Fracture Mechanics of Concrete and Concrete Structures -

High Performance, Fiber Reinforced Concrete, Special Loadings and Structural Applications- B. H. Oh, et al. (eds)
2010 Korea Concrete Institute, ISBN 978-89-5708-182-2

Physical and mechanical properties of ultra high strength fiber reinforced

cementitious composites
C. Magureanu, I. Sosa, C. Negrutiu & B. Heghes
Technical University of Cluj-Napoca

ABSTRACT: This paper presents the experimental research regarding the physical-mechanical properties and
the durability characteristics of the ultra high performance concrete. The cementitious composite with 2 %
volume of steel fibers was tested for the following characteristics: the compressive and tensile strength, the
moduli of elasticity, the stress-strain characteristic curve for compression strength and flexural strength and
tests after aproximately 1000 cycles of freezing and thawing. The specimens subject to 900C thermal
treatment for 5 days displayed an increase of compressive strength up to 180 MPa at the age of 6 days. The
experimental data obtained on specimens with thermal curing regime are evaluated by comparison with
specimens with water curing regime.

1 INTRODUCTION Table 1. Concrete composition.

Materials UHPC UHPFRC
Ultra high performance fiber reinforced concrete Cement CEM 52.5R 1.00 1.00
Water/cement ratio (w/c) 0.174 0.174
(UHPFRC) stands for concretes with compressive Water/binder ratio (w/b) 0.138 0.138
strengths exceeding 150 MPa. The concrete compo- Sand (0-0.3)+(0.4-1.2 mm) 1.18 1.18
sition includes a high cement content, mineral ad- Silica fume 0.26 0.26
mixture (usually silica fume), steel fibers and a Superplaticizers 0.0305 0.0305
very low water/binder ratio ensured by the use of last Steel fibers 0 0.174
generation superplasticizers. UHPFRC incorporates
very fine sands or quartz sands with granule size up The fibers used in the composition were 0.4 mm
to 1 mm. in diameter and 25 mm in length and were added
The first structural application of this concrete in quantity of 2% by concrete volume.
was the Sherbrooke footbridge built in Canada in Two curing regimes were applied for specimens
1997. Besides the superior physical-mechanical used for mechanical properties determinations:
properties compared with ordinary concrete and - thermal treatment for 5 days with a constant
even high strength concrete, UHPFRC presents very temperature of 900C.
good ductility and durability properties. - water curing for 5 days with a constant
temperature of 2020C.
Subsenquently the specimens were kept in the
2 EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM laboratory enviroment (temperature 2020C and
relative humidity 605%) until testing.
The experimental program comprised the study of Three curing regimes were used to evaluate
the mechanical properties of ultra-high performance freeze-thaw resistance:
with fiber reinforcement (UHPFRC) and without - thermal treatment for 5 days with a constant
fiber reinforcement (UHPC). Furthermore, the two temperatures of 900C, then exposure to freeze-thaw
types of concrete were tested for durability, freeze- cycles.
thaw cycles respectively. Both mixtures used Portland - water curing for 5 days with a constant
cement type CEM I 52.5R, grey silica fume and very temperature of 2020C, then exposure to freeze-thaw
fine sand with granulometry of 0-0.3 mm and 0.4-1.2 cycles.
mm. The coarse agregates were eliminated. The - water curing for 334 days for the witness
flowability of the concrete was ensured by the specimen.
polymer ether-carboxylate superplasticizers. The The freeze-thaw procedure implied over 1000
composition of the two concretes is presented in cycles in 334 days. Each cycle consisted in 4 hours
Table 1. freezing at -200C and 4 hours thawing at +200C,
 J = Dthe
while ( h, T )relative
h humidity remained constant (1) of explicitly onaccounts
influence for the
the concrete evolutiontheofslump
flowabilty, hydration
flow
902%. reaction and being
measurement SF content.
about 120This mm.sorption isotherm
The strength
The proportionality coefficientcharacteristics
and deformability D(h,T) is called
were reads
The water/cement ratio was 0.174. All specimens
moisture permeability and it is a nonlinear function
determined with a digital hidraulic testing machine were produced from the same batch in order to
of thedeformation
with relative humidity and temperature
control,h type ADVANTEST T (Baant
9. The eliminate the influence of the mixing condition.
& Najjar 1972). The moisture mass balance requires
displacements were measured using LVDTs. A The specimens had the following
we (h, c , s ) = and
G1 (100x100x100 geometry:

