Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 66–81

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

High temperature resistance of concretes with GGBFS, waste glass

powder, and colemanite ore wastes after different cooling conditions
Muhammed Yasin Durgun a, Ahmet Hayrullah Sevinç b,⇑
a
Bartın University, Engineering Faculty, Civil Engineering Department, 74100, Kutlubey – Yazıcılar Campus, Bartın, Turkey
b _
Kahramanmarasß Istiklal University, Elbistan Vocational School of Higher Education, Construction Technology Program, 46340 Kahramanmarasß, Turkey

h i g h l i g h t s

 GGBFS, waste glass powder and colemanite ore wastes were evaluated.
 Colemanite ore waste significantly affected the residual strength.
 Colemanite ore wastes reduced the mass loss after high temperature.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Residual strength of the concrete members after being exposed to high temperatures is very important
Received 1 August 2018 for the structures. In this study, residual strengths of the concretes produced with ground granulated
Received in revised form 24 September blast furnace slag (GGBFS), waste glass powder (GP), and colemanite ore wastes (CW) were investigated.
2018
GGBFS and GP were used with the ratios 10%, 20%, and 30%, CW was used 1%, 3%, and 5% by weight. These
Accepted 11 November 2018
28 and 90-day cured concretes were exposed to 200, 400, 600, 800, and 1000 °C for 1 h. After this high
temperature treatment, the test samples were subjected to two different cooling regimes as water-
cooling and air-cooling. The residual strength of the concretes was investigated by compressive strength
Keywords:
Residual strength
tests. Besides, weight losses and ultrasonic pulse velocity results were investigated as well. Surface
High temperature defects of the samples were examined by the image analyze method and microstructure of the samples
Waste glass powder were evaluated by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) imaging. According to the results, colemanite ore
Colemanite ore waste waste containing concretes exhibited better performances than other series. In addition, up to 600 °C
GGBFS water-cooled samples had higher residual strength. This was changed in favor of air-cooling samples after
600 °C.
Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Fire safety is a very important problem for the reinforced con-
crete structures. With the developing technology, buildings have
been providing more qualified service and comfort for humankind
in the last century. New equipment, systems, and materials have
been used increasingly such as electrical applications and gas
usage. Nonetheless, these improvements increase the possibility
of fire in the buildings. Even if a fire does not always cause threat
to life, it may still cause serious damages for the structural member
and affects directly the safety and the service life of the structure
[1]. The thermal properties of the cement paste and the aggregates
are not totally the same. This difference creates internal stresses in
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: mydurgun@bartin.edu.tr (M.Y. Durgun), ahsevinc@ksu.edu.tr
(A.H. Sevinç).
the concrete and it generally ends up with cracking [2]. This is one
of the main problems for the concretes exposed to high tempera-
tures. These cracks weaken the mechanical properties of the con-
crete such as compressive strength and elastic modulus, and the
bond between aggregates and the cement matrix is loosened [3].
At the same time, the vapor pressure in the capillary pores
increases with the increase of the temperature. This may cause
explosive spalling [4]. Especially, high strength concretes are sig-
nificantly influenced by high temperatures, which lead to more
cracking and spalling [5]. Even different fibers were used in the
concretes subjected to high temperatures in order to reduce and
prevent the effects of the cracks [6,7].
Another reason that leads concrete to loss strength by high tem-
peratures is the decomposition of hydration products. Researchers
indicated that the decomposition of the cementitious matrix
begins over 105 °C. The first step of the chemical and physical
decomposition is releasing water in the pores and the chemically

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.11.087
0950-0618/Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 M.Y. Durgun, A.H. Sevinç / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 66–81 67

