Effect of Aggregate Size on the Spalling of High-Strength

Wall Panels Exposed to Hydrocarbon Fire

A. Z. Mohd Ali 1; Jay Sanjayan 2; and Maurice Guerrieri 3

Abstract: Concrete spalling has been widely accepted as being caused by a thermomechanical process resulting from high thermal gradients,
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as well as a moisture-clog process attributable to the buildup of pore-water pressure. The effect of aggregate size on the influence of concrete
spalling of tilt-up wall panels after exposure to a hydrocarbon fire is studied in this paper. Six reinforced high-strength concrete wall panels
3,360 × 3,880 × 200 mm in dimension, loaded by self-weight only and consisting of 7-, 14-, and 20-mm aggregate sizes were exposed to the
hydrocarbon fire curve for a period of 120 min. The specimens were approximately 70 MPa at the test date and were instrumented with in situ
thermocouples to predict steam pressures based on thermal diffusivity calculations. The degree of spalling was quantified by mass loss with
both solid mass and water mass being independently calculated. The concept of nominal spalling depth was introduced as a new way of
quantifying the degree of spalling. The results show that aggregate size is an influencing parameter in regard to concrete spalling, with the
degree of spalling ranging from 13 to 33%, respectively. Spalling is more prominent for smaller-size aggregates because of the facture-zone
process. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0002087. © 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
Author keywords: Aggregate size; Concrete; Facture-zone process; Hydrocarbon; Moisture clog; Pore pressure; Spalling; Temperature;
Thermomechanical.

Introduction cross-sectional size, and (2) rapid increases in temperatures of

The versatility and durability of concrete makes it the world’s most-
used artificial material (Raijiwala and Patil 2010). Concrete is a
popular construction material for everyday structures such as build-
ings, roads, tunnels, bridges, and nuclear reactors. It can withstand
various types of environmental conditions, including exposure to
fire. Fire represents one of the most severe environmental condi-
tions to which concrete structures may be subjected, especially
for high-fire-risk infrastructures like tunnels (Kim et al. 2010;
Khaliq and Kodur 2011).
The fire resistance of concrete made with ordinary portland ce-
ment (OPC) is considered to be superior to steel and timber in ad-
dition to its ability to be incombustible and not emit smoke when
exposed to fire. However, when concrete is exposed to prolonged
fire exposure, its strength deteriorates because of the breakdown
of the calcium silicate hydrate and other hydrates that govern the
strength of OPC concrete (Phan and Carino 1998; Mendes et al.
2008; Kodur 2014). Concrete at elevated temperatures is also
vulnerable to spalling, a phenomenon whereby small pieces of
concrete up to approximately 50 mm peel away from the surface
of the concrete, often explosive in nature (Kodur 2014). If the
degree of spalling is significant, the load-bearing capacity of the
concrete member can be reduced because of (1) reductions in its
1
Lecturer, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universiti
Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, 86400 Parit Raja, Johor, Malaysia.
2
Professor, Sustainable Infrastructures, Faculty of Science, Engineering
and Technology, Swinburne Univ., Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia.
3
Senior Lecturer, Centre of Environmental Safety and Risk Engineer-
ing, Victoria Univ., Werribee, VIC 3030, Australia (corresponding author).
E-mail: maurice.guerrieri@vu.edu.au
Note. This manuscript was submitted on May 21, 2016; approved on
May 31, 2017; published online on September 25, 2017. Discussion period
open until February 25, 2018; separate discussions must be submitted for
individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Materials in Civil
Engineering, © ASCE, ISSN 0899-1561.
the reinforcement.
Spalling has received worldwide attention since the 1960s
(Harmathy 1965), with further interest arising worldwide in response
to catastrophic fire events in three major European tunnels: Channel
Tunnel in 1996, Mont Blanc Tunnel in 1999, and St. Gotthard Tunnel
in 2002 (Khoury et al. 2002). These fires were similar to a hydro-
carbon fire (fuel-tanker fire), as mentioned by Khoury et al (2002).
A detailed literature review of the history of significant concrete
spalling findings has been carried out by Jansson (2013), which
dates back to the first reported case of spalling by Barret (1854).
Factors governing spalling including moisture clogs, pore pres-
sures, thermal stress, thermal dilation, and incompatibility between
cement paste and aggregate, all of which have been studied by a
number of prominent researchers (Anderberg 1997; Kalifa et al.
2000; Yang and Peng 2011a; Pan et al. 2012). Although a number
of key researchers believe spalling is governed by the buildup of
a pore-water pressure moisture-clog mechanism (Harmathy 1965;
Khoury 1992; Anderberg 1997; Harada and Terai 1997; Consolazio
et al. 1998; Kalifa et al. 2001; Khoury et al. 2002; Khoury 2008),
others believe spalling is caused by differential thermal gradients
within the concrete element (Bazant 1997; Ulm et al. 1999;
Nechnech et al. 2002). Current consensus has pointed toward
the combination of buildup of pore pressure and differential ther-
mal gradients (Bazant 1997; Kodur 2014; Khoury et al. 2002; Phan
2008; Jansson and Boström 2010).
Spalling is well known to be more likely in high-strength con-
crete subjected to hydrocarbon fire (Sanjayan and Stocks 1993).
Concrete structures exposed to fire have been found to still be con-
sidered stable because of the compression membrane action (Bailey
2002). However, spalling of the concrete at the soffit of the slab
exposes the bottom bar and reduces the flexural capacity of the slab
(Hertz 2003; Heo et al. 2010).
Several researchers have indicated that the high velocity of
spalling debris caused by explosive spalling should be considered
a failure criteria (Phan and Carino 1998; Yang and Peng 2011b).
This reflects the fact that high-velocity concrete debris could lead to

