Study of the mechanical behavior of Concrete Structural elements varying the Portland Cement-CSA Ratio Used

Calcium sulphoaluminate (CSA) cement became progressively more used in recent years, considering both the mechanical per-formance and the environmental aspects linked to the CO2 manufacturing emissions lower than ordinary Portland cement (OPC). In this study, the mechanical behavior of steel-reinforced concrete beams made using various binders, such as pure CSA or blends with OPC was investigated experimentally, in terms of flexural resistance, crack pattern (number, length and crack width). For this purpose, a mechanical characterization of the various concrete mixtures at early and later ages was performed. Moreover, an ad-hoc experimental set-up was designed in order to study the durability of structural beams for different concrete types, under specif-ic environmental and service conditions. The results showed a satisfactory behavior of the CSA mixtures when compared with the OPC reference mixture in terms of early age resistance, mechanical performance and crack evolution during the time.