bound water in the structure of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H)
gels. This process is called dehydration [8,9]. In this step, other
hydrates and ettringite also starts to decompose. Besides, accord-
ing to the origin and type, aggregates may start to be affected
[9]. About 300–400 °C, chemically bonded interlayer water in C-
S-H gel evaporates. Also, the first micro-cracks start to occur in
the Ca(OH)2 and anhydrite cement zones [10]. At this step Ca
(OH)2 decomposes to CaO and H2O. At the heating step, decompo-
sition of Ca(OH)2 is not a critical reaction in terms of strength.
Nonetheless, in the cooling process, CaO may rehydrate to Ca
(OH)2 and this rehydration generates a serious volume expansion
of about 44% [11–13]. This volumetric expansion increases the
number of cracks. It is known that using mineral admixtures in
the cementitious materials consumes the Ca(OH)2. Therefore, min-
eral admixture containing concretes could be protected from the
detrimental effect of lime rehydration [13–17]. It is also known
that pozzolanic materials increase the fire resistance of the con-
cretes [18]. At 500–600 °C, carbonates begin to decompose and it
is reported that these temperatures generate irreversible damages
in the concrete because an important part of the main binding
phase of the concrete, i.e., C-S-H gel, decomposes. Over 800 °C, gen-
erally, almost the entire constituent of concrete decomposes,
which leads to significant strength and weight loss [8,19,20].
In recent years, in order to develop high temperature resistance,
mineral admixtures are being used in the mixtures. Among them,
fly ash [1,10,18,21,22], blast furnace slag [18,20,23], and silica
fume [21,22,24–26] are the most common ones. Waste glass pow-
der is being used in the concrete recently, and its pros and cons are
still being discussed. Glass is a non-biodegradable material. For
this very reason, glass wastes are a serious problem for the envi-
ronment with occupying a major part of the wastes and by-
products. In Turkey, according to 2017 data, 2% of total wastes
are constituted by glass wastes [27]. This number is 7% worldwide
in 2004 and it corresponds to 200 million tons of waste glass. Its
portion is predicted to be still 7% in 2025 [28]. Main component
of the glass is amorphous silica and it is being used as a pozzolanic
material by grounding finely [29]. It is reported that the utilization
of glass powder reduced the Ca(OH)2 amount as well as the ther-
mal conductivity [30]. Besides, glass powder usage reduced the
degradation and spalling of the high-strength concretes under high
temperatures [31]. Some research results indicated that it is possi-
ble to produce high temperature resistant concretes [32] but stud-
ies in this field are very limited in the literature.
samples were investigated. Besides, weight losses were measured
and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) tests were performed. Surface
cracking of samples was investigated by image processing tech-
nique. Moreover, microstructures of samples after high tempera-
ture exposure were investigated by SEM images.
2. Experimental study
2.1. Materials
CEM I 42.5 type cement used according to TS EN 197-1. GGBFS was obtained
from ISDEMIR (Iskenderun Iron and Steel Works Co.). CW was obtained from ETI
Mine Works and the GP was obtained from MARCAM Heating Co., which is active
in the Kahramanmarasß region. Materials were obtained as in grounded forms from
the suppliers. The chemical and physical properties of the materials are given in
Table 1. As fine aggregate 0–4 mm crushed sand, and as coarse aggregate 4–
10 mm calcareous crushed stone were used. Properties of aggregates are given in
Table 2.
2.2. Mix proportions
The mixture proportions are given in Table 3. GGBFS, GP, and CW are denoted as
‘‘S”, ‘‘G”, and ‘‘C” in the table, respectively. GGBFS and GP were used 10%, 20%, and
30% instead of cement by weight. Merely, CW was used 1%, 3%, and 5%. Because it is
reported that boron-containing minerals, e.g., colemanite ore and colemanite ore
wastes, have a retarding effect on hydration of the cement-based systems. There-
fore, it is advised to use these materials in very small amounts [45].
2.3. Testing procedure
In the experimental study, 50 mm cubic samples were used. All samples were
cured in lime-saturated tap water at 21–23 °C for 7, 28, and 90 days. Compressive
strength [46], splitting tensile strength [47], and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV)
tests [48] were performed on the samples. Besides, the weights of all samples were
measured. In order to determine the high temperature resistance of 28 and 90-day
samples, concretes were subjected to 200, 400, 600, 800, and 1000 °C heats, sepa-
rately. An electric oven was used for high temperature tests (Fig. 1). The tempera-
ture increment was 5 °C/min. The samples kept at peak temperature for 1 h. After
the heating process, the samples produced for air-cooling were taken into room
temperature for cooling itself, and the samples produced for water-cooling were
submerged into a water tank. New dry weights of cured samples were measured
to determine the weight change. Besides, compressive strength and UPV tests were
performed again. In addition, in order to investigate the surface cracks, visuals of
every single sample were taken. SEM images were used to investigate the
microstructure of samples after high temperatures.
Table 1
Physical and chemical properties of materials.