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 either injury to the firefighters or increase the fire load if the debris
punctures fuel tanks. These events have been observed in case studies
involving hydrocarbon fires in tunnels (Khoury et al. 2002).
The specimen-size-effect phenomenon has been shown to be an
active factor in regard to concrete spalling. Smaller-sized and more
slender specimens provide a shorter pathway for the moisture to
migrate from the specimen and prevent the buildup of pore pres-
sures that can cause concrete spalling because of the moisture-clog
mechanism (Sanjayan and Stocks 1993; Biolzi et al. 2008).
It has been shown that differential thermal gradients between the
cement paste and aggregate alters the fracture and energy release,
causing concrete spalling (Bazant and Kazemi 1990; Kanéma et al.
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the Rijkswaterstaat (RWS) curve for a period of 30 mins. Aggregate
size consisted of 16 and 25 mm separately for each mix, and the
polypropylene content was 0, 1, and 1.5 kg=m3 , respectively.
Results showed that in all cases, the maximum spalling depth in-
creased as the aggregate size increased. Although the aggregate-
size effect has been shown to be an influencing parameter on
concrete spalling, the results to date have concentrated on small-
scale specimens, apart from the works of Jansson and Bostrom
(2007), who did not measure the mass loss. This paper investigates
the influence of aggregate size on the performance of large-scale
high-strength concrete wall panels exposed to hydrocarbon fire.

2011; Pan et al. 2011). Differential thermal gradients are also re-
lated to the low thermal diffusivities of the concrete (Harmathy
1993). It has been shown that the type of aggregate has no bearing
on the degree of spalling when their linear expansion profiles under
heating are similar (Kong and Sanjayan 2008; Chen et al. 2014).
Only been four studies presented in the literature investigated the
influence of the aggregate size on concrete spalling. Pan et al (2012)
concluded that OPC concrete cylinders of 40 and 60 MPa, respec-
tively, increased their tendency to spall when the aggregate size was
reduced from a grading of 14–10 mm, 10–4.75 mm, and 4.75–
2.36 mm, respectively. A similar trend was reported when a geopol-
ymer concrete mixture was investigated. Explosive spalling was
evident in all cases for the 4.75–2.36 graded aggregate. The fracture-
zone process, which has explained the aggregate-size effect in stud-
ies related to mechanical properties including compressive-strength,
bending-strength, and shear-strength investigations (Chen and Liu
2004; Meddah et al. 2010; Pan et al. 2010), was postulated to explain
the findings presented by Pan et al (2012). Similar findings for geo-
polymer concretes with 2.36–5 mm and 5–10 mm aggregates were
reported by Kong and Sanjayan (2010), whereby explosive spalling
occurred at 420 and 505°C, respectively. Nince and De Figueiredo
(2005) investigated the spalling potential of concrete cube samples
that consisted of isolated 9.5, 19.5, and 32 mm granite aggregates
with compressive strengths in the order 60–79 MPa. Samples were
exposed to a hydrocarbon fire curve for 55 mins in order to
investigate the influence of aggregate size on spalling. Although
no explanation was given, the results showed that the small coarse
aggregates led to an increase in spalling.
The influence of aggregate size on the spalling performance
of concrete containing polypropylene fibers was investigated by
Jansson and Bostrom (2007). The results showed that although
polypropylene fibers do reduce concrete spalling, the degree of
spalling (measured by maximum spalling depth) was influenced
by aggregate size. Large slabs (1,800 × 1,200 × 300 mm) exposed
to a standard fire curve for 1 h showed that the maximum spalling
depth increased when the aggregate size increased from 16 to
25 mm. The spalling depths were 20 and 40 mm approximately,
and the polypropylene content was 1 kg=m3 . In another sample
of tests, small slabs of 500 × 600 × 300 mm were exposed to
Experimental Investigation
The materials used in this investigation along with the test proce-
dures and methods are described in this section. The research was
conducted at the Centre for Environmental Safety and Risk Engi-
neering (CESARE) at Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.
Material Properties
OPC was used as the binder with 25% of slag cement replacement
by weight for the concrete panels. The aggregates used in this in-
vestigation consisted of granite and basalt, which varied from 7, 14,
and 20 mm, respectively. In all concrete mixes, the water to binder
ratio was fixed at 0.272. Superplasticizers were introduced to
increase the workability to achieve a targeted slump of 150 mm.
Design strength for all concrete mixes was 70 MPa, with compres-
sive and tensile testing carried out at 28 days in accordance to AS
1012.9 (Australian Standards 1999). The concrete materials and
mixture proportions in addition to other relevant information used
in the fabrication of these concretes are provided in Table 1.
Test Specimens
A total of six wall specimens exposed to a hydrocarbon fire for
120 min were investigated in this paper. The walls were
3,380 mm ðwidthÞ × 3,360 mm ðheightÞ × 200 mm ðthicknessÞ in
dimensions. All specimens were reinforced with mild-strength
6-mm diameter bars and 100-mm spacing mesh at their centers.
The panels were tested in a vertical configuration under self-weight
only. Table 1 presents the test specimens, which have been iden-
tified by aggregate type because this is the parameter being inves-
tigated. For example, a specimen denoted LP7B is identified as the
wall panel with 7-mm basalt aggregate. A specimen denoted
LP20G represents the wall panel with 20-mm aggregate.
Specimen Preparation
All specimens were cast at a precasting yard (Hollowcore Pty) us-
ing commercially available equipment, and each specimen was

