Title:
Experimental Study to Determine Compressive Stress Block Shape for Belitic Calcium Sulfoaluminate Concrete
Author(s):
Gabriel R. Johnson, Elizabeth S. M. Poblete, and Cameron D. Murray
Publication:
Structural Journal
Volume:
122
Issue:
6
Appears on pages(s):
39-50
Keywords:
belitic calcium sulfoaluminate (BCSA) cement; flexural compression; flexural design parameters; rapid-setting cement; stress-strain relationship; ultimate strain
DOI:
10.14359/51746814
Date:
9/1/2025
Abstract:
To use alternative cements such as belitic calcium sulfoaluminate (BCSA) cement for structural concrete, perhaps the most important consideration is ensuring that the rectangular stress block parameters used in flexural strength design are still applicable. This paper describes a complex experimental study consisting of flexural-
compression specimens loaded to replicate the compression side of the stress distribution in a reinforced concrete beam. From these coupled flexural-compression tests, the shape of the stress distribution in a BCSA cement concrete specimen can be derived and used to develop equivalent rectangular stress distribution parameters. BCSA cement concrete and portland cement concrete (PCC) unreinforced flexural-compression specimens with various water-cement ratios (w/c) were fabricated and tested at varying ages. The results from the BCSA cement concrete flexural-compression specimens were compared with PCC tests, extensive historical PCC data, and design code values. The current Code equations approximating the rectangular stress block were found to be equivalent or conservative for BCSA cement concrete flexural members within the strength range of 54 to 85 MPa (7.8 to 12.4 ksi); this should give designers confidence in using this cement for structural concrete.
Related References:
1. Hognestad, E., “Fundamental Concepts in Ultimate Load Design of Reinforced Concrete Members,” ACI Journal Proceedings, V. 48, No. 6, June 1952, pp. 809-830. doi: 10.14359/11956
2. Schade, J. E., “Flexural Concrete Stress in High Strength Concrete Columns,” MS thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada, 1992, 175 pp.
3. Mertol, H. C.; Rizkalla, S.; Zia, P.; and Mirmiran, A., “Characteristics of Compressive Stress Distribution in High-Strength Concrete,” ACI Structural Journal, V. 105, No. 5, Sept.-Oct. 2008, pp. 626-633.
4. ACI Committee 318, “Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete (ACI 318-19) and Commentary (ACI 318R-19) (Reapproved 2022),” American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, MI, 2019, 624 pp.
8. Murray, C. D.; Floyd, R. W.; and Ramseyer, C. C. E., “Using Belitic Calcium Sulfoaluminate Cement for Precast, Prestressed Concrete Beams,” PCI Journal, V. 64, No. 2, 2019, pp. 55-67. doi: 10.15554/pcij64.2-03
9. Markosian, N. A.; Thomas, R.; Maguire, M.; and Sorensen, A., “Calcium Sulfoaluminate Cement Concrete for Prestressed Bridge Girders: Prestressing Losses, Bond, and Strength Behavior,” Report No. MPC 19-401, Mountain-Plains Consortium, Utah State University, Logan, UT, 2019, 84 pp.
10. Bowser, T. M.; Murray, C. D.; and Floyd, R. W., “Bond Behavior of 0.6 in. (15.2 mm) Prestressing Strand in Belitic Calcium Sulfoaluminate (BCSA) Cement Concrete,” ACI Structural Journal, V. 117, No. 1, Jan. 2020, pp. 43-52. doi: 10.14359/51720196
