25/04/1433

HOT WEATHER
CONCRETING

Dr. Khaldoun Rahal

Hot Weather Concreting

 Defined in ACI Committee 305 as:
Mixing, transportation, and placement of
concrete under any combination of :
1- High ambient temperature
2- High concrete temperature
3- Low relative humidity
4- Solar radiation
5- Wind velocity

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Hot Weather Concreting

 Understand factors affecting HWC
 List possible problems

 Take measures to minimize them

Most problems relate to:

Increased rate of cement hydration
Increased evaporation rate of moisture

Hot Weather Concreting

 Effect of high air temperature, solar radiation,
and low relative humidity more pronounced at
high wind velocity.
 HWC problems any time of year in arid
climate.
 Cracking due to thermal cracking when
temperature gradient is largest in 24-hr period
(spring and fall).

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Effects on Fresh Concrete

Hot Weather Concreting

 Effects on fresh concrete
1- Increased water demand
2- Increased rate of slump loss (and tendency
to add water on site)
3- Increased rate of setting (and greater
difficulty with handling, compacting
finishing, and greater risk of cold joints)
4- Increased risk of plastic shrinkage cracking

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Hot Weather Concreting

 Effects on hardened concrete

– Decreased 28-days and later strength (due to
high temperature and/or higher water demand
during placement or during first few days)
– Increased tendency for drying shrinkage and
differential thermal cracking
– Decreased durability (resulting from cracking)

Effects on Hardened Concrete

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Hot Weather Concreting

 Effects on hardened concrete

– Greater variability of surface appearance (cold
joints, color difference) due to different rates of
hydrations and w/c
– Increased potential for reinforcing steel
corrosion
– Increased permeability

Effect of Curing Temperature on Strength

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Plastic Shrinkage Cracking

 Associated with HWC in hot climates
 Occurs in exposed concrete, especially
flatwork
 Occurs when evaporation rate is larger than
rate of rise of bleeding water to surface
 Seldom a problem in hot humid climates
when relative humidity is larger than 80%

 Estimate
evaporation rate.
Take precautions
if rate approaches
1 kg/m2/hr.
 At 21oC concrete
and air
temperature, 50%
relative humidity,
rate of
evaporation at 16
km/hr is six times
larger than rate
when there is no
wind.

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Summary of Effect of various factors on

Evaporation Rate

 For the same temperature and relative

humidity, increasing wind speed from 8 to 32
km/hr increased rate of evaporation by 300%.
 For the same wind and relative humidity,
increasing air temperature from 16 to 32oC
increased rate of evaporation by 300%.

Summary of Effect of various factors on

Evaporation Rate
 For the same temperature and wind, decreasing
relative humidity from 90% to 70% increased
rate of evaporation by 300%.
 If wind speed increases from 8 to 32 km/hr,
and if air temperature increased from 16 to
32oC, and relative humidity decreased from
90% to 70%, the rate of evaporation increased
by 900%.

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Typical Concrete Temperatures for

Various Relative Humidity potentially
Critical to Plastic Shrinkage Cracking
Concrete Temperature Relative Humidity
(oC) (%)
40 90
38 80
35 70
32 60
29 50
27 40
24 30

Effect of
concrete
temperature on
slump and on
water required
to change
slump

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Effect of Water Increase on Water

Requirement of Concrete

Effect of High Temperature

If precautions are not taken:
1- Amount of water required to produce a given
slump increases with time
2- Increased water content causes decrease in
strength and durability, and an increase in drying
shrinkage
3- Slump loss is evident earlier after mixing
4- In arid climate, greater probability of appearance
of plastic shrinkage cracks
5- Larger temperature differential in large sections,
causing more thermal cracking

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Water Requirements
1- At high temperature, larger amount of water is
required to increase the slump
2- Water has specific heat 4 times larger than
other ingredients, hence it has greatest effect
per unit weight on concrete temperature
3- Lowering water temperature by 4oC decreases
concrete strength by about 1oC

Water Requirements

4- Cooling water and painting and insulating

tanks, pipes, truck drum keeps it cool
5- Using ice (crushed or shipped) as part of
mixing water (limit to about 75% of water
requirements)
6- Using ice can reduce of concrete temperature
by up to 10oC

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Effect of Cement Type

Effect of Cement
 Slower hydrating cements reduces peak
temperature, and thermal cracking
 Limit temperature of delivered cement

 Supplementary cementitious materials such

as Fly Ash and GGBS cause a slower rate of
setting and are desirable in HWC

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Benefits of Chemical Admixtures

 Lower mixing water demand
 Extended period of use

 Evaluate performance of a specific

admixture if history of satisfactory
performance in HWC is not available
 Larger dosage at higher temperature

Aggregates
 60 to 80 % of concrete
 Affect concrete properties

 Size, shape and grading affect water

demand
 Favorite thermal properties

 Lowering temperature by 2oC decreases

concrete temperature by about 1oC

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Production and Delivery

 Concrete can be produced in hot weather if

proper precautions are observed in
proportioning, production, delivery, placing
and curing

