Construction

and Building

Construction and Building Materials 22 (2008) 504–512

MATERIALS
www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

High temperature resistance of normal strength and autoclaved

high strength mortars incorporated polypropylene and steel fibers
Serdar Aydın *, Halit Yazıcı, Bülent Baradan
_
Department of Civil Engineering, Engineering Faculty, Dokuz Eylül University, Buca 35160, Izmir, Turkey

Received 21 February 2006; received in revised form 2 November 2006; accepted 20 November 2006
Available online 11 January 2007

Abstract

The effects of high temperatures up to 900 C on normal strength, water cured and autoclave cured high strength mortars were inves-
tigated within the scope of this study. Mechanical properties such as, compressive strength, flexural strength, modulus of elasticity, and
weight loss of the specimens were determined. The effect of polypropylene (PP) and steel fibers incorporation on high temperature behav-
ior of high strength mortars were also investigated. Microstructure investigations were also carried out by SEM analyses. Test results
indicated that compressive strength of all mixtures increased with increasing temperature up to 300 C. However, above 300 C all spec-
imens showed explosive disintegration except normal strength mortars, and high strength mortars with PP fibers. It seems that, PP fiber
inclusion is effective in preventing the explosive spalling behavior of high strength mortars. On the other hand, steel fibers did not
improve high temperature resistance. To prevent spalling, minimum PP dosage for autoclave and water cured high strength mortars
has been determined as 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.
 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: High temperature; Autoclave curing; High strength mortar; Steel fiber; Polypropylene fiber; Mechanical properties; SEM

1. Introduction bility, and reduced drying shrinkage and moisture move-

High performance concrete and mortars with high
strength and durability properties have been gradually
replacing normal strength concrete, especially in structures
exposed to severe loading and environmental conditions.
As they become more commonly used, the chance of being
exposed to the high temperatures also increases. The
advantages of high performance concrete result from the
improvement of internal structure of the material as com-
pared with that of normal mortar and concrete. The dense
microstructure of high performance concrete and mortars
ensures a high strength and a very low permeability.
Today, generally high pressure steam curing which
known as ‘‘autoclave curing’’ has been employed in the
manufacture of precast products when any of the following
characteristics are desired: high early strength, high dura-
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 232 412 7044; fax: +90 232 412 7253.
E-mail address: serdar.aydin@deu.edu.tr (S. Aydın).
ment [1]. These concrete products are manufactured by
adding silica in a reactive form in appropriate quantities.
At an optimum silica content of 30%, the autoclaved
cement paste is significantly stronger than the normally
cured paste. In practice, silica can be added to cement paste
in the form of slag, fly ash, silica fume or siliceous fine
aggregate [2]. However, the dense microstructure of auto-
clave cured or water cured high performance concrete
seems to be a disadvantage in the situation where the fire
endurance is a necessity. The absence of voids which
relieves the internal stress creates a major problem. This
problem can be solved by fiber addition to the mixture.
However, only a relatively small number of studies have
been carried out on high performance concrete and mor-
tars subjected to high temperature and they also revealed
contrary results. Chan et al. [3] studied the effects of high
temperature on normal and high strength concrete up to
1200 C. Test results indicated that high strength concrete
suffered marginally smaller loss of compressive strength

0950-0618/$ - see front matter  2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2006.11.003
 S. Aydın et al. / Construction and Building Materials 22 (2008) 504–512 505

