Study on High Performance Concrete at High Temperatures in the past 10 Years

High performance concrete (hereafter, HPC) is well known by its high compressive strength, strong resistance to deformation and excellent durability. Whereas, HPC is prone to spall when exposed to high temperatures and it probably results in sharp reduction of the fire resistance and loading capacity of HPC elements and structures. This paper presents a summary of research achievements on fire-resistance behavior of HPC in the past 10 years including the mechanical behavior degradation, analysis of spalling mechanism, effect of various types of fiber and other factors influencing the post-fire properties of HPC material as well as structural behavior of HPC elements. Studies on micro-structure of HPC have been carried out, which will help build a more sophisticated recognition of its performance under high temperatures. In spite of the large number of research results, more improvement on HPC material and HPC structures are still needed because of the devastating consequences caused by strength degradation or spalling-to-collapse. Thus in this paper a new idea of HPC-composite structures is proposed, expected to decrease the probability of spalling.