REACTIVE POWDER CONCRETES: FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

Abstract

Reactive powder concretes (RPC) comprise a new family of portland cement based material and are essentially made of powders. Depending on their composition and the heat treatment to which they are subjected, the compressive strength of RPC can vary from about 200 MPa (29 ksi) when cured in hot water at 90 C (194 F) for three days to 800 MPa (120 ksi) when dry heated at 400 C (752 F). To ascertain the feasibility of producing RPC in industrial conditions, two full-size batches were made in October 1994. At the Universite de Sherbrooke, Quebec, a 2.6 cubic meter (3.4 cubic yards) batch was made in a ready-mix truck to simulate the fabrication of RPC in dry batch conditions; at the Beton Bolduc precast plant a 1.3 cubic meter (1.7 cubic yard) batch was made in a counter current pan mixer.