ELEVATED TEMPERATURE CONCRETE CURING - USING POLYPROPYLENE FIBRES

This paper examines cement hydration when concrete cures at elevated temperatures with and without the addition of Type 1 polypropylene fibres and addresses some of the ambiguities that have arisen from previous research. Paired comparison tests were carried out to compare density, strength, pulse velocity, and absorption using plain and fibre concrete at ambient UK indoor temperatures, compared to concrete at elevated temperatures that would be found in The Middle East. The results show that both plain and fibre concrete were subject to poor internal curing which created an open pore structure that led to high absorption rates. Polypropylene fibres do not have a significant effect in providing optimum curing conditions when subject to elevated temperatures, however they performed better than plain concrete.