 Production facilities and procedure capable of

producing the required quality under hot
conditions

Temperature Control

 Minimize temperature of concrete. A

o
reduction of 1 C in concrete temperature can
be achieved by reducing:

a) 8oC in cement temperature

b) 4oC in water temperature
c) 2oC in aggregate temperature

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Temperature Control

 Greatest effect from aggregate temperature

 Keep them cool
 Shade coarse and fine aggregate
 Sprinkle and fog spray coarse aggregate
 Do not wet them (difficult to control slump)
 Shading/thermal insulation for above ground
mixing water tank

Temperature Control
 Paint mixer surface white to reduce solar heat
gain. For 1 hour delivery, concrete in clean
white drum is about 1 to 1.5oC cooler than
black or red drum and 0.3oC cooler than
cream-colored drum
 Spraying drum with water before batching
gives only a marginal benefit
 Chill batch water by water chillers, cool by
liquid Nitrogen, or use crushed or flaked ice
 Production requires planning well in advance
of placement and installation of specialized
equipment

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Batching and Mixing

Batching and Mixing

 Procedure under HWC similar to good practice
under normal conditions
 Particular attention to ensure correct slump and
other specified properties
 Interruption in placement caused by rejection
may cause cold joints and serious finishing
problems
 Long hauls requires special attention
 Benefit of mixing at jobsite has been proven to
be a good solution in long hauls

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Batching and Mixing

 Better control in plant mixes, especially with
use of appropriate retarders
 Cementitious material with low setting speed
are beneficial.
 Duration of mixing and mixing speed should
be kept at a minimum to avoid heat gain
 For efficient mixing, mixers to be free of
buildup of hardened concrete, and mixer
blades not with excessive wear

Delivery

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Delivery
 With passage of time:
 Cement hydration

 Temperature rise

 Slump loss

 Aggregate grinding

 Loss or gain of air content

 Minimize period between mixing and placing

 Coordination of truck dispatching and rate of
placement to avoid waiting period until discharge
 Good communication (jobsite-production plant)

Slump Adjustment
 Establish slump change between plant and
jobsite (accuracy of predicting slump limited)
 If slump lower than required on arrival, water
may be added if maximum allowable water
content is not exceeded
 If water added, drum or blades turned 30
revolutions at mixing speed
 75 to 100 mm slump necessary for expeditious
placement of structural concrete
 Can adjust slump using chemical admixtures if
not expected to cause segregation potential

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Retempering
 Defined as in ACI 166 as “additions of water
and remixing concrete, or mortar which has
lost enough workability to become implacable
or unsaleable”
 Strength reduction and other detrimental
effects proportional to amount of retempering
water added
 Retempering prohibited
 Adding Admixtures (HRWR) is very effective
to maintain workability

Placing and Curing

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Placing
 Procedure under HWC similar to good practice
under normal conditions
 Concrete handled and transported with
minimum segregation and sump loss
 Placed where to remain
 Placed in shallow layers (to assure vibration
well into layer below)
 Minimize elapsed time between layers to avoid
cold joint
 Joints made on sound, clean concrete

Curing

 Curing conducted such that concrete does not

lack ample moisture

 Details of placing and curing procedure are

detailed in ACI 304, 308 and 309R.
 Special provisions for hot weather concreting
follow

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Preparation for Placing and Curing

 When possible, plan placing of slab after roof
structure and walls (minimize problems
associated with drying winds and direct
sunlight)
 In extreme situations, schedule placing
concrete at other than normal hours
 Personnel at site should be aware of damaging
combination of high air temperature, direct
sunlight, drying wind and high concrete
temperature

Preparation for Placing and Curing

 Plan for expedited placing of concrete
 Placing equipment should be of a suitable
design and have ample capacity, and perform
efficiently
 Ample consolidation equipment (procedure in
ACI 309R), provide at least one standby
vibrator, power generators for possible power
outages
 Ample water supply (for wetting sub-grade,
fogging forms and reinforcement, moist
curing)

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Preparation for Placing and Curing

 Prepare fog nozzles (not to be confused with
garden-hose nozzles)
 Materials and means for erecting temporary
windbreaks and shades as needed
 Plastic sheeting or sprayable compounds for
applying temporary moisture-retaining films
 Provisions made for timely saw-cutting of
contraction joints in flatwork

Placing and Finishing

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Placing and Finishing

 Speed up placement and finishing reduces hot
weather difficulty
 Concrete should not be placed faster than it
can be properly consolidated and finished
 Consistency allows prompt placement and
rapid and effective consolidation in forms
 Place concrete in shallower layers than those
used in moderate weather (to assure vibration
covers lower layer while it still responds to it)

Placing and Finishing

 Subgrade should be moist, yet free of standing
water
 Use fog nozzle to cool air, forms, and steel
 Avoid excessive fog application (surplus water
on forms and reinforcement, and stands on
concrete during floating and troweling)
 Prevent moisture loss: impervious sheeting,
sprayable moisture-retaining films (which is
beneficial in spite of slight increase in
temperature)

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Placing and Finishing

 In case of plastic shrinkage cracks, they can be

closed by striking surface before final set (re-
trowel to level finish). In massive placement,
re-vibrations before floating can close the
cracks