Table 1. Concrete Mixture Constituents and Properties

Aggregate
Aggregate type Coarse Fine Cement Water Water Superplasticizer 28-day compressive
(maximum size) (kg=m3 ) (kg=m3 ) (kg=m3 ) (kg=m3 ) binder ratio (L=m3 ) strength (MPa)
LP7B basalt (7 mm) 1,100 577 550 (25% slag) 150 0.27 7.5 (Viscoscreet, Sika Group, Germany) 69.4
LP14B basalt (14 mm) 1,100 577 550 (25% slag) 150 0.27 7.5 (Viscoscreet, Sika Group, Germany) 71.6
LP20B basalt (20 mm) 1,100 577 550 (25% slag) 150 0.27 7.5 (Viscoscreet, Sika Group, Germany) 70.7
LP7G granite (7 mm) 1,100 577 550 (25% Slag) 150 0.27 7.5 (Viscoscreet, Sika Group, Germany) 75.1
LP14G granite (14 mm) 1,100 577 550 (25% slag) 150 0.27 7.5 (Viscoscreet, Sika Group, Germany) 72.4
LP20G granite (20 mm) 1,100 577 550 (25% slag) 150 0.27 7.5 (Viscoscreet, Sika Group, Germany) 73.0

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 of surface moisture
Standard deviation
made from one batch of concrete. The aggregates were prepared so

content (%)
they were in a saturated surface-dry condition. After casting, the

0.10
0.15
0.03
0.12
0.17
0.14
specimens were covered with polyethylene sheets for 24 h. The
specimens were stripped at 24 h after casting and transported to
the laboratory at CESARE where they were allowed to air-dry in-
doors until the test date (85–90 days). During this time period, the
temperature was an average of 18  5°C, and the relative humidity
was 50  10%. Twelve test cylinders for each specimen were also
moisture content
Average surface

made, and they were cured under the same conditions and tested for
5.20
5.20
5.10
4.80
5.10
4.80
(%)

compressive strength and tensile strength at 28 days and on the test

day according to AS 1012.9 (Australian Standards 1999). The com-
pressive strength and tensile strength of the cylinders were taken as
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the average of three cylinders. The compressive strengths at 28 days

varied between 69.4 and 75.1 MPa with a standard deviation of
Standard deviation

test day (kg=m3 )

0.60–4.0 MPa. The tensile strengths at 28 days varied between

of density on

7.6 and 8.9 MPa with a standard deviation of 0.33–1.7 MPa.

11.00
12.42
10.12
8.33
7.23

4.00

Table 2 provides the compressive and tensile strengths at the test

date in addition to the densities and moisture contents of the spec-
imens. Although the cylinders represent the compressive and ten-
sile strength of the wall panels, five measuring points on the wall
specimens were tested for moisture content. These locations were
Average density
on test day

on the side of the specimen that was to be fire tested and at the
(kg=m3 )
2,482
2,484
2,475
2,474
2,494
2,492

following locations: (1) center, and (2) centroid of the quadrants

of the specimen. The locations of the moisture content readings
are shown in Fig. 1. The average moisture contents were between
Table 2. Concrete Compressive Strength, Tensile Strength, Density, Moisture Content, and Statistical Analysis at Test Date

4.80 and 5.20% for the specimens with a standard deviation in

the range of 0.03–0.17%. The moisture content readings were
Standard deviation

on test day (MPa)

of tensile strength

done using a Tramex CME4 (Cornell Group, Australia and

New Zealand) (accuracy within 0.2%, and which used
0.19
0.10
0.02
0.02
0.05
0.20

electromagnetic-wave technology to determine the moisture con-

tent) and represents the moisture content as an average between
the heated face and 25 mm within the specimen.
strength on test
Average tensile

