The prediction of the early-stage strength of concrete is essential for modernized concrete construction as well as for the manufacturing of structural parts. Safe and economic scheduling of such crucial operations as form removal, application of post...
The prediction of the early-stage strength of concrete is essential for modernized concrete construction as well as for the manufacturing of structural parts. Safe and economic scheduling of such crucial operations as form removal, application of post-tensioning or other mechanical treatment, and in-process transportation and rapid delivery of products should be based on a good grasp of the strength development of the concrete in use. Knowledge of the early-stage strength of concrete is very important especially when concreting has to be carried out in cold weather.
The usual practice of monitoring in-place concrete strength using field-cured cylinder has been deemed improper by an increasing number of engineers due to the difficulty of insuring that the field cured cylinders experience the same curing history as the structural parts which they are supposed to represent.
There are several methods for estimating the in-place strength of concrete. One of them is from the maturity concept which is based on the fact that concrete gains strength with time as a result of cement hydration. The strength of concrete is related to the degree of hydration of the cement in concrete, and the rate of hydration, as in any chemical reaction, depends primarily on the concrete temperature during hydration. Therefore, the strength of concrete is a function of its time-temperature history. That's why the term, "maturity" is used to represent it.
A maturity function accounts for the combined effects of time and temperature on the strength development of a cementirious mixture. Its key feature is how temperature affects the rate of strength development. There are two assumptions in a widely-used maturity method: one is that the rate of strength development is a linear function of temperature, and the other is that the rate of strength development obeys the exponential Arrhenius equation.
The purpose of this study is to predict properly compressive strength of concrete through the investigation of the correlation between strength of concrete and maturity that is expressed as the integral of the curing period and temperature, for its practical application.
For this study, therefore, the predictions of compressive strength of ordinary concrete, high strength concrete, and high fluidity concrete by maturity are experimented. The study on the hydration heat and mechanical property of high fluidity concrete, and the strength control by prediction strength of concrete using equivalent age in construction field are also performed.
As the results, I could get some information about prediction of concrete strength.
First, in the ordinary concrete, its compressive strength at the same equivalent age shows similar level regardless of curing temperature, and it can be used in the prediction of the strength of concrete. The close correlation between strength and maturity temperature is high as activation energy value is getting higher in early age and lower in late age. The experiment shows that especially equivalent age function using activation energy of Freiesleben explains accurately the effect of temperature on the strength in early age. With the result of strength prediction by its model, Coefficients of three prediction models can be calculated. For managing proper strength, it can be recommended to use Logistic model which shows close correlativity over whole ages.
Second, in the high strength concrete, its relations with maturity temperature is shown by two functions figured in the thesis, which indicates the effects of temperature on concrete very well. In spite of it, it would be recommended to use Freiesleben method for accurate prediction. Coefficients giving the prediction of the strength of high strength concrete can be calculated by strength prediction model. It can be recommended to use Gompertz Curve in the high strength concrete because it shows the highest decisive coefficient value. The strength measured practically in the experiment is a little lower than compressive strength prediction value by Gompertz Curve in early age, but the rate of prediction using it is shown highly on the whole. Therefore it is significant to use maturity method in strength prediction of actual high strength concrete structure.
Third, in the high fluidity concrete, the setting and solidification of concrete can be longer in 5℃ for the setting time according to the type of binder and the curing temperature variation. If the outer temperature is low, much care in curing temperature would be required when actuation and promotion. Since base temperature of strength actuation differs according to the types of cement, base temperature in each composition ratio has to be calculated and then applied in order to get an accurate maturity. Maturity function of Freisleben is good for the strength prediction of high fluidity concrete in 5∼30℃. Plowman curve is simple and accurate in early age and it can be recommended for the prediction of concrete in the fields.
In conclusion, the final results through this study obviously show that the compressive strength of ordinary concrete, high strength concrete, high fluidity concrete can be satisfactorily predicted by maturity method.