ABSTRACT
For more than 20 years, the term high performance concrete has been used throughout the world and the number of papers using this term has increased rapidly. The term was needed in concrete engineering and it emphasizes that with the use of high strength concrete in construction comes considerations of high durability and high performance. However, the denition and interpretation of the term high performance concrete vary in different engineering elds, in different countries, and for different researchers, so that the requirements are not clear. For example, the American National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) and American Concrete Institute (ACI) at the 2nd International Symposium on the Utilization of High Strength Concrete, in Berkeley, CA, in the United States, in May 1990 suggested the following:
High performance concrete is one that is homogeneous with certain properties, for which a strict construction technology should be applied. High quality raw materials should be used, as well as ease of casting without segregation; its mechanical properties should be stable and with high early strength. It is a durable concrete with high stiffness and volume stability. Such concrete is suitable for the high-rise building, bridge and construction working in severe environments.
