Exploring the effect of low-heat cement on early-age thermal cracking resistance of roller-compacted concrete

Abstract

In this paper, the early-age thermal cracking behavior of roller-compacted concrete prepared with low-heat cement (LHC) was investigated using a concrete temperature stress testing machine. The test results show that under the same restraint degrees, the concrete cracking temperature difference increased at a diminishing rate with the increasing concrete curing age; when loaded at the same curing age, the cracking temperature difference of the concrete increased with the decreasing concrete restraint degree. Under a fully restraint condition (100% restraint degree), the LHC roller-compacted concrete was able to resist cracking under sudden decreases in temperature in the range of 2.96–4.68 °C at curing ages of 3–14 d. A numerical simulation and theoretical derivation were used to verify and extend the analysis of the cracking temperature difference of the LHC roller-compacted concrete under different restraint conditions.

Keywords

• Curing
• Thermal cracking
• Roller-compacted concrete
• Low heat cement
• Temperature stress testing machine