Assessment of transport properties, volume stability, and frost resistance of non-proprietary ultra-high performance concrete

Abstract

This study focuses on the assessment of non-proprietary ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) mixtures exposed to the penetration of chloride ions, shrinkage due to moisture loss, and freeze and thaw cycles. For achieving a proper assessment, several non-proprietary UHPC mixtures were designed, cast, and tested for flow, compressive strength, tensile strength, surface resistivity, rapid chloride penetration, rapid chloride migration, autogenous shrinkage, drying shrinkage, and loss of mass and dynamic modulus due to freeze and thaw cycles. The performance measures of the developed mixtures were then compared with those of two proprietary UHPC mixtures. The results obtained from this rigorous set of experimental tests showed how non-proprietary UHPC mixtures can be designed to experience chloride penetration as low as their proprietary counterparts, maintain high volume stability under both autogenous and drying shrinkage, and benefit from negligible degradation under freeze and thaw cycles. This study also quantified how the water-to-cement ratio, sand-to-cement ratio, and inclusion of silica fume can have substantial effects on the properties of non-proprietary UHPC mixtures. Considering the significant cost advantages of non-proprietary UHPC mixtures, the outcome of this study shed light on the feasibility of developing non-proprietary UHPC mixtures with desired properties, taking into account short- and long-term performance considerations.