In Situ Thermocouple Instrumentation

day (MPa)

Specimens were instrumented with Type K mineral insulated metal

9.3
8.1
9.6
8.5
8.2
9.3

sheath thermocouples (which are operational up to 1,100°C and are

2 mm in diameter). Thermocouples were placed and held in posi-
tion during the casting process and were located at the center of the
specimen at 25, 50, 75, 100, and 150 mm from the heated face. A
Standard deviation of
compressive strength
on test day (MPa)

thermocouple was also located at a depth of 200 mm, which re-

corded the temperatures at the heating surface. This is referred
3.46
0.60
4.00
1.95
1.47
0.85
Average compressive
strength on test
day (MPa)
71.0
73.2
71.0
77.2
74.7
75.1
fire test (days)
Age during

85
86
87
88
89
90
Specimen

LP14G
LP20G
LP14B
LP20B
LP7G
LP7B

Fig. 1. Moisture content location testing (on fire side prior to fire test)

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Fig. 2. Cross section of in situ thermocouple locations at 0, 25, 50, 75,
100, 150, and 200 mm
to the thermocouple at 0 mm. A surface-type thermocouple, which
consists of a disk pad and which is held against the measurement
surface, was used to record the temperatures on the nonexposed heat-
ing side at the center in accordance to AS 1530.4 (Australian
Standards 1997). This surface temperature is referred to as temper-
atures recorded at 200 mm. The locations of the thermocouples
are shown in Fig. 2.
Hydrocarbon Fire Test
The fire testing of the wall panels was conducted in a 3,200 ×
3,400 × 3,400 mm (W × H × D) furnace, which has a provision
that can allow wall specimens to be tested for exposure in a vertical
configuration, similar to tilt-up wall panels. The furnace is shown in
Fig. 3. The furnace is fitted out with two top and bottom burners,
allowing it to generate the hydrocarbon fire curve in accordance to
EN 1991-1-2 (European Standard 2005) as illustrated in Eq. (1).
The fire duration for all tests was planned for 120 min
T ¼ 1,080ð1 − 0.325e−0.167t − 0.675e−2.5t Þ þ 20 ð1Þ
where T = temperature (°C); and t = time (minutes).
Fig. 3. Hydrocarbon fire test furnace
© ASCE 04017237-4
J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2017, 29(12): 04017237
Fig. 4. Control thermocouples in furnace
The burners are positioned so that they are parallel to the
furnace, allowing the heat to be projected forward. The furnace
is equipped with six control type K thermocouples in three rows
of two as outlined in AS 1530.4 (Australian Standards 1997),
which are used to control the furnace temperatures and allow it
to follow the hydrocarbon fire curve. The thermocouples are posi-
tioned in a manner whereby they are 100  10 mm from the wall
specimen surface and are equally spaced vertically. A schematic of
this setup is shown in Fig. 4. In order to position the wall panels,
they needed to rest against the furnace perimeter (185 mm) width
section. Therefore, the exposed fire area was reduced from 3,380 ×
3,360 to 3,310 × 2,990 (W × H) and was approximately 9 m2.
Fig. 5 shows an example of the setup for the wall specimen denoted
LP7B.
Spalling Observations, Three-Dimensional Surface
Mapping Volume, and Mass Loss
Although it is common to quantify the degree of spalling from
measuring the difference in weight of the specimens before and
after fire exposure, this measure does not take into account the indi-
vidual components of concrete spalling, which include solid-mass
loss and water loss. During heating, material is spalled from the
specimen while water migrates out of the specimen and is either
evaporated or pooled on the surface. In order to determine the
breakdown of the solid mass and water mass spalled, the volume
of spalled material from the fire-exposed side was calculated. A
Fig. 5. Hydrocarbon fire test for Wall Specimen LP7B
J. Mater. Civ. Eng.
 Leica TPS1200+ tachymeter (Leica, Germany) was used to record trial-and-error basis based on the general equation heat equation
the depth of spalling (with an accuracy of within 0.1 mm) along the (Welty 1974) shown in Eq. (2)
width and height of the specimen at every 15 mm. This generated
an xyz terrain representing the spalling damage, which was devel- ∂ 2 T 1 ∂T
¼ ð2Þ
oped into three-dimensional (3D) contour maps using the computer ∂x2 k ∂t
software package OriginPro 8.5. A two-dimensional (2D) volume
where T = temperature; x = distance from the surface; K = thermal
integration was performed across the contour maps, which repre-
diffusivity; and t = time.
sents the total volume of concrete spalled from the surface and was
A central difference equation was used for second spatial
used to qualify and quantify the degree of mass loss. The density of
derivative
the cylinders was used in order to determine the solid-mass loss
based on the calculated volume of the specimen loss. ∂ 2 T T niþ1 − 2T ni þ T ni−1
¼ ð3Þ
∂x2 h2
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Nominal Spalling Depth Analysis where i = incremental distance step; n = incremental time step; and
h = total thickness of the wall specimen.
The concept of nominal depth has been introduced in this paper A forward equation was used for the first time derivative
in order to provide a relevant parameter to measure spalling among
specimens without being distorted by the weight difference of spec- ∂T T nþ1 − T ni
¼ i ð4Þ
imens with different geometries and thicknesses. The nominal ∂t Δt
spalling depth is defined as the volume of spalled material divided
where Δt = time interval.
by the area of the specimen exposed to heating. This new parameter
Therefore, the final equation for the thermal diffusivity calcu-
allows comparisons between spalling tests to be more definitive
lation was
because it eliminates the geometric and weight aspects of the speci-
 n 
men. This point can be illustrated by the example where if the thick- T iþ1 − 2T ni þ T ni−1
ness of the panel is increased, the percentage of spalling would not T nþ1
i ¼ kΔt þ T ni ð5Þ
h2
increase similarly. This indicates that beyond a certain thickness,
the thickness of the panel has a very minor effect on the spalling Trial values were entered for thermal diffusivity, K substituted
of the exposed concrete to fire. in Eq. (5), and the correct value of thermal diffusivity was deter-
mined when the temperature calculated from Eq. (5) equated to the
temperature from the experimental data.
Thermal Diffusivity Analysis

