Fire Protection of Self-Compacted Concrete Using Cement-Perlite-based Coatings
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Abstract
This study evaluates the effectiveness of cement–perlite-based protective coatings in improving the fire resistance of self-compacting concrete (SCC). Three groups of specimens were exposed to fire: C0 (uncoated specimens), C1 (specimen coated with cement–perlite), and C2 (specimen coated with cement–perlite reinforced with 0.75% glass fiber). The thickness of coating layer is 20 mm for each type. The residual strengths were evaluated relative to 56 days before fire exposure. All specimens exposed to a temperature of (600 C°) with different exposure durations (60, 90, and 120 min). The results indicate that increasing fire exposure duration leads to a high reduction in strength for all specimens. The uncoated specimens exhibited a high decrease in residual compressive strength from 71.43% to 36.35% as the exposure duration increased from 60 to 120 min. In contrast, coated specimens demonstrated substantially higher residual strength. The C1 specimens remained at 92.38%, 84.13%, and 77.78%, while C2 specimens remained at 95.24%, 88.89%, and 81.27% at 60, 90, and 120 min, respectively, while residual strength for splitting tensile and flexural strength followed the same trend with different percentages. The findings confirm that cement–perlite coatings significantly improve the fire resistance of SCC. The novelty of the study lies in the comparative evaluation of plain and glass-fiber-reinforced cement-perlite coatings under various durations of fire exposure. The coating reinforced with glass fibers exhibited the highest protection level and the best ability to preserve the residual mechanical properties of SCC after exposure to fire among the investigated coating layers.
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