It is known that Turkey is very rich by boron reserves. According Compounds (%) Cement GGBFS Waste Colemanite
to the 2017 reports, 73.4% of boron reserves of the world are in Glass Ore Waste
Turkey, which is approximately 948,712 thousand tons. Coleman- Powder

ite is the most common mineral among B2O3 containing minerals Chemical analysis results
[33]. Concentrators and plants produce boron by-products and SiO2 18.63 40.29 71.12 34.54
Al2O3 5.38 12.56 0.81 9.82
these materials create environmental pollution as well [34]. There Fe2O3 2.80 1.13 0.23 5.11
are a few studies on utilizing colemanite and colemanite ore CaO 64.39 35.20 9.27 12.57
wastes in cementitious materials for different purposes [34–40]. MgO 3.41 8.35 4.07 –
The results of the studies in the literature are encouraging the SO3 2.47 – 0.24 –
Na2O + K2O 0.60 – 13.13 –
use of boron minerals in cement-based materials.
B2O3 – – – 18.85
It is reported that the changes in the structure of the concrete Loss on ignition (%) 0.53 – – 10.62
exposed to high temperatures also affected by post-heating prop-
Physical analysis results
erties. The residual strength of the concrete is changed by different Specific Weight 3.14 2.88 2.74 2.42
cooling conditions. Lately, effect of different cooling conditions on Fineness 3310 cm2/g 5500 cm2/g <40 mm < 40 mm
residual strength after high temperatures have been investigated
[24,41–44].
In this study, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS),
Table 2
waste glass powder (GP), and colemanite ore wastes (CW) were Properties of aggregates.
used instead of cement. The concrete samples were cured for 28
Property Sand (0–4 mm) Crushed Stone (4–10 mm)
and 90 days and samples exposed to 200, 400, 600, 800, and
1000 °C after the curing. Two different cooling regimes were sub- Specific gravity 2.71 2.78
Water absorption (%) 1.80 1.03
jected to the hot samples: air-cooling and water-cooling. Then,
Fineness modulus 3.75 6.82
the residual compressive and splitting tensile strengths of the
68 M.Y. Durgun, A.H. Sevinç / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 66–81

Table 3
Mixture proportions.

Cement Water Fine Aggregate Coarse Aggregate GGBFS GP CW

(kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3)
R 320 160 1248.0 740 – – –
S10 288 160 1245.5 740 32 – –
S20 256 160 1243.0 740 64 – –
S30 224 160 1240.5 740 96 – –
G10 288 160 1244.0 740 – 32 –
G20 256 160 1239.9 740 – 64 –
G30 224 160 1235.9 740 – 96 –
C1 316.8 160 1247.2 740 – – 3.2
C3 310.4 160 1245.5 740 – – 9.6
C5 304 160 1243.9 740 – – 16

results of the GP containing groups can be related to the slow rate

of pozzolanic reaction of GP. Hence, it is proposed that GP can
reduce the early strength [49]. Regarding the 28-day samples,
G10, C1, and C3 samples are higher than the reference, and G10
is the highest while G30 is the lowest one. Findings in the literature
also support that, the optimum dosage for CW is 3% [35]. G10 sam-
ple found still the highest one after 90 days. It is considered that at
later ages, dissolving gradually, GP reacts with Ca+2 and forms
extra C-S-H gels [49]. Splitting tensile and UPV test results have
shown similar results to the compressive strength results. Admix-
tures are slightly increased the slump value of the fresh mixtures,
but the changes are not significant.

3.2. Residual compressive strength results

Residual compressive strengths of the samples after 200, 400,

Fig. 1. Electric oven.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and UPV results
7, 28, and 90-day compressive strength, splitting tensile
strength, and UPV results before high temperature exposure are
given in Table 4. Slump values of the fresh mixture also repre-
sented in the same table.
According to the 7-day compressive strength results, all
admixture-containing groups gave lower values than the reference
sample. G30 sample is the lowest one among all. At early ages,
600, 800, and 1000 °C are given in Tables 5 and 6 for 28 and
90 days, respectively.
Relative residual compressive strength values are given in Figs. 2
and 3. Compressive strength results at room temperature (25 °C)
evaluated as 100% and the compressive strength changes are illus-
trated in these figures according to reference values.
According to the 28-day results, highest compressive strength
values were obtained after 200 °C. It can be seen that compressive
strength values increased at 200 °C. The highest value was
obtained from water-cooled G10 sample after 200 °C temperature.
The lowest values were obtained after 1000 °C in air-cooling.
Water-cooled samples were completely deteriorated after
1000 °C. Therefore, the results of 1000 °C water-cooling group are
missing in the tables and figures.
The increment after 200 °C changes between 1.1 and 6% and 4–
10.5% after air-cooling and water-cooling respectively. Following
that, strength values are gradually decreased. The decrement after
water-cooling changes between 7.8 and 12.7%, 20.2–28.5%, and
66.1–81% after 400, 600, and 800 °C, respectively. These values
changes to 14.8–26%, 29.6–40.7%, and 57.1–72.3% after air-

Table 4
Compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, UPV and, slump results.

