Concrete with clinker‐efficient cements ‐ Robustness to variations in water content and temperature

The use of multi‐component cements (CEM II‐CEM VI), which contain main constituents other than Portland cement clinker in significant quantities, can significantly help to reduce the CO₂ footprint of the cement or concrete industry. Clinker‐efficient cements (CEM II/C‐M) have been standardized in the current version of DIN EN 197‐5. In a systematic experimental program, the influence of water content variations and temperature on the robustness of concrete with clinker‐efficient cements with high contents of granulated blast furnace slag or fly ash and limestone (CEM II/C‐M (S‐LL) and CEM II/C‐M (V‐LL)) was studied. As a reference, concretes representative for construction elements used indoor (XC1) or in protected outdoor environment (XC3) with standard Portland composite cement (CEM II/A‐M) and blast furnace slag cement (CEM III/A) were investigated. The influence of variations in water content and temperature on fresh (rheological properties, bleeding) and mechanical concrete properties (compressive strength, elastic modulus) were investigated. The results obtained show similar performance and robustness of such concretes with clinker‐efficient cements compared to the reference concretes.