Change of the Structural Properties of High-Performance Concretes Subjected to Thermal Effects

Abstract

The paper refers to studies of the structure of high-performance concrete with polypropylene fibre at different dosages. The authors see a research gap in the study of the effect of adding polypropylene fibre on the parameters of concrete exposed to high temperatures. The study takes into account the thermal effect—groups of samples were heated to 200 °C, 400 °C and 600 °C. The authors carried out basic tests to describe the changes in density, ultrasonic tests, uniaxial compression strength tests and tensile tests by splitting. The positive effect of polypropylene fibres is mainly observed between 20 °C and 200 °C. The melting of polypropylene fibres causes a delay in the development of micro-cracks in the structure of these concretes compared to HPC. Adding polypropylene fibres to the mixtures also increased the speed of ultrasonic wave propagation in the medium. The research was deepened with tomographic imaging. A description of the splitting surface was carried out. The results of tensile by splitting tests clearly show an increase in the relative failure area for unheated concretes in proportion to the number of fibres used. Changes in splitting surfaces under the influence of temperature are graphically illustrated. Furthermore, differences in the samples under the influence of heating at high temperatures are presented. Finally, the porosity development of all sample groups before and after heating at all temperatures is described.