Molecular structures are stable at certain temperatures. This stability is affected when the temperature conditions change. The temperature level is the fundamental parameter Portland cement based concrete is a composite material that mainly consists of aggregates, cement and water. It is a reasonably dense and porous material, and it undergoes the damage mecha- nisms in fire. Khoury [16] proposed dissociation of Ca(OH)2 at
300–400 oC, massive and sudden creep, usually causing failure at
600 oC, dissociation of CaCO3 at 700 oC, ceramic binding and complete water loss at 800 oC and melting at 1200–1350 oC. Heikal [17] found that Ca(OH)2 dehydrated between 500 and 600 oC. Mohamedbhai [18] studied the effects of exposure time and rates of cooling on residual strength of heated concrete, using 100 mm cubic samples. The exposure time of 1–2 h was found to be enough for the temperature to penetrate the 100 mm cubic samples and cause most of the compressive strength loss. The effect of higher temperature reduced the time required to cause strength loss, which is related to the increase of thermal conductivity at higher temperatures. After 1 h exposure, the Poon et al. [20] studied normal and high strength concretes with pozzolanic materials. Metakaolin concrete increased strength up to 200 oC, and maintained higher strengths up to 400 oC than fly-ash concrete, silica fume concrete and normal OPC concrete. After 400 oC all the high strength concretes rapidly deteriorated. The metakaolin concrete had the lowest final residual compressive strength despite showing better early strength gain, indicating that it is particularly susceptible to a certain high temperature range. Variations in the performance of pozzolanic concretes in high temperature exposure are common. High early strength gains and good stability between 200 and 400 oC followed by rapid deterioration and final compressive strength lower than normal concrete is commonly reported [20,21]. Li et al. [22] studied the effect of high temperature heat and strain rate on the residual strength of ternary blended concrete containing fly ash and silica fume. Remarkable strength loss was reported after 400 oC.