ABSTRACT
This chapter sums up knowledge of very high performance concretes (VHPCs) with a view to their use in civil engineering structures. From fabrication to behaviour in service and fracture, the various stages of the life of the material are described, with its measured properties related as much as possible to the composition and microstructure of the concrete. The chapter then discusses few important questions that are sometimes obstacles to its use (feasibility, fragile breaking behiaiviour, cost). The durability of VHPCs is emphasized, as one of the major features making them attractive for many applications. The chapter aims to give an overview of the structural materials, starting from the logic of their composition and relating their main properties to their microstructure. It points out that conventional means are unsuitable for evaluating the rheological behaviour of VHPCs in the fresh condition, as their workability is outside the limits of normal concretes.