Compressive Strength (MPa) Splitting Tensile Strength (MPa) UPV (m/s) Slump (mm)
7d 28 d 90 d 7d 28 d 90 d 7d 28 d 90 d
R 38.97 51.61 55.73 7.76 10.50 11.56 4838 5161 5289 81
S10 35.26 51.35 56.50 7.66 10.06 11.72 4824 5145 5339 85
S20 32.41 47.45 52.65 7.45 10.17 11.14 4770 5061 5205 87
S30 32.99 49.17 54.04 7.58 10.03 11.44 4799 5145 5241 88
G10 37.35 53.38 58.98 7.70 11.01 12.01 4848 5233 5465 83
G20 35.11 48.88 56.86 6.84 10.18 11.41 4621 5092 5392 84
G30 30.70 47.06 54.62 6.88 9.78 10.66 4716 5045 5312 86
C1 37.64 51.85 56.15 7.53 10.85 11.45 4798 5188 5339 82
C3 38.89 52.79 57.89 8.13 10.93 11.92 4812 5188 5398 82
C5 36.04 47.85 51.85 7.49 8.85 10.85 4798 5061 5145 83
 M.Y. Durgun, A.H. Sevinç / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 66–81 69

Table 5
Residual compressive strength results at 28 days.

25 °C Air Cooling (MPa) Water Cooling (MPa)

200 °C 400 °C 600 °C 800 °C 1000 °C 200 °C 400 °C 600 °C 800 °C 1000 °C
R 51.6 52.8 41.4 33.6 20.1 8.3 53.9 45.8 38.6 14.5 Completely Deteriorated
S10 51.4 54.4 42.6 35.0 21.2 9.6 55.6 46.8 39.2 16.3
S20 47.5 48.4 37.1 30.6 17.4 6.5 50.3 41.4 34.4 11.5
S30 49.2 50.8 39.3 32.7 18.4 7.4 53.2 43.3 36.2 13.3
G10 53.4 56.1 44.8 36.8 19.9 8.4 59.0 49.0 41.5 14.7
G20 48.9 50.6 40.0 30.8 15.7 6.2 52.9 43.5 36.3 11.3
G30 47.1 47.1 37.6 27.9 13.1 5.4 50.0 41.3 33.7 8.9
C1 51.9 53.6 43.0 35.0 21.0 10.1 54.9 47.1 39.7 16.0
C3 52.8 55.9 45.0 37.2 22.7 12.1 57.0 48.7 42.1 17.9
C5 47.9 48.4 35.4 31.0 17.5 9.1 49.8 40.1 35.3 13.3

Table 6
Residual compressive strength results at 90 days.

25 °C Air Cooling Water Cooling

200 °C 400 °C 600 °C 800 °C 1000 °C 200 °C 400 °C 600 °C 800 °C 1000 °C
R 55.7 58.5 47.8 37.7 22.5 12.3 59.0 50.6 42.2 17.4 Completely Deteriorated
S10 56.5 60.7 49.8 40.2 24.7 14.8 62.5 52.8 44.6 19.3
S20 52.7 54.8 43.8 34.5 19.8 10.4 57.8 46.9 38.8 14.8
S30 54.0 57.6 46.0 36.8 21.2 10.9 60.8 49.1 40.5 16.1
G10 59.0 63.4 52.5 40.5 22.7 12.2 67.5 54.9 47.0 17.8
G20 54.6 57.8 47.7 36.2 18.8 9.7 61.7 49.9 41.2 14.1
G30 52.9 54.0 44.6 33.0 16.1 8.4 58.2 47.9 38.8 11.1
C1 56.2 59.4 49.5 38.7 23.2 14.5 60.1 50.8 43.7 18.5
C3 57.9 62.0 51.9 42.1 26.4 17.1 64.0 54.0 46.9 21.3
C5 51.9 53.0 43.3 33.7 20.2 11.9 54.0 45.7 38.4 16.3

