Full Text 01

DEGREE PROJECT IN CIVIL ENGINEERING AND URBAN
MANAGEMENT,
SECOND CYCLE, 30 CREDITS
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN 2019
Simulation of Hardening of the

MahanaKhon Tower Mat
Foundation
ZAKARIA KAZI-TANI
KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Simulation of Hardening of the
MahanaKhon Tower Mat Foundation
Zakaria Kazi-tani
February 2019
TRITA-ABE-MBT-18387
ISBN 978-91-7729-880-9
©Zakaria Kazi-tani 2019
Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)
Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering
Division of Concrete Structures
Stockholm, Sweden, 2019
Abstract
Cement hydration is the result of a series of simultaneous chemical reactions occurring during
the production of concrete. An excessive amount of heat is generated, which consequently may
give rise to thermal stresses and cause early age cracks in concrete that may affect its struc-
tural integrity, and load bearing capacity. Incorporating fly ash into the concrete mixture has
shown to be an efficient method to reduce the temperatures developed during early age hydra-
tion, especially for massive concrete structures. Fly ash does additionally affect the concrete’s
development of compressive strength, tensile strength and Young’s modulus.
The MahanaKhon tower’s mat foundation is divided into 14 layers, with fly ash incorporated
in the concrete mix. A finite element model was developed of the mat foundation with COMSOL
Multiphysics to simulate the developed temperatures and thermal stresses during curing. The
simulations were carried out as parametric studies with different strain reference temperatures.
The simulated temperatures were compared with existing temperature measurements that were
conducted in three different elevations in each concrete layer. The result of the temperature
analyses showed that the measured temperatures were generally larger than the simulated ones,
which may have been the result of the numerical model’s heat conductivity and convective heat
transfer coefficient not reflecting the actual case. Furthermore, the numerical model did not
take into account the effects of solar radiation, which would most likely have increased the
temperature of the concrete. The maximum simulated temperatures were mostly found in the
center level of the concrete, followed by the lower level, and the lowest at the top. It was also
observed that the maximum temperatures in some of the mat foundation layers could exceed 70
°C, which is generally considered high since the risk of delayed ettringite formation may arise.
The large temperature is partially a result of not using cooling methods, such as cooling pipes,
but also due to the high initial and ambient temperatures.
The result of the thermal stress analyses showed that no tensile stresses arose when the
strain reference temperature, Tref , was specified to 30 °C, corresponding to the mean ambient
temperature. This is due to the concrete temperature not falling below Tref , and the concrete
will therefore be in expansion and only be subject to compressive stresses. Increasing Tref to
50 °C, which was considered a reasonable estimation, resulted in developed tensile stresses in
all mat foundation layers, where the majority of the mat foundation layers showed a risk of
superficial surface cracks. The maximum tensile stresses were found at the final time of the
simulations, which was expected, since the temperatures were at their lowest as a result of
removing the curing insulation. Finally, setting Tref to 70 °C, corresponding to the maximum
temperature during hardening, increased the induced tensile stresses considerably, due to the
large temperature gradient between Tref and the concrete temperature. The maximum stresses
were, as expected, located at the top level and caused by internal restraint. The second largest
tensile stresses were found in the center level, also subject to internal restraint. The lowest
tensile stresses were located in the lower level, subject to external restraint.
Keywords: Hydration, MahanaKhon tower, mat foundation, young concrete, temperature
development, thermal stresses, cracking, fly ash, finite element analysis, COMSOL Multiphysics.
iii
Sammanfattning
Cementhydratation är resultatet av en serie kemiska reaktioner som sker under tillverkningen
av betong. Stora mängder värme genereras, vilket följaktligen kan ge upphov till termiska
spänningar och orsaka tidig sprickbildning som påverkar betongens hållfasthet, och bärförmåga.
Inkludering av flygaska i betongblandningen har visat sig vara en effektiv metod avsedd att
minska temperaturerna som utvecklas under hydratationen i ung betong, särskilt i massiva
betongkonstruktioner. Flygaska påverkar också betongens utveckling av tryckhållfasthet, drag-
hållfasthet och elasticitetsmodul.
MahanaKhon towers bottenplatta är uppdelad i 14 lager, där flygaska inkluderades i botten-
plattans betong. En finit elementmodell av bottenplattan skapades i COMSOL Multiphysics,
där de utvecklade temperaturerna och termiska spänningarna i den unga betongen simuler-
ades under bottenplattans härdningsfas. Simuleringarna genomfördes som parameterstudier
med olika referenstemperaturer. De simulerade temperaturerna jämfördes vidare med befintliga
temperaturmätningar som utfördes i tre olika elevationer i varje gjutetapp.
Resultaten av temperaturerna visade att de uppmätta temperaturerna var generellt högre
än de simulerade, vilket bland annat kan bero på att betongens värmeledningsförmåga, samt
konvektiva värmeöverföringskoefficient inte återspeglade det aktuella fallet. Den numeriska
modellen tog inte heller hänsyn till effekten av solinstrålning, som sannolikt skulle ökat be-
tongens temperatur. De maximala temperaturerna hittades mestadels i betongens mittnivå,
följt av den lägre nivån och slutligen lägsta nivåerna vid toppen. Det observerades även att
de maximala temperaturerna i bottenplattan kunde överstiga 70 °C, vilket generellt anses vara
högt då risken för fördröjd ettringitbildning kan uppstå. De höga temperaturerna beror delvis
på avsaknad av kylmetoder, såsom kylrör, men även på den höga initialtemperaturen och om-
givningstemperaturen.
Resultaten av spänningsanalysen påvisade att inga dragspänningar uppstod när referen-
stemperaturen Tref definierades till 30 °C, som motsvarar den genomsnittliga omgivningstem-
peraturen. Detta förklaras av att betongen kommer att vara i expansion och följaktligen endast
utsättas för tryckspänningar. Efter att Tref ökats till 50 °C, vilken ansågs vara en rimlig es-
timering i denna studie, uppstod dragspänningar i alla lager i bottenplattan, där vissa utsattes
för risk för ytsprickor. De maximala dragspänningarna uppstod vid simuleringarnas slut, vilket
var förväntat då temperaturerna var som lägst vid den tidpunkten till följd av att isoleringen
avlägsnades. Slutligen höjdes Tref till 70 °C, vilket motsvarar den maximala temperaturen i
bottenplattan under härdning. De inducerade dragspänningarna ökade avsevärt på grund av
den stora temperaturgradienten mellan Tref och betongtemperaturen. Samtliga lager utsattes
i detta fall för risk för genomgående sprickor. De maximala dragspänningarna påträffades på
toppnivån och orsakades av inre tvång. De näst största dragspänningarna fanns i mitten av
plattan och var också resultatet av inre tvång. De lägsta dragspänningarna påträffades vid
plattans lägre nivå, som utsattes för yttre tvång.
Nyckelord: Hydratation, MahanaKhon tower, bottenplatta, ung betong, temperaturutveck-
ling, termiska spänningar, sprickbildning, flygaska, finita elementanalys, COMSOL Multiphysics.
v
Preface
This Master of science thesis was carried out in a collaboration between KTH Royal Institute
of Technology, and Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand. First and foremost, I would like
to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Richard Malm for providing me his excellent guidance
and supervision from Stockholm throughout my exchange semester in Bangkok. I would also
like to share my sincere appreciation to Associate Professor Dr. Kjartan Gudmundsson for his
support, guidance, and inspiring me to write this thesis abroad.
Furthermore, I would like to share my sincere thanks to my supervisor in Kasetsart Uni-
versity, Associate Professor Dr. Wanchai Yodsudjai, for his unwavering support and tremen-
dous welcoming during my exchange semester. An additional gratitude is directed towards the
Department of Civil Engineering in Kasetsart University, as well as my friends in Kasetsart
University who made my exchange semester invaluably joyful and unforgettable.
I would further like to thank Dr. Nattapong Makaratat from King Mongkut’s University of
Technology North Bangkok, Mr. Somphob Punpueng and Bougyues-thai Ltd for assigning me
this amazing project, and frequently providing me with invaluable support and data needed to
conduct this study.
I would additionally like to thank COMSOL Multiphysics AB for providing the support and
necessary licenses needed to conduct the simulations.
Saving the most important to last, I would like to thank my family and friends for their
unconditional love, support and patience during my period of studies. I would also like to share
a special thanks to my nephew Benjamin Lindgren and neice Lara Lindgren, who along with my
friends and family, were my largest sources of motivation that pushed me forward to complete
this thesis.
Thank you.
Stockholm, 2019
Zakaria Kazi-tani
vii
Contents
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Research question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Delimitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.4 Report outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2 Hardening of concrete 5
2.1 Concrete constituents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.1.1 Cement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.1.2 Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.1.3 Aggregate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.1.4 Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2 Fresh and young concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2.1 Hydration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.3 Thermal cracking in mass concrete structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.3.1 Types of cracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.3.2 Thermal stresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.4 The influence of fly ash on concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.4.1 Fresh and young concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.4.2 Temperature increase of young concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.4.3 Heat evolution of young concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.4.4 Development of compressive strength of young concrete . . . . . . . . . . 26
3 Finite element modeling 31

3.1 Mathematical modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.1.1 Heat transfer in solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.1.2 Solid mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4 Case study - the MahanaKhon tower 37

4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.2 Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.3 Construction operating procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
4.3.1 Pre–mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
ix
4.3.2 Post–mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
4.3.3 Casting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
4.3.4 Thermocouple measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
4.4 Material properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4.5 Measured temperatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
5 Finite element model of the MahanaKhon tower mat foundation 51

5.1 Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
5.2 Material data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
5.2.1 Thermal properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
5.2.2 Structural properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
5.3 Heat transfer modelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
5.3.1 Heat source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
5.3.2 Initial and boundary conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
5.3.3 Ambient conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
5.4 Structural mechanics modelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
5.4.1 Initial and boundary conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
5.4.2 Parametric study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
5.5 Mesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5.6 Domain activation and deactivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
6 Results and discussion 61

6.1 Temperatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
6.1.1 Layer I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
6.1.2 Layer VI.I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
6.2 Thermal stresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
6.2.1 Layer I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
6.2.2 Layer VI.I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
7 Conclusions 73
A Temperatures 83
A.1 Measured temperatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
A.2 Simulated temperatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
A.3 Temperature distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
B Thermal stresses 93
B.1 Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
B.2 Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
C Mat foundation casting sequences 109
x
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Background
The early age thermal behaviour of concrete is governed by the heat of hydration, an exothermic
process taking place during the many simultaneous chemical reactions between cement and
water. The generated heat causes a temperature gradient between the surface and the core of
the concrete, creating internal restraint and resulting in tensile stresses followed by the risk of
internal cracks. Thermal cracking can thus severely reduce the serviceability of concrete and
hence its life span. (DeShutter, 2002)
Early age thermal cracking is a significantly complex engineering problem that requires
knowledge and experience, especially when it comes to massive concrete structures such as mat
foundations, dams, bridges, containment buildings, and so on. In line with the development of
high–rise buildings, the height of the buildings has been continuously increasing. This causes
increased demands on the bearing capacity of the mat foundation and its life span. It is therefore
essential from both an economical and a serviceability point of view, to take precautions to
eliminate potential cracks from arising, and temperature control during early age is thus crucial
to eliminate or reduce the risk for thermal cracking. (Liu et al., 2016)
Various methods have been designed to cool the temperature of concrete to prevent thermal
cracking from occurring. Among those is to partly replace the cement with supplementary
cementitious materials such as fly ash, which reduces the heat of hydration and thereby the risk
for thermal cracks to arise. It also improves the concrete’s workability, cohesiveness, pumpability
and the durability if it is mixed in a correct way. In order to maximize the efficiency of fly ash,
the correct amount should be incorporated when producing the concrete. (DeShutter, 2002)
The Mahanakhon tower in Bangkok, shown in Figure 1.1, is Thailand’s highest building.
Its mat foundation constitutes of 14 layers, with an accumulated thickness of 8.75 meters. The
mat foundation was in early age exposed to excessive heat due to hydration. Fly ash was
incorporated in the concrete mix to control and reduce the concrete temperature.
1
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
Figure 1.1: MahanaKhon tower, Thailands tallest building. Image taken from Hufton + Crow
(2018).
1.2 Research question

The heat developed during hydration when mixing the concrete components may cause stresses
followed by thermal cracks, which reduces the bearing capacity of mat foundations for high–rise
buildings. This requires precautions to reduce the temperature of concrete during early age,
which can be done by incorporating fly ash as one of the main components in the concrete
mixture. The purpose of this thesis is to perform a finite element analysis on the MahanaKhon
tower mat foundation in order to evaluate the temperatures and stresses developed during early
age, and determine whether a risk for cracking occurs. The research questions this thesis aims
to answer are:
How can the temperatures and induced thermal stresses during curing of the MahanaKhon
tower mat foundation be simulated?
Is there a risk of cracking?
How does fly ash impact the developed temperatures and stresses in concrete during early
age?
1.3 Delimitations
The study conducted in this report will only consider the temperature and stress evolutions
of the MahanaKhon mat foundation. The time of event spans from casting the first mat
foundation layer, until the final curing time of the 8th concrete layer has been reached, that
is, an approximate time horizon of 48 days. The simulations will subsequently not take into
2
1.4. REPORT OUTLINE
account the effects on the stresses from the reinforcement. The influence of solar radiation on
the concrete will not either be considered in the simulations. Stresses caused by other variables,
such as moisture and physical loads, will not be taken into account.
1.4 Report outline

The outline of this report will be as follow:
Chapter 2 constitutes a literature study of the thermal and structural properties of early
age concrete. The effects on the thermal and structural properties by incorporating fly
ash will also be described in detail.
The mathematical model employed in the heat transfer and solid mechanics simulations
is described in Chapter 3.
Chapter 4 consists of descriptions of the case study, that is, the pre and post casting
sequences of the MahanaKhon tower mat foundation, it’s structural properties and mon-
itored temperatures conducted by Bougyues-Thai ltd.
Chapter 5 presents the finite element model developed in COMSOL Multiphysics of the
MahanaKhon tower mat foundation.
Chapter 6 presents the discussion and evaluation of the results from the simulations.
The conclusions of the study and suggestions for future research are finally presented in
Chapter 7.
3
Chapter 2
Hardening of concrete
2.1 Concrete constituents