but a greater worsening of the permeability-related durabil- tics of Portland cement (CEM I 42,5N) are given in Table
ity than normal strength concrete. Chan et al. [4] prepared 1. GGBFS has been procured from Iskenderun iron-steel
three high strength concretes mixtures incorporating steel plant, Turkey. The chemical composition and other prop-
fiber and polypropylene fiber independently. Steel fibers erties of GGBFS and silica fume are also presented in
reduced the deterioration of concrete to some extent. Poly- Table 1. Physical properties and grading of basalt used in
propylene fibers used to prevent spalling of high strength this study are given in Table 2. A sulfonated naphthalene
concrete did not lead to a marked degradation in residual formaldehyde based superplasticizer on complying with
strength even if it evaporated at high temperatures. Lie ASTM C 494-99 [12], type F and EN 934-2 [13] has been
and Kodur [5] studied thermal and mechanical properties used. The length and aspect ratio of steel fibers were
of steel fibre-reinforced concrete at elevated temperatures. 70 mm and 50, respectively. Steel fiber was used 1% by vol-
They concluded that concrete heat resistance could be per- ume. The length of PP fibers was 12 mm and their aspect
formed by incorporating steel fibres. On the other hand, ratio was 240. In the initial stage of experiments, optimum
Hertz [6] stated that the presence of steel fibers did not PP fiber ratios which prevent explosive spalling behavior
reduce the risk of explosion. Moreover, specimens with were determined. According to these initial test results, in
the highest steel fiber content were most likely to explode. the second stage 0.1% and 0.2% PP fiber contents were cho-
And also, fire tests on reinforced column specimens real- sen for water cured and autoclave cured mortars,
ized by Kodur et al. [7] showed that incorporation of poly- respectively.
propylene fibers extended fire resistance time of high Four types of mortar mixtures were prepared, normal
strength concrete. This result may be attributed to the for- strength (NS), high strength (HS), high strength with 1%
mation of voids left after the evaporation of polypropylene steel fiber (HSSF), and high strength with polypropylene
fibers. Furthermore, the presence of steel or polypropylene fiber (HSPP) with various PP dosages. No silica fume
fibers and the type of aggregate in concrete influence the and superplasticizer were used in the NS mortar. Addition
extent of spalling. The extent of spalling was highest in of steel and PP fibers to high strength mortars (HSPP and
the column which was made with siliceous aggregate. The HSSF) has also increased the superplasticizer demand. In
presence of carbonate aggregate helped in minimizing order to keep the workability constant, these mixtures have
spalling. The minimum spalling occurred on the column
which was containing polypropylene fibers. Bilodeau
Table 1
et al. [8] investigated the required amount of polypropylene Physical, chemical and mechanical properties of cement, slag and silica
fibers for preventing the spalling of lightweight concrete fume
subjected to hydrocarbon fire. Results from this study Cement Slag (GGBFS) Silica fume (SF)
show that close to 3.5 kg of the 20 mm polypropylene fibers
Chemical composition (%)
per cubic meter of concrete is required to prevent the spall-
SiO2 18.69 35.71 92.26
ing of a low w/c lightweight concrete made with a silica Al2O3 5.00 14.52 0.89
fume-blended cement when subjected to hydrocarbon fire. Fe2O3 3.49 0.80 1.97
However, only 1.5 kg of finer 12.5 mm fibers per cubic CaO 63.12 32.13 0.49
meter has been found sufficient. Diederichs et al. [9] and MgO 1.09 9.39 0.96
Na2O 0.29 – 0.42
Nishida et al. [10] showed that deleterious spalling of high
K2O 0.76 – 1.31
strength concrete can be greatly reduced by adding small SO3 2.95 – 0.33
quantities (on the order of 0.1% by volume) of fibres made Cl 0.010 – 0.09
from a low melting-point polymer to the concrete. Loss on ignition 3.56 – –
It is well known that, concretes densified by means of sil- Insoluble residue 0.38 – –
Free CaO (%) 1.27 – –
ica fume are more likely to explode. However, it was pos-
sible to compose a concrete with a silica content of 10% Physical properties of cement
by weight of cement that did not show a significantly Specific gravity 3.13
Initial setting time (min) 130
increased risk of explosion compared to a similar concrete Final setting time (min) 210
with no silica fume [6]. On the other hand, this limit is given Volume expansion (mm) 1.00
as 5% by Poon et al. [11]. Specific surface (m2/kg) 380
However, the effects of high temperature on autoclave- Compressive strength (MPa)
cured mortars have not been investigated widely. 2 days 29.9
7 days 43.2
2. Experimental work 28 days 51.9
Pozzolanic activity index (%)
Ordinary Portland cement, ground granulated blast fur- GGBFS (28 days) 108
nace slag (GGBFS), silica fume, crushed basalt with a max- SF (28 days) 115
imum size of 4 mm, a superplasticizer as well as steel and Specific surface
polypropylene fibers were the main materials of this GGBFS (m2/kg)-Blaine 485
research. The physical, chemical and strength characteris- SF (m2/kg)-Nitrogen Ab. 20,000
506 S. Aydın et al. / Construction and Building Materials 22 (2008) 504–512

