1 Mass Concrete

THERMAL CRACKING
ANALYSIS IN MASS CONCRETE

AND PREVENTION PRACTICES
IN HOT WEATHER CONDITIONS
Dr. FLORANTE D. POSO JR.
OUTLINE
 Mass Concrete
 Mass Concrete Overview
 Definition of Mass Concrete
 Concrete Overview
 Introduction
 Components of Concrete
 Concrete Design Mix
OUTLINE
 Cracks in Concrete (Thermal Cracking)
 Classification of Cracks
 Causes of Cracks
 Crack Width Calculation
 Crack Evaluation and Analysis
 Evaluation Procedure
 Types of Evaluation
 Concrete Temperature Monitoring
 Crack Mapping
 Destructive and Non-Destructive Testing
 Crack Report Preparation
OUTLINE
 Concrete Practices and Standards in Hot
Weather Conditions (With Reference to
International Standards)
 Crack Repair (With reference to International
Codes and NSCP Codes)
 Repair Methods
 Repair Procedures
 Repair Materials
 International Standard requirements for Crack
repair
 Crack Prevention
 Control Measures
MASS CONCRETE
ACI 207.1
MASS CONCRETE
“any volume of concrete in which a
combination of dimensions of the
member being cast, the boundary
conditions can lead to undesirable
thermal stresses, cracking, deleterious
chemical reactions, or reduction in the
long-term strength as a result of
elevated concrete temperature due to
heat from hydration.” (ACI 207.1R).
ACI 207.1 R96
 Mass concrete is defined
in ACI 116R as any
volume of concrete with
dimensions large
enough to require that
measures be taken to
cope with generation of
heat from hydration of
the cement and
attendant volume
change to minimize
cracking.
MASS CONCRETE
measures be taken to cope with

the generation of heat from
hydration of the cement and
volume change to minimize
cracking. The one characteristic
that distinguishes mass concrete
from other concrete work is
thermal behavior.
MASS CONCRETE
 The cement-water reaction causes
the temperature to rise
 Significant tensile stresses and strains
may result from the restrained
volume change associated with a
decline in temperature as heat of
hydration is dissipated.
MASS CONCRETE
 Mass concrete has been historically
associated with large structures
such as dams, bridge piers, and
other large volume placements.
 mass concrete issues are being
experienced in typical bridge and
building placements.
MASS CONCRETE
 Mass concrete practices were
developed largely from concrete dam
construction, where temperature-
related cracking was first identified.
 Other structures such as mat
foundations, pile caps, bridge
piers, thick walls, and tunnel
linings.
TEMPERATURE CONTROL
 To achieve a lower maximum
temperature of interior mass concrete
during the hydration period, the
practice of precooling concrete
materials prior to mixing was started
in the early 1940s and has been
extensively employed in the
construction or large dams beginning
in the late 1940s.
PRECOOLING CONCRETE MATERIALS
PRECOOLING (SECTION 1.3.2) ACI 207.1
 The plan is to introduced crushed ice into
the mixing water during the warmer
months. By so doing, the temperature of
freshly mixed mass concrete could be
reduced by about 10 F(5.6C). (Norfork
Dam in 1941-1945 by the Corps of
Engineers)
NORFORK DAM
PRECOOLING (SECTION 1.3.2) ACI 207.1
 On later works not only crushed ice been used
in the mixing water, but coarse aggregates have
been precooled either by cold air or cold
water prior to batching.
 Recently, both fine and coarse aggregates in a
moist condition have been precooled by various
means including vacuum saturation and
liquid nitrogen injection.
 to assure that the temperature of concrete as it is
placed in the work does not exceed about 50 F (10
C).
SECTION 1.3.3 ACI 207.1
 On some large dams, including
Hoover Dam, a combination of
precooling and postcooling refrigeration
by embedded pipe has been used.
 A good example of this practice is Glen
Canyon Dam, where at times during
the summer months the ambient
temperatures were considerable
greater than 100 0F (38 0C).
HOOVER DAM IN CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA
GLEN CANYON DAM IN COLORADO
SECTION 1.3.3 ACI 207.1
The temperature of the