Concrete is one of the most important and used building materials due to its high resistance,
workability and strength. Concrete is generally used in load bearing constructions, especially
those that are exposed to moisture and wear. The main constituents of concrete are cement
paste (cement+water), aggregates and eventual additives. The additives are used to improve
some of the concrete’s properties. The cement paste constitutes a binder that consolidates the
aggregate particles. (Burström, 2007)
The properties of the cement paste are dependent on the water to cement ratio (wcr ),
expressed as (Burström, 2007):
W
wcr = (2.1)
C
where,
W is the amount of water used in the mixture, in [kg] or [kg/m3 ]
C the amount of cement used in the mixture, expressed in [kg] or [kg/m3 ]
However, these proportions can vary depending on the using purpose of the concrete.
2.1.1 Cement
Cement is a hydraulic binder that forms a compact water resistant product. The former Swedish
cement regulations divided cement into three types; Standard cement (STD), Fast hardening
cement (SH) and Slow hardening cement (LH). (Burström, 2007)
However, according to Svensk Byggtjänst Svensk Byggtjänst AB (2017) there are five cement
types that are widely used today. These are:
Cement type I - Portland cement. The cement type that is most commonly used today is
the Type 1–Portland cement, where the main constituents are limestone and clay. The
Swedish ”Anläggningscement”, categorized as a Type I cement, is widely used for massive
structures due to its low heat evolution. (Burström, 2007)
Cement type II - Portland composite cement. Cement type II consists of at least 65 %
Portland clinker, and can also contain blast furnace slag, silica or fly ash. (Burström,
2007)
Cement type III - Slag cement. Cement type III in turn constitutes of 20 - 65 % Portland
cement whereas the remaining constituent is blast furnace slag (Burström, 2007).
5
CHAPTER 2. HARDENING OF CONCRETE
Cement type IV - Pozzolanic cement, also called Low hydration cement. This cement type
consists of about 11 - 55 % pozzolanic material and therefore has a low heat of hydration
according to Burström (2007). This type is, however, not used in Sweden but is defined
in the European cement standards (Svensk Byggtjänst AB, 2017).
Cement type V - Composite cement. This type contains blast furnace slag with pozzolanic
materials (Burström, 2007). Similar to cement type IV, cement type V is not used in
Sweden but is, however, included in the European standards (Svensk Byggtjänst AB,
2017).
2.1.2 Water
In order for the concrete to obtain satisfactory strength and resistance properties, it is essential
that the water is of high quality and the content well selected. Apart from affecting the concrete
strength and resistance, the water content influences the setting, hydration, bleeding, drying
shrinkage, creep, carbonatization, the ductility due to a low wcr, and more. It is hence important
to consider the long term effects the water gives rise to. in general, drinkable water is considered
adequate to use in the concrete mixture since it rarely contains vital substances. However,
one should consider that drinkable water in certain arid areas contain an excessive amount
of chlorides that may give rise to persistent dampness and surface efflorescence. In addition,
some natural waters tend to contain unsatisfactory amounts of alkali carbonates as well as
bicarbonates that may contribute to an alkali-silica reaction. Some waters that are not drinkable
may, however, be satisfactory to use to produce concrete. As a matter of fact, water with pH-
values ranging between 6.0 and 8.0 (and in specific cases, 6.0 - 9.0) are suitable. Another
important factor to consider is that the water discharged in the mixture does not constitute the
sole source of water. Aggregates tend to contain surface moisture that may have a large impact
on the concrete. (Neville, 1995)
2.1.3 Aggregate
”Aggregate” is a generic term for following rock materials (Burström, 2007):
Sand (≤ 4 mm)
Fine gravel (≤ 8 mm)
Stone (> 8 mm)
It is crucial that the aggregate consists of grains of different sizes, since cavities usually arise
between the particles. These cavities are subsequently filled by the smaller aggregate particles.
The remaining smaller cavities will be filled out by the cement paste and form a consolidated
and compact product. (Burström, 2007)
Since approximately 3/4 of the concrete consists of aggregate, its is of significant importance.
Aggregate with unsatisfying properties may severely influence the strength of concrete as well
as its durability and structural performance. (Neville, 1995)
2.1.4 Additives
By using additives, the properties of fresh and hardened concrete can be modified. The most
essential and common additives used in concrete today are, according to Burström (2007):
6
2.1. CONCRETE CONSTITUENTS
Super plasticizer - A chemical mixture that changes the rheology of concrete without
resulting in segregation, increased shrinkage or reduced strength. Using superplasticizer
implies that the water content can be reduced by 10 - 30 %, which further improves
the concrete’s strength and reduces shrinkage. Improving the rheology of the concrete
simplifies the casting of concrete in zones that are difficult to access. (Burström, 2007)
Water reducing additive - Has a similar function as superplasticizers, but is less effec-
tive. Water reducing additives reduces friction between the concrete particles and improves
the workability and strength of the concrete, while maintaining the same cement content
and reducing the water content. (Burström, 2007)
Air pore additive - Makes the concrete resistant against frost by creating pores. When
water freezes to ice, the volume expansion is equivalent to 9 %. The expansion will thus
create stresses that may result in frost damages. By creating pores, more space will be
given for the volume expansion of the freezing water, and the stresses in the concrete will
hence be reduced. Apart from improving the concrete’s conditions towards frost damages,
the air pore additive improves the fresh concrete’s workability and reduces the risk of
water separation. (Burström, 2007)
Accelerators and Retarders - The accelerator increases the rate of the strength devel-
opment and hardening of concrete. The most common accelerator used is CaCl2 (Calci-
umcloride). In contrast, the retarder slows down the initiation of the hardening phase as
well as the strength development. (Burström, 2007)
Silica fume - A finegrained powder that is a recovered rest product from the manufac-
turing of alloying elements for steel. An approximate amount of 4 - 10 %, counted on the
cement weight, is usually incorporated in a concrete mix. Silica fume improves primarily
the stability and cohesion of the concrete. However, it is important to bear in mind that
the water content will have to be increased, so most often, additives such as superplasti-
cizers or water reducers are commonly used in combination with the use of silica fume.
(Burström, 2007)
Fly ash - Fly ash is produced by the combustion of coal in electrical generating stations.
The content used is highly dependent on the properties of the fly ash, the geographic
location, the climate and specification limits. Thomas (2007)
Whenever additives are applied, the structure of the cement paste will undergo changes.
The greater content of additives, the more the paste structure will change. The effects of the
hybridization of the paste will reformulate Equation (2.1) into an expression describing the
water-binder ratio, wbr, were the additives are also taken into consideration. The equation of
the wbr is expressed in Equation (2.2) (Burström, 2007):
W
wbr = (2.2)
C + κD
where,
W constitutes the water content in [kg/m3 ]
C denotes the cement content in [kg/m3 ]
D is the additives content in [kg/m3 ]
κ denotes the efficiency factor on a scale of 0 - 1.
7
2.2 Fresh and young concrete

According to Burström (2007), it is essential that the final product, the hardened concrete fulfils
its set strength-and resistance requirements. It is subsequently vital that the consistency of the
fresh concrete is satisfactory to the point where it can be transported, placed, compacted and
finished without giving rise to segregation (Neville, 1995). Hence, the two main properties that
are important to consider in fresh concrete are the workability and the stability.
Workability is a broad term that describes the simplicity to mix, transport and cast fresh
concrete while maintaining homogeneity, in order to obtain a compacted product. Fresh con-
crete with an excellent workability can easily fill out formworks and enclose the embedded
reinforcement. The main factors that have a vital impact on the workability of concrete are
the water content, the cement content, the aggregate size, the coarse-aggregate content and
the additives. Since no methods exist today to measure the workability, it is operationalized
by its consistency and can be measured using multiple consistency-measurement instruments.
(Burström, 2007)
A widely used method is slump test, where a cone perforated at the top and opened at the
bottom is placed on a plate, as shown in Figure 2.1. The cone is subsequently filled with concrete
to 1/4 of its height, and the concrete is further tamped down with 25 uniformly distributed
strokes using a 60 cm long bullet–nosed steel rod for compacting. When the concrete has
finally been compacted, a second layer is poured up to half the cone and undergoes further the
same procedures as the first layer after pouring. This process repeats until the cone has been
fully filled to the top, and the concrete properly compacted. The cone is subsequently gradually
removed and the concrete will subside. This subsidence is known as the concrete slump. Finally,
the slump of the concrete is measured by measuring the distance between the reversed top of
the cone, and the top of the slump. The process is illustrated in Figure 2.2
Figure 2.1: Cone and rod used for slump testing.
8
2.2. FRESH AND YOUNG CONCRETE
(a)
(b)
Figure 2.2: (a) Stroking and compacting the concrete. (b) Measurement of the concrete slump.
This method is, according to Swedish Standards Institute (2009b), sensitive to changes in
the consistency of the concrete in the measuring range of 10 mm - 210 mm. Outside this
range, the method may be inappropriate, and other alternative methods for determining the
consistency should be utilized. If the slump changes during the first minute after removing the
cone, the test will be considered not suitable to measure the consistency. In addition, slump
testing should not be used when the maximum particle size of the concrete aggregate is above
40 mm. (Swedish Standards Institute, 2009b)
The stability in turn refers to the concrete’s ability to resist separation, which is divided
into three types, illustrated in Figure 2.3 (Burström, 2007):
1. Water separation - Arises when the content of finer material in the concrete, that is, the
cement and filler, is insufficient to maintain the water. The water will then be separated
from the cement paste and enrich on the surface as well as under the coarser aggregates
and reinforcement. (Burström, 2007)
2. Stone separation - Occurs mainly when the concrete is being processed or transported.
Stone separation arises when the consistency of the concrete is low while being subject to
long term vibrations. An additional contributing factor to stone separation is insufficient
amounts of fine material. (Burström, 2007)
3. Mortar separation - Arises during the same conditions as stone separation, that is,
when the concrete has a low consistency and is subject to long term vibrations. A layer
of cement mortar will be formed on the surface while the aggregates sink to towards the
bottom layer, resulting in a bottom layer with a higher aggregate-content than the top
layer. (Burström, 2007)
9
Figure 2.3: Cross sections of fresh concrete subject to different types of separation. Reproduced
from Burström (2007).
2.2.1 Hydration
Hydration occurs when Portland cement reacts with water, whereas a series of chemical reactions
take place. Silicates and aluminates will form hydration products that surround larger, but also
smaller cement particles, creating hydration clusters. These clusters will in the final phase
be consolidated and form a compact mass, called the hydrated cement paste. The hydration
products involved in the process are listed in Table 2.1. (Ji, 2008)
Table 2.1: Products of cement hydration (Neville, 1995).

Name of compound Oxide composition Abbreviation
Tricalcium silicate 3 CaO · SiO2 C3 S
Dicalcium silicate 2 CaO · SiO2 C2 S
Tricalcium aluminate 3 CaO · Al2 O3 C3 A
Tetracalcium aluminoferrite 4 CaO · Al2 O3 · Fe2 O3 C4 AF
The hydration equations below describe the series of chemical reactions that occur (MAST,
2017).
2 Ca3 SiO5 + 7 H2 O −−→ 3 CaO · 2 SiO2 · 4 H2 O + 3 Ca(OH)2 + 173.6kJ/kg (2.3)
2 Ca2 SiO4 + 5 H2 O −−→ 3 CaO · 2 SiO2 · 4 H2 O + Ca(OH)2 + 58.6kJ/kg (2.4)
Hydration is an exothermic process, meaning that heat is dissipated, and energy levels up to
500 J/g of cement can be liberated. The concrete’s low thermal conductivity (generally ranging
between 1.0 - 1.7 [W/m2 K]), will result in the concrete acting as an insulator and further give
rise to high heat concentrations in the interior of the concrete mass. Parallel to the heat increase,
the exterior of the concrete will cool and cause temperature differences between the core of the
concrete, and exterior parts. Cracks may finally form due to the adjacent parts in the concrete
being restrained from movements. The hydration heat can, however, have a positive impact on
the concrete by simply preventing frost wedging by prohibiting the water in the capillaries of
the fresh concrete to freeze during colder weather conditions. (Neville, 1995)
10
2.2. FRESH AND YOUNG CONCRETE
Bearing in mind that hydration of cement is a process that dissipates heat, it has been shown
that there is a certain correlation between the heat evolution rate, and the rate of hydration. As
illustrated in Figure 2.4, the heat rate evolution has three fundamental peaks, represented by
three stages, whereas all three peaks are reached within approximately three days. According
to Figure 2.4, the first stage has the highest peak among all three stages. During the first
stage, and also the initial phase of hydration, hydration takes place at the surface of the cement
particles. The time of duration is very short and occurs generally when mixing the concrete.
The heat evolution rate will subsequently enter the dormant period, that is, when the rate is
very low (Neville, 1995). When the crystals of calcium hydroxide have eroded the surface layer,
the rate of hydration will slowly increase as a contact will be established between the products
of the individual grains, leading to setting. (Neville, 1995)
4
Heat rate evolution (J/s)
0
0 10 20 30 40 50
Time (h)
Figure 2.4: Heat rate evolution of Portland cement with wcr = 40 %. Reproduced from Neville
(1995).
The second peak has now been reached after approximately 10 hours since the initiation of
hydration. The rate will then slowly decrease due to diffusion through the pores in the products
of hydration. Depending on the cement type that is used, there will may an additional rate
increase, reaching a third peak and also the lowest peak of the entire hydration phase. The
third peak is reached at the age of 18 to 30 hours and caused by a renewed reaction of C3 A
(tricalcium aluminate). (Neville, 1995)
It is hence essential to understand the hydration’s impact on the fresh concrete in order for
the concrete structure to fulfill its purpose. To understand and evaluate the heat dissipated
during hydration, the heat of hydration is operationalized as the quantity of heat in J/g of
unhydrated cement, that is developed upon complete hydration at a set temperature. The
surrounding temperature also influences the evolution of the heat of hydration. Table 2.2
illustrates the heat of hydration development within 72 hours for varying temperatures and
different cement types. As can be seen, the higher the surrounding temperature where the heat
of hydration takes place, the more heat is generated. Furthermore, Neville (1995) states the
importance of examining the rate of heat evolution rather than the total heat of hydration since
the accumulated heat produced over a longer period may be dissipated to a greater extent with
a consequently smaller rise in temperature. The heat development for 5 different cement types
during hydration, cured at 21 °C with a wcr 0.4 is depicted in Figure 2.5. (Neville, 1995)
11
Table 2.2: Heat of hydration at different temperatures for cement type I, II and III respectively
at different temperatures (Neville, 1995).
Cement 4 °C [J/g] 24 °C [J/g] 32 °C [J/g] 41 °C [J/g]
type
I 154 285 309 335
II 221 348 357 390
III 108 195 192 214
Figure 2.5: Heat development of five cement types during hydration. The temperature and wcr
were set to 21 °C and 0.4 respectively.
Another variable that has a large impact on the heat dissipated during hydration is the
wcr. A low wcr may lead to incomplete hydration due to insufficient space for the hydration
products. In contrast, if there is available water in cement, hydration will continuously progress
as the available space within the paste will be filled to a complete level. In order to reach full
hydration, a minimum wcr of 0.42 is required. The generated heat during hydration decreases
proportionally with a decreasing wcr, as illustrated in Figure 2.6. (Kim, 2010)
Concrete exposed to extreme amounts of heat during hydration and reaches a temperature
above 70 °C in early age can develop delayed ettringite formation, DEF (Taylor et al., 2001).
According to Taylor et al. (2001), the large temperatures will suppress the normal formation of
ettringite formation, resulting in the expansion of the cement paste, followed by cracking. In
addition, the developed cracks may increase the risk of frost damages or reinforcement corrosion
and thereby cause secondary forms of deterioration (The Concrete Society, 2019). According to
Swedish regulations SS-EN 13670, the concrete temperature must not exceed 70 °C, or fall below
0 °C until the concrete compressive strength reaches 5 MPa, to prevent DEF from occurring
(Swedish Standards Institute, 2009a). Delayed ettringite formation can however be avoided by
either reducing the cement content, or incorporating low heat of hydration cement in the mix
to reduce the concrete temperature in early age.
12
2.3. THERMAL CRACKING IN MASS CONCRETE STRUCTURES
Figure 2.6: Heat development for varying wcr (Kim, 2010).
2.3 Thermal cracking in mass concrete structures
Mass concrete is according to the ACI Committee 116 American Concrete Institute (2000)
defined as ”...any volume of concrete with dimensions large enough to require the measures
be taken to cope with generation of heat of hydration from the cement and attendant volume
change to minimising cracking”. Massive concrete structures are vital in modern constructions
today and are widely used for hydro power stations, dam constructions, foundations and nuclear
reactors (Cengiz et al., 2002). These constructions are, however, complex from an engineering
point of view, mainly due to risk of cracking caused by thermal stresses.
Design standards such as the American Concrete Institute and Eurocode 2 are widely used
to describe the material behaviour of concrete. Since concrete is weaker under tensile conditions
than compression, it is of high importance to understand the response mechanism of concrete
subject to tensile stresses in order to utilize it in structural applications. According to the ACI
committee 318 American Concrete Institute (2018), the average splitting tensile strength, fct
for normalweight concrete is described as
p
fct = 0.56 fc0 (2.5)
where fc0 is the specified compressive strength of concrete [MPa]