cooling, respectively. At 1000 °C, decrement values are the highest
changing between the ranges of 77.1–88.5%.
90-day results showed that compressive strength changes have
the same trend as the 28-day results. Similarly, there is an incre-
ment after 200 °C. After water-cooling, the increment changes ran-
ged between 4.2 and 14.5%. The highest increment was obtained
from G10 sample. These values are 2.1–7.5% after air-cooling.
Water-cooled samples have lost their compressive strength in
the range of 6.6–11.8%, 18.9–26.6%, and 63.2–79% after 400, 600,
and 800 °C, respectively. Air-cooled samples lost their compressive
strength in the ranges of 10.3–16.8%, 27.3–37.6%, and 54.4–69.6%,
respectively. The results decreased in the range of 70.5–84.1% after
1000 °C.
According to the 90-day results, after 200 °C, both at air and
water-cooling, compressive strength increment was higher than
28-day results. This increment can be related to the evaporation
of the free moisture. By this way, gel layers gets closer to each
other and this constitutes stronger Van der Waal’s forces between
the layers [10,50,51]. The strength decrements at 28 and 90 days
after 400, 600, 800, and 1000 °C are similar but the decrement
ratios are lower for 90-day samples.
In general, both at 28 and 90-day trials, after lower tempera-
tures (below 600 °C) C5 sample has the lowest values, in terms
of compressive strength and residual compressive strength. Over
600 °C, G30 sample has the lowest values. Highest results obtained
from C3, G10 and S10 samples up to 600 °C. After 600 °C, C3 sam-
ple has the highest results. Colemanite wastes can be used in the
Portland cement composites up to 7% [36]. Nevertheless, this can
change according to the boron content of the waste; because boron
compounds have a retarding effect on cement hydration. It is
reported in the literature that the presence of the boron minerals
in the cementitious system creates a protective layer around the
cement particles and this layer prevents the contact between water
and the cement particles. This directly affects the hydration mech-
anism of cementitious materials [52]. It is further known that,
boron-containing additives increase the strength of the cement
based composites [35]. It can be understood from the literature
that there is a critical threshold in terms of increasing the strength
and controlling the setting time. For this reason, in some trials, the
highest results were obtained from C3 series and the lowest results
were obtained from C5 series. Below 600 °C, GP containing groups
have had average results. As a pozzolanic material, this can be
attributed to the portlandite consumption of the admixture, since
one of the reasons responsible for the strength loss is the decom-
position of portlandite. On the other hand, it can be seen that, over
600 °C, high GP containing samples have the lowest results. This
can be attributed to the transformation and softening of the glass
particles between 500 and 600 °C [30].
When the effect of water and air-cooling processes compared
on the heated samples, up to 600 °C air-cooled samples have lower
strengths. Air-cooled samples were exposed to atmospheric condi-
tion longer than water-cooled samples. By this time, CaO produced
by decomposition of CaCO3, transforms back and this transforma-
tion generates a volume expansion [53]. Therefore, higher number
of cracks occur in the structure. Over 600 °C, water-cooled samples
have lower strengths. This can be attributed to the thermal shock
by the rapid cooling of the water at these higher temperatures
[42,44].
3.3. UPV results after high temperature
The UPV results before and after the high temperature exposure
are illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5.
It is known that there is a relation between the mechanical
properties and UPV results. UPV results depend on the pore struc-
ture and the density of the sample [54]. For all temperature levels,
before the high temperature test, UPV values of the samples were
measured. These reference values at 28 days are changing between
5017 and 5245 m/s. After high temperature exposure, UPV values
of same samples were measured again. For 200 °C, results of air
70 M.Y. Durgun, A.H. Sevinç / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 66–81
Fig. 2. Relative residual compressive strengths of samples at 28 days (a) S series (b) G series (c) C series.
and water-cooling changes are between 5116 and 5263 m/s and
5188–5365 m/s, respectively. It can be seen that the UPV results
were increased at this temperature level. At 400 °C, results change
between 4488 and 4805 m/s for air-cooling and 4651–4965 m/s for
water-cooling. These results decrease to the ranges between 3883
and 4485 m/s and 4228–4582 m/s for 600 °C, respectively. Up to
600 °C, these results indicate that the pore structures of the
water-cooled samples are denser than air-cooled series. These
results also support the residual compressive strength results. At
800 °C, results change between 2203 and 2791 m/s and 1835–
2185 m/s for air and water-cooling, respectively. Water-cooled
samples were completely damaged at 1000 °C, therefore, UPV tests