Table 2 test. The specimens were loaded from their mid span and
Grading and physical properties of basalt the clear distance between simple supports was 120 mm.
Sieve size (mm) % Passing The two broken pieces left from flexural test were subjected
4 100.0 to compressive strength test. The modulus of elasticity was
2 73.0 determined on cylinder specimens using with a 10 mm long
1 46.6 strain gage. The flexural strength, compressive strength and
0.5 28.8
0.25 13.8
modulus of elasticity test results were compared with the
test results of non-exposed control specimens. SEM analy-
Physical properties
sis has been implemented on water cured and autoclave
Bulk specific gravity 2.75
Water absorption (%) 0.78 cured HSPP mortars exposed to temperature of 600 and
900 C after cooling period. Samples were taken from inner
Unit weight (kg/m3)
part of the mortar specimens (10 mm from the edge) and
Loose 1546
Compacted 1819 coated with gold prior to examination.

more superplasticizer than the others. The material compo-
sitions of all mixtures are given in Table 3.
The mixtures were prepared by a Hobart mixer. Test
specimens were cast from the same batch into the prismatic
(40 · 40 · 160 mm) and cylindrical (50/100 mm) steel
molds. The specimens were kept in the molds for 12 h at
room temperature of about 20 C. After demolding, one
group of specimens was kept in water 20 ± 2 C until test-
ing. The other group high strength mortar was autoclaved
at 210 C and 2.0 MPa for 6 h. Maximum temperature and
pressure levels were reached after 1.5 h. After completion
of their curing periods, the specimens which were subjected
to heat treatment, were cooled in laboratory atmosphere.
Water cured and autoclave cured specimens were subjected
to the high temperatures at the age of 28 and 2 days,
respectively.
After the curing period, three prismatic and three cylin-
der specimens from each mixture were exposed to 300, 600
and 900 C for three hours in oven. All of the water cured
specimens exposed to temperature in saturated condition.
The heating rate was set at 10 C/min. Curing history
and high temperatures subjected to specimen are given in
Table 4. The hot mortar specimens were slowly cooled in
laboratory conditions. At the end of the cooling period,
the prismatic specimens were subjected to flexural strength
3. Results and discussion
The effect of PP dosage on high temperature behavior of
HS mortars for both water and autoclave curing was inves-
tigated on mortar specimens containing 0.4, 0.3, 0.2 and
0.1% PP in the first stage of study. This experimental pro-
gram was implemented at 600 C and 900 C which cause
explosive spalling in HS specimens. The mechanical prop-
erties of mixtures before and after high temperature expo-
sure are presented in Table 5. A 0.1% PP fiber volume
(0.9 kg/m3) content seems to be a proper ratio to prevent
spalling for water cured mortars. This finding is in confor-
mity with Diederichs et al. [9] and Nishida et al. [10] results.
On the other hand, in autoclave curing case, to prevent
explosive spalling, 0.2% PP fiber volume (1.8 kg/m3) is
required. This difference possibly results from the denser
structure of the autoclaved mortars. It is well known that
if there is enough fine silica in the mixtures autoclave pro-
vides perfect conditions for complete and accelerated
hydration media for hydration process especially with com-
bined mineral admixtures [14]. Residual compressive
strength of water cured and autoclave cured specimens
are given in Figs. 1 and 2, respectively. It is obvious that
increase in PP dosage beyond 0.2% did not change the
mechanical performance considerably. Due to this finding,

Table 3
Mixture proportion
Component NS HS HSSFa HSPP1 HSPP2 HSPP3 HSPP4
3
Cement (kg/m ) 375 335 335 335 335 335 335
Blast furnace slag (kg/m3) 124 168 168 168 168 168 168
Silica fume (kg/m3) – 168 168 168 168 168 168
Water (kg/m3) 248 203 203 203 203 203 203
Basalt (kg/m3) 1490 1345 1345 1345 1345 1345 1345
Superplasticizer (L/m3) – 13.6 20.0 15.3 17.0 18.3 20.0
Steel fiber (kg/m3) – – 78 – – – –
Polypropylene fiber (kg/m3) – – – 0.9 1.8 2.7 3.6
Fiber volume (%) – – 1 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
Water/cement 0.66 0.61 0.61 0.61 0.61 0.61 0.61
Water/binder 0.50 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.30
Aggregate/binder 3.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
Flow (mm) 111 107 108 108 108 109 108
a
Mass not adjusted to steel fibre addition.
 S. Aydın et al. / Construction and Building Materials 22 (2008) 504–512 507