Ecm(28days) is the Young’s modulus of the concrete after 28 days, and is, according to the
ACI standards American Concrete Institute (2000), computed as
E = ρc1.5 0.043 fc0

p
(2.6)
for density values of 1 440≤ ρc ≤2 560 [kg/m3 ], where

fc0 is the specified compressive strength after 28 days.
A different approach is applied in Eurocode 2 to calculate the compressive and tensile
strength development of concrete for a temperature of 20 °C. The concept is dependent on the
equivalent age, βcc , of concrete that is computed according to Equation (2.7).
13

s 1−( 28
t
)0.5
βcc = e (2.7)
where,
t is the age of concrete defined in days
s is a coefficient that accounts for the selected cement type.
A time dependent function defining the compressive and tensile strength development of
concrete can be established according to Equation (2.8) and Equation (2.9).
fcm (t) = βcc (t) · fcm,28days (2.8)
fctm (t) = (βcc (t))α · fctm,28days (2.9)
Finally, the time dependent development of Young’s modulus is computed according to

Equation (2.10)
fcm (t) 0.3

Ecm (t) = · Ecm(28days) (2.10)
fcm(28days)
where,
fcm(t) is the mean compressive strength at time t
fcm(28days) is the concrete compressive strength after 28 days.
From a mechanical point of view, it is essential to understand the behaviour of the concrete
and the parameters that are related to the degree of hydration. Upon hydration, hardening
of concrete will immediately be initiated and the compressive strength, tensile strength and
modulus of elasticity increase simultaneously. Figure 2.7 from Eurocode 2 depicts that the
compressive and tensile strengths have a nearly equal relative development while the modulus
of elasticity is initially more rapidly increasing in profile.
0.8
Relative strength
0.6
0.4
Compressive strength
0.2
Tensile strength
Elasticity modulus
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Time (days)
Figure 2.7: Time dependent development of the compressive strength, tensile strength and
modulus of elasticity in early age concrete. Reproduced from Blomdal et al. (2015).
Understanding the tensile behaviour of concrete has shown to be complicated. The consid-
erable challenges in testing the tensile properties of concrete have led to the reliability of exper-
14
iments carried out being questioned, and as such, the acquired knowledge from these studies
have therefore been considered inadequate (Nguyen et al., 2017). It is, however, well known
that the tensile strength is inferior to the compressive strength. In fact, according to Bofang
(2014), the tensile strength of concrete is approximately 8 % of the compressive strength. As
mass concrete structures are large, looking at the post-pouring phase in early age, the temper-
ature of the core will increase dramatically due to the heat of hydration, resulting in expansion.
The conditions are nearly adiabatic and may generate temperatures as high as 50 °C - 70 °C
(Klemczak et al., 2017).
In general, the concrete’s low modulus of elasticity and the large creep immediately after
pouring will generate low compressive stresses caused by the temperature increase. However,
as the temperature of concrete decreases with time, the modulus of elasticity will gradually
increase while the creep remains insignificantly low, causing considerably high tensile stresses
in the concrete during contraction. The stress development can be divided into following three
stages, as the development of Young’s modulus is time dependent (Bofang, 2014):
1. Early stage - The early stage constitutes the initiation of the concrete pouring until the
end of hydration. This stage consists of two main attributes; the change of temperature
field due to the heat of hydration, and the rapid change of the concrete elastic modulus
over time. (Bofang, 2014)
2. Mid stage - The development of thermal stresses reaches the mid stage at the end of
hydration, and ends when the concrete is cooled and reaches a final temperature. The
cooling of concrete will in this stage cause tensile stresses due to the excessive temperature
differences between the surrounding environment and the concrete. The elastic modulus
will undergo minor changes over time, but not as radical as in the early stage. (Bofang,
2014).
3. Late stage - The final stage that is initiated after the concrete has been cooled to a lower
temperature. The thermal stresses are caused due to changes in the ambient air or water
temperature. (Bofang, 2014)
The stages and the variation of temperature and elastic modulus are illustrated in Figure 2.8.
The concrete’s temperature right after pouring,Tp , would be in an adiabatic state and achieve
an adiabatic temperature rise according to the dotted curve, if the concrete could not be fully
cooled. In practice, the concrete would be subject to heat losses on its surfaces, and the
temperature would then change according to the solid line in the figure. The temperature will
subsequently reach its first peak at Tp +Tr , where Tr denotes the temperature rise caused by the
heat of cement hydration. Now, the heat of the new concrete that is under early age hydration
will affect the temperature of the old concrete, and the temperature will once again rise and
reach its second peak in the figure, before it slightly decreases. Finally, the temperature will
undergo minor changes about the steady temperature, Tf , called the quasi-steady temperature.
Generally, the temperature decrease rate of the interior of the concrete decreases slowly, from
its peak, until a steady state is reached in mass concrete structures. (Bofang, 2014)
15
Figure 2.8: Development of temperature and modulus of elasticity in mass concrete structures
at early, middle and late stage (Bofang, 2014).
2.3.1 Types of cracks
Cracks in concrete can be categorized into three different types; through cracks, deep cracks
and surface cracks, as shown in Figure 2.9. The first one may separate the structure in different
bodies, and causes instabilities in the structure as a result. Deep cracks are similar to through
cracks and partly cuts the structure. Surface cracks can emerge from rapid surface cooling, such
as removing the formwork or curing insulation during cold weather conditions. These cracks
are restricted to the surface and are not vital as long as they remain thin. During the younger
years of new China, the Qingtongxia Hydropower was exposed to cracking due to the engineers
lack of experience and knowledge within thermal stresses. The cracking was a result of building
the riverbed power plants in cold sectors designed with thin wall structures, and conducting
insufficient temperature control measurements. The construction had to be stopped and was
delayed for several years. (Bofang, 2014)
Figure 2.9: Sketch of a) through crack b) deep crack c) surface crack. Reproduced from Bofang
(2014).
2.3.2 Thermal stresses
As concrete has a relatively low thermal conductivity, and mass concrete is usually exposed to
air and water, the temperature gradient between the surface and the core of the concrete will
cause deformations. Figure 2.10 depicts the stress and temperature development at the surface
and core of a mass concrete slab. During hydration, tensile stresses will be induced at the top
and bottom surfaces of the slab due to the surfaces being in direct contact with cooler water,
air and so on. The lateral surfaces of the concrete will therefore be cooled and contract. In
the mean time, compressive stresses will form in the core of the concrete slab as it undergoes a
16
temperature increase, resulting in a concrete volume expansion. The internal volume expansion
will subsequently act as an internal restraint and prevent the contraction from taking place
at the lateral surfaces. This will result in tensile stresses and, in the worst of cases, crack
propagation at the lateral surfaces. (Klemczak et al., 2017)
The concrete can also be subject to external restraint. As the newly mixed concrete is
poured, it will be constrained from moving freely by adjacent structures, rocks or old concrete.
This type of restraint can cause through cracks perpendicular to the restraint (Blomdal et al.,
2015).
Figure 2.10 illustrates the relationship between the induced stresses and development of
temperature during curing. As can be seen, an inversion of the stresses occur when the curing
transitions from the heat phase to the cooling phase, showing that the compressive stresses
appear on the lateral surface of the slab, while the tensile stresses are induced in the core of the
slab. In mass concrete structures, such as slabs, cracks are often found on the lateral surfaces,
certainly when no insulation layer is utilized to protect the member (Klemczak et al., 2017).
Cracking at the lateral layers occurs, as illustrated in Figure 2.10, during the heating phase
when the lateral layers are subject to tensile stresses. These cracks can occur within only a few
days after placement (Klemczak et al., 2017). In general, it is assumed that the risk for cracking
occurs when the tensile stress exceeds 70 % of the concrete tensile strength (Hösthagen, 2017).
Figure 2.10: Temperature (upper figure)–and stress (lower figure) development at the surface
and interior of a mass concrete slab. Reproduced from Klemczak et al. (2017).
One of the most essential attributes to consider when analyzing early age thermal stresses is
the temperature development in the concrete structure. Several variables have a great influence
on the temperature development, the maximum temperature and the temperature gradient in
the cross-section of e.g. a slab.
These variables are as follow: (Klemczak et al., 2017)
17
The cement content
The concrete’s thermal properties
The casting conditions, such as the concrete’s initial temperature and slump. The con-
ditions do additionally include whether thermal insulation is utilized, alternative internal
cooling methods are applied if the casting of the concrete was executed in separate se-
quences.
Surrounding conditions such as the surrounding temperature, humidity, wind dimensions,

radiation and geometrical proportions of the concrete structure.
The generated heat during hardening can thus be reduced by considering the above men-
tioned variables. A very simple and efficient method to reduce the generated heat is to properly
select the components of the concrete mix. Choosing cements with low hydration heat that
produces less than 250 - 280 J/g after seven days of hardening is in fact an efficient and highly
recommended solution. Generally, the temperature rise during adiabatic conditions is estimated
to 10 - 12 °C per 100 kg of cement, independent of the cement type. As a lower wcr decreases the
temperature developed during hydration, the water content should be limited in the concrete
mix. (Klemczak et al., 2017)
2.4 The influence of fly ash on concrete

A supplementary material that is commonly utilized in the production of Portland cement
concrete is fly ash. It is produced by the combustion of coal in an electrical generating station.
More precisely, fly ash is the unburned residue coming from the boiler’s burning zone by the
flue fases, and is subsequently separated and collected by either mechanical or electrostatic
separators. (Thomas, 2007).
Fly ash is a pozzolanic material, meaning that it reacts chemically with Calcium hydroxide
(Ca(OH)2 ) created during the chemical reaction between cement and water. As a result of the
chemical reaction between fly ash and Ca(OH)2 , Calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) is formed, a
product that has a significant influence on the strength of concrete. Incorporating fly ash in
concrete gives an outstanding concrete making ability, especially in the fresh state. (Utsi, 2008)
Fly ash was firstly discovered in the early 1900’s, and the material has since mid 1900’s been
established in the concrete industry as a supplementary material to Portland cement. The fly
ash content has historically ranged between 15 % to 25 % by mass of the cementitious material
component. The content is, however, dependent on the purpose of the concrete, the fly ash
properties, the geographic location, the climate and so on. Generally, higher levels of fly ash
(30 % to 50 %) are used in mass concrete structures such as dams and foundations in order to
control the increasing temperature in early age. However, abundant studies have shown that a
higher dosage level (40 % to 60 %) of fly ash can be utilized in structural applications in order
to produce concrete with satisfying mechanical properties and durability. However, increasing
the fly ash dosage may lead to a slower rate of strength development, which may further result
in low early-age strength, causing delays in the overall construction process. A stipulation of
the fly ash dosage levels is listed in Table 2.3. (Thomas, 2007)
18
2.4. THE INFLUENCE OF FLY ASH ON CONCRETE
Figure 2.11: Fly ash, a supplementary cementitious material used in to improve some of the
properties of Portland cement concrete (Tolhurst, 2015).
Table 2.3: Percentual replacement level of total cementitious material (Thomas, 2007).
Dosage level of fly ash [%] Classification
< 15 Low
15 - 30 Moderate
30 - 50 High
> 50 Very high
Incorporating fly ash in the concrete mixture will also influence the heat of hydration. For
mass concrete structures, incorporating fly ash reduces the heat of hydration, which is favourable
in order to prevent thermal cracks from arising. By partly replacing cement with fly ash, there
will be a smaller ratio of cement (leading to a smaller wcr) that will react with water, and the
dissipated heat during hydration will thus decrease. However, when casting the concrete during
winter time, the retarded heat development can lead to severe problems, and it is therefore vital
to use fly ash with caution. To summarize, the fly ash’s most fundamental effect on concrete
is to reduce the heat of hydration, and thereby also the rate of strength development. These
attributes will affect the behaviour of young concrete (when the form is removed), the moisture
curing time and the risk for early freezing to arise. (Utsi, 2008)
Depending on the composition and characteristics of the burned coal, two types of fly ash can
be formed; low-calcium fly ash (Type F) and high-calcium fly ash (Type C). Using spectroscopy
analysis combined with X-ray fluorescence, it is depicted that SiO2 , Al2 O3 , CaO and Fe2 O3 are
the main components of the majority of the fly ashes. Type F fly ash, which consists of < 10 %
CaO is formed by the combustion of bituminous coal. Type C fly ash, that is, the high-calcium
fly ash consists of more than 10 % CaO, and is created by the combustion of sub-bituminous and
lignite coals. The chemical composition of both types are listed in Table 2.4. (Ramezanianpour,
2014)
Table 2.4: Chemical composition of type F fly ash (Ramezanianpour, 2014).

