Thermal Stresses of Concrete at Early Ages

Abstract

The cracking tendency of cast-in-place concrete at early ages under restrained conditions is a concern. In particular, in the building industry, in order to meet the construction speed requirements, external load (due to formwork removal and post-tensioning) is applied while concrete is hydrating, typically 1–4 days after concrete pour. Despite careful design, numerous failures have recently been reported in the industry during construction, prompting this investigation. The paper presents interim findings of a research program investigating the in situ thermal stresses at early ages. The intrinsic thermal stresses including the effects of creep and shrinkage associated with early age concre..