The fire resistance of high-strength concrete containing natural zeolites

Kushnir, Alexandra R.L.; Heap, Michael J.; Griffiths, Luke; Wadsworth, Fabian B.; Langella, Alessio; Baud, Patrick; Reuschlé, Thierry; Kendrick, Jackie E.; Utley, James E.P.

Abstract

More sustainable and environmentally friendly concretes are essential to reduce the climatic and environmental impact of the growing demand for concrete to fuel urban sprawl. This manuscript reports on an experimental study designed to test the fire resistance of one such concrete, prepared to contain natural zeolite-bearing tuff. The fire resistance of concretes containing natural zeolites has received little attention and is therefore poorly understood. Relative reductions in residual uniaxial compressive strength as a function of increasing temperature (up to 1000 °C) were very similar for the reference concrete (containing no tuff) and the tuff-bearing concrete. These data can be explained by the similar influence of high-temperature on the chemical (dehydroxylation reactions) and physical (microcracking and porosity) properties of both concretes. The satisfactory performance of the concrete containing natural zeolites following fire is welcome owing to the economic, climatic, and environmental benefits of using natural pozzolan and aggregate substitutes.

Citation

Kushnir, A. R., Heap, M. J., Griffiths, L., Wadsworth, F. B., Langella, A., Baud, P., …Utley, J. E. (2021). The fire resistance of high-strength concrete containing natural zeolites. Cement and Concrete Composites, 116, Article 103897. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2020.103897

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 9, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Dec 15, 2020
• Publication Date: 2021-02
• Deposit Date: Jan 4, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 15, 2021
• Journal: Cement and Concrete Composites
• Print ISSN: 0958-9465
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 116
• Article Number: 103897
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2020.103897
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1282463