Chemical formula Chemical compound Fly ash type F % wt Fly ash type C % wt
SiO2 Silicon dioxide 45 - 65 20 - 50
Al2 O3 Aluminium oxide 20 - 30 15 - 30
MgO Magnesium oxide 4 - 20 3-5
Fe2 O3 Iron (III) oxide - 5 - 10
- Alkalis ≤3 ≤8
- Ignition loss ≤1 <1
19
2.4.1 Fresh and young concrete
Fresh concrete is characterized by a concentrated suspension of particulate materials with dif-

ferent densities, particle sizes and chemical compositions. When the chemical reaction between
water and cement is initiated, the binder that consolidates the concrete mass will be produced,
and new particles will be formed whereas the previous particles will either dissolve or be coated
with cementitious products. The chemical reaction (hydration) will subsequently dissipate heat
and increase the temperature of the concrete. When the concrete is to be mixed and poured
into a reinforced formwork, it will need a satisfying workability in order to smoothly fill out the
form. The workability of the concrete is in turn synonymous with the rheological properties of
the concrete. Since fly ash is a frequently used material in concrete, it is essential to understand
it’s impact on the rheology of the fresh concrete. An experiment was conducted by CANME to
investigate the fly ash’s influence on some of the properties of fresh concrete from three different
strength classes. The experiment involved 11 fly ashes with CaO contents ranging between 1.2
to 13.3 wt % from different regions in Canada, with varied chemical compositions. The experi-
ment used a percentual amount of 35 % 45 %, and 55 % of fly ash for respective concrete type,
where the initial as well as the final setting time were measured. (Ramezanianpour, 2014)
The results depicted that 9 out of 11 fly ashes led to a significant increase in setting time,
as stated in Table 2.5.
Table 2.5: CANME experiment of fly ash’s influence on the setting time of fresh Portland
cement concrete. Mix numbers 1 - 6 consist of Type F fly ash, while mix numbers 7 - 9 consist
of Type C fly ash (Ramezanianpour, 2014).
Mix no Type Compressive Percentage Initial setting Final setting
strength [MPa] of fly ash time [h:min] time [h:min]
1 F 21 35 6:55 8:30
2 F 21 45 7:45 9:55
3 F 21 55 8:45 11:20
4 F 28 35 7:35 9:25
5 F 28 45 7:30 9:50
6 F 28 55 7:55 10:25
7 C 34 35 6:30 8:15
8 C 34 45 7:15 9:25
9 C 34 55 7:00 9:15
The fly ash’s influence on the setting time of fresh concrete is explained by the fact that the
rate of stiffening will clearly be affected by the fly ash-cement mortar due to the mortar being
composed of less water, as a consequence of incorporating fly ash (Ramezanianpour, 2014).
2.4.2 Temperature increase of young concrete
Previous research have shown that the incorporation of fly ash reduces the heat of hydration
and the temperature rise. Cengiz et al. (2002) conducted a laboratory experiment on the
temperature rise of very high volume fly ash (HVFA) concrete, consisting of five different types
of concretes; M0 to M4, where M0 is an ordinary concrete mixture without any incorporated
fly ash, used as a comparison index in the experiment. M1 and M2 both contain 50 % fly ash,
and M3 and M4 contain 70 % fly ash (Cengiz et al., 2002). The concrete mix proportions of
respective concrete type are listed in Table 2.6.
20
Table 2.6: Concrete mix proportions (Cengiz et al., 2002).

Mixture Cement Fly ash Sand Gravel Water Optimum Actual SP
no [kg/m3 ] [kg/m3 ] [kg/m3 ] [kg/m3 ] [kg/m3 ] W/C W/(FA+C)[l/m3 ]
M0 400 - 600 1200 220 - 0.55 -
M1 120 280 600 1200 112 0.29 0.28 5.6
M2 120 280 600 1200 116 0.29 0.29 -
M3 200 200 600 1200 132 0.30 0.33 5.6
M4 200 200 600 1200 120 0.30 0.30 -
The results of the experiment are depicted in Figure 2.12 and Figure 2.13.
60
M1
M2
50 M0
Temperature (°C)
40
30
20
10
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Time (h)
Figure 2.12: Results of the laboratory experiment with 50 % cement replaced with fly ash.
Reproduced from Cengiz et al. (2002).
60
M3
M4
50 M0
Temperature (°C)
40
30
20
10
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Time (h)
Figure 2.13: Results of the laboratory experiment with 70 % of cement replaced with fly ash.
Reproduced from Cengiz et al. (2002).
21
As depicted in Figure 2.12 and Figure 2.13, the M0 concrete reached its peak temperature
at around 55 °C, which is the highest among all concrete types in the experiment. The M1
and M2 concretes, where the fly ash replaced 70 % of the ordinary Portland cement (OPC)
content by mass, reached their peak temperatures at approximately 30 °C, that is, 25 °C less
than M0. It can, however, be seen that the temperature increases more rapidly in M2 than M1,
reaching its peak temperature quicker. This behaviour can also be observed in the lower graph,
where the temperature of M4 increases at a greater rate than M3, reaching its peak temperature
at about 42 °C quicker than M3, in which the peak temperature is about 40 °C. The slower
temperature development that is observed in the M1 and M3 curves is a result of incorporating
high dosages of super plasticizer (Cengiz et al., 2002). By replacing 50 % of the OPC with fly
ash, the temperature was reduced by almost 15 °C units, compared to a 25 °C reduction with a
replacement level of 70 %. This implies that greater replacements than 50 % of OPC decreases
the concrete temperature significantly.
2.4.3 Heat evolution of young concrete
An experimental study was conducted by Wang and Ge (2009) on the quantitative effect on the
heat evolution, and the compressive strength evolution of the concrete during hydration caused
by fly ash. Five mixtures of concrete were used in this experiment, where four of the mixtures
contained different proportions of cement and fly ash, and one was made with only cement as
a binder. The cement type used in the experiment was of type U/II, and the fly ash of type
C. The concrete constituent proportions as well as the fly ash replacement levels by weight in
the five mixtures are listed in Table 2.7 and Table 2.8. The heat and strength evolution of the
concrete mixtures are further shown in Figure 2.14 and Figure 2.15. (Wang and Ge, 2009)
Table 2.7: Concrete composition (Wang and Ge, 2009).

Materials Source Amount
Cementitious materials Type I/II cement+fly ash 333.7 [kg/m3 ]
Coarse aggregate Fort Dodge 1 012.3 [kg/m3 ]
Fine aggregate Cordova 810.5 [kg/m3 ]
Water Tap water 133.43 [kg/m3 ]
Water reducer WRDA-82 21.60 [ml]
Air entraining Daravair 1400 2.80 [ml]
Table 2.8: Cement replacement level by weight (Wang and Ge, 2009).
Sample Cement [%] Fly ash [%]
1 100 0
2 85 15
3 70 30
4 55 45
5 40 60
22
400
Heat evolution (kJ/kg) 300
200
60 % Fly ash
45 % Fly ash
100 30 % Fly ash
10 % Fly ash
0 % Fly ash
0 50 100 150 200 250

Equivalent age (h)
Figure 2.14: Heat evolution of concrete with different cement replacement levels. Reproduced
from Wang and Ge (2009).
60
Compressive strength (MPa)
40
1 day
20
4 days
9 days
18 days
39 days
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Fly ash (%)
Figure 2.15: Compressive strength evolution of concrete with different cement replacement
levels. Reproduced from Wang and Ge (2009).
23
However, incorporating type F fly ash will significantly decrease the emitted heat during
hydration, compared to type C. Fanghui Han (2014) conducted a study where the heat evolution
behaviour was observed when using different weight levels of type F fly ash. The study used
OPC type I, and type F fly ash. The wbr was set to 0.4. The emitted heat of the concrete
was measured under controlled conditions, where the ambient temperature during hydration
was set to 25 °C, 45 °C and 60 °C. The experiment used an isothermal calorimeter to measure
the hydration heat evolution rate and the total hydration heat within the first 168 hours.
(Fanghui Han, 2014)
The chemical composition and the mix proportion of the binder are presented in Table 2.9
and Table 2.10.
Table 2.9: Binder chemical composition (Fanghui Han, 2014).

Composition SiO2 Al2 O3 Fe2 O3 CaO MgO SO3 Na2 Oeq f−CaO Cl – LOI
Cement 20.55 4.59 3.27 62.50 2.61 2.93 0.53 0.83 0.010 2.08
Fly ash 57.60 21.90 2.70 3.87 1.68 0.41 1.05 - - 7.65
Table 2.10: Binder mix proportion (Fanghui Han, 2014).

Mixture Cement [%] Fly ash [%]
CM 100 0
FA20 80 20
FA35 65 35
FA50 50 50
FA65 35 65
Table 2.11: Compilation of the measured heat of hydration rate and total emitted heat in 25
°C, 45 °C and 60 °C respectively.
Total emitted heat Q [J/g]
Temperature Sample Time to 2:nd peak [h] qr,max [J/gh] 12h 48h 96h 168h
CM 9.44 9.73 78.2 209.7 257 281.1
FA20 10.24 8.54 63.2 191.5 230.4 242.8
25 °C FA35 11.12 7.13 48.6 162.5 193.4 205.4
FA50 12.5 5.6 33.5 133.2 157.1 167.2
FA65 15.55 3.85 20.4 96.3 115 122.5
CM 5.04 26.64 174 286.3 315.4 331
FA20 5.4 20.44 130.4 224.5 253.1 264.2
45 °C FA35 5.72 16.73 111.8 196.5 224.8 233.7
FA50 6.29 12.82 89.4 164.8 190.5 197.2
FA65 6.77 8.26 59.9 120.5 136.3 140.4
CM 3.75 47.78 229.6 316.8 324.4 337.1
FA20 5.14 35.72 178.2 270.4 288.9 300.2
65 °C FA35 5.79 27.27 146.1 230.2 242.6 250
FA50 5.91 21.51 120 190.2 197.7 202.2
FA65 6.08 14.85 88.9 139.5 144.5 148.1
The results of the measured hydration heat evolution rate, qr,max , and the total hydration
24
heat in different ambient temperatures are illustrated Figure 2.16, Figure 2.17, Figure 2.18, and
compiled in Table 2.11. As shown in Figure 2.16 (a), instantly after mixing the binder and
water, a peak is formed. A secondary peak and a third peak are formed for pure cement after
9:45 hours and 15 hours post mixing. These peaks are eventually prolonged in the samples
using fly ash, and the fly ash higher dosage, the later the peak is reached. This happens due to
large amounts of Ca2+ and water being absorbed on its spherical particles. Additionally, it is
also shown that a higher dosage of fly ash will significantly decrease the emitted total hydration
heat. Figure 2.16 (b) shows that the total emitted heat decreases disproportionally when with
greater fly ash dosages.
(a) (b)
Figure 2.16: (a) Heat evolution rate of concrete with different cement replacement levels at
25 °C. (b) Total heat evolution of concrete with different cement replacement levels at 25 °C
(Fanghui Han, 2014).
(a) (b)
Figure 2.17: (a) Heat evolution rate of concrete with different cement replacement levels at
45 °C. (b) Total heat evolution of concrete with different cement replacement levels at 45 °C
Increasing the ambient temperature to 45 °C will accelerate the hydration heat evolution
rate, and result in the secondary peak being reached quicker than when the ambient temperature
was defined as 25 °C. The maximum value did also consequently increase. Even the total emitted
heat increased along the increased ambient temperature. The same behaviour can be observed
25
in Figure 2.17 (a) – (b) and Figure 2.18 (a) – (b) when the ambient temperature is increased
to 60 °C
(a) (b)
Figure 2.18: Heat evolution rate of concrete with different cement replacement levels at 60
°C. (b) Total heat evolution of concrete with different cement replacement levels at 60 °C
2.4.4 Development of compressive strength of young concrete
Several studies have investigated the influence of fly ash on the development of compressive
strength of concrete. A numerical study was carried out by Xiao-Yong and Park (2015) with
the scope of numerically reproducing the compressive strength development of high volume fly
ash concrete (HVFA) using data from experimental studies conducted by Poon et al. (2000).
Concretes with varying wbr and fly ash replacement levels were produced, with Portland cement
type I and type F fly ash (low calcium) as cementitious materials. A superplasticizer was
incorporated into the concrete mix to optimize its workability. The concrete mix constituents
are listed in Table 2.12. The concrete was cured in water with a temperature of 27 °C. (Xiao-
Yong and Park, 2015)
It is depicted in Figure 2.19 (a) – (e) that the final compressive strength of the concrete
increases with a decreasing wbr. According to the numerical studied results, the concrete with
wbr 0.5 reached a final compressive strength of approximately 70 MPa after 7 000 hours of
curing. For comparison, a wbr 0.19 concrete with a final compressive strength of 150 MPa after
curing for the same time-span, and under equal conditions.
A higher wbr implies that a larger amount of water is incorporated into the concrete and
dilutes the cement paste that binds the aggregates, resulting in a weaker concrete. Addition-
ally, increasing the wbr would particularly increase the heat of hydration and accelerate the
water evaporation that would increase the capillary porosity, give rise to autogenous shrinkage
deformations and weaken the concrete. (Piasta and Zarzycki, 2017).
26
Table 2.12: Concrete mix constituents (Xiao-Yong and Park, 2015).

wbr FA replace- Water Binders Sand Aggregate Additives
ment [%] [kg/m3 ] [kg/m3 ] [kg/m3 ] [kg/m3 ] [l/m3 ]
- 205 410 609 1 132 -
15 205 410 589 1 132 -
0.5 25 205 410 576 1 132 -
45 205 410 549 1 132 -
55 205 410 536 1 132 -
- 160 400 710 1 157 4
15 160 400 690 1 157 4.4
0.4 25 160 400 660 1 157 4.8
45 160 400 634 1 157 5.2
55 160 400 621 1 157 6.4
- 150 500 724 1 086 7.5
15 150 500 700 1 086 7.5
0.3 25 150 500 683 1 086 9.25
45 150 500 650 1 086 10.5
55 150 500 634 1 086 13
- 150 637 711 936 18.4
0.24 25 150 633 681 924 18.3
45 148 630 639 920 23.7
- 135 702 641 949 35.1
0.19 25 133 685 620 932 34.7
45 130 677 608 927 33.8
27
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
(e)
Figure 2.19: Experimental and numerical studied compressive strength development of fly ash
concrete with wbr (a) 0.5 (b) 0.4 (c) 0.3 (d) 0.24 (e) 0.19 (Xiao-Yong and Park, 2015).
Observing the effects of the fly ash content on the strength development, it is observed in
Figure 2.19 that increasing the fly ash content reduces the concrete’s setting time and decreases
28
the compressive strength. It is subsequently shown in Figure 2.19 that the setting time is
accelerated as the wbr decreases. This is also illustrated in Figure 2.28, where the y-axis
represents the compressive strength ratio between fly ash concrete and OPC. In Figure 2.28 (a)
and (b) with wbr 0.5 and 0.3 respectively, it is observed that the compressive strength decreases
gradually with greater fly ash content. The strength does, however, increase with an increased
curing time. Figure 2.28 (c) clarifies the statement that the compressive strength development
decreases with an increasing wbr ratio, but also the fact that a greater incorporation of fly ash
decreases the compressive strength.
FA/OPC concrete compressive strength ratio
FA/OPC concrete compressive strength ratio

1.1 1.1
1 1
0.9 0.9
0.8 0.8
0.7 0.7
0.6 0.6
0.5 7 days 0.5 7 days
28 days 28 days
0.4 0.4
90 days 90 days
0.3 180 days 0.3 180 days
0.2 0.2
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
FA replacement ratio FA replacement ratio
(a) (b)
FA/OPC compressive strength ratio
1.1
45 % fly ash
25 % fly ash
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
wbr
(c)
Figure 2.20: Compressive strength development of fly ash concrete with (a) wbr 0.5 (b) wbr 0.3
(c) varying wbr. Reproduced from Xiao-Yong and Park (2015).
29
Chapter 3
Finite element modeling
3.1 Mathematical modeling

