Very high early strength of ultra-high performance concrete containing nanoscale pozzolans using the microwave heat curing method

This paper deals mainly with the application of a microwave heat curing method to ultra-high strength and performance concrete specimens made up of combinations of micro and nanoscale pozzolans. The application of this curing method enables very high early strength, as high as 420 MPa to be obtained after 1 day by a total microwave curing duration of 2 h. In addition it was observed that the achieved strength depended on the kind of nanoscale pozzolan (oxide) used and on the microwave energy, time of treatment and treatment duration. In comparison with the oven curing method this method has the advantages of much shorter curing times and better curing efficiency. The microwave curing of ultra-high performance concrete seems to be very advantageous for applications where extreme concrete strength in very short time is required.