aggregate, fiber, curing method, superabsorbent polymer (SAP), expansion-promoting additive (EPA), shrinkage reducing additives (SRA) and water-to-binder (w/b) ratio on the strength of HPC are reviewed. In general, incorporation of SCMs increases the strength, however, fly ash tends to reduce the early age strength but this can be mitigated by blending it with nanosilica or other admixtures. Small size and strong aggregate enhances the strength while weak aggregate limits the strength development. Fibers generally increase flexural and splitting tensile strengths but have little or no effect on the compressive strength. Elevated temperature curing is effective for high early age strength gain and its adverse effects on the later age strength can be limited using some SCMs. Decreasing w/b ratio leads to increased strength but with increased autogenous shrinkage (AS). Incorporation of SAP and SRA generally reduce the AS but also decrease the strength, however; the optimal control of extra added water from SAP and a hybridization of SAP with SRA may increase the strength but need to be further studied.