3.1.1 Heat transfer in solids
The mathematical formulation developed to define heat transfer in solids is originally derived
from the heat balance equation, based on the first law of thermodynamics (COMSOL, 2018).
Now, taking into account the effects of advective heat flux and eventual heat generation, the
equation of heat generation rate can be described as
∂T
ρCp + ∇ · q = Q(x, y, t) (3.1)
∂t
where,
ρ is the density [kg/m3 ]
Cp is the specific heat capacity [J/gK]
and q = −k∆T is the conductive heat flux according to Fourier’s law of thermal conduction
where,
T is the absolute temperature [K] and
k is the heat conductivity [W/mK].
In heat transfer modeling, convective cooling or heating boundary conditions are usually
implemented into the model. The convective heat flux through a geometry is according to
COMSOL (2018) defined as
− n · (−k∆T ) = h(Text − T ) (3.2)
where,
h is the convective heat transfer coefficient [W/m2 K]
n is the surface normal
Text is the external temperature [K].
A different approach of simulating the hydration of young concrete would be to establish
a model based on the degree of hydration. According to Blomdal et al. (2015), a maturity
factor, or an equivalent age can be used to account for the fluctuating temperatures impact
on the strength development of concrete during hydration. As mentioned in Chapter 2, a
lower temperature retards the hardening of concrete, which subsequently results in a slower
development of hydration degree, Young’s modulus and strength. Given a temperature of 20
°C, the equivalent age te is according to Hösthagen (2017) defined as
31
CHAPTER 3. FINITE ELEMENT MODELING
Z T
te = β∆ βT dt + te,0 (3.3)
0
where,
te is the equivalent hardening time, also defined as the total age of maturity [h]
βT is the temperature sensitivity factor [-]
β∆ is the impact from additives (normally assumed to be to 1)
T is the concrete reference temperature [°C]
te,0 denotes the possible adjustment parameter (assumed to be 0 unless retarders are used).
The sensitivity factor βT is further, according to Blomdal et al. (2015) described as
(
exp θ 1
293 − 1
T +273 for T > -10 °C
βT = (3.4)
0 for T < -10 °C
where,
θ is the activation temperature [K], and expressed as
30 κ3
θ = θref (3.5)
T + 10
where,
θref [K] and κ3 are parameters extracted from curve fitting and vary depending on the
cement type.
An additional expression was developed to describe the relationship between the equivalent
age of maturity, and degree of hydration, shown in Equation (3.6) (Jonasson, 1985).
te
α = exp − λ1 ln 1 + (3.6)
t1
where α is the degree of maturity and λ1 , κ1 and t1 are experimentally produced parameters
that vary depending on the cement type.
α can subsequently be utilized to define the heat development of concrete according to
Equation (3.7)
W = α · C · Wc0 (3.7)
where Wc0 is the heat development at full hydration [J/kg], and C the cement content.
In time–dependent studies, the time derivative of Wc0 , that is, the energy, is usually required.
The equation will thus be expressed as
dW dα dte
Q= = C · Wc0 · (3.8)
dt dt dt
where,
dα λ1 κ1 te −κ1 −1
=α ln 1 +
dt t1 + te t1
and
dte
= βT
dt
32
3.1. MATHEMATICAL MODELING
3.1.2 Solid mechanics
Thermal stresses
Assuming small displacements and rotations, the symmetric strain is defined as
1
∆uT + ∆u

ε= (3.9)
2
where u denotes the displacements. In terms of stresses, Newton’s second law in a time
dependent study is described as
∂2u
ρ = ∇ · σ + FV (3.10)
∂t2
where,
σ is the stress tensor
FV is a body force vector per unit volume.
Hooke’s law is subsequently applied to relate the stress tensor σ and elastic strain tensor
εel by using the 4th order elasticity tensor C, described as
σ = C(E, v) : εel = C(E, v) : (ε − εth ) (3.11)
in which the thermal strain tensor εth is described as
εth = α(t)(T − Tref )I (3.12)

where,
α(t) is the time dependent secant coefficient of thermal expansion [1/K]
Tref is the strain reference temperature [K]
I is the 2nd order unit tensor.
Adding roller constraints as boundary conditions will prohibit displacements in the normal
direction of the boundary, while the boundary is free to move in the tangential direction, as
described in Equation (3.13).
n·u=0 (3.13)
Strength development
The reference strength development of concrete can be determined by using the equivalent age,
expressed in Equation (3.3). According to Hösthagen (2017), the reference strength development
takes into account the following three stages of during concrete hardening:
1. Fresh concrete (0 ≤ te < tS )
2. Young concrete (tS ≤ te < tA )
3. Hardening concrete (te ≥ tA )
where,
tS denotes the equivalent time at initial setting, i.e. the time at which the concrete transi-
tions from a liquid state to a solid state [h]
33
CHAPTER 3. FINITE ELEMENT MODELING
tA expresses the equivalent time at final setting, i.e. when the concrete surface has solidified
to a compact mass [h].
The calculation procedure for the three stages is defined in Equation (3.14), and applies for
following conditions:
1. βT = 1 (applies for when T = 20 °C).
2. β∆ = 1 (implies that no adjustments were made due to admixtures).
3. ∆t0e = 0 (meaning that the equivalent time is specified to 0 at casting)


0 Stage 1






ref te −tS
fcc = exp tA −tS · fA Stage 2 (3.14)




exp s · 1 − 672−t∗ ncc,28


· fcc,28

te −t∗ Stage 3
where,
ncc,28 and s are parameters that influence the curve shape describing the hardening of
concrete [–]
fA defined the concrete strength at final setting [Pa]
fcc,28 denotes the concrete compressive strength after 28 days [Pa] and
672 − δc · tA
t∗ =
1 − δc
where,
1 fA 1/ncc,28
δc = 1 − · ln (3.15)
s fcc,28
The parameters ncc,28 and s can also be adjusted to incorporate the impact of fly ash on
the strength development of concrete.
The tensile strength can subsequently be determined according to Equation (3.16)
!β1
fcc ref
fct = ref
· fct (3.16)
fcc
where,
ref
fct denotes the reference tensile strength [Pa]
β1 is a parameter that connects the strength, from Eurocode 2 1992-1-1 [–]
fcc,ref is the reference compressive strength expressed in Equation (3.14) [Pa]
fcc defines the concrete compressive strength [Pa].
In regards to thermal cracking, the risk can be determined as the structural–stress ratio, or
strain ratio, according to Equation (3.17)
!max !max
σt (t) εt (t)
η= ≈ (3.17)
fct (t) εct (t)
34
3.1. MATHEMATICAL MODELING
It is generally assumed that crack risk occurs when η ≥ 0.7, i.e. when the tensile stress
is equal to, or greater than 70 % of the concrete tensile strength. This is assumed to be a
reasonable estimation of risk for thermal cracking, and was previously mentioned in Chapter 2.
35
Chapter 4
Case study - the MahanaKhon tower
4.1 Introduction
MahanaKhon tower, located in the business district of Bangkok, Thailand, is with a height
of 314.2 meters the tallest building. The tower, that was built between 2012 - 2017, rises 77
storeys (with an additional basement level) that comprises luxury residences, hotel+retail and
an observatory. MahanaKhon CUBE, which is a smaller retail building consisting of 7 floors
and additionally 4 levels of basement, is situated adjacent to the tower. The total gross floor
area of the construction is estimated to 150 000 m2 . (Bouygues-Thai, 2018)
Figure 4.1: MahanaKhon tower - Thailand’s tallest building with a height of 314.2 m. Image
taken from CNN (2017).
37
CHAPTER 4. CASE STUDY - THE MAHANAKHON TOWER
Figure 4.2: MahanaKhon tower -view from below. Photo; Zakaria Kazi-tani.
Figure 4.3: MahanaKhon Cube - Back view (left image), and front view (right image). Image
taken from Archetype (2017).
The scope of this study was to evaluate the temperature and stress developments during
early age of the MahanaKhon tower mat foundation. Fly ash was incorporated into the concrete
mix in order to reduce the heat of hydration and the risk for crack propagation to occur. A
total quantity of 22 701 m3 of concrete was used for the mat foundation.
4.2 Geometry
The studied mat foundation is divided into 14 layers, where layers VII.I and VII.II constitute
the internal core walls. The accumulated thickness of the mat foundation is 8.75 meters, as
38
4.2. GEOMETRY
illustrated in Figure 4.6. A 18 meter deep and 0.5 meter thick reinforced in–situ made diaphragm
wall (denoted D–wall and shown on the bottom left corner in Figure 4.4) was used as formwork
when pouring the concrete. The diaphragm wall is also used, together with the pile wall, as
retaining walls against the horizontal soil pressure acting on the mat foundation. The footprint
of the mat foundation accommodates 129 barrette piles, where the safe working load is 29
MN (Chanvaivit et al., 2015). 12 concrete megacolumns were placed around the core walls,
as illustrated in Figure 4.5 (Chanvaivit et al., 2015). King posts were installed to increase the
lateral stability and bearing capacity of the platform holding up workers and vehicles. Horizontal
bracing layers were also installed as complement to the king posts to increase the slenderness
ratio of the king posts and reduce the risk for lateral buckling. The geometry and structure of
the mat foundation’s 14 layers is listed in Table 4.1. Figure 4.6 and Figure 4.7 depict section
C–C and section D–D from the mat foundation plan views, shown in Appendix C.
Table 4.1: Geometry and structure of the MahanaKhon tower’s mat foundation layers.
Structure Elevation [m] Height [m] Area [m2 ] Volume [m3 ]
Layer VIII.I -4.55 0.5 387 194
Layer VIII -4.55 1.5 1 754 2 631
Layer VII.I -4.55 2.8 3.93 11
Layer VII -4.55 6 0.5 3
Layer VI.II -4.55 0.5 1 200 600
Layer VI.I -5.05 0.5 1 200 600
Layer VI -5.55 0.5 1 200 600
Layer V.I -5.20 2.3 196.5 452
Layer V -6.05 1.2 3 026 3 632
Layer IV -7.25 1.25 2 996 3 745
Layer III.I -7.55 1.5 387 580
Layer III -8.50 1.00 2 693 2 693
Layer II -9.50 1.5 2 087 3 131
Layer I -11.00 2.3 1 665 3 830
Figure 4.4: Mat foundation construction site.
39
Figure 4.5: Internal core walls (L-shaped figures) surrounded by 12 columns (red squares)
(Chanvaivit et al., 2015).
Figure 4.6: Section C–C.
40
4.3. CONSTRUCTION OPERATING PROCEDURES
Figure 4.7: Section D–D.
4.3 Construction operating procedures

4.3.1 Pre–mixing
As described in the previous sections, the construction of the mat foundation had many ob-
jectives, one of which was to create a concrete mix with low hydration heat as an essential
precaution to reduce the temperature in the concrete during early age. Necessary precautions
had to be taken pre–mixing the concrete. The cement and fly ash were initially stocked in
a silo to ensure no exposal towards any external impacts (such as moisture and temperature
variations) and maintain a satisfactory temperature. The aggregates were stocked in a shady
area with automatic sprinklers to control the temperature. Reasonable amounts of ice were
incorporated into the water used for the concrete to cool the temperature of the fresh concrete.
Figure 4.8: Water sprinkling as an aggregate temperature cooling procedure.
41
Figure 4.9: Stocking of the aggregates on a shady area.
4.3.2 Post–mixing
After carefully selecting the proportions of the concrete constituents, mix trials were carried
out to control that the proportions resulted in the concrete procuring an adequate workability
and stability. The workability is in this case operationalized by the slump, and tested with
slump tests, where the measured slump was reported to the concrete producing factories as
a quality control routine. In addition, two duplicated mock-up models were built with the
purpose of measuring and evaluating the developed temperatures and peak temperatures. The
measurements were performed over a 7–days time span. Insulated foam was placed on the
surfaces of the mock ups to maintain the surface temperature consistent with the its core
temperature.
Figure 4.10: Slump tests of pre–trial mix concrete.
When the mock-up model showed satisfactory results, mass production of the concrete was
initiated to deliver to a check point and finally, to the construction site. At the check point,
42
an additional quality control was carried out to ensure that no impurities or segregation had
occurred. Additional slump tests were also carried out at the check point.
4.3.3 Casting
The tower being located in the highly trafficked business district of Bangkok will limit the daily
maximum delivery rate of concrete to 4 000 m3 . Each layer of the mat foundation required 12
continuous hours to pour. (Chanvaivit et al., 2015)
Figure 4.11 illustrates the site plan of the mat foundation. During casting, chutes were used
to convey concrete to a lower elevation. When finished casting, a thin plastic sheet was placed
on the concrete surface, and was subsequently overlaid by a 2 inches (corresponding to 50.8 mm)
thick layer of polystyrene foam, as illustrated in Figure 4.12. This prevents drastic temperature
differences between the surface and the core of the concrete to arise. The insulation and plastic
sheet remained on the concrete top surface for a number of days before removal, and the next
layer of concrete subsequently poured into the formwork.
Figure 4.11: Mat foundation construction site.
Figure 4.12: Schematic view of the concrete at curing.
43
4.3.4 Thermocouple measurements
Thermocouples type K were installed to measure and monitor the temperature in the mat
foundation layers and the surrounding environment. The thermocouples have an accuracy of
whichever is greater between ± 2.2 °C or ± 0.75 %, and special limits of error of whichever is
greater between ± 1.1 °C or ± 0.4 % (Thermocoupleinfo, n.d.). In practice, three positions in
layers I to VI were selected to carry out the temperature measurements, and two positions for
layers VI.I and V.II. Each position contained three thermocouples installed at different elevations
in the mat foundation layers. Thermocouples A and C were installed 100 mm from the top and
bottom surface respectively of the concrete layer. Thermocouple B was installed in the center of
the layer. Thermocouple D measures the ambient temperature and is consequently not installed
in the concrete layer. A schematic overview of the positions and associated thermocouples can
be seen in Table 4.2. The temperatures were logged every 30 minutes for a varied number of
days. The thermocouple positions for one thermocouple pole in layers I to VI.II are shown
in Figure 4.14, where H denotes the hight of the newly cast concrete layer, and X the height
of the existing underlying concrete (such as the formwork or an existing cast mat foundation
layer) defined in mm. The position of the thermocouple poles are additionally illustrated in
Figure 4.15 and Figure 4.16 respectively. Unfortunately, no data was obtained in regards to the
positions of the thermocouple poles in layer VI.
Figure 4.13: (a) Agilent Benchlink Data logger (b) Thermocouple type K.
Table 4.2: Positions and associated thermocouples. P1 contains thermocouples 1,2 and 3. P2
contains thermocouples 4, 5 and 6, and P3 contains thermocouples 7, 8 and 9. Thermocouple
D is installed outside the concrete layer.
Position A B C D
P1 Nb.1 Nb.2 Nb.3
P2 Nb.4 Nb.5 Nb.6 Nb.10
P3 Nb.7 Nb.8 Nb.9
44
Figure 4.14: Schematic figure of the thermocouple depths in one pole. The thermocouples are
equally positioned in Layers I to VI.II.
Figure 4.15: Plan view of thermocouple pole positions in layers I to V.
45
Figure 4.16: Plan view of thermocouple pole positions in layers VI, VI.I and VI.II respectively.
4.4 Material properties

To obtain a satisfactory concrete mix with low hydration heat concrete, the materials had to be
carefully selected and tested. Layers I to V consisted of a 28 MPa cylinder strength concrete,
while layers VI to VI.II had a cylinder strength of 60 MPa. A water reducer of type A&D was
used in the mix to provide for the lower water content and increase the strength properties of
the concretes. The concrete constituents incorporated into the concrete mixtures are listed in
the Table 4.3 and Table 4.4.
Table 4.3: Concrete composition for layers I, II, III, IV, V.