Table 4
Curing history and high temperatures subjected to specimens
Mixtures Curing High temperature
First stage
HSPP1, HSPP2, HSPP3, HSPP4 Standard (20 C in water) 600 and 900 C for 3 h
Autoclaving (2 MPa, 210 C)
Second stage
NS, HS, HSPP1, HSSF Standard (20 C in water) 300, 600 and 900 C for 3 h
HS(ac), HSPP2(ac), HSSF(ac) Autoclaving (2 MPa, 210 C)

Table 5
Mechanical properties of mortars that contain different amounts (0.1–0.4%) of PP fiber
Temperature (C) Compressive strength (MPa) Flexural strength (MPa)
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.1 0.2 0. 3 0. 4
Water cured mortars (28 days)
20 94.7 94.1 96.5 96.0 11.9 12.6 12.0 12.0
600 127.7 121.4 119.9 123.9 7.7 7.4 8.5 8.4
900 30.2 34.4 33.2 37.0 3.5 5.0 4.3 4.1

Autoclave cured mortars (2 days)

20 115.0 116.2 115.9 121.0 16.5 16.9 16.7 20.2
600 Exp. 125.1 110.8 112.7 Exp. 10.3 10.8 12.7
900 Exp. 33.5 36.5 45.9 Exp. 5.6 5.2 5.4

160 in the second stage of this research optimum PP contents

0.1% 0.2% 0.3% 0.4%
Residual compressive strength, %

140 were chosen as 0.1% and 0.2% for water cured and auto-
clave cured specimens, respectively.
120
The compressive strength, flexural strength, and modu-
100 lus of elasticity of all mortar specimens before and after
80 high temperatures are presented in Table 6. It can be seen
from Table 6, improvement on compressive strength by
60
autoclave curing in 2 days is between 23% and 54% com-
40 pared to the water cured samples of 28 days age. Similarly,
20 the increase in flexural strength is about 39–44%. Steel and
PP fiber addition to the HS mortar caused increases in
0
20 600 900 compressive and flexural strength for water curing. Auto-
Temperature, ˚C clave curing also increased the flexural and compressive
strength of HS mortars containing steel fibers. On the other
Fig. 1. The effect of PP fiber content on residual compressive strength of
water cured mortars. hand, using PP fiber decreased the compressive strength
due to melting of PP. From the point of modulus of elastic-
ity, SF incorporation increased the modulus of elasticity,
120
0.1% 0.2% 0.3% 0.4% whereas PP fibers decreased for both autoclave and stan-
Residual compressive strength, %

100 dard water curing cases.

It must be mentioned here that, 50% of total binder con-
80 sists of pozzolanic materials (25% GBFS + 25% silica
fume) in HS mortars. In other words, although HS mortars
60 showed extremely high compressive strengths, cement dos-
age of these mixtures was merely 335 kg/m3. However in
40 most cases cement content of high strength concrete (over
100 MPa compressive strength) is more than 500–600 kg/
20
m 3.
0
Test results showed that, above 300 C, all mortar spec-
20 600 900 imens except NS and both water cured and autoclave cured
Temperature, ˚C HSPP mixtures exploded, causing degradation of all spec-
Fig. 2. The effect of PP fiber content on residual compressive strength of imens. Even though, the water cured HSPP1 specimens
autoclave cured mortars. were in saturated condition with 25% silica fume (by binder
508 S. Aydın et al. / Construction and Building Materials 22 (2008) 504–512

Table 6
Mechanical properties of mixtures before and after high temperature exposure
Maximum temperature (C) Compressive strength (MPa) Flexural strength (MPa) Modulus of elasticity (GPa)
a a
NS HS HSSF HSPP NS HS HSSF HSPP NS HS HSSF HSPPa
Water cured mortars (28 days)
20 49.0 90.7 111.4 94.7 9.6 11.8 13.0 11.9 34.0 46.0 54.2 44.7
300 61.2 139.9 188.3 134.2 10.3 12.3 12.0 12.9 25.5 30.4 33.6 30.9
600 55.9 Exp. Exp. 127.7 7.9 Exp. Exp. 7.7 13.0 Exp. Exp. 15.0
900 10.4 Exp. Exp. 30.2 0.8 Exp. Exp. 3.5 7.0 Exp. Exp. 8.5

