Effects of end conditions on compressive strength and static elastic modulus of very high strength concrete

Abstract

The use of bonded and unbonded caps in testing very high strength concrete cylinders has been investigated experimentally. A hundred and ninety-two concrete cylinder specimens of 150-mm diameter and 300-mm height were cast and tested using packing with softboard, neat cement paste, neoprene pad and sulfur mortar. The design strength level of 75–100 MPa was achieved using water-cementitious material ratios of 0.22, 0.26 and 0.31. The results of the study were compared considering compressive strength and static elastic moduli values. A two-way analysis of variance was performed at a .01 level of significance in order to compare the effect of end conditions. It was found that the overall mean compressive strengths of specimens capped with neat cement paste, neoprene pad sulfur mortar were not significantly different. The packed specimens exhibited a significant difference from the others. On the other hand, there was no statistical difference in the static elastic moduli values when different capping types were used. Several modulus prediction equations were also examined. Experimental values were consistently higher than the predicted values.