c , s )1 10(g mm +
1

that the variation in time of the water mass per unit

general view of the testing machine is displayed in 70x70x70mm cubes,
)h
40x40x
1 c c (4)
volume1.of concrete (water content w) be equal to the
Figure 160mm and 100x100x300mm
e prisms.
divergence of the moisture flux J It was used a 100 liter mixer for the mixing
10(g )h
process. When the mixing time completed,
K ( , ) e
specimens were 1castc ins moulds
1 c
while
c 1 onthea
vibrated
= J
w
(2) vibrating table. The specimens

were demoulded

the
t
next day.
The water content w can be expressed as the sum where the first term (gel isotherm) represents the
of the evaporable water we (capillary water, water physically bound (adsorbed) water and the second
vapor, and adsorbed water) and the non-evaporable 4term (capillary isotherm)
MECHANICAL represents
PROPERTIES the capillary
OF THE
(chemically bound) water wn (Mills 1966, water. This expression
HARDENED CONCRETE is valid only for low content
Figure 1. Mechanical properties testing machine.
Pantazopoulo & Mills 1995). It is reasonable to of SF. The coefficient G1 represents the amount of
assume that the evaporable waterperformed
is a function waterCompressive
4.1 per unit volume held in the gel strength
pores at 100%
with of
and splitting tensile
The freeze-thaw
relative humidity,
procces was
h, degree of hydration, c, and
a relative
The
humidity,
compressive
and it can be expressed (Norling
strength (fc) was measured on
thermostat cabine type
degree of silica
CONTROLS, with constant Mjornell 1997) as
temperature andfume reaction,
humidity s, i.e.
control we=w
of the e(h,c,s)
alternating 70x70x70 mm cubes. The splitting tensile strength
= age-dependent
cycles - Figure 2. sorption/desorption isotherm (fct,sp) was measured on 100x100x100mm cubes.
(Norling Mjonell 1997). Under this assumption and G1 (testing c was
k vg c + 6,s 14
k vg sand 28 days for both (T),(5)
by substituting Equation 1 into Equation 2 one
The c , s ) = age c s 0
thermal treatment (5days, 90 C) and (W), water
obtains curing regime (5s days, water, temperature 2020C).
where k
The results
c
and vg areinmaterial
vg are klisted Table 2parameters. From the
for the compressive
w h maximumand amount of water per the
unit splitting
volume that can
e + ( D h) = we w
&c + e &s + w&n (3)
strength
fill all
strength .pores
in Table
(both capillary
3 for
pores and gel
tensile
pores), one
h t h can calculate K1 as one obtains
c s
Table 2 . Compressive strength (fc).
where we/h is the slope of the sorption/desorption Specimen Mechanical Concrete
10 g
Age
h

14 c 28
c
isotherm (also called moisture capacity). The geometry w 0.188 s +properties
0.22 s G 1 e
6 1
Curing

c s

(6)
Type

governing equation (Equation 3) must be completed

0 1

[mm] [MPa] days
K ( c s ) =
by appropriate
Figure boundary
2. Thermostat cabine. and initial conditions. Cube
1
,

g
h

e 1c c

The relation between the amount of evaporable
10
70x70x70 T 160.4 167.5
fc 160.2
1
water
The and relative humidity
of the is called modulus
adsorption
UHPC

determination dynamic of Cube

isotherm shear
elasticity, if measured
modulus with increasing ratio
and Poissons relativity
was The material W
70x70x70 parameters
fc kcvg and vg and g1 can
107.7ks 116.2 102.9
humidity
made andthedesorption
using isotherm of
resonant frequency in the opposite
longitudinal be70x70x70
calibrated byTfitting
Cube
fc
experimental data relevant to
181.3 185.5 181.2
case.torsion
and Neglecting their difference
vibrations. The tests(Xiwere et al.conducted
1994), in free
Cube (evaporable) water content in concrete at
UHPFRC