Material Type Amount [kg/m3 ]
Portland Cement I (TIS 15–2532) 195
Fly ash A (Recovered from Mae Moh Power plant) 160
Coarse aggregates Crushed limestone ≤20 mm 1 080
Fine Aggregates Natural river sand, FM=2.6–3.0 820
Water Ordinary tap water 150
Chemical Admixture A&D 2.5
Concrete Design Cylinder Strength: 28 MPa
Slump: 10 ± 2.5 cm
46
4.5. MEASURED TEMPERATURES
Table 4.4: Concrete composition for layers VI.I, VI.II.

Material Type Amount [kg/m3 ]
Portland Cement I (TIS 15–2532) 420
Fly ash A (Recovered from Mae Moh power plant) 105
Coarse aggregates Crushed limestone ≤ 20 mm 1 100
Fine Aggregates Natural river sand, FM= 2.6 - 3.0 770
Water Ordinary tap water 133
Chemical Admixture Type G 8.0
Concrete Design Cylinder Strength: 60 MPa
Slump: 21.5 ± 2.5 cm
4.5 Measured temperatures

The measured temperature development in layers I and VI.I are depicted in Figure 4.17 and
Figure 4.18. The temperature development of all measured layers are found in Appendix A.1.
No temperature measurements were made on mat foundation layers VII and VIII as it was not
considered necessary, since the temperature rise in these layers would not have a significant
impact on the mat foundation during curing.
Looking at the temperature development in layer I, it is seen that the mean ambient tem-
perature is approximately 30 °C. The initial temperatures are relatively high, varying between
30 °C and 50 °C. The largest initial temperatures are found in the center of the layer in positions
P1, P2 and P3. This also applies for the maximum temperatures in the three positions, that
all exceed 70 °C in the center of the concrete layer, and is reached approximately 2 days after
initiating casting. Temperatures above 70 °C are considered high as there is a risk for delayed
ettringite formation to occur, and thereby, cracking. After the maximum temperature has been
reached, it is shown that the temperature decrease rate is generally low, which might be an
effect of the incorporated fly ash in the mix. It is also shown that the temperatures at the top
level do not differ greatly from the ones at the center level, despite being located adjacent to
the surrounding climate. This occurrence is explained by the fact that the insulation placed on
the concrete’s top surface limits the heat transfer from the surrounding air through the layer’s
top surface. The simultaneous temperature decrease is subsequently a result of removing the
covering insulation, permitting heat transfer to occur through the top surface. The tempera-
tures at the bottom level are however seen to be nearly unaffected by the removal of insulation.
This is due to the bottom level being positioned furthest from the top surface, and the cooling
will thus occur at a later sequence than the top and center level.
A similar behaviour is shown in Figure 4.18, depicting the temperature development in layer
VI.I. It is shown that the initial temperatures are lower than layer I. The maximum temperatures
are, similar to layer I, found in the center level, but are, however, significantly larger than in
layer I and exceed 80 °C. This may be a result of using a lower fly ash content (25 % units
less compared to layer I) but also utilizing Portland cement type 1, that is shown in Figure 2.5
to generate the second largest heat during hydration, among all five cement types. The same
cement type is also incorporated in the layer I mix.
In addition, it is observed that the maximum temperatures are reached nearly one day
after initiating casting, which may also be an effect of reducing the fly ash content. It was
previously shown in Subsection 2.4.3 that a lower fly ash content would increase the hydration
heat evolution rate considerably, and the generated heat would consequently increase and reach
its maximum quicker.
47
Figure 4.17: Measured temperatures from thermocouples in mat foundation layer I.
Figure 4.18: Measured temperatures from thermocouples in mat foundation layer VI.I.
A compilation of the measured temperatures is presented in Table 2.11. The peak data
stipulates the maximum temperatures, and elevations at which the maximum temperatures
were found, in the three positions P1, P2 and P3. The last column in the table shows how
long after casting the maximum temperatures were reached, in hours and minutes. Looking
at the levels at which the maximum temperatures occur, it is shown that most of them are
located in the center of the concrete layers, aside from layers VI and VI.II, where the maximum
temperature is located at the top level. This may possibly have been a mistake when monitoring
the temperatures since the maximum temperature is generally located at the center of the
concrete.
48
4.5. MEASURED TEMPERATURES
It is additionally seen in Table 2.11 that the maximum temperatures in layers I to V are
reached typically within the second day after casting, and latest within the third day. Compared
to layers VI to VI.II, it is shown that the maximum temperatures are reached typically within
the first day after casting, and latest within the second day.
Table 4.5: Compilation of the MahanaKhon tower mat foundation maximum measured tem-
peratures.
Layer Position Level Temperature Elevation Time post casting
[°C] [m] [hh:mm]
P1 Center 73.5 -12.15 37:00
I P2 Center 71.4 -12.15 41:00
P3 Center 70.8 -12.15 49:00
P1 Center 65.8 -10.25 45:00
II P2 Center 67.1 -10.25 44:00
P3 Center 68.2 -10.25 48:00
P1 Center 59.5 -9.10 31:00
III P2 Center 60.1 -9.10 40:00
P3 Center 61.4 -9.10 29:00
P1 Center 65.4 -8.03 31:00
IV P2 Center 64.2 -8.03 36:00
P3 Center 58.3 -7.40 64:00
P1 Center 62.5 -6.55 58:00
V P2 Center 60.3 -6.55 55:00
P3 Center 61.2 -6.55 55:00
P1 Top 72.9 -5.75 12:00
VI P2 Center 66.0 -5.75 10:00
P3 Top 67.1 -5.75 11:00
P1 Center 82.2 -5.40 23:00
VI.I
P2 Center 80.2 -5.40 28:00
P1 Center 76.1 -0.30 17:00
VI.II
P2 Top 77.8 -0.10 31:00
49
Chapter 5
Finite element model of the

MahanaKhon tower mat foundation
A numerical model was set in COMSOL Multiphysics 5.3a to simulate the development of
temperatures and thermal stresses in the MahanaKhon tower’s mat foundation. Since the data
provided was insufficient to carry out the simuations, certain assumptions had to be made.
Among those are that:
The heat generation during hydration that was implemented into the geometry was ex-
tracted from Figure 2.16, Figure 2.17 and Figure 2.18 and further interpolated to the
corresponding case conditions.
The initial temperature of the soil and formwork was assumed to be 30 °C.
A 2D column of the mat foundation is modelled, where adiabatic conditions apply on the
sides and bottom of the geometry.
The soil height was assumed to 4.5 m.
Only a 2D cross–section of the mat foundation was simulated.
Layers VII and VIII were not taken into account since no temperature measurements were
carried out for these two layers.
5.1 Geometry
Assuming that the concrete in the mat foundation behaves similarly throughout all points in
the horizontal direction, the geometry in the numerical model could be simplified to a 2D cross-
section, shown in Figure 5.1 and Figure 5.2. The geometry includes mat foundation layers I to
VI.II. Simplifying the numerical model would also reduce the computation time when running
the simulations.
51
CHAPTER 5. FINITE ELEMENT MODEL OF THE MAHANAKHON TOWER MAT FOUNDATION
Figure 5.1: The cross section used as the geometry in the numerical model ranges between the
two thick black lines.
Figure 5.2: Geometry of the numerical model in COMSOL Multiphysics.
5.2 Material data

The materials incorporated into the model were selected from COMSOL Multiphysics’s built–in
library. Since the mat foundation consists of 3 different types of concrete, the Young’s modulus
had to be modified for each and every concrete type. The three types are as follow:
1. The bottom thin concrete layer, acting as formwork.
52
5.2. MATERIAL DATA
2. Concrete layers I to V, with a design cylinder strength of 28 MPa
3. Concrete layers VI, VI.I and VI.II, with a design cylinder strength of 60 MPa.
5.2.1 Thermal properties
The thermal properties of the concrete were included in the built–in library and utilized in the
simulations. The library did, however, lack the density and thermal properties of the soil. The
density was thus calculated and extracted from Snabbgrus (Snabbgrus, 2018) online calculator,
and the thermal conductivity as well as the specific heat capacity were extracted from Sundberg
(1991). The thermal properties of the materials are listed in Table 5.1.
Table 5.1: Thermal properties of the material model.

Parameter Concrete Soil
Density ρ [kg/m3 ] 2 300 1 700
Thermal conductivity λ [W/m2 K] 1.8 1.2
Specific heat capacity c [J/kgK] 880 420
Coefficient of thermal expansion α [1/K] 10−6 -
5.2.2 Structural properties
The Young’s modulus of the soil was obtained from Geotechdata (2013), as the mean value for
medium well-graded gravels/sand, and defined as 120 MPa. As two concretes with different
cylinder strengths were produced for the mat foundation, the strength and Young’s modulus
development will consequently differ. This study will therefore utilize a studied strength de-
velopment of concretes with design cylinder strengths of 28 MPa and 62 MPa respectively,
extracted from Haque and Rasel-Ul-Alam (2018) and Neupane et al. (2015). The compressive
strength development of concrete with a 60 MPa design cylinder strength, corresponding to
layers VI to VI.II could unfortunately not be found. The tensile strength developments of re-
spective concretes were computed according to Equation (2.5) from ACI, as it is the standard
design code used in Thailand. The time dependent developments of Young’s modulus were
however calculated according to Equation (2.10) from Eurocode 2, as the ACI standards misses
a time dependent function of the Young’s modulus development. The development of strength
and Young’s modulus are hence defined as time dependent functions, and are therefore not
based on the equivalent age. The developments of strength and Young’s modulus implemented
into the numerical model are shown in Figure 5.3.
53
63 5
Compressive stength [MPa]
56
Tensile strength [MPa]

4
49
42
3
35
28 2
21
14 1
Layers I to V (fcd = 28 MPa) Layers I to V (fcd = 28 MPa)
7 Layers VI to VI.II (fcd = 60 MPa) Layers VI to V.II (fcd = 60 MPa)
0
7 14 21 28 7 14 21 28
Time (days) Time (days)
(a) (b)
40
Young’s modulus [GPa]
30
20
10
Layers I to V (fcd = 28 MPa)
Layers VI to V.II (fcd = 60 MPa)
0
7 14 21 28
Time (days)
(c)
Figure 5.3: (a) Compressive strength development of 28 MPa and 62 MPa design cylinder
strength concretes, extracted from Neupane et al. (2015) and Haque and Rasel-Ul-Alam (2018)
(b) Calculated tensile strength development of corresponding concretes. (c) Calculated devel-
opment of Young’s modulus of corresponding concretes.
54
5.3. HEAT TRANSFER MODELLING
5.3 Heat transfer modelling

A transient heat transfer analysis was conducted to calculate the temperature distribution
throughout the mat foundation. As the hardening of the mat foundation is not a stationary
problem, a time dependent study had to be carried out. The temperatures of the mat foundation
layers were measured and recorded consistently during the existing measurements. In Chapter 3,
another approach was presented to simulate the heat of hydration using the degree of maturity
of hydration. The model could however not be used since it demands in data parameters that
were unfortunately not available.
5.3.1 Heat source
The heat source in this case is the heat evolution rate of mat foundation layers I to V, which was
interpolated using the curves from Figure 2.16, Figure 2.17 and Figure 2.18 to the corresponding
cement/replacement levels of the mat foundation layers. The ambient temperature was also
linearly interpolated to the mean ambient temperature of 30 °C. This was a necessary precaution
due to no heat evolution measurements of the mat foundations layers being carried out. It is,
however, important to consider that the wbr of the concrete used in the experiments conducted
by Fanghui Han (2014) was set to 0.4. This ratio is quite comparable to the wbr used in layers
I to V of 0.42 and is hence considered acceptable.
As no heat generation rate of a concrete sample with similar wbr and cement replacement
levels as layers VI to VI.II could be found, the heat development rate of the FA–20 curve
in Figure 2.17 was selected as heat source in the 2D model. The heat generation rates were
incorporated into the numerical model as interpolation functions, and are depicted in Figure 5.4.
Comparing Figure 5.4 with Figure 5.3 (a) and (b), it is seen that the 62 MPa concrete strength
has a quicker strength development than the 28 MPa concrete, despite having a slower hydration
heat evolution rate. Furthermore, as a lower fly ash content was incorporated in the 60 MPa
concrete mix, the heat evolution rate should, theoretically speaking, be greater and reach its
maximum quicker than the curve representing the 28 MPa concrete. This is unfortunately not
the case, and will be taken into consideration when briefly discussing and evaluating the results
of the simulations in Chapter 7.
Hydration heat evolution rate (J/gh)
25
Layers I–V
Layers VI–VI.II
20
15
10
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Hydration time (h)
Figure 5.4: Interpolated hydration heat evolution rates for mat foundation layers I–V and
VI–VI.II incorporated into the 2D model in COMSOL Multiphysics.
55
5.3.2 Initial and boundary conditions
The initial conditions of the heat transfer model are presented in Table 5.2. The initial tem-
peratures of the mat foundation layers were calculated by computing the mean value of the
temperatures at the different elevations when the monitoring was initiated, at the thermocou-
ple position with the largest monitored temperature.
Table 5.2: Initial conditions of heat transfer model.

Domain Initial value [°C]
Soil 30.0
Formwork 30.0
Layer I 35.0
Layer II 40.2
Layer III 30.3
Layer IV 27.5
Layer V 34.4
Layer VI 36.9
Layer VI.I 29.2
Layer VI.II 35.3
As a cross–section of the mat foundation is simulated, it is assumed that abiabatic conditions

apply on the external boundaries marked in Figure 5.5 as no heat transfer occurs at those
boundaries. The top surface boundary is, however, exposed to the surrounding climate, and
heat transfer will thus occur over that specific surface.
Figure 5.5: Adiabatic conditions apply on the left, right and bottom external boundaries of the
model (thick black frame in the figure).
As the top surface of the concrete layer is insulated during the first few days, the heat loss
will be of a minor profile. When the insulation is subsequently removed, the heat losses will
simultaneously increase, and there will be a radical temperature gradient between the concrete
surface and the ambient air. This curing condition is simulated by modifying the convective
56
5.4. STRUCTURAL MECHANICS MODELLING
heat transfer coefficient, CHTC, at the top surface boundary. Lee et al. (2009) compiled a
table on the CHTC profile during different curing conditions. The CHTCs incorporated into
the 2D model were interpolated to the conditions applied in this case study using Table 5.3.
The average wind velocity in June, July and August 2013 in Bangkok were extracted from the
Ogibet (2018) database.
Table 5.3: Compilation of CHTC during the periods of casting.

