Title:
Thermal Treatment Effects on the Properties of High Strength Concrete (Prepublished)
Author(s):
Moetaz El-Hawary, Ezzat Abdelsalam
Publication:
Materials Journal
Volume:
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
Keywords:
high-performance concrete; mechanical properties; microstructural analysis; physical properties; thermal treatment
DOI:
10.14359/51749121
Date:
8/19/2025
Abstract:
As global demand for concrete has been forecasted to keep rising, one of the approaches towards more sustainable constructions is the adoption of mix designs replacing conventional ones. The current study contains a comparison between concrete mixes that constitutes only Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and mixes incorporating 25% OPC with a 75% replacement by supplementary cementitious materials (SCM). The major experimental hypothesis circles around investigating whether it is effective to use thermal treatment under moderately elevated temperatures to enhance the physical and mechanical properties of concrete. Comparisons were performed using mechanical tests such as: compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength, and through several non-destructive physical experiments as well as microstructural investigation using SEM and EDS. In conclusion, the experimental results have shown a mostly positive influence observing significant enhancements after thermal treatment. However, treated concrete mixes that constitute only OPC seem to excel in overall performance compared to those incorporating SCM.