In order to predict pore pressures and the heat and transfer mecha-
nism within the concrete specimen, which are believed to be
major governing factors causing concrete spalling (Harmathy
1965; Khoury 1992; Anderberg 1997; Harada and Terai 1997;
Consolazio et al. 1998; Kalifa et al. 2001; Khoury et al. 2002;
Khoury 2008), the thermal diffusivity needs to be calculated. The
finite-difference back-calculation method at a depth of 50 mm mea-
sured from the fire-exposed side was used to calculate the thermal
diffusivity of the specimens. In this region, it is believed that the
moisture clog exists and represents a zone of maximum saturated
steam pressures. Thermal diffusivity values were calculated on a
Experimental Results and Discussion
The behavior of the concrete panels subjected to fire is discussed
under six categories: (1) thermal analysis; (2) spalling behavior and
nominal depth; (3) mass loss; (4) thermal diffusivity; (5) aggregate-
type effect; and (6) aggregate-size effect.
Thermal Analysis
Fig. 6 represents the furnace control thermocouples and indicates
that the average furnace temperature was approximately equal to

Fig. 6. Control furnace thermocouple data

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Fig. 7. In situ temperature profiles for wall specimens: (a) LP7B; (b) LP7G; (c) LP14B; (d) LP14G; (e) LP20B

the hydrocarbon fire curve. Fig. 7 presents a cluster of graphs il-
lustrating the in situ time–temperature profiles for the thermocou-
ples located in the wall specimens up to a period of 30 min. No data
are available for the 20-mm aggregate size granite specimen
(LP20G) because of damage to the thermocouple leads. No temper-
ature data are shown above 30 min either because no spalling was
recorded either visually or by acoustic means beyond this time for
all specimens. According to Crozier and Sanjayan (2000), explo-
sive spalling usually happens within the first 10 min of rapid fire
exposure when the temperature gradients are at the most extreme.
Beyond this time period, spalling is considered to be surface spall-
ing only up to a period of 30 min, when the specimens reach ther-
mal equilibrium, and then no further spalling occurs (Khoury and
Anderberg 2000).
Observations through the viewing ports at the back of the fur-
nace confirmed the findings of Crozier and Sanjayan (2000). In all
six tested wall panels, beyond 10 min, no explosive spalling was
witnessed. In addition, loud bangs were only heard up to a period of

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 Table 3. Time In Situ for Which Temperature Data Were Valid
Spalling depth Mins temp
(mm) valid—center
Specimen Center Maximum 25 mm 50 mm 75 mm 100 mm 150 mm
LP7B 31.2 197.0 11 28 120 120 120
LP14B 17.4 137.1 12 77 120 120 120
LP20B 9.3 101.1 12 115 120 120 120
LP7G 22.6 142.5 9 114 120 120 120
LP14G 27.5 118.7 12 97 120 120 120
LP20G 29.2 88.3 — — — — —
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Fig. 8. Concrete spalling of Wall Panel LP7B

10 min in all cases, indicating the presence of explosive spalling.

The in situ temperature data shown in Fig. 7 represent the classical
heat and mass transfer of a medium experiencing a high to low
temperature profile across its thickness. Fig. 7 shows that the tem-
perature at a 25-mm depth in all specimens steadily increased after
10 min (approximately reaching 200°C and beyond) and continued
to climb. Wall Specimen LP7B had a sudden temperature rise
at 11 min, when the temperature climbed from 200 to 800°C in
the space of 5 min. This represents the critical time period when
concrete spalling has occurred, given that the concrete cover has
been removed and the thermocouple recorded a sharp temperature
rise. Although it is difficult to determine whether the type of spall-
ing that occurred at this location was explosive in nature, coinci-
dently, it overlapped with loud bangs that were heard, indicating the
spalling was explosive. Popcorn popping sounds were also heard,
indicating surface spalling was occurring at that point in time and
other sections of the test specimen.
Table 3 presents a summary of the spalling depths at the center
of the specimens and the maximum spalling depth across the entire
specimen. In addition, based on the findings related to the in situ
temperatures and visual and acoustic observations, it was possible
to conclude the times when spalling occurred at the center. This is
referred to as the amount of time for which the thermocouples data
were valid.

