Characterization and Evaluation of Micro-mechanical Properties of Ultra High Strength Concrete by using Micro-indentation Test

This work presents the details of characterization and micro-mechanical properties of ultra high strength concrete. Characterization was carried out for High Strength Concrete (HSC, HSC1) and Ultra High Strength Concrete (UHSC). Various mechanical properties, namely, compressive strength, split tensile strength and modulus of elasticity have been estimated for HSC, HSC1 and UHSC. It was observed from characterization studies that the split tensile strength is high in the case of UHSC compared to HSC and HSC1. X-ray diffraction analysis has been performed for cement, silica fume and quartz powder to know the chemical composition. The amount of quantified phases has been estimated. Micro indentation technique has been employed to evaluate the micromechanical properties such as modulus of elasticity and hardness. Oliver and Pharr method has been used to compute modulus of elasticity and hardness. It is observed that the value of modulus of elasticity obtained from the micro indentation test is in very good agreement with that of the value obtained from uniaxial compression test data of a cylindrical specimen. Finally micro-structure of the specimen has been obtained for various magnifications to examine the voids/pores in the UHSC matrix. © 2016, The Institution of Engineers (India).