Application of Maturity to Estimate the Strength Development of High-Early-Strength Concrete Mixtures Using Isothermal Calorimetry
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36, Issue 5
Abstract
Repair materials for concrete infrastructure applications are designed to minimize closure time and subsequent effect on traffic. Available material choices are typically limited to expensive prepackaged materials or high-early-strength (HES) concrete mixtures. HES concrete mixtures are often designed with high paste content and limited inclusion of supplementary cementitious materials so to promote higher early-age strengths. The traditional approval for HES concrete mixtures has relied on testing the strength of concrete cylinders cured at room temperature. This practice has often resulted in the overdesign of these HES mixtures, primarily because it fails to consider the higher temperatures that typically develop during the in situ curing. Moreover, as highlighted in several reports by state agencies, the high cement content and the near absence of proper curing practices have likely contributed to the premature failure of some of these mixtures. In this study, isothermal calorimetry was explored as a potential tool to quickly evaluate HES concrete formulations in terms of early-age mechanical performance. It was found that this test method, when combined with maturity, can provide reasonable estimations of the concrete strength development for isothermal and nonisothermal curing conditions up to 8 h after the initial mix. The proposed test method can be used as a first step in the optimization of HES concrete mixtures and can help predicting the time to reopening for in situ conditions.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge Sika for providing the accelerating admixtures used in the study. The authors also acknowledge the work performed by Mr. John Leavitt and Mr. Thomas Russo at the Concrete Laboratory at Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center.
Disclaimer
Certain commercial products are identified in this paper to specify the materials used and procedures employed. In no case does such identification imply endorsement or recommendation by the Federal Highway Administration, nor does it indicate that the products are necessarily the best available for the purpose.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36 • Issue 5 • May 2024
Copyright
© 2024 Published by American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 20, 2023
Accepted: Oct 24, 2023
Published online: Feb 26, 2024
Published in print: May 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Jul 26, 2024
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