Autoclave cured mortars (2 days)

20 – 139.3 163.0 116.2 – 17.0 18.1 16.9 – 50.4 56.2 48.6
300 – 155.5 209.7 148.4 – 9.3 13.9 13.2 – 32.2 38.4 35.7
600 – Exp. Exp. 125.1 – Exp. Exp. 10.3 – Exp. Exp. 19.7
900 – Exp. Exp. 33.5 – Exp. Exp. 5.6 – Exp. Exp. 10.4
a
In water cured 0.1% PP fiber, in autoclave cured 0.2% PP fiber were used.

weight) did not explode up to 900 C. Spalling, especially
explosive type, when subject to fire or rapid temperature
rise is a major disadvantage of high performance concrete
(HPC). However, incorporation of polypropylene fibers
created voids that permit the release of water vapour pres-
sure by burning off within the matrix of HPC. These results
have been shared by other researchers [4,8–10,13,15].
Although PP fibers had been melted during autoclave cur-
ing at about 210 C before high temperature exposure in
oven, it seems that similar mechanism to prevent the spall-
ing is also valid for autoclaved high strength mortar.
3.1. Residual compressive strength
Relative residual compressive strength of water cured
and autoclave cured (ac) mortar specimens are presented
in Fig. 3. Relative residual compressive strength shows
the ratio between strength of exposed specimens and con-
trol specimens. The residual compressive strength of all
specimens has been increased about 12–69% at 300 C.
The strength gain up to 300 C may be due to the relief
of pressures by drying, which also creates greater van der
walls forces, resulting a closer configuration of capillary
pores. The strength gain may also be explained with the
NS
HS-ac
180
Residual compressive strength (%)
formation of tobermorite which was formed by the reac-
tion between the unhydrated blast furnace slag particles
and lime [11]. Furthermore, it can be observed from
Fig. 3, strength gain at this temperature level is greater
for water cured mortars than autoclave cured ones. It
may be due to autoclave cured mortar have less lime and
unhydrated blast furnace slag than water cured ones.
Moreover, water cured specimens were in saturated condi-
tion which possibly caused extra curing effect at elevated
temperatures. The highest increment was observed for
water cured HSSF specimens. This may be attributed to
the incorporation of steel fibers to the high performance
mortars, aimed to constrain the volume change of mortars
due to the rapid temperature changes so as to reduce the
initiation and propagation of micro-defects in mortars.
However, this finding was not supported by flexural
strength and modulus of elasticity test results.
As seen in Fig. 3., NS and HSPP mortars both water
cured and autoclave cured did not exhibit a strength loss
up to 600 C. This behavior may be attributed to the posi-
tive effect of slag on high temperature resistance of cement
based binders due to the lesser content of calcium hydrox-
ide [2,11,16–18]. Mixes containing larger amounts of cal-
cium hydroxide, the compressive strength can suffer at
temperatures above 300 C, owing to increased micro-
HS HSSF HSPP1
cracking around the calcium hydroxide crystals [2].
HSSF-ac HSPP2-ac Besides, the decomposition of calcium hydroxide into lime
and water vapor above 350 C may lead to serious damage

160 due to lime expansion during the cooling period [19,20].

140 Furthermore, this positive finding which is in contrast with
120 the literature may also be related to the basalt aggregate
100 used in this study. Since it is well known that, concrete
80
specimens with aggregates such as, limestone, granite, bar-
ite, dolomitic or siliceous aggregates may lose 40% or more
60
of its compressive strengths at 600 C produced with nor-
40
mal Portland cement and with or without pozzolanic mate-
20 rials [3,11,21–23]. However, as an alternative using
0 firebrick as an aggregate which is thermally stable and pro-
0 300 600 900 vide good bonding with cement paste, and 65% slag
Temperature (˚C)
replaced cement paste as a binder, only 20% compressive
Fig. 3. Residual compressive strength vs high temperatures. strength loss has been observed [16].
 S. Aydın et al. / Construction and Building Materials 22 (2008) 504–512 509

The residual compressive strength of polypropylene NS HS HSSF HSPP1

incorporated high strength water cured mortar is higher HS-ac HSSF-ac HSPP2-ac
100
than the autoclave cured ones at all temperatures. The