Curing and Protection

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Curing and Protection

 Protect concrete from high temperature, direct
sunlight, low humidity, and drying winds
 High initial curing temperature more
detrimental to concrete than high placing
temperature
 Promptly commence procedure for keeping
exposed surface from drying, with ample
coverage and without interruption (else
shrinkage cracks may develop and impair
surface durability and strength)

Curing and Protection

 Curing should be continued for at least 7 days
 Change of curing method can be done only
after concrete is 3 days old (no surface drying
during transition)
 ACI 308 gives various curing methods
 Avoid thermal cracking especially from rapid
temperature drops in first 24 hours (cooling rate
larger than 3oC per hour or more than 28oC in a
24-hr period for concrete with least dimension
less than about 300 mm )

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Curing and Protection

 Concrete exposed to rapid cooling has lower
tensile strength and is more susceptible to
cracking
 Moist curing: best method for development of
strength and minimizing early drying shrinkage
 Ponding, covering with clean sand kept
continuously wet
 Avoid erosion when sprinkling water

Curing and Protection

 More practical to cover pre-wetted concrete
with impervious sheeting or application of
absorptive mats or fabric kept continuously wet
 Avoid alternative wetting and drying because it
may result in pattern cracking, and in
ineffective curing
 Temperature of curing water similar to that of
concrete to avoid thermal shock

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Membrane Curing of Flatwork

 If moist curing not possible, use liquid
membrane-forming compounds
 Membrane restricts loss of moisture of
concrete and improves strength, durability and
surface wearability of floors and pavements
 In surfaces exposed to sun, use heat reflecting
white pigmented compounds
 Capability of moisture retention varies
considerably between products

Membrane Curing of Flatwork

 Select one which limits evaporation to less than
0.55 kg/m2 in 72-hr period
 In flatwork, start application immediately after
disappearance of surface water sheen after the
final finishing pass
 If sprayed, nozzle should be held sufficiently
close to surface
 Manual application should be done in two passes
(direction of second pass perpendicular to first)

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Membrane Curing of Flatwork

 Curing compounds should not be used if

surface to receive additional concrete or
bonded to other material unless removal of
compound is assured before subsequent bonded
construction

Curing of Concrete in Forms

 Forms covered and kept continuously moist
during early curing period
 Formed concrete requires early access to ample
external curing water, especially High Strength
concrete where w/c is less than 0.4
 Loosen forms (when this does not cause
damage to concrete) and let curing water run
down inside them

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Curing of Concrete in Forms

 Avoid rapid cooling, especially in thick
members (apply thermal insulation if necessary)
 Fill tie holes of forms with repair material
within first few days after stripping so that
filling can cure with the concrete
 After end of curing (minimum 7 days, 10 days
recommended), covering should be left without
wetting (4 days suggested) so that concrete can
dry slowly (can use compound at end of curing
for that purpose)

Testing and Inspection

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Testing
 Testing on fresh concrete in accordance with
ASTM C 31, C 138, C 143, C 172, C 173, C
231, C 1064 so that sample is as representative
of actual structure as possible
 Leaving sample exposed to hot sun, wind, or
dry air seriously impair accuracy and
usefulness of results
 Desirable to conduct more tests than desirable
(temperature of materials, initial and final time
of set, slump loss, ambient temperature,
relative humidity when concrete is placed)

Testing
 Plastic shrinkage is affected by evaporation
rate, which can be measured using a cake pan
(about 1ft2 = 0.093 m2 in area): Pan is filled
with water and weighed every 15 to 20 minutes
 Particular attention to protection and curing of
strength test specimens used as basis for
acceptance (extra effort to keep their
temperature between 16 to 27oC and avoid
moisture loss during initial curing period
(ASTM C 31)
 Provide sample with impervious cover if
possible

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Testing
 If stored outside, avoid exposure to sun
 In non-potentially absorptive test molds,
– Embed in damp sand (continuously moist)
– Cover with burlap (continuously moist)
– Continuous fog spray
– Total immersion in water (cement is hydraulic),
need not covered with cap, but generally are
 Mold must not be potentially absorptive
 Maintain moisture during transfer to test facility

Testing
 Additional specimens made and cured at
jobsite to assist in determining when forms
can be removed, when shoring can be
removed, and when structure can be put in
service

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Inspection
 Details in ACI 311.1R and 311.4R
 Project inspection to insure compliance with
additional HWC precautions and procedures
– Spraying forms and subgrade
– Providing sunshades, windscreens
– Fogging, etc…
 Compliance verified and documented
 Record air and concrete temperature (ASTM C
1064) at frequent intervals

Inspection
 Record wind velocity, relative humidity,
evaporation rate, at frequent intervals
 Record information on:
– All water added to mixture and corresponding
mixture time
– Time batched, time batch started and completed
– Concrete temperature at time of delivery and after
placing
– Observations of performance and appearance of
concrete as delivered and after placing in forms

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Inspection
 Slump of concrete as delivered
 Slump of concrete as discharged
 Protection and curing
– Method
– Time of application
– Rate of application
– Visual appearance
– Duration of curing
 Observations should be included in permanent
project records

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