Assessment of Early-Age Concrete Performance Through Numerical Hydration Modeling

The heat generated by the cement hydration reaction increases temperature within concrete elements during the setting and hardening phases, while it starts to develop its physical and mechanical properties. The generated heat, which depends on the physical-chemical properties of the mixture, the geometry of the elements and the boundary conditions, can lead to cracking phenomena that compromise the long-term durability of concrete structures, especially in the case of massive structures. The proposed study presents a numerical procedure aimed at controlling and assessing the time-evolution of the mechanical properties of the mixture, based on experimental temperature measurements performed on samples cast in semi-adiabatic conditions. Considering the variation of several factors (binders, water-cement ratio, element size and formwork), the reported parametric analysis leads to propose simplified design abaci for mitigating the cracking phenomena.