Fig. 9. Concrete damage spalling contours of wall panels: (a) LP7B;

Spalling Behavior and Nominal Depth
(b) LP14G; (c) LP20B
Fig. 8 represents the LP7B wall specimen after fire testing, and
Fig. 9 represents the 3D spalling depth contour maps of Wall Panels
LP7B, LP14G, and LP20B. A summary of nominal spalling depth
for all wall panels taken, compared with the spalling depth at the LP7G, LP14B, and LP20G wall specimens. Therefore, no
center and maximum spalling depth across the specimens, is shown nominal-depth data can be presented for all wall specimens. It is
in Fig. 10. Because of time constraints, it was not possible to scan difficult to draw any scientific conclusion or explain any spalling
the surface profiles and generate spalling contour maps for the pattern across the wall specimens because it seems that the spalling

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Fig. 10. Spalling and nominal depths Fig. 11. Mass loss of wall specimens

observed was random and sporadic, as witnessed by other authors
(Phan 1996; Phan and Carino 1998; Phan et al. 2001). Based on
visual inspection of the wall specimens after the fire test, it is postu-
lated that the nominal depth is a more accurate measure and pro-
vides better representation of the degree of spalling of a specimen,
especially for one-sided heating.
Mass Loss
Table 4 and Fig. 11 qualify and quantify the degree of spalling in
terms of solid and water mass. During fire exposure, solid materials
are spalled from the surface while moisture is migrated out of the
specimen either through evaporation or pooling on the nonexposed
surface (Sanjayan and Stocks 1993). Using the calculated volumes
from the surface plot contours and using the densities of the spec-
imens (determined by weighing the representative cylinders), the
mass of the solid spalled concrete can be determined as shown
in Eq. (6)
ss ¼ density × volume ð6Þ
where ss = spalled solid mass.
The difference in weight of the specimens before and after heat
exposure represents the total spalling loss, which includes the total
amount of spalling (solid and water loss). Knowing the total spall-
ing loss and individual solid spalling mass, the spalled water mass
can be calculated as shown in Eqs. (7) and (8), respectively. These
percentages for each specimen are represented in Fig. 11
mb − ma ¼ ss þ sw ð7Þ
sw ¼ ðmb − ma − ss Þ ð8Þ
where mb = mass of the specimen before fire exposure; ma = mass
of the specimen after fire exposure; and sw = spalled water-mass
loss.
The specimen with 7-mm basalt aggregate exhibited the most
severe spalling, with 32.24% weight loss (30.38% solid mass
and 1.86% water mass). This corresponded to a nominal spalling
depth of 76.67 mm. Wall panels with 14- and 20-mm basalt aggre-
gates spalled 7.19 and 12.13%, respectively. Granite aggregate wall
panels’ total spalling percentages are 22.34, 23.47, and 13.51% for
the 7-, 14-, and 20-mm aggregate size, respectively.
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no literature has quanti-
fied spalling in terms of both solid and water losses. The pooling of
water on the nonexposed fire side, as witnessed in these tests and
the tests of others (Sanjayan and Stocks 1993), was first reported in
the tests by Woolson (1905). Jansson (2013) found that in order to
develop an accurate thermo-hydromechanical model for concrete
spalling, the modeling of the flow of water throughout the speci-
men and pooling on the unexposed fire size is a prerequesite. This
water pooling is postulated to be driven by the moisture-clog
mechanism, which is derived from loosely bound water (moisture
content) and chemically bound water, which becomes available be-
cause of the phase chanages of the concrete under elevated temper-
atures (Mendes et al. 2008).
Thermal Diffusivity
The in situ temperature data shown in Fig. 7 were used to calculate
the thermal diffusivity of concrete at various temperatures. The cal-
culation was based on temperatures up to a depth of 50 mm from
the fire-exposed surface. Based on the moisture-vapor model of
heated concrete (Connolly 1997; Khoury and Anderberg 2000),
a moisture-clog zone exist between the heated face to a certain
distance within the concrete sample. Between these regions, the
concrete matrix is saturated and the pore pressures are at their peak.
It is postulated that these peaks occur between the heated face and
up to a depth of 50 mm. Using the in-situ temperature data collected
at 0-, 25-, and 50-mm depths, respectively, at the center of the
specimen, thermal diffusivity of concrete was calculated at various