precooled fresh concrete did
not exceed 50 F (10C).
Both refrigerated aggregate
and crushed ice were used to
achieve this low temperature.
SECTION 1.3.3
 By means of embedded-pipe refrigeration,
the maximum temperature of hardening
concrete was kept below 75 F (24C).
 Post-cooling is sometimes required in
gravity and in arch dams that contain
transverse joints, so that transverse joints
can be opened for grouting by cooling the
concrete after it has hardened.
 Post-cooling is also done for control of peak
temperatures, to control cracking.
MATERIALS AND MIX PROPORTIONING
 Mass concrete is composed of cement,
aggregates, and water, and frequently
pozzolans and admixtures.
 The objective of mass concrete mix proportioning
is the selection of combination of material that
will produce a concrete to meet the requirements
of the structure with respect to economy,
workability, dimension stability and free
from cracking, low temperature rise,
adequate strength, durability and – on the
case of hydraulic structures – low permeability.
TEMPERATURE CONTROL (SECTION 2.8)
 The four elements of an effective
temperature control program, any or
all of which may be used for a
particular mass concrete project, are:
1) Cementitous material content
control,
2) Precooling
3) Postcooling
4) Construction management
STRENGTH (SECTION 3.2) ACI 207.1
 The water-cementitious
material ratio to a large extent
governs the quality of the hardened
portland cement binder.
 Strength, impermeability, and most
other desirable properties of
concrete are improved by lowering
the water-cementitious material
ratio.
STRENGTH (SECTION 3.2)
 Factors, totally or partially independent of the
water-cementitious material ratio, which affect
the strength are:
 (1) composition and fineness of cement
 (2) amount and type of pozzolan,
 (3) surface texture and shape of the aggregate,
 (4) the mineralogic makeup and strength of the
aggregate,
 (5) aggregate grading, and
 (6) the improvement of strength by admixtures
above that attribute to a reduction in water-
cementitious material ratio.
BEHAVIOR OF MASS CONCRETE
1. Thermal stresses and cracking
A most important characteristic of
mass concrete that differentiates its
behavior from that of structural concrete
is its thermal behavior.
2. Volume Change
The cracking occurs under extreme

drying conditions, when water
evaporates from the upper surface
of the unhardened concrete faster
that it reaches the surface.
3. Heat generation
The main problem of mass concrete

construction is the necessity for
controlling the heat entrapped
within it as the cement hydrates.
METHODS TO CONTROL CRACKING IN
CONCRETE DAMS
 By Using Low heat Cement
 By Pre-cooling of Concrete
 By Post-cooling of Concrete
 By Reducing % of Cement
 By Providing Contraction Joints
 Time Interval between Concrete lifts
 By Limiting the Height of Lift
BY USING LOW HEAT CEMENT
 In mass concrete structures like dams, the heat
evolved during the hydration process is
dissipated very slowly. This will cause an
increase in temperature inside the concrete mass
and thermal cracks will occur. To prevent this,
Low heat cement should be used in place of
ordinary Portland cement.
 It is known that C3S and C3A in OPC are
responsible for heat generation during hydration.
Hence, the temperature inside the concrete mass
is controlled and cracking can be prevented.
BY PRE-COOLING OF CONCRETE
 Cracking can be prevented by pre-
cooling of concrete ingredients
such as fine aggregate, coarse
aggregate.
 by blowing air through the aggregates
or by washing them with chilled water.
 Concrete can also be pre-cooled by
using cool water for its making.
BY POST-COOLING OF CONCRETE
 Post-cooling of concrete is done by passing cold
water through pipes embedded in concrete.
For post-cooling, 250 m long and thin pipes of 25
mm external diameter are placed in concrete
after each lift is poured. All pipes are connected
together by expansion coupling. These pipes are
spaced at 0.5 m to 2.0 m horizontally.
 After completion of concreting for one block of a
dam, cold water is immediately passed through
these pipes at a velocity of 0.6 m/s and is
continued until the mass concrete temperature
falls to the local temperature.
BY POST-COOLING OF CONCRETE
BY REDUCING % OF CEMENT
 Higher the cement content higher
will be the heat generation during
hydration.
BY PROVIDING CONTRACTION JOINTS
 Contraction joints are provided in concrete dams to
prevent the cracks formed due to shrinkage of
concrete due to temperature variations. If contraction
joints are provided parallel to the axis of the dam,
then they are called longitudinal joints and if they
provided normal to the axis of the dam, called
transverse joints.
 Transverse joints are continuous and are spaced at a
distance of 15 m or height of dam whichever is less.
Longitudinal joints are non-continuous and are
provided between the transverse joints. The spacing
of longitudinal joints is also 15 m. Both these joints
divide the dam into a number of blocks
BY PROVIDING CONTRACTION JOINTS
TIME INTERVAL BETWEEN CONCRETE
LIFTS
A time period of 3 to 4 days is

recommended between
successive lifts.
BY LIMITING THE HEIGHT OF LIFT
 The height of a concrete lift should not be greater
than 1.5 m to prevent cracking in mass concrete
structures.

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THERMAL CRACKING

ANALYSIS IN MASS CONCRETE

measures be taken to cope with

The temperature of the

The cracking occurs under extreme

The main problem of mass concrete

A time period of 3 to 4 days is

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