the following,
with sorption isotherm
a resonant-frequency testingwill be used type
apparatus with various
70x70x70ages (DiWLuziofc & Cusatis130.5
2009b). 128.8 138.2
referenceMKIV,
Erudite to bothassorption and desorption
seen in Figure 3. conditions.
By the way, if the hysteresis of the moisture 2.2TheTemperature evolution
isotherm would be taken into account, two different compressive strength of thermal treated
relation, evaporable water vs relative humidity, must Note that, atisearly
specimens age,15%
about since higher
the chemical reactions
for UHPFRC
be used according to the sign of the variation of the associatedtowith
compared UHPC cement
. hydration and SF reaction
relativity humidity. The shape of the sorption are exothermic, the temperature field is not uniform
isotherm for HPC is influenced by many parameters, for non-adiabatic
Table systems
3 . Splitting tensile even(fct,sp).
strength if the environmental
especially those that influence extent and rate of the temperature is constant. Heat conduction
Specimen Mechanical Concrete Agecan be
chemical reactions and, in turn, determine pore described in concrete, at least for6 temperature
geometry properties 14 28 not
Curing
Type

structure
Figure and pore size distribution
3. Resonat-frequency (water-to-cement
testing apparatus. exceeding 100C (Baant
[mm] [MPa] & Kaplan days 1996), by
ratio, cement chemical composition, SF content, Fouriers law, which reads
Cube
curing time and method, temperature, mix additives, 100x100x100 T fct,sp 7.9 9.2 9.4
UHPC

3etc.).
FRESHIn theCONCRETE PROPERTIES
literature various formulations can be q = T
Cube
found to describe the sorption isotherm of normal 100x100x100 W fct,sp 5.8 7.7 6.9 (7)
The flowability of 1994).
the concrete wasin investigated Cube
concrete (Xi et al. However, the present where q is the T heatfct,spflux,
100x100x100 is the
T 17.5 20.2 absolute
20.4
UHPFRC

with the slump flow test conducted

paper the semi-empirical expression immediately
proposed af-by
ter the mixing
Norling Mjornellprocess ended.
(1997) is Itadopted
was observed
becausethatit temperature, and is the heat
Cube conductivity; in this
100x100x100 W fct,sp 6.6 7.8 12.6
the steel fibers incorporation does not have a major
Proceedings of FraMCoS-7, May 23-28, 2010
 It can be observed an increase of about 220 % of P(kN) J = D ( h , T ) h
the splitting tensile strength of UHPFRC compared
with UHPC for the thermal treated specimens. The proportionality coefficient D(h,T)
moisture permeability and it is a nonlinea
4.2 Flexural strength of the relative humidity h and temperature
& Najjar 1972). The moisture mass balanc
The flexural strength was investigated by perform- that the variation in time of the water mas
ing a 3 point bending test using 40x40x160 mm and volume of concrete (water content w) be eq
100x100x300 mm prismatic specimens. The speci- divergence of the moisture flux J
mens were thermal treated (T).
The testing procedures using ADVANTEST9 (m)
testing machine and the failure of the specimens are vs. =mid
span
w
J
Figure 6. Load P(kN) t deflection (m) curve
illustrated in Figure 4 (UHPFRC) and Figure 5 (UHPFRC).
(UHPC). The water content w can be expressed a
P(kN)
of the evaporable water we (capillary wa
vapor, and adsorbed water) and the non-e
(chemically bound) water wn (Mil
Pantazopoulo & Mills 1995). It is reas
assume that the evaporable water is a fu
relative humidity, h, degree of hydration
degree of silica fume reaction, s, i.e. we=w
= age-dependent sorption/desorption
(Norling Mjonell 1997). Under this assum
by substituting Equation 1 into Equati
Figure 4. Flexure failure of a UHPFRC specimen. obtains
(m)
Figure 7. Load P(kN) vs. mid span deflection (m) curve
w h w
(UHPC).
e + ( D h ) = e we &+ &s + w
h t h c

The flexural behavior of the two types ofc concretes
can be observed by analyzing the load-deflection
curves in Figureswhere w7.
6 and is the slope
e/hUHPFRC of the sorption/
displayed a
ductile behavior. isotherm (also called moisture capac
governing equation (Equation
The middle span deflection at maximum load, as 3) must be
by appropriate boundary and initial
well as the ultimate middle span deflection, is about conditi
TheUHPFRC
three times higher for relation compared
between the amount of e
to UHPC
water and relative
(900m compared to 300m). The peak load humidity is called
of
Figure 5. Flexure failure of a UHPC specimen. isotherm if measured with
UHPFR was 1.5 times higher than the peak load of increasing
UHPC. humidity and desorption isotherm in th
Fiber reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) showed a case. Neglecting their difference (Xi et al.
flexural strength 150-165% higher than un- theelasticity
Table 5. Modulus of following, sorption isotherm will be
in compression.
reinforced concrete (UHPC). The geometry of the reference to both sorption and desorption c
Concrete
specimens influenced the flexural strength, smaller
Specimen By the way, ifAgethe hysteresis of the
Mechanica

specimens exhibiting a higher strength, as seen in

geometry isotherm would be
l properties
6 taken14 into28
account, two
relation, evaporable water vs relative humi
Curing