could performed only for air-cooled series. These results are
between 1381 and 2289 m/s. It can be seen that at 800 °C and
1000 °C water-cooled series have more damaged and porous struc-
ture. These findings can be explained by the impact of thermal
shock mentioned in the previous section [42,44].
Reference UPV values before the high-temperature exposure at
90 days change between 5161 and 5389 m/s. At 90 days, the high-
est UPV values were obtained from 200 °C series and the results
changes between 5286 and 5498 m/s and 5305–5556 m/s for air
and water-cooling, respectively. The lowest values were obtained
from 1000 °C air-cooling, as between 1874 and 2330 m/s. 1000 °C
water cooling series were completely damaged like 28-day group.
The 90-day results have a very similar trend to the 28-day results.
After 600 °C, the lowest UPV results have been obtained from G30
sample. These findings will further discussed in the next section. In
general, C3 samples have higher values of UPV. The performed
studies in the literature also support that B2O3 containing admix-
tures form denser structure than plain concrete [36,52]. Besides,
colemanite is a hydrated calcium borate and it is able to release
the water in its chemical structure under high temperature due
to the degradation. This released water may preserve the concrete
from the harmful effects of high temperatures [55].
The correlation of the UPV results and the compressive strength
results is given in Table 7. It can be seen from the R2 results; in gen-
eral, there is a strong correlation between UPV results and the
residual compressive strength. Thus, it can be understood that
the trend of UPV results is very similar to the residual compressive
strength results.
3.4. Mass losses after high temperature
Mass losses of the concrete samples after high-temperature
exposure for 28 and 90 days were given in Figs. 6 and 7,
respectively.
At all temperature levels, both at air and water-cooling, the
highest mass loss was obtained from the G30 sample. The losses
 M.Y. Durgun, A.H. Sevinç / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 66–81
Fig. 3. Relative residual compressive strengths of samples at 90 days (a) S series (b) G series (c) C series.
were 2.01%, 3.06%, 4.13%, 7.65%, and 21.95% for air-cooling and
1.79%, 2.59%, 3.85%, and 9.51% for water-cooling, respectively, from
the lowest to the highest temperature levels at the 28-day group.
At 90 days they were, for air-cooled samples; 1.10%, 2.10%, 3.90%,
6.83%, and 21.80% and for water-cooled samples; 1.04%, 1.94%,
3.62%, and 7.27%, respectively. It is reported that in the literature,
over 600 °C, GP incorporating pastes perform higher shrinkage
than plain cement pastes. This value is approximately 3 times
higher than plain cement paste. This situation is attributed to the
glass transformation of the glass particles from hard state to
rubber-like state [30]. These huge volumetric changes affect the
hardened structure of the concrete. In general, CW incorporating
samples have the lowest mass loss. In this group up to 800 °C, C5
sample has the lowest mass loss and at 1000 °C, C3 has the lowest
loss. At 28 days, C5 samples up to 800 °C have 1.67%, 2.39%, 2.95%,
and 3.87% mass loss after air-cooling. These values are 1.45%,
2.13%, 2.55%, and 5.61% for water-cooling, respectively. C3 sample
at 1000 °C has 16.05% mass loss for air-cooling at 28 days. At
90 days, C5 sample has 0.75%, 1.78%, 2.54%, and 3.67% mass loss
for air-cooling up to 800 °C and 0.68%, 1.58%, 2.36%, and 3.85%
for water cooling, respectively. C3 sample has 9.92% mass loss for
1000 °C air-cooling. Findings of previous studies indicate that the
boron compounds in the cementitious systems develop the bridg-
ing between the particles. This greater bridging increases the
71
bonding between the particles, and the strength of the structure
increases [37]. These low mass loss results of CW containing sam-
ples can be attributed to this feature.
Water-cooling samples have lower mass loss values up to
600 °C. After 600 °C, air-cooling samples have lower values. Fur-
thermore, these results coincide with the compressive strength
and the UPV results.
3.5. Visual examinations
According to the visual examinations, at 200 °C and 400 °C,
there are no significant cracks on the surfaces. For 28-day samples,
significant cracking started from 600 °C. It was also impossible to
investigate the surface defects for 800 °C and 1000 °C water cool-
ing series. At 800 °C, the surface was completely spalled and at
1000 °C, samples completely deteriorated, such as melted. In
Fig. 8, some series were chosen among best and the worst perfor-
mance giving groups for 28 days. For 90-day samples, it is hard to
see significant cracks below 800 °C (see Fig. 9). In order to deter-
mine the crack patterns and the area occupied by the cracks and
defects on the sample surfaces, image analysis techniques were
used. Surface photographs of the samples were taken and the
images were transformed into black and white format and the area
of the cracks and defects on the surfaces were calculated. In these
72 M.Y. Durgun, A.H. Sevinç / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 66–81