Month Curing form Average wind speed [m/s] CHTC [W/(m2 K]
w/o curing 3.3 16.8
June
Curing blanket + plastic sheet 3.3 3.1
w/o curing 3.4 17.0
July
w/o curing 3.2 16.6
August
The time at which the CHTC is changed is compliant with when the temperature evolution
curves in Section 4.5 instantly enter a decreasing phase, reflecting the removal of the insulation.
Table 5.4 lists the time of change of CHTC of the mat foundation layers in the numerical model.
Table 5.4: Removal of insulation and changed CHTC for the mat foundation layers.
Layer Removal [min] CHTC pre removal [W/(m2 K)] CHTC post removal [W/(m2 K)]
I 4 230 3.0 16.8
II 3 840 3.0 16.8
III 3 360 3.2 17
IV 6 120 3.2 17
V 3 240 3.2 17
VI 720 2.8 16.6
VI.I 3 660 2.8 16.6
VI.II 2 100 2.8 16.6
5.3.3 Ambient conditions
The measured ambient temperatures were included into the 2D model. The wind speed was
incorporated into the 2D model by utilizing COMSOL Multiphysics’s built–in climate database.
The database compiles tabulated meteorological data from more than 6000 weather stations all
over the world (COMSOL, 2018).
The starting date and local time of the simulations were set to that of when the tempera-
ture monitoring was initiated for every mat foundation layer. The selected weather station is
Bangkok Metropolis station 484550, Thailand at coordinates 13.73°N 100.57°E 4m. The wind
speed and dew point temperature were set to the average values measured by the weather
station. Solar radiation was not considered in the 2D model.
5.4 Structural mechanics modelling

The structural transient behaviour of the numerical model is of a quasi–static character, meaning
that the load (in this case, the heat generation) slowly deforms the structure. The analysis was
performed with linear time dependent elastic material properties.
57
5.4.1 Initial and boundary conditions
The displacement and structural velocity fields were initially set to 0 m and 0 m/s in the x and
y direction respectively.
Figure 5.6 shows the constraints applied on the geometry. The external side boundaries are
constrained in the x-direction by prescribing roller supports, which implies that full internal
restrain applies in that direction. The bottom boundary of the soil is also constrained with
roller supports in order to restrain displacements in the y-direction. The top surface boundary
is, in contrast, free from constraints in the y-direction, and deformations in that direction are
hence permitted. The domains are by default attached in the joint boundaries by COMSOL
Multiphysics’s default finalization method form union.
Figure 5.6: Roller conditions applied on the external boundaries of the mat foundation.
5.4.2 Parametric study
The level of thermal stresses that will arise in the concrete will be clearly influenced by the
concrete’s strain reference temperature Tref . In short, Tref defines the temperature at which
the concrete is assumed to be stress-free, and the thermal strain is consequently zero. This
temperature is difficult to estimate as it tends to fluctuate due to varying ambient conditions,
concrete temperature and the point of which the concrete has obtained a reasonable strength.
Generally speaking, Tref is set to the mean ambient temperature for concretes with long–time
castings. Studies using cooling pipes have, however, shown that the strain reference temperature
can be about as near as the concrete maximum temperature during hydration (Malm, 2015).
This may however not be applicable in all cases as the maximum temperature is significantly
reduced in a concrete with implemented cooling pipes. A parametric study was hence conducted,
where Tref was specified to 30 °C (corresponding to the mean ambient temperature during
the mat foundation casting), 50 °C (a reasonable estimation) and 70 °C (typical maximum
temperature in the mat foundation).
58
5.5. MESH
5.5 Mesh
Meshing is generally used to discretize a problem into smaller elements in order to acquire
qualitative results. When establishing the mesh, multiple factors such as the geometry shape,
element size, mesh type and distribution have to be taken into consideration. A mapped mesh
with quadrilateral elements was established in the model geometry as it was a considered a
more convenient option for both the heat transfer, and solid mechanics problem. A mapped
mesh is restricted to specific element shapes and patterns, and contains only quadrilateral or
triangular elements. A mapped mesh simplifies the simulations to resolve the large gradients
in the y-direction without having to use a fine mesh in the x-direction. The mesh element
size was determined by conducting a convergence analysis for the maximum temperature and
tensile stresses in mat foundation layer I. Tref was set to 50 °C and a tolerance level of 1 % was
acceptable. As shown in Table 5.5, the temperatures converge immediately while the stresses
converge at a mesh element size of 0.0125 m. There is a 0.80 % difference in maximum stresses
between the use of 0.0125 m and 0.00625 m element sizes. Consequently, the simulations will be
performed with a mesh element size of 0.0125 m, in order to obtain a more rapid computation
time and maintain qualitative results.
Table 5.5: Mesh convergence analysis.

Mesh Max temperature Difference Max stress Difference
size [m] [°C] [%] [MPa] [%]
0.05 70.7 1.437
0 3.27
0.025 70.7 1.484
0 1.61
0.0125 70.7 1.508
0 0.80
0.00625 70.7 1.520
5.6 Domain activation and deactivation

In finite element analysis, domain activation and deactivation may be a fundamental tool when
simulating domains in different stages. In this study, 10 domains were built to reflect the 8
stages of casting of the MahanaKhon tower mat foundation. The time dependent study that
was carried out was divided into several studies, one for each domain, where the boundary
conditions were systematically changed between the time dependent steps. The simulations
followed following procedures:
1. Layer I together with the formwork and soil are simulated at the same time span and
time step as the measured temperatures carried out for layer I. The developments of
temperature and maximum stresses are only simulated for layer I.
2. The next layer, i.e. layer II, is activated and simulated together with layer I, the formwork
and soil, during the same time period as the measured temperatures were carried out for
layer II. The boundary conditions and initial conditions are additionally adjusted to the
predefined values, specified in Table 5.2 and Table 5.4.
3. The model is solved using a new time dependent study, starting at the same time of casting
as in site. The developed temperatures and thermal stresses were finally simulated for
layer II.
59
The same procedure applies for the remaining mat foundation layers. The time span of
every study is presented in Table 5.6. It should be noted that the thermal stresses are only
simulated for the top layer, and not the underlying layers.
Table 5.6: Compilation of in–situ measurement times and the length of the simulations for the
mat foundation layers.
Layer Simulation initiation Simulation ending Duration of the simulation [min]
I 2013-06-16 18:00 2013-06-22 11:00 8 220
II 2013-06-23 18:00 2013-06-29 08:00 8 040
III 2013-07-07 09:00 2013-07-12 06:00 7 020
IV 2013-07-14 09:00 2013-07-19 07:00 7 020
V 2013-07-29 12:00 2013-08-02 06:00 5 400
VI 2013-08-06 08:00 2013-08-08 12:00 3 120
VI.I 2013-08-09 00:00 2013-08-13 02:00 5 880
VI.II 2013-08-17 06:00 2013-08-22 08:00 7 320
60
Chapter 6
Results and discussion
In this chapter, the simulated temperatures and stresses in the MahanaKhon tower mat founda-
tion are presented. The analyses are based on the literature study presented in Chapter 2 and
3. The simulated and measured temperature development for layer I (28 MPa concrete) and
VI.I (60 MPa concrete) will primarily be presented in graphs complemented by contour plots
depicting the time dependent temperature distributions. The temperature development graphs
will depict the actual measured temperatures conducted by Bouygues–thai ltd and the simu-
lated temperatures will be carried out using COMSOL Multiphysics. The simulated thermal
stresses will, similar to the temperatures, be presented for layers I and VI.I. In addition, three
graphs per layer were selected to depict the thermal stresses development in the lower, center,
and top level for Tref = 30 °C, 50 °C and 70 °C. Complementary contour plots will also be used
to illustrate the thermal stresses distribution in layers I and VI.I. The results of the simulated
temperatures and stresses are compiled in Table 7.1 and Table 7.2, found in Chapter 7. The
graphs and contour plots illustrating the temperature, and thermal stresses development in the
miscellaneous layers are found in Appendix A and B.
6.1 Temperatures
6.1.1 Layer I
As seen in Figure 6.1, the concrete temperatures (both measured and simulated) dramatically
increase after casting. This is, according to Bofang (2014), known as the early stage, which
is characterized by a dramatic temperature growth and a rapid development of the Young’s
modulus. The maximum measured and simulated temperatures both occur in the center, and
estimated to be 73.5 °C and 67.7 °C respectively. It can also be seen that the measured temper-
ature curve in the center reaches its maximum and starts decreasing sooner than the simulated
one. This can be explained by the fact that the heat source incorporated into the numerical
model may not fully reflect the actual dissipated heat of the mat foundation layer. Subsequently,
heat exchange at the side and bottom boundaries can not occur since adiabatic conditions ap-
ply. This will contribute to a heat isolation in the concrete core, causing a slower cooling, as
depicted in the simulated curve at the center. This is also shown in Figure 6.2 (a), where the
temperature at the center is largest. The fact that the maximum temperature is found in the
center of the concrete is consistent with Neville (1995) statement in regards to the concrete’s
low thermal conductivity creating large heat concentrations in the core of the concrete. The
effects from solar radiation may also be a reasonable explanation to why the maximum mea-
sured temperature is larger than the simulated, as the sun clearly heats up the concrete. The
concrete’s thermal conductivity in the numerical model may also differ from the real concrete,
and can therefore influence the rate of heat transfer through the concrete. It was previously
61
CHAPTER 6. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
discussed in Chapter 2 that early age concretes with temperatures greater than 70 °C may be
subject to delayed ettringite formation, DEF. In the numerical model, it is seen that the risk is
large for DEF to occur due to the temperature almost exceeding 70 °C in the center.
In regards to the top level, the temperature decrease in the simulated curve on 13/6/19 at
21:00 is the effect of removing the curing insulation layer that was placed on the top surface.
When removed, the top lateral surface of the concrete will be directly exposed to the ambient
climate, and heat exchange will immediately take place leading, to decreasing temperature. in
Figure 6.2 (a), it is shown that the top level temperature is lower than the center and lower
level. As the lower level is adjacent to the underlying formwork, heat exchange will additionally
take place at that boundary, and the temperature of the formwork will slightly increase and
contribute to temperature concentrations in that zone. After the insulation has been removed
in Figure 6.2 (b), it is shown that the temperature at the top level rapidly decreases, from 53
°C when the insulation is removed, to nearly 40 °C within 13 hours. As the insulation was
removed during night time, i.e. when the ambient temperature is at its lowest, the cooling of
the concrete may also have been slightly accelerated.
Figure 6.1: Simulated and measured temperature development in position P1 in layer I. The
simulated temperatures are presented in black and the measured temperatures in gray. The
simulated temperatures have an additional ”S” added before the elevation level.
Additionally, due to the air’s thermal conductivity being significantly larger than that of
concrete, it is clear that heat transfer will occur more rapidly between the top level and the
air compared to the lower boundary and the formwork, which is a reasonable explanation to
why the temperature decrease rate is larger at the top level than the lower level. The radical
temperature decrease is also influenced by the convective heat transfer coefficient, CHTC, in
the numerical model. In this case, it is seen that the CHTC, after removing the insulation, is
greater than in the actual case as the temperature decrease is more pronounced in the simulated
curve compared to the measured curve. Additionally, Neville (1995) stated that the lowest
temperature in the concrete will be found at the lateral surfaces, which is compatible with the
simulated and measured top level curves. The maximum measured and simulated temperatures
62
6.1. TEMPERATURES
at the top level are 61.7 °C and 54.2 °C respectively.