Table 4.
Type

[mm] be used accordingdays

[MPa] to the sign of the varia
Table 4. Flexural strength (fct,fl). Prism relativity humidity. The shape of the
Specimen Mechanical Concrete Age 100x100x30 isotherm
T Estatic
for HPC518is influenced
552 513by many p
geometry properties 6 14 28 0 especially those that
60 influence
641 24extent and
Curing

chemical reactions and, in turn, determ

Type

[mm] [MPa] days Prism

structure
W Estaticand pore size distribution (water-
UHPC

100x100x30 499 550 550

Prism
40x40x160 T fct,fl 13.4 13.8 14.8
0 ratio, cement chemical composition,
45 738 360 SF
curing time and method, temperature, mix
UHPC

Prism Prism
100x100x300 T fct,fl 6.05 6.78 7.02 100x100x30 etc.).
T EIn the literature various formulatio
518 554 555
Prism 0 found static
to describe44 the 599
sorption
094isotherm
40x40x160 T fct,fl 21.8 23.1 22.30 concrete (Xi et al. 1994). However, in th
UHPFRC

Prism
UHPFRC

Prism
100x100x300 T fct,fl 11.5 12.7 16.6
100x100x30 paper the semi-empirical
W Estatic
506 553 expression
553 pro
0 Norling Mjornell60 (1997)
778 is997adopted b

Proceedings of FraMCoS-7, May 23-28, 2010

4.3 D (h, T )hof elasticity in compression
J = Modulus (1) explicitlyspecimens
Witness accounts for the evolution
displayed of hydration
similar values, con-
The specimens used for the determination of modulus of
reaction that
cluding and freeze-thaw
SF content.cycles
This did
sorption isotherm
not affect the
The proportionality
elasticity were 100x100x300 coefficient
mm prisms D(h,T) is called
with fiber rein-
reads of elasticity.
modulus
moisture permeability and it is a nonlinear
forcement (UHPFRC) and without fibers (UHPC). function
The
of the relative
specimens were humidity and temperature
subject to hthermal (Baant
T or
treatment (T) water
Table 7. Static and dynamic modulus
Specimen type Curing regime
for UHPFRC.
Properties
& Najjar
curing 1972).
regime (W),The moisture mass
as previously balance
mentioned. Therequires
results we (h, c , s ) = G1 ( c , s )1 1
[MPa] +

that the variation in time of the water mass per unit (g

are plotted in Table 5. c )h = (4)
C- fc=163
0
UHPFRC-1 Thermal treatment 1090

volume
The results reveal a slightly increase with time the
of concrete (water content w) be equal to of 5 days

e 1 c Estatic
the modulusofoftheelasticity
divergence moistureindependent
flux J of the curing Freeze-thaw 1000
10(g
55075
regime. The UHPFRC displays a higher modulus K1 ( c , s )e 1 c
cycles-364days cGh 1==22401
E)dynamic 53572

w = Jwith UHPC for both water curing and

dynamic
compared (2)
dynamic=0.1965
t treatment.
thermal UHPFRC-1W Thermal treatment 90 C- fc=155 0