Residual modulus of elasticity (%)

90
residual compressive strength of NS, HSPP1 and
80
HSPP2(ac) were 114%, 135% and 108%, respectively at
70
600 C. When the temperature elevated to 900 C, the resid-
ual compressive strength of NS, HSPP1 and HSPP2(ac) has 60

dropped to 21%, 32% and 29%, respectively. 50

40
3.2. Residual flexural strength 30
20
The variations of residual flexural strength ratio of spec- 10
imens after exposure to high temperature are shown in 0
Fig. 4. It can be seen from Fig. 4, in contrast to compres- 0 300 600 900
sive strength, all autoclave cured mixtures and steel fiber Temperature (˚C)
incorporated water cured specimens exhibited flexural Fig. 5. Residual modulus of elasticity vs high temperatures.
strength loss at 300 C. When the temperature elevated to
600 C, flexural strength loss of HSPP mixture for both amounts of modulus of elasticity even at 300 C, in con-
water and autoclave cured is much higher than NS mortar. trast with the cases of compressive and flexural strength.
On the other hand, at 900 C residual strength ratio of At 600 C, although there are almost no significant
HSPP mixtures is greater than NS specimens. It is obvious amounts of compressive strength loss, there is a great
that, the deteriorating effect of elevated temperatures on reduction in modulus of elasticity. According to mixture
flexural strength of mortar specimens was more severe than type residual modulus of elasticity is between 34% and
compressive strength. This may be due to the fact that, the 40% at this temperature level.
destructive effect of micro-cracks that form at elevated tem-
peratures was more apparent in the case of tensile stress 3.4. Weight loss
created in flexural test. This result has also been observed
by Cülfik and Özturan [24]. However, the gap between Weight loss of specimens due to the high temperature
residual flexural strength and compressive strength dimin- effect is presented in Fig. 6. The maximum loss observed
ishes at 900 C. This may be also attributed to the increas- in water cured specimens possibly due to the higher mois-
ing porosity and destruction of C–S–H matrix due to the ture content and porosity of water cured specimens. Also,
high temperature which results dramatic reductions in weight loss of NS mortar is greater than HS mortar. This
compressive strength. may also be explained with the higher porosity of NS
specimens.
3.3. Residual modulus of elasticity
3.5. Microstructure investigation
Relative residual modulus of elasticity of water cured
and autoclave cured mortar specimens are presented in SEM analyses were implemented in order to analyze the
Fig. 5. The deteriorating effect of elevated temperatures microstructure of the mixtures. Fig. 7 shows SEM images
on modulus of elasticity was more severe than compressive of water cured HSPP1 and autoclave cured HSPP2 mortars
and flexural strength cases. All mixtures lost considerable
NS HS HSSF HSPP1
HS-ac HSSF-ac HSPP2-ac
NS HS HSSF HSPP1 16
HS-ac HSSF-ac HSPP2-ac
120 14
Residual flexural strength (%)

100 12
Weight loss (%)

10
80
8
60 6

40 4

2
20
0
0 0 300 600 900
0 300 600 900 Temperature (˚C)
Temperature (˚C)
Fig. 6. Weight loss of water cured and autoclave cured mortar at 300, 600
Fig. 4. Residual flexural strength vs high temperatures. and 900 C.
510 S. Aydın et al. / Construction and Building Materials 22 (2008) 504–512

Fig. 7. SEM analysis of unheated mortar: (a) HSPP1; (b) HSPP2(ac).

Fig. 8. SEM analysis of mortars at 600 C: (a) HSPP1; (b) HSPP2(ac).

at 20 C. As shown in figure, matrix phase of HSPP1 mor-
tar have PP fibers and small voids while the autoclave
cured HSPP2 mortars consist of highly denser matrix phase
with melted PP fiber gaps. Polypropylene fibers had lost
their solid structure when autoclaving at 210 C. SEM
analyses of specimens that exposed to 600 C are shown
in Fig. 8. At this temperature, PP fibers in water cured
HSPP1 mortar readily melt and volatilized, creating addi-
tional pores and small channels in the mortar. Fig. 8 shows
voids of melted PP fibers for HSPP1 and HSPP2(ac). Com-
pared with unheated specimen, no visible changes were
determined in the structure at this temperature. This result
was supported by the compressive strength test in which
almost all mixtures showed no reduction in strength at
600 C. However, SEM images did not present any evi-
dence about loss of flexural strength and modulus of elas-
ticity. Fig. 9 shows SEM images of HSPP1 and HSPP2(ac)
mortars after 900 C. As shown in Fig. 9, the space ratio in
matrix increase significantly both water cured and auto-
clave cured mortars. Besides, small, rounded formations