11. Maggenti, R.; Gomez, S.; and Luena, R., “Bridge Hinge Reconstruction,” STRUCTURE, Jan. 2015, pp. 30-32.
12. Guan, Y.; Gao, Y.; Sun, R.; Won, M. C.; and Ge, Z., “Experimental Study and Field Application of Calcium Sulfoaluminate Cement for Rapid Repair of Concrete Pavements,” Frontiers of Structural and Civil Engineering, V. 11, No. 3, 2017, pp. 338-345. doi: 10.1007/s11709-017-0411-0
13. Paniagua, J.; Bhuskute, N.; and Bescher, E. P.; “Pavement Maintenance and Long-Term Pavement Rehabilitation Strategies Using BCSA Cement Concrete,” Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Maintenance and Rehabilitation of Pavements: MAIREPAV10 – Volume 2, P. Pereira and J. Pais, eds., Springer, Cham, Switzerland, 2024, pp. 272-283. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-63584-7_27
14. Cook, G. W., and Murray, C. D., “Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Made with Belitic Calcium Sulfoaluminate Cement at Early Ages,” ACI Materials Journal, V. 117, No. 1, Jan. 2020, pp. 167-174. doi: 10.14359/51719074
15. Baji, H., and Ronagh, H. R., “Reliability-Based Study on Ductility Measures of Reinforced Concrete Beams in ACI 318,” ACI Structural Journal, V. 113, No. 2, Mar.-Apr. 2016, pp. 373-382. doi: 10.14359/51688201
7. Ost, B. W. A.; Schiefelbein, B.; and Summerfield, J. M., “Very High Early Strength Cement,” U.S. Patent No. US3860433A, Jan. 1975.
16. Ali, M. B.; Saidur, R.; and Hossain, M. S., “A Review on Emission Analysis in Cement Industries,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, V. 15, No. 5, 2011, pp. 2252-2261. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2011.02.014
17. Thomas, R. J.; Maguire, M.; Sorensen, A. D.; and Quezada, I., “Calcium Sulfoaluminate Cement,” Concrete International, V. 40, No. 4, Apr. 2018, pp. 65-69.
18. Hanein, T.; Galvez-Martos, J.-L.; and Bannerman, M. N., “Carbon Footprint of Calcium Sulfoaluminate Clinker Production,” Journal of Cleaner Production, V. 172, 2018, pp. 2278-2287. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.11.183
19. Glasser, F. P., and Zhang, L., “High-Performance Cement Matrices Based on Calcium Sulfoaluminate–Belite Compositions,” Cement and Concrete Research, V. 31, No. 12, 2001, pp. 1881-1886. doi: 10.1016/S0008-8846(01)00649-4
5. Bescher, E.; Stremfel, J.; Ramseyer, C.; and Rice, E. K., “The Role of Calcium Sulfoaluminate in Concrete Sustainability,” Twelfth International Conference on Recent Advances in Concrete Technology and Sustainability Issues, P. Gupta and P. Gupta, eds., Prague, Czech Republic, 2012, pp. 613-632.
6. Bescher, E. P.; Kim, J.; Vallens, K.; and Ramseyer, C., “Low Carbon Footprint Pavement: History of Use, Performance and New Opportunities for Belitic Calcium Sulfoaluminate,” Proceedings of the 13th International Symposium on Concrete Roads, Berlin, Germany, 2018, 15 pp.
20. Markosian, N.; Tawadrous, R.; Mastali, M.; Thomas, R. J.; and Maguire, M., “Performance Evaluation of a Prestressed Belitic Calcium Sulfoaluminate Cement (BCSA) Concrete Bridge Girder,” Sustainability, V. 13, No. 14, 2021, Article No. 7875. doi: 10.3390/su13147875
21. Chesnut, C. W., and Murray, C. D., “Shear Capacity of Reinforced Concrete Made with Belitic Calcium Sulfoaluminate Cement,” ACI Structural Journal, V. 120, No. 1, Jan. 2023, pp. 177-186. doi: 10.14359/51737234
22. Whitney, C. S., “Design of Reinforced Concrete Members Under Flexure or Combined Flexure and Direct Compression,” ACI Journal Proceedings, V. 33, No. 3, Mar.-Apr. 1937, pp. 483-498. doi: 10.14359/8429
23. Hognestad, E.; Hanson, N. W.; and McHenry, D., “Concrete Stress Distribution in Ultimate Strength Design,” ACI Journal Proceedings, V. 52, No. 12, Dec. 1955, pp. 455-479.