The water content w can be expressed as the sum where the first5Water days
term 20(gel
0 isotherm)
C- 364 days
Estatic =
represents
53710 the
of the evaporable water
5 FREEZE-THAW we (capillary
RESISTANCE OF water,
THE water
physically bound (adsorbed)
Witness specimen water and the= second
Edynamic 53460
vapor, and adsorbed
HARDENED water) and the non-evaporable
CONCRETE
term (capillary isotherm) represents Gthe dynamiccapillary
=21963
(chemically bound) water wn (Mills 1966, water. This expression is valid only for low
dynamic content
=0.2182
of SF. The coefficient G1 represents the amount of
0
UHPHFRC-2 Water curing 20 C- f =150
Pantazopoulo
durability &ofMills 1995). and
It isUHPFRC
reasonablewasto
c
The the UHPC water per unit volume 5 days
held in the gel pores at 100%
Estatic =55858
assume that the evaporable water is a
evaluated in terms of freeze-thaw resistance. The function of relative humidity, Freeze-thaw 1000
and it can be Edynamic= 53467
expressed (Norling
relative humidity,
specimens subject h,todegree of hydration,
freeze-thaw cyclesc,were
and Mjornell 1997) as
cycles-364days Gdynamic=22251
degree of silica
afterwards testedfume
for dynamic s, i.e.
reaction, and we=modulus
static we(h,c,ofs) UHPFRC-2W Water curing 200C-
dynamic=0.2032
fc=115
= age-dependent
elasticity. When tested, sorption/desorption
specimens exeeded isotherm
1000
(Norling Mjonell 1997). Under this assumption
freeze-thaw cycles (364 days). The results were then and c Water
G1 ( c , s ) = k vg
5 days s
c + 20 k 0 s
C- 364 days
Estatic =
54550 (5)
by substituting
compared Equation witness
to correspondent 1 into specimens
Equation subject
2 one c vg
Witness specimen
s Edynamic= 53109
obtains
to water curing regime until testing (364days). Static Gdynamic=21860
and dynamic modulus of elasticity were tested using where kcvg and ksvg are material parameters. dynamicFrom
=0.2159the
w h
100x100x300 prisms. w w maximum amount of water per unit volume that can
e results e & e &6+ for
w&n UHPC
c +Table
The + ( Dareh)plotted
= in (3) fill all pores (both capillary pores and gel pores), one
h t h s
calculate K1 as one obtains
6canCONCLUSIONS
(without fiber addition) and c Tables 7 for UHPFRC
(fiber 2%Vol).
where we/h is the slope of the sorption/desorption The paper presents the mechanical properties of ultra
g h

high performance concrete.
s + s s GThe
10
c c
einfluence of steel
isotherm
Table 6. Static(also calledmodulus
and dynamic moisture capacity). The
for UHPC. w 0.188
c 0.22 1
1

(6)
governing
Specimen equation
Curing (Equation
regime 3) must be completed
Properties fibre reinforcement, age, geometry
0 1
of the specimens

K ( cenviromental
and )= conditions

were evaluated.
by appropriate
type
UHPC-1
boundary and
Thermal treatment 900C-
initial conditions.
[MPa] 1
,
s
g h

The relation between the amount fEcof =120

evaporable Fiber reinforcement c c was analyzed
e influence
10
1
5 days = 52489 towards compressive strength, splitting tensile
1

water and relative humidity

Freeze-thaw is calledEstatic
1000 cycles- adsorption
dynamic= 51250
isotherm if 364days measured with increasing Gdynamicrelativity strength, flexural parameters
The material strength andkload-deflection curves.
vg and k vg and g1 can
c s
=21362
humidity and desorption isotherm in the =0.1962
dynamic opposite Smaller specimens exihibited
be calibrated by fitting experimental data relevant higher flexuralto
case. Neglecting theirtreatmentdifference (Xi et al. 1994), in strength.
free (evaporable) water content in concrete at
UHPC-1W 900C-
the following,Thermal
sorption
5 days isotherm willfc=94
Estatic used
be with
= 51990
Splitting
various ages tensile
(Di Luzio strength
& Cusatis of UHPFRC
2009b). is about
reference to both sorption
0 and desorption conditions. 2.2 times higher than that of UHPC.
Water 20 C- 364 days Edynamic= 50874
By the way,Witness if thespecimen
hysteresis of Gthe moisture It was observed a ductile post peak behaviour for
dynamic=20949
isotherm would be taken into account, dynamic
two different
=0.2165 2.2
UHPFRC Temperature evolution
with 2%steel fibers by concrete volume.
relation,
UHPC-2 evaporable water
Water curing 20vs
0
C-relative humidity,
fc=100 must For about 85-95%
Note that, at early age, since of the peak load UHPC
the chemical and
reactions
be used according 5 days
to the sign of the Estatic =52200
variation of the UHPFRC displayed a quasi-linear
associated with cement hydration and SF reaction behaviour.
Freeze-thaw 1000 cycles- Edynamic= 50554
relativity humidity.364days The shape of the sorption
Gdynamic=21020 areUHPC
exothermic, and theUHPFRC
temperature specimens
field is not were
uniformnot
isotherm for HPC is influenced by many parameters,
dynamic =0.2006
affected by the systems
for non-adiabatic freeze-thaw even cycles in terms of
if the environmental
especially
UHPC-2W those thatcuring
Water influence
200C- extent fand c=96rate of the
modulus of elasticity.
temperature is constant. Heat conduction can be
chemical reactions 5 days and, in turn, determine Estatic = 51460pore This reaserch
described will at
in concrete, further
least be for completed
temperaturewith not
structure and pore Water size
20 0
distribution
C- 364 days (water-to-cement
E dynamic= 50391 experimental
exceeding 100C (Baant & Kaplanand1996),
results regarding simple complex by
ratio, cementWitness chemicalspecimen
composition,Gdynamic
dynamic=21007
SF =0.2003
content, state of stress and
Fouriers law, which reads strains in UHPC and UHPFRC
curing time and method, temperature, mix additives, members.
etc.).
UHPC In the literature
subject various and
to freezing formulations
thawing, can had be
a q = T (7)
found to describe the sorption
modulus of elasticity in compression of about 52isotherm of normal
concrete (Xi thermal
et al. 1994). 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
GPa for both treatedHowever,
and waterincured the present
speci- where q is the heat flux, T is the absolute
paper the semi-empirical expression proposed by
mens. UHPFRC displayed values of about 55GPa This researchand
temperature, is the heatwithin
wasconducted conductivity;
a PCE-PNin II-
this
for both thermal treated and water cured specimens.it
Norling Mjornell (1997) is adopted because