images, original undamaged areas are shown by white pixels. In the black pixels in the entire image is detected and the results
contrast, cracked and damaged areas are shown by black pixels obtained are given in Table 8. Fig. 10 shows some of the selected
by the software package. Using this package, the proportion of images used for the calculation. According to the 28-day analysis,

Fig. 4. 28-Day UPV test results (a) 200 °C (b) 400 °C (c) 600 °C (d) 800 °C (e) 1000 °C.
 M.Y. Durgun, A.H. Sevinç / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 66–81 73

Fig. 5. 90-day UPV test results (a) 200 °C (b) 400 °C (c) 600 °C (d) 800 °C (e) 1000 °C.

for 600 °C, 800 °C, and 1000 °C air-cooled samples, the highest 90 days, the highest defect ratios for 800 °C water-cooling and
deterioration value was obtained from R samples. Only 600 °C 1000 °C air-cooling were obtained from the G30 sample and for
water-cooling group was different from others for the G20. At 800 °C air-cooling, from the C1 sample. For both curing days
74 M.Y. Durgun, A.H. Sevinç / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 66–81

Table 7
Correlation between UPV results and residual compressive strengths.

Temperature Cooling Method 28 days 90 days

2
Equation R Equation R2
200 °C Air Cooling y = 17.413x + 4344.9 0.8656 y = 20.921x + 4140.7 0.8548
Water Cooling y = 16.084x + 4359.2 0.9244 y = 17.777x + 4329.6 0.7598
400 °C Air Cooling y = 38.927x + 3064.2 0.9775 y = 52.179x + 2402.5 0.9487
Water Cooling y = 32.675x + 3328.5 0.9772 y = 47.866x + 2542.5 0.9669
600 °C Air Cooling y = 37.059x + 3018.7 0.9629 y = 36.785x + 3291.4 0.9671
Water Cooling y = 66.765x + 2005.9 0.9756 y = 40.397x + 3044.9 0.9684
800 °C Air Cooling y = 33.028x + 1616 0.5798 y = 69.943x + 1107.3 0.9602
Water Cooling y = 51.738x + 1541.5 0.7017 y = 67.333x + 1395.8 0.9607
1000 °C Air Cooling y = 147.3x + 594.19 0.9458 y = 52.861x + 1449.6 0.8501
Water Cooling Completely Deteriorated

Fig. 6. Mass losses of 28-day samples (a) air cooling (b) water cooling.

Fig. 7. Mass losses of 90-day samples (a) air cooling (b) water cooling.
M.Y. Durgun, A.H. Sevinç / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 66–81 75

Fig. 8. Visuals of selected series at 28 days.

76 M.Y. Durgun, A.H. Sevinç / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 66–81

Fig. 9. Visuals of selected series at 90 days.

Table 8
Ratios of surface cracks and defects after high temperature exposure.

Mixtures Crack and Defect Ratio (%)

28 days 90 days
600 °C-A 600 °C-W 800 °C-A 1000 °C-A 800 °C-A 800 °C-W 1000 °C-A
R 4.84 1.53 8.51 16.12 1.05 11.81 10.81
S10 1.12 0.83 5.03 14.73 0.75 3.26 8.87
S20 2.04 1.07 4.16 9.36 0.78 6.06 15.12
S30 3.63 1.87 7.87 6.20 0.96 9.17 12.66
G10 3.85 2.85 4.89 9.26 0.82 3.89 12.33
G20 4.22 3.44 5.15 10.03 1.01 6.42 16.81
G30 2.76 1.79 5.79 12.93 0.89 25.51 19.64
C1 1.25 1.15 5.68 7.70 3.66 4.17 8.53
C3 0.76 0.25 3.20 4.47 0.68 2.68 2.17
C5 1.32 1.18 4.42 6.83 0.95 8.83 15.33
M.Y. Durgun, A.H. Sevinç / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 66–81 77