Table 4. Wall Specimen Spalling Data

Moisture Initial Mass Water Water Solid Water Nominal
content mass after Total mass Total mass content Solid volume Solid spalled spalled spalled spalled depth
Specimen (%) (kg) (kg) loss (kg) loss (%) (%) spalled (m3 ) mass (kg) mass (kg) (%) (%) (mm)
LP7B 5.20 5,639.0 3,821.2 1,817.8 32.24 11.49 0.69 1,713.0 104.7 30.38 1.86 76.67
LP14B 5.20 5,642.8 5,236.8 405.9 7.19 11.49 — — — — — —
LP20B 5.10 5,621.6 4,939.6 681.9 12.13 11.00 0.26 643.5 38.4 11.45 0.68 28.89
LP7G 4.80 5,620.8 4,365.1 1,255.6 22.34 12.51 — — — — — —
LP14G 5.10 5,665.5 4,335.7 1,329.7 23.47 12.37 0.51 1,272.1 57.6 22.45 1.02 56.67
LP20G 4.80 5,660.2 4,895.5 764.7 13.51 11.63 — — — — — —

© ASCE 04017237-8 J. Mater. Civ. Eng.

J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2017, 29(12): 04017237

Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by American University of Sharjah on 08/21/20. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Fig. 12. Thermal diffusivity versus temperature for the wall specimens
Table 5. Thermal Diffusivity, Saturated Temperature, and Corresponding
Steam Pressures for the Concrete Specimens
Variable LP7B LP7G LP14B LP14G LP20B
2
°Cmm
Local min k 10−6 0.35 0.10 0.07 0.15 0.1
s−1
Saturation temperature (°C) 120 113 130 110 155
Pressure (MPa) 0.097 0.057 0.169 0.042 0.442
temperatures using the method described earlier. This is shown
in Fig. 12.
A common value of thermal diffusivity for concrete at room
temperature is 0.75 × 10−6 m2 s−1 (Çengel 2003). All specimens
exhibited a sharp drop in thermal diffusivity at a certain tempera-
ture, which is indicated by the local minimums in Fig. 12. This
temperature envelope was within the range of 110–150°C. This
phenomenon is a result of the water changing from the liquid to
steam phase and the corresponding thermal capacity drop at this
point. At this temperature, there is an endothermic reaction
whereby the water in the concrete absorbs the heat to transform
into steam. This temperature can be defined as the saturated steam
temperature. The saturated steam temperature corresponds to steam
pressure, which is a fixed value. This value can be obtained from
standard steam tables (Spirax Sarco 2011). Values from saturated
steam pressures and saturated steam temperatures were used to es-
timate superheated steam pressure based on the in situ temperature.
Because the differences between these pressures are very small
(less than 5%), saturated steam pressures and superheated steam
pressures were considered interchangeable.
Table 5 presents the thermal diffusivity, saturated temperature,
and corresponding steam pressures for the concrete specimens. The
wall specimen containing 14-mm granite had the lowest saturated
steam temperature of 110°C, which corresponded to a steam pres-
sure of 0.042 MPa. Contrary to this, the specimen containing the
20-mm granite had the highest saturated steam temperature of
155°C, respectively, which corresponded to a saturated steam pres-
sure of 0.442 MPa.
At temperatures ranging from 110 to 155°C, the tensile strength
may decrease by no more than 10%, which will bring down the
tensile strength to approximately 7.30–8.60 MPa (Behnood and
Ghandehari 2009; Khaliq and Kodur 2011). This strength is signifi-
cantly larger than the in situ steam pressures created by the satu-
rated steam temperatures. It was assumed that the pore pressure and
tensile strength are constant across the entire surface area of the
© ASCE
J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2017, 29(12): 04017237
specimen because the wall panels did not bend or bow out during
the fire test. This was validated by using a string-plot LVDT posi-
tioned on the surface to measure any outwards or inwards move-
ment of the slab at the center. It can be assumed that the pore
pressure alone did not cause concrete spalling.
Various studies have shown that spalling is extremely difficult to
predict and analytically characterize. Often, explosive spalling has
occurred to only a few specimens from a larger group of specimens
that were subjected to identical testing conditions (Phan 1996; Phan
and Carino 1998; Phan et al. 2001). These irregularities arise be-
cause the nonhomogenous nature of concrete, various interdepend-
ent factors, and the fire exposure to which it has been subjected.
This erratic behavior makes it difficult to justify results and estab-
lish the mechanisms of spalling. There is consensus that the
combination of buildup of pore pressure and differential thermal
gradients in addition to other factors may cause concrete spalling
(Bazant 1997; Khoury and Anderberg 2000; Khoury et al. 2002;
Phan 2008; Jansson and Boström 2010). Aggregate type and size
are explained as possible contributors to spalling, as explained in
the next sections.
Aggregate-Type Effect
Basalt and granite were used in this study to study the effet of ag-
gregate type given that they are the most widely available aggre-
gates used in Australia. The main properties of interest in concrete
manufacturing is bulk specific gravity and water absorption (Chen
and Liu 2004). From Fig. 4 and Table 4, there is no clear trend in
the influence of aggregate type for these aggregates. Wall Specimen
LP7B had 32.34% spalling loss compared to 22.34% for LP7G.
The 14-mm wall specimens had 7.19 and 23.47% mass loss for
the basalt and granite aggregates respectively, whereas wall spec-