Fig. 9. SEM analysis of mortars at 900 C: (a) HSPP1; (b) HSPP2(ac).
 S. Aydın et al. / Construction and Building Materials 22 (2008) 504–512
were observed in water cured HSPP1. Crystals with
rounded shape may be b-C2S, which is one of decomposi-
tion products of C–S–H at elevated temperatures, as con-
firmed by the literature [25]. On the other hand,
autoclave cured HSPP2 mortar exhibit glassy like structure
with pores. These findings explain the great reduction in
mechanical properties.
4. Conclusions
Using high volume of pozzolanic materials (25%
GBFS + 25% silica fume) in binder phase of HS mixtures,
high mechanical properties could be achieved under water
curing at 28 days (compressive strength up to 111 MPa).
And, mechanical properties could be improved further by
autoclave curing in a much shorter curing period (2 days)
(compressive strength up to 163 MPa). These mixtures
have merely 335 kg/m3 cement dosage.
Compressive and flexural strength of HS mortar
increased by using steel fibers and increased slightly by
using PP fibers at 20 C. On the other hand, steel fibers
also increased the compressive and flexural strength while
PP fibers caused some reduction in compressive and flex-
ural strength under autoclave curing before high temper-
ature exposure. This behavior may be attributed to the
melting of PP fibers which creates some pores in the
matrix.
All mixtures showed compressive strength gain at 300 C
exposure due to closer configuration of capillary pores in
the denser cement paste matrix. Moreover, further hydra-
tion of unhydrated cement and pozzolanic reaction between
GGBFS and lime may also increase the compressive
strength at 300 C. This behavior was clearer in water cured
specimens than autoclaved mixtures possibly due to the
higher maturity of autoclaved specimens and higher mois-
ture content of water cured specimens before exposure.
From the point of flexural strength, strength loss of
autoclaved HS mortars was higher than water cured spec-
imens at 300 C. However, this difference almost dimin-
ished at 600 and 900 C levels possibly due to the most
of the micro-cracking having take place at high tempera-
tures of 600 C and beyond.
When the temperature elevated to 600 C, destruction of
explosive nature has been occurred in HS and HSSF mix-
tures. It seems that, PP fibers are effective in preventing
explosion of HS mortars both water and autoclave curing
cases. Whereas, steel fibers did not change the behavior
of the HS mixtures. However, required PP dosage to pre-
vent spalling increased from 0.1% to 0.2% in the case of
autoclave curing due to the denser microstructure of the
specimens.
Normal strength mortar exhibited a higher compressive
strength loss than high strength water cured and autoclave
cured mortar at 900 C. SEM images showed that the
strength loss at this temperature results of coarsening of
voids in matrix phase and decomposition of C–S–H struc-
ture of high strength mortar.
511
The destructive effect of elevated temperatures on flex-
ural strength and modulus of elasticity of mortar specimens
was more distinctive than compressive strength case. All
mixtures lost considerable modulus of elasticity values even
at 300 C, distinctly from the case of compressive strength.
This may be due to the micro-crack formation which affects
deformation and tensile strength characteristics adversely.
Test results indicate that, using PP fibers in high
strength and ultra-high strength autoclaved mortars is a
promising development which conserves almost all com-
pressive strength characteristics without spalling up to
600 C temperature even with a high silica fume content
in a saturated condition.
References
[1] Neville AM. Properties of concrete. New York: Longman Scientific
and Technical; 1995. p. 385–90.
[2] Khoury GA. Compressive strength of concrete at high temperatures:
a reassessment. Mag Concrete Res 1992;44(161):291–309.
[3] Chan YN, Peng GF, Anson M. Residual strength and pore
structure of high-strength concrete and normal strength concrete