Fig. 10. Visuals of selected samples and their black-white images for analysis.
78 M.Y. Durgun, A.H. Sevinç / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 66–81

among all samples, lowest deteriorations were obtained from C3
samples.
3.6. Microstructure examinations
The SEM images of the C3 series in order to see the microstruc-
ture changes are shown in Figs. 11 and 12. In general, almost all of
the tests indicated that the best performance was obtained from C3
series. This is the reason for selecting the C3 series for the
microstructure examination. At 28 days, it can be seen that, before
high temperature exposure, there is a dense microstructure and
the number of the voids are very small. It was mentioned at the
previous section that there is no significant cracking before
800 °C. Therefore, the microstructure examination was focused
on 800 °C and 1000 °C. It can be seen from Fig. 11(b–d), after
800 °C micro-cracks have occurred in the cement paste matrix.
After water-cooling, there are significant cracks in the interfacial
transition zone (ITZ). After 1000 °C, it can be obviously seen that
the hydration products completely damaged. After high tempera-
tures, C-S-H gel structure experienced dehydration and the struc-
ture of the gel changed. Moreover, from the Fig. 11(e) and (f) the
damages of the structure of CH crystals can be seen. From Fig. 12
(a), the denser structure of the cement paste matrix can be seen
due to the hydration development. After 800 °C air-cooling, it is

Fig. 11. SEM images of 28-day samples.

 M.Y. Durgun, A.H. Sevinç / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 66–81 79

Fig. 12. SEM images of 90-day samples.

hard to see significant changes in terms of cracking. However, after
water-cooling, there are some micro-cracks in the matrix and the
ITZ. After 1000 °C, the change in the C-S-H gel structure can be
seen. There are significant micro-cracks in the cement matrix.
From the Figs. 11 and 12, it is seen that 90-day samples experi-
enced lower microstructure changes than 28-day groups.
4. Conclusions
Strength, mass loss, and UPV properties of concretes produced
with waste materials (GGBFS, GP, and CW) after high temperature
(from 200 °C to 1000 °C) exposure were experimentally investi-
gated. According to the experimental studies and the results
obtained, the following conclusions can be drawn;
1- Before exposure to the high temperature, the G10 sample
has the highest compressive strength results in both 28
and 90-day samples. Splitting tensile test and UPV results
have supported that finding as well.
2- At 28 days, after 200 °C water-cooling, the highest residual
strength was obtained from G10 and the lowest was
obtained from C5. On the other hand, after air-cooling, the
highest was C3 and lowest was G30. These residual strength
80 M.Y. Durgun, A.H. Sevinç / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 66–81
values are both for air and water-cooling are C3 and C5,
respectively, for 400 °C. Over 400 °C, for all series and the
cooling regimes, the highest residual strength was obtained
from C3 and the lowest was G30.
3- At 90 days, both for air and water-cooling after 200 °C, the
highest residual strength was obtained from G10 and the
lowest was from C5. At 400 °C for water-cooling, these
results were S10 and C5 and for air-cooling C3 and S20,
respectively. Over 400 °C, for all series and cooling regimes,
the highest residual strength was obtained from C3, while
the lowest was from G30.
4- UPV results are similar to residual compressive strength
results. This can be seen from the correlation between these
two parameters. At 28 days, R2 values changes between 0.58
and 0.98 and at 90 days, between 0.76 and 0.97.
5- Up to 400 °C, the mass loss of the samples is not very high.
The highest mass loss at 600 °C and over was obtained from
G30. In general, the lowest mass loss was obtained from C5
sample. Only after 1000 °C, C3 was the lowest one.
6- Among the cooling regimes, investigation of the residual
compressive strength and the mass loss values indicates,
up to 600 °C, lower mass loss and the higher residual com-
pressive strength values were obtained from water-
cooling. On the other hand, at 800 °C and 1000 °C, air-
cooled series was exhibited better performance.
7- At 28 days, the threshold for the significant cracks and the
deteriorations were 600 °C and at 90 days, it was 800 °C. R
samples were the highest affected series at 600 °C, 800 °C,
and 1000 °C after air-cooling. The ratios are 4.84%, 8.51%,
and 16.12%, respectively. G30 was the most affected series
at 800 °C water and 1000 °C air-cooling at 90 days, and the
ratios are 25.51% and 19.64%, respectively. The lowest
affected series of all series and days were C3. All samples
were completely disrupted at 1000 °C water cooling.
8- There can be seen significant micro-cracks via SEM investi-
gations in the cement paste matrix and ITZ at 800 °C and
1000 °C.
Conflict of interest
None.
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