24. Soliman, M. T. M., and Yu, C. W., “The Flexural Stress-Strain Relationship of Concrete Confined by Rectangular Transverse Reinforcement,” Magazine of Concrete Research, V. 19, No. 61, 1967, pp. 223-238. doi: 10.1680/macr.1967.19.61.223
25. Ibrahim, H. H. H., and MacGregor, J. G., “Flexural Behavior of Laterally Reinforced High-Strength Concrete Sections,” ACI Structural Journal, V. 93, No. 6, Nov.-Dec. 1996, pp. 674-684. doi: 10.14359/514
27. Crammond, G.; Boyd, S. W.; and Dulieu-Barton, J. M., “Speckle Pattern Quality Assessment for Digital Image Correlation,” Optics and Lasers in Engineering, V. 51, No. 12, 2013, pp. 1368-1378. doi: 10.1016/j.optlaseng.2013.03.014
28. ASTM C192/C192M-19, “Standard Practice for Making and Curing Concrete Test Specimens in the Laboratory,” ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2019, 8 pp.
29. ASTM C143/C143M-20, “Standard Test Method for Slump of Hydraulic-Cement Concrete,” ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2020, 4 pp.
30. ASTM C1064/C1064M-17, “Standard Test Method for Temperature of Freshly Mixed Hydraulic-Cement Concrete,” ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2017, 3 pp.
31. ASTM C39/C39M-18, “Standard Test Method for Compressive Strength of Cylindrical Concrete Specimens,” ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2018, 8 pp.
32. ASTM C469/C469M-14, “Standard Test Method for Static Modulus of Elasticity and Poisson’s Ratio of Concrete in Compression,” ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2014, 5 pp.
33. Mertol, H. C., “Behavior of High-Strength Concrete Members Subjected to Combined Flexure and Axial Compression Loadings,” PhD thesis, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 2006, 320 pp.
26. Johnson, G. R.; Poblete, E. S. M.; and Murray, C. D., “Stress-Strain Analysis of Belite Calcium Sulfoaluminate Cement Concrete for Structural Applications,” ACI Foundation research project, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 2023, 139 pp.
34. Hognestad, E., “A Study of Combined Bending and Axial Load in Reinforced Concrete Members,” University of Illinois Engineering Experiment Station, Urbana, IL, University of Illinois Bulletin No. 399, 1951, 134 pp.
35. Sargin, M.; Ghosh, S. K.; and Handa, V. K., “Effects of Lateral Reinforcement Upon the Strength and Deformation Properties of Concrete,” Magazine of Concrete Research, V. 23, No. 75-76, 1971, pp. 99-110. doi: 10.1680/macr.1971.23.76.99
36. Nedderman, H., “Flexural Stress Distribution in Very-High Strength Concrete,” masterʼs thesis, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, 1973.
37. Kaar, P. H.; Hanson, N. W.; and Capell, H. T., “Stress-Strain Characteristics of High-Strength Concrete,” Douglas McHenry International Symposium on Concrete and Concrete Structures, SP-55, B. Bresler, ed., American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, MI, 1978, pp. 161-185.
38. Kaar, P. H.; Fiorato, A. E.; Carpenter, J. E.; and Corley, W. G., “Limiting Strains of Concrete Confined by Rectangular Hoops,” Research and Development Bulletin RD053.01D, American Cement Association, Washington, DC, 1978, 15 pp.
39. Swartz, S. E.; Nikaeen, A.; Narayan Babu, H. D.; Periyakaruppan, N.; and Refai, T. M. E., “Structural Bending Properties of Higher Strength Concrete,” High-Strength Concrete, SP-87, H. G. Russell, ed., American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, MI, 1985, pp. 147-178.
40. Pastor, J. A., “High-Strength Concrete Beams,” PhD thesis, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 1986, 311 pp.
41. Tan, T.-H., and Nguyen, N.-B., “Flexural Behavior of Confined High-Strength Concrete Columns,” ACI Structural Journal, V. 102, No. 2, Mar.-Apr. 2005, pp. 198-205. doi: 10.14359/14270
42. Khadiranaikar, R. B., and Awati, M. M., “Concrete Stress Distribution Factors for High-Performance Concrete,” Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE, V. 138, No. 3, 2012, pp. 402-415. doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)ST.1943-541X.0000465
43. CSA A23.3:19, “Design of Concrete Structures,” CSA Group, Toronto, ON, Canada, 2019, 301 pp.
44. EN 1992-1-1:2004, “Eurocode 2: Design of Concrete Structures - Part 1-1: General Rules and Rules for Buildings,” European Committee for Standardization, Brussels, Belgium, 2004, 227 pp.