This paper presents research on the impact of fly ash addition on selected physical and mechanical parameters of concrete made with slag cement. Experimental tests were carried out to measure the migration of chloride ions in concrete, the tightness of concrete exposed to water under pressure, and the compressive strength and tensile strength of concrete during splitting. Six series of concrete mixes made with CEM IIIA 42.5 and 32.5 cement were tested. The base concrete mix was modified by adding fly ash as a partial cement substitute in the amounts of 25% and 33%. A comparative analysis of the obtained results indicates a significant improvement in tightness, especially in concrete based on CEM IIIA 32.5 cement and resistance to chloride ion penetration for the concretes containing fly ash additive. In the concretes containing fly ash additive, a slower rate of initial strength increase and high strength over a long period of maturation are shown. In accordance with the presented research results, it is suggested that changes to the European standardization system be considered, to allow the use of fly ash additive in concrete made with CEM IIIA 42.5 or 32.5 cement classes. Such a solution is not currently acceptable in standards in some European Countries.

An integral dynamic strength criterion for concrete is proposed, which accounts for the short duration stress history in the range idealized as elastic. The concept of critical value of generalized stress impulse, proposed by Campbell for steel, was applied to concrete. This was justified by means of experimental results in the literature, which confirm inelastic deformation delaying effects in concrete. Two material constants were determined by approximation of experimental data from dynamic tests in uniaxial compression. Results obtained on the basis of these material constants were compared to other experimental results or approximations of such results in order to show the quality of the chosen approach.

Concrete is one of the ancient and most widely used construction material

The purpose of this paper is to present a new approach for the modelling of post-tensioned beams with calibration of the FE model to experimental results until the load capacity and post-critical state are reached. Two post-tensioned beams with different nonlinear tendon layouts were analysed. Material testing for concrete, reinforcing steel and prestressing steel was performed prior to the experimental testing of the beams. The Hypermesh program was used to define the geometry of the spatial arrangement of the finite elements of the beams. The Abaqus/Explicit solver was used for numerical analysis. The concrete damage plasticity model was used to describe the behaviour of concrete with different laws of elastic–plastic stress–strain evolution for compression and tension. Elastic-hardening plastic constitutive models were used to describe the behaviour of steel components. An effective approach to modelling the load was developed, supported by the use of Rayleigh mass damping in an explicit procedure. The presented model approach ensures good agreement between numerical and experimental results. The crack patterns obtained in concrete reflect the actual behaviour of structural elements at every loading stage. Random imperfections found during experimental studies on the results of numerical analyses were also discussed.

In this work, we present an analysis of natural fine aggregates’ influence on the properties of ultra-high-strength concrete. The reference concrete mix was made of natural sand with the addition of fly ash and microsilica. It was assumed to obtain concrete with a very high strength without the addition of fibers and without special curing conditions, ensuring the required workability of the concrete mix corresponding to the consistency of class S3. The reference concrete mix was modified by replacing sand with granite and basalt aggregate in the same fractions. Five series of concrete mixes made with CEM I 52.5R cement were tested. Experimental investigations were carried out regarding the consistency of the concrete mix, the compressive strength, the flexural strength and the water absorption by hardened concrete. A comparative analysis of the obtained results indicated significant improvement in the concrete strength after the use of basalt aggregate. The strength of the concrete series based on basalt aggregate, BC1, allowed it to be classified as ultra-high-performance concrete. Concrete based on sand, SC1, was characterized by the lowest compressive and flexural strength but obtained the best workability of the mix and the lowest water absorption. The results presented in the paper, show a significant influence of the type of aggregate used on the mechanical and physical properties of ultra-high strength concrete.

The main purpose of the study was to propose a modification of Larrard’s formula for both the design and compressive-strength evaluation of ultra-high-performance concrete. The proposed modification consisted of the introduction of new parameters into the original formula that allowed it to consider the amount of binders and fine-grained aggregates, the amount of reinforcing fibers, the specimen shape and size, the curing time, and a reinterpretation of the water/cement ratio. The proposed modification was verified based on comparative analysis with the results of our own experimental studies and results taken from the literature. A very good convergence of these results was demonstrated, indicating the validity of the proposed modification.