Proceedings of FraMCoS-7, May 23-28, 2010

IDEI Program, code 1053/2007, financed by Na-
tional Scientific Research Council for Higher Educa-
tion (CNCSIS), Romania. The authors would like to
express their gratitude to CNCSIS.
REFERENCES
Benjamin A. & Grebeal (2007) Compressive behavior of Ultra
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Magureanu C. & Sosa I. (2008) Ultra High Performance Con-
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Roads. Bridges and railways. Proceedings of the Interna-
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132.
Magureanu C. et al. (2008) Behavior of High and Ultra High
Fiber Reinforced Concrete. 8th International Symposium
on Utilization of High-Strength and High-Performance
Concrete, Tokyo. 353-356.
Magureanu C., Heghes B., Negrutiu C. (2009) Ultra High Per-
formance Concrete with and without steel fiber. Concrete
21 Century Super Hero, London.
Rossi P. (2001) Ultra-High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced
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Sugamata T. et al. (2002) Study on the fresh and hardened
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gress, Session 9, 87-96.
J = D ( h , T ) h
The proportionality coefficient D(h,T)
moisture permeability and it is a nonlinea
of the relative humidity h and temperature
& Najjar 1972). The moisture mass balanc
that the variation in time of the water mas
volume of concrete (water content w) be eq
divergence of the moisture flux J
= J
w
t
The water content w can be expressed a
of the evaporable water we (capillary wa
vapor, and adsorbed water) and the non-e
(chemically bound) water wn (Mil
Pantazopoulo & Mills 1995). It is reas
assume that the evaporable water is a fu
relative humidity, h, degree of hydration
degree of silica fume reaction, s, i.e. we=w
= age-dependent sorption/desorption
(Norling Mjonell 1997). Under this assum
by substituting Equation 1 into Equati
obtains
w h
e + ( D h) = we w
&c + e &s + w
h t h
c s
where we/h is the slope of the sorption/
isotherm (also called moisture capac
governing equation (Equation 3) must be
by appropriate boundary and initial conditi
The relation between the amount of e
water and relative humidity is called
isotherm if measured with increasing
humidity and desorption isotherm in th
case. Neglecting their difference (Xi et al.
the following, sorption isotherm will be
reference to both sorption and desorption c
By the way, if the hysteresis of the
isotherm would be taken into account, two
relation, evaporable water vs relative humi
be used according to the sign of the varia
relativity humidity. The shape of the
isotherm for HPC is influenced by many p
especially those that influence extent and
chemical reactions and, in turn, determ
structure and pore size distribution (water-
ratio, cement chemical composition, SF
curing time and method, temperature, mix
etc.). In the literature various formulatio
found to describe the sorption isotherm
concrete (Xi et al. 1994). However, in th
paper the semi-empirical expression pro
Norling Mjornell (1997) is adopted b
Proceedings of FraMCoS-7, May 23-28, 2010