imens with 20-mm aggregates had 12.13 and 13.51% mass losses
for the basalt and granite aggregates. Naik et al. (2011) has shown
that the thermal expansion coefficient for these aggregates are sim-
ilar, 9.5 and 9.3 microstrain=°C, respectively; therefore, it is post-
ualted that aggregate type had no bearing on the spalling results.
Aggregate-Size Effect
Fig. 10 and Table 4 represent the spalling details of the wall spec-
imens. Because the thickness of the specimens is constant, the
spalling weights alone can be used to make relevant comparisons
and conclusions. Given that aggregate type is not considered a
04017237-9 J. Mater. Civ. Eng.
 factor affecting the spalling results in this investigation, it was not
used for the analysis herein. The basalt specimens showed that a
significant reduction in spalling occurred when the aggregate size
increased between 7 (LP7B) and 20 mm (LP20B). The total spall-
ing mass losses of these panels were 32.24 and 12.13%, respec-
tively. The 14-mm aggregate panel (LP14B) had a total mass
loss of 7.19%. In regard to the granite specimens, again, there
was a significant reduction in spalling when the aggregate size in-
creased from 7 to 20 mm, with total spalling mass losses of 22.34%
(LP7G) and 13.51% (LP20G), respectively. The 14-mm aggregate
panel (LP14G) had a total mass loss of 23.47%. Although there is
some discrepancy in the results, to some extent, these results indi-
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by American University of Sharjah on 08/21/20. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
cate that spalling of concrete is increased with a smaller aggre-
gate size.
However, the maximum spalling depths shown in Fig. 10 clearly
demonstrate that the maximum spalling depths across the entire
wall specimens decrease as the aggregate size increases for both
aggregate types. Maximum spalling depths are 197.04, 137.16,
and 101.12 mm for the 7-, 14-, and 20-mm aggregate sizes, respec-
tively, for the basalt specimens and 142.56, 118.74, and 88.34 mm
for the 7-, 14-, and 20-mm granite aggregate size specimens. These
findings are in disagreement with those of Jansson and Bostrom
(2007) who observed that the maximum spalling depth increased
when the aggregate size increased. However, no measure of the
weight loss of the specimens was made, and therefore it is difficult
to draw any valid conclusions. Considering that aggregate type has
been ruled out as a factor influencing spalling, nominal spalling
depths can be used to explain that aggregate size is a factor in re-
lation to concrete spalling. Wall panels with 7-mm basalt, 14-mm
granite, and 20-mm basalt had nominal spalling depths of 76.67,
56.67, and 58.89 mm, respectively.
The results in this paper showed that spalling increased with a
decrease in aggregate size when measured by maximum spalling
depth, mass loss, and nominal spalling depth, which are in align-
ment with the results of the findings of Kong and Sanjayan (2010),
Pan et al. (2012), and Nince and De Figueiredo (2005). Pan et al
(2012) postulated that the main reason why spalling is more prone
in specimens containing smaller aggregates is because the larger
aggregates provide a longer fracture process zone, which needs
greater kinetic energy to produce a crack. This is similar in concept
to the performance of the mechanical properties of concrete such
as bending and compressive strength increasing as the aggregate
size increases (Chen and Liu 2004, Meddah et al. 2010). Addition-
ally, it has been further postulated that larger aggregates act as
anchors and require the buildup of pore pressure to occur at a
deeper depth. For example, if 40-mm aggregates were used, it is
hypothesized that the pore-pressure buildup would need to occur
at a depth of at least 40 mm from the heated face to dislodge
the aggregate.
Conclusions
The following conclusions can be drawn from the results of the
experiments carried out for this paper:
• The aggregate-size effect on spalling was prominent when the
maximum aggregate size increased from 7 to 20 mm when spal-
ling is measured in terms of mass loss. However, this pattern
was not observed for the 14-mm aggregate size;
• When spalling is measured in terms of nominal depth and max-
imum spalling depth, wall panels had a higher nominal spalling
depth and maximum spalling depth as the aggregate size de-
creased. Spalling nominal depth is a better indicator when quan-
tifying and qualifying the degree of spalling;
© ASCE 04017237-10
J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2017, 29(12): 04017237
• Aggregate type (basalt and granite) does not exhibit any clear
trend on spalling depth. This is likely attributable to the similar
thermal expansion properties of basalt and granite;
• The tensile strength of the wall specimens during heating ranged
from 7.3 to 8.6 MPa, and the in situ pore pressures ranged from
0.042 to 0.442 MPa. The pore pressures were not significant to
cause spalling;
• It is speculated that the pore pressures were reduced because of
the migration of the in situ water, which pooled on the nonex-
posed side of the specimen; and
• It is postulated that spalling is more prone in specimens contain-
ing smaller aggregates because the larger aggregates provide a
longer fracture process zone, which needs greater kinetic energy
to produce a crack.
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