after exposure to high temperatures. Cement Concrete Comp
1999;21(1):23–7.
[4] Chan SYN, Luo X, Sun W. Effect of high temperature and cooling
regimes on the compressive strength and pore properties of high
performance concrete. Constr Build Mater 2000;14(5):261–6.
[5] Lie TT, Kodur VKR. Thermal and mechanical properties of steel
fibre-reinforced concrete at elevated temperatures. Can J Civil Eng
1996;23(2):511–7.
[6] Hertz KD. Danish investigations on silica fume concretes at elevated
temperatures. ACI Mater J 1992;89(4):345–7.
[7] Kodur VKR, Wang TC, Cheng FP. Predicting the fire resistance
behavior of high strength concrete columns. Cement Concrete Comp
2003;26(2):141–53.
[8] Bilodeau A, Kodur VKR, Hoff GC. Optimization of the type and
amount of polypropylene fibres for preventing the spalling of
lightweight concrete subjected to hydrocarbon fire. Cement Concrete
Comp 2004;26(2):163–74.
[9] Diederichs U, Jumppanen UM, Morita T, Nause P, Schneider U.
Zum abplatzverhalten von Stützen aus hochfestem Normalbeton
unter Brandbeanspruchung, Concerning spalling behaviour of high
strength concrete columns under fire exposure, Technische Universi-
tate Braunschweig, 1994, 12 p.
[10] Nishida A, Yamazaki N, Inoue H, Schneider U, Diederichs U. Study
on the properties of high strength concrete with short polypropylene
fibre for spalling resistance. In: Sakai K, Banthia N, Gjorv OE
(editors). Concrete under severe conditions: environment and loading,
vol. 2. 1995. p. 1141–50.
[11] Poon CS, Azhar S, Anson M, Wong YL. Comparison of the strength
and durability performance of normal and high-strength pozzolanic
concretes at elevated temperatures. Cement Concrete Res
2001;31(9):1291–300.
[12] ASTM C 494-99. Standard specification for chemical admixtures for
concrete. Annual book of ASTM standards, V. 4.02, American
Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, PA, 2003. p. 269–
77.
[13] European Standard, EN 934-2. Admixtures for concrete, mortar and
grout: Part 2. Concrete admixtures-definition and requirements,
European Committee for Standardization, 1997.
[14] Yazıcı H, Yiğiter H, Aydın S, Baradan B. Autoclaved SIFCON with
high volume Class C fly ash binder phase. Cement Concrete Res
2006;36(3):481–6.
[15] Castillo C, Durani AJ. Effect of transient high temperature on high-
strength concrete. ACI Mater J 1990;87(1):47–53.
512 S. Aydın et al. / Construction and Building Materials 22 (2008) 504–512
[16] Sarshar R, Khoury GA. Material and environmental factors influ-
encing the compressive strength of unsealed cement paste and
concrete at high temperatures. Mag Concrete Res 1993;45(162):
51–61.
[17] Diederichs U, Jumppanen UM, Penttala V. Behavior of high strength
concrete at high temperatures. Report No. 92. Department of
Structural Engineering, Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo,
1989, 76 p.
[18] Sullivan PJE, Sharshar R. Performance of concrete at elevated
temperatures. Fire Technol 1992;28(3):240–50.
[19] Lin WM, Lin TD, Powers LJ. Microstructures of fire-damaged
concrete. ACI Mater J 1996;93(3):199–205.
[20] Dias WPS, Khoury GA, Sullivan PJE. Mechanical properties of
hardened cement paste exposed to temperatures up to 700 C. ACI
Mater J 1990;87(2):160–6.
[21] Savva A, Manita P, Sideris KK. Influence of elevated temperatures
on the mechanical properties of blended cement concretes prepared
with limestone and siliceous aggregates. Cement Concrete Comp
2005;27(2):239–48.
[22] Janotka I, Nürnbergerova T, Nad L. Behavior of high-strength
concrete with dolomitic aggregate at high temperatures. Mag Con-
crete Res 2000;52(6):399–409.
[23] Sakr K, EL-Hakim E. Effect of high temperature or fire on heavy
weight concrete properties. Cement Concrete Res 2005;35(3):590–6.
[24] Cülfik MS, Özturan T. Effect of elevated temperatures on the residual
mechanical properties of high-performance mortar. Cement Concrete
Res 2002;32(5):809–16.
[25] Türker P, Erdoğdu K, Erdoğan B. Investigation of fire-exposed
mortars with different types of aggregates. Cement Concrete World
2001;6(31):52–67.