As for the lower level, the curves are nearly identical but deviate slightly after the insulation
has been removed. The simulated temperature at the lower level has a roughly linear increasing
profile while the measured temperature gradually decreases. In Figure 6.2 (a)–(c) it is observed
that the temperatures at the lower level and formwork increase with time, which, as previously
mentioned, may be caused by large temperature concentrations in those zones. The heat flow
from the lower level towards the formwork may thus be lower in the numerical model, compared
to the real case. In this level, the maximum measured and simulated temperatures were seen
as 56.1 °C and 61.4 °C.
(a) (b) (c)
Figure 6.2: Contour plots of simulated temperature distribution in layer I at (a) 4 230 minutes
(removal of insulation) (b) 5 790 minutes (post removal of insulation) and (c) 8 230 minutes
(maximum spotted temperature).
6.1.2 Layer VI.I
The temperature development in layer VI.I is graphically shown in Figure 6.3. It is seen that
the temperature increase rate in the three levels is considerably larger on the first day in
the measured curves compared to the simulated ones. Looking at the center, the maximum
temperature is reached a few hours before the measured one. It is also observed that the
simulated curve decreases at a greater rate than the measured one after removing the insulation
on 13/8/11 at 13:00, which indicates that the decreasing heat of hydration of layer VI.I in the
numerical model is slightly larger than the actual one. The maximum measured and simulated
temperatures reached were 82.2 °C and 68.1 °C respectively, and differ by 14.1 °C.
At the top level, it can be seen that the maximum measured temperature is larger than
the simulated one, as the maximum measured temperature was shown to be 77.1 °C and the
simulated 66.0 °C. It is also shown that the temperature decrease rate was larger in the measured
curve compared to the simulated one when removing the insulation on 13/8/11 at 13:00. The
decrease rate in the simulated curve will, however, a few hours later exceed that of the measured
curve.
In regards to the lower level, it is seen that the maximum simulated temperature is reached
within the first day after casting before the temperature almost immediately starts a few hours
63
later obtains a decreasing profile. The measured curve, in contrast, reaches its maximum value
about 1.5 day after casting, and decreases with a lower rate than the simulated one. The
measured curve is subsequently more reactive to the removal of insulation, as the temperature
decreases quicker than the measured one. The maximum measured and simulated temperatures
in the lower level are 71.8 °C and 66.0 °C.
Figure 6.3: Measured and simulated temperature development in layer VI.I.
It is clearly seen that the heat generation rate incorporated in the 2D-model is significantly
lower than the actual one, as the simulated temperatures are considerably lower than the mea-
sured ones. Similar to layer I, neglecting the effects from solar radiation may have contributed
to lower simulated temperatures. In addition, it is shown that the CHTC was lower in the actual
case compared to the one implemented in the numerical model, as the measured temperature
decrease rate on the top level is greater than in the corresponding simulated curve. It is ad-
ditionally seen that the simulated temperature decrease rate after removing the insulation was
shown to be larger in the center and lower level. This indicates that more heat was conserved
in the actual case compared to the numerical model. A reasonable explanation may be that the
concrete heat conductivity specified in the 2D-model was inferior to the actual case. This may
also serve as an explanation to the retarded reaction in the lower level measured curve after
removing the insulation.
Figure 6.4 illustrates the thermal behaviour of layer VI.I during curing. In (a), it is seen that
the maximum temperature is reached about 26 hours after casting, i.e. before the insulation
is removed. It is subsequently shown in (b) that the temperature has decreased significantly
before removing the insulation, which is the result of the heat of hydration decreasing after
reaching its maximum. Figure 6.4 (c) illustrates the temperature distribution at the final time
of the simulation, i.e. after the insulation has been removed. It is shown that the temperature
has decreased significantly due to the changed CHTC, but also decreasing heat of hydration.
The coldest temperature is found on the top level, followed by the center, and lower level.
By comparing both mat foundation layers, it is seen that the temperature gradient from
initiation until the maximum temperature is reached is nearly 39 °C in layer VI.I, compared to
33 °C in layer I. This occurrence is, however, expected since the heat evolution rate in layer VI.I
64
6.2. THERMAL STRESSES
was extracted from a curve representing the heat of a concrete with a lower fly ash content, and
thus, a larger heat evolution than the one that was implemented in layer I. It is further shown
that the temperature decrease rate after reaching the maximum temperature, and removing the
insulation was greater in layer VI.I compared to layer I. This may be explained by the fact that
the thickness of layer I (2.3 m) was almost 5 times greater than the one of layer VI.I (0.5 m).
The heat will thus have to transfer a greater distance through the concrete in layer I, and the
temperature decrease rate will hence be lower than in layer VI.I.
(a) (b) (c)
Figure 6.4: Contour plots of simulated temperature distribution in layer VI.I at (a) 1 560
minutes (maximum temperature spotted) (b) 3 660 minutes (removal of insulation) and (c) 8
230 minutes (final time of simulation).
6.2 Thermal stresses
6.2.1 Layer I
Figure 6.5 describes the thermal stresses development for the strain reference temperatures
Tref = 30 °C and Tref = 50 °C. In (a), it is seen that compressive stresses form and increase
dramatically upon casting. This is explained by the fact that the concrete immediately expands
as the temperatures in all levels are above that of the strain reference temperature. Large heat
concentrations take place in the mat foundation layer due to the defined adiabatic boundaries
and thermal insulation placed on the concrete’s top surface, restraining heat transfer from taking
place. As the concrete is in its early stage, the Young’s modulus is rapidly increasing. When
removing the insulation on 13/6/19 21:00, it is seen that the compressive stresses on the top
level instantly decrease, which is a result of heat transfer taking place on the top surface of the
concrete. After this, the temperature will slowly approach the strain reference temperature,
i.e. the temperature at which the thermal strain equals zero. It is, however, important to take
into account that even though the concrete is contracting, it will still remain in an expanded
state as long as the concrete temperature is above that of Tref . It is also shown that the
compressive stresses in the center and lower level decrease after removing the insulation. By
simply observing the three curves, one can see that the compressive stresses increase with the
distance from the top surface. As no tensile stresses arise, the tensile strength of the concrete
65
will not be exceeded, and the risk of crack propagation is hence low. There may however be a
risk for shrinkage due to the large compressive stresses that form.
Figure 6.5 (b) shows the thermal stresses development for Tref = 50 °C. In contrast to (a),
tensile stresses will initially be induced in all three levels. As Tref was defined as 50 °C, the
initial temperature of the concrete will be under that of the strain reference temperature, and
the concrete will immediately be in contraction. This is also illustrated in Figure 6.6 (a), where
the tensile stresses are observed to be larger at the top and bottom lateral surfaces of layer I
about 720 minutes into the simulation. At this time, the stresses are 0.18 MPa at the top and
lower level, and nearly zero in the center level. The initial temperature of the formwork being
specified to 30 °C will result in the lower level being initially cooled and contract. The adjacent
formwork will subsequently act as a constraint and prevent the bottom zone from moving freely.
This phenomenon is caused by adjacent structures acting as constraints, and is referred to as
external constraint, as described by Blomdal et al. (2015). This will cause tensile stresses on the
lower level and yield tensile stresses. The top level of the concrete will act similar to the lower
level and also contract. Meanwhile, the contraction in the center level will gradually decrease as
it is increasing in temperature, and the center will thus prevent contraction from taking place
on the top level. This is referred to as internal constraint, see for instance Blomdal et al. (2015).
As time proceeds, the concrete temperature will increase above Tref , and compressive
stresses will gradually develop throughout the concrete layer. This is also illustrated in Fig-
ure 6.6 (b), that shows the distribution of thermal stresses when the insulation is removed. The
compressive stresses are shown to be larger in the center of the concrete and decrease gradually
towards the colder top and bottom boundaries. This is also seen in Figure 6.5 (b), where tensile
stresses develop on the top level and oscillate starting from 13/6/19 at 21:00. A few hours later,
the compressive stresses in the lower and center level will start decreasing. Every oscillation
reaches its peak whenever the simulated mean ambient temperature is at its lowest, i.e. during
night time. The temperature gradient between the concrete layer and the ambient climate will
thus be at its largest and the tensile stresses will consequently increase. This is according to
Blomdal et al. (2015) caused by the concrete center expanding in volume and preventing con-
traction at the top level from taking place. In regards to cracking, it is shown in Figure 6.5 (b)
that the tensile stresses exceed the tensile strength of the concrete. This does, however, take
place during the early phase where the concrete is still considered to be in its fresh state. It is,
however, seen that the tensile stresses induced on the top level are close to intersect with the
tensile strength development curve in the end of the simulation time. In Chapter 3, it was men-
tioned that the crack risk in a concrete structure could be determined by the structural–stress
ratio, η, defined in Equation (3.17). Crack risk is generally assumed to occur when η ≥ 0.7.
Taking this into account, it can be concluded that the risk for crack propagation is large.
Figure 6.6 (c) illustrates the distribution of stresses where the maximum tensile stresses
are induced. It is observed that tensile stresses have developed at the top boundary of the
layer and gradually decrease along the distance to the concrete core that is under compression.
The maximum tensile and compressive stresses are, in this stage 4.36 MPa and -4.32 MPa
respectively, with the maximum compressive stress located in the center of the concrete layer.
When approaching the bottom boundary, the compressive stresses will gradually decrease as
the boundary is located adjacent to the colder formwork, as seen in Figure 6.2 (c). This is
the result of the temperature of the formwork gradually approaching that of the concrete core,
leading to a smaller temperature gradient between the bottom zone and the formwork. This
is also depicted in the temperature development graph in Figure 6.2. It is also observed in
Figure 6.6 that the tensile stresses are induced on the top surface of the concrete, which implies
that surface cracks may initiate. Surface cracks should according to Bofang (2014) not pose a
major threat to the structure as long as they are treated before growing larger.
66
(a)
(b)
Figure 6.5: Simulated thermal stresses development in layer I for Tref = (a) 30 °C and (b) 50 °C.
The solid line represents the developed tensile strength development of the analyzed concrete
layer, and the miscellaneous lines represent the developed thermal stresses in the different
elevations.
67
(a) (b) (c)
Figure 6.6: Contour plot of simulated thermal stresses distribution in layer I for Tref = 50 °C
at (a) 720 minutes (first peak) (b) 4 230 minutes (removal of insulation) and (c) 8 220 minutes
(maximum tensile stress spotted).
A similar but more extreme behaviour is observed in Figure 6.7, that illustrates the thermal
stress development for Tref = 70 °C. Tensile stresses will immediately develop in all three levels
and exceed the tensile strength of the concrete, which implies that risk for cracking occurs early
in the curing phase. This is also shown in Figure 6.8 (a) where the three levels are seen to be
exposed to tensile stresses. The tensile stresses in the center level will subsequently decrease and
remain well below the tensile strength of the concrete. The lower and top level will, however,
for a second time, exceed the tensile strength of the concrete on 13/6/18 at 18:00. The tensile
strength gradient between the two intersection points is observed to be inferior on the top level
to the bottom level. This is simply explained by the temperature on the top level being lower
than the lower level, and the temperature gradient on the top level is larger and yield a larger
contraction. As the strain reference temperature was set to 70 °C, the concrete will remain in
contraction, which is also a legitimate explanation for why no compressive stresses are induced
in any of the three levels during the simulation time. Removing the insulation will consequently
increase the tensile stresses on the top surface. This is also shown in Figure 6.8 (b), where
the tensile stresses induced on the top surface of the concrete will reach 4.0 MPa. The tensile
stresses are also observed to be of a larger profile on the lower level of the layer, which is
explained by the fact that the lower level is exposed to external restraint from the formwork.
The lowest tensile stresses are further found in the core of the concrete layer. Figure 6.8 (c)
illustrates the time of event at which the maximum tensile stresses arise. It is shown that the
maximum tensile stresses are induced on the top surface of the layer, and amount to 8.2 MPa.
Meanwhile, the tensile stresses in the center and lower level are shown to be approximately 0
and 2.8 MPa respectively. Looking at Figure 6.7, it is seen that the tensile stresses on the lower
level decrease gradually after reaching it’s peak on 13/6/20 at 09:00 at 3.0 MPa. This is, as
previously mentioned, due to the large heat concentrations that have taken place on that level.
To summarize, there will be risk for crack propagation on the lower and top level, as the
tensile stresses on these levels exceed the tensile strength of layer I.
68
Figure 6.7: Simulated thermal stresses development in layer I for Tref = 70 °C.
(a) (b) (c)
Figure 6.8: Contour plots of simulated thermal stresses distribution in layer I for Tref = 70
°C at (a) 720 minutes (b) 4 230 minutes (removal of insulation) (c) 8 220 minutes (maximum
tensile stress spotted).
69
6.2.2 Layer VI.I
The simulated developed thermal stresses for Tref = 50 °C and 70 °C respectively are depicted
in Figure 6.9 (a) and (b). Starting with (a), it can be seen that tensile stresses arise in all
three levels and exceed the tensile strength. This is also seen in Figure 6.10 (a), where the
entire layer is subject to tensile stresses. The stresses in the underlying layers are 0 MPa due to
the tthermal stresses in the underlying layers not being simulated. The initial tensile stresses
are a result of the initial temperature being lower than Tref , meaning that the concrete is
initially under contraction. The behaviour of the curves is similar to those of layer I, apart
from the initial tensile stresses being considerably larger in layer VI.I, mainly due to the initial
temperature being lower in layer VI.I. The tensile stresses will subsequently decrease, and
transition into compressive stresses. This means that the temperature in the three levels are
above Tref , and the concrete is consequently under expansion. The compressive stresses in
the three levels will grow until the maximum temperature is reached in layer VI.I, i.e. on
13/8/10 at 02:00. The compressive stresses will, after this, decrease in line with the decreasing
temperature. On 13/8/11 at 13:00, the compressive stresses will simultaneously decrease and
transition into tensile stresses at the top and center level, as a result of removing the insulation.
The temperature distribution, shown in Figure 6.10 (b), shows the distribution of the developed
stresses when the insulation is removed, and no tensile stresses are observed. In contrast, it is
shown that layer VI.I is subject to compressive stresses only. In Figure 6.9 (a), it is further
seen that the top level curve intersects with the tensile strength curve, meaning that there is
a large risk of cracking. Figure 6.10 (c) shows that the maximum tensile stresses occur on the
top level, followed by the center and lower level. The maximum tensile stresses in layer VI.I are
shown to be 4.1 MPa, 1.1 MPa and 0.7 MPa at the top, center, and lower level, where the risk
for crack propagation occurs on the top level. This implies that surface cracking may occur.
It is, as expected, seen that the developed tensile stresses increase when Tref is specified to
70 °C, which is due to the temperature gradient being larger between the concrete temperature
and Tref , and the curves will thus translate in the y-direction. The initial tensile stresses in
the three levels are seen to be larger than the ones developed when Tref was specified to 50 °C.
This is also illustrated in Figure 6.11 (a). They also seem to exceed the tensile strength during
the first 12 hours after casting, compared to approximately 6h with a lower Tref specified. The
tensile stresses will, after this, decrease due to the increasing heat of hydration yielding an
increasing temperature in the concrete. The curves will subsequently obtain a convex shape,
with the minimum tensile stresses occurring when the maximum temperature is reached. The
tensile stresses in the three levels will, after this, gradually increase due to the temperature
decreasing as a result of the decreasing heat of hydration. The tensile stresses will subsequently
increase dramatically due to the insulation being removed. This time of event is shown in
Figure 6.11 (c), where the tensile stresses is seen to be larger at the top level, and decrease
towards the lower level. It is further seen in Figure 6.9 (b) that the tensile stresses in all three
levels exceed the tensile strength of the concrete. This means that the risk for through cracks
to emerge is large, as there is a risk for cracking in the three levels.
Layer VI.I is hence subject to tensile stresses, from initiation until the final time is reached,
which means that the mat foundation layer is under contraction during the full simulation time.
In reality, this may not be the case since the measured temperature exceeds Tref in the three
levels. The state of the concrete would therefore most probably transition into expansion and
be exposed to compressive stresses within the first day after casting. The maximum tensile
stresses were shown to be 12.6 MPa at the top level, 9.6 MPa in the center level and 7.6 MPa in
the lower level. The maximum stresses are hence found at the top level, followed by the center
level and finally, the lower level.
70
(a)
(b)
Figure 6.9: Simulated thermal stresses in layer VI.I for (a) Tref = 50 °C and (b) Tref = 70 °C.
71
(a) (b) (c)
Figure 6.10: Contour plots of simulated thermal stresses distribution in layer VI.I for Tref = 50
°C at (a) 240 minutes (first peak) (b) 3 660 minutes (removal of insulation) (c) 5 880 minutes
(a) (b) (c)
Figure 6.11: Contour plots of simulated thermal stresses distribution in layer VI.I for Tref = 70
72
Chapter 7
Conclusions
This study was carried out with the aim of investigating how the temperatures and thermal
stresses in the MahanaKhon tower mat foundation can be simulated during curing, and deter-
mine if crack propagation would occur. This study did additionally aim to investigate how fly
ash affects young concrete during hardening. A compilation of the measured and simulated
maximum temperatures, and simulated thermal stresses are presented in Table 7.1 and Ta-
ble 7.2. Generally, it can be seen that the measured temperatures are slightly larger than most
of the simulated ones, which strengthens the fact that the developed finite element model is
relatively accurate. One way to increase the accuracy of the model would be to measure the gen-
erated heat during hydration, and the compressive strength development in order to reflect the
actual case. In addition, the model should include coupling between temperature and strength
development by e.g. applying a methodology with equivalent age, as described in Chapter 3.
The heat development and strength development were unfortunately not consistent with each
other, since they were selected from different concretes, and the generated heat and strength
development were consequently not connected. Generally, the heat generated during hydration
in layer VI.I should have reached its maximum quicker than that of layer I. This would result
in the maximum temperatures being reached quicker than shown in the simulated results. This
would, in turn, yield lower initial tensile stresses. The tensile strength of the concrete in layer
VI.I would additionally have developed quicker, and the risk for cracking before removing the
insulation would hence be reduced.
It is also observed that the simulated maximum temperatures were considerably larger in
layers VI to VI.II compared to layers I to V, which may be the effect of reducing the fly
ash content in the concrete mixture. It was shown by Fanghui Han (2014) that a lower fly
ash content would increase the heat evolution rate during hydration. This was additionally
justified in a laboratory experiment conducted by Cengiz et al. (2002), presented in Subsection
2.4.2, where it could be seen that the temperature decreased considerably with a larger fly ash
content incorporated into the concrete mixture, and increased with a reduced fly ash content.
As a result of this, it was shown by Xiao-Yong and Park (2015) that the compressive strength
development of concrete would grow slower with a larger fly ash content included in the mix,
and quicker with a smaller content. However, according to Kim (2010), reducing the wcr
would subsequently reduce the developed temperatures during hydration. This is additionally
illustrated in Figure 2.6. As layers VI to VI.II have a lower wbr than layers I to V, it would
appear natural that the developed temperatures in layers VI to VI.II would be inferior to those
of layers I to V. This emphasizes the impact of reducing the fly ash content on the developed
temperatures during hydration. This statement also applies in the thermal stress analyses, where
it is seen that the maximum tensile stresses are found to be larger in layers VI to VI.II compared
to layers I to V, as a result of reducing the fly ash content. In general, high temperatures pose
a risk on a concrete structure’s load bearing capacity and may, in severe cases, reduce it. On
73
CHAPTER 7. CONCLUSIONS
the other hand, there are no large demands on the strength capacity of a mat foundation, as
the majority of the local loads are taken up by structural elements within the construction that
is supported by the mat foundation.
The simulated maximum tensile stresses in the mat foundation layers are compiled in Ta-
ble 7.2. An asterisk was added after the stresses to show that cracking occurred. The results
from the parametric study indicated that no cracking occurs when the strain reference temper-
ature Tref was set to 30 °C, as no tensile stresses are induced in any of the mat foundation
layers. Specifying Tref to 30 °C was considered an underestimation, and is not considered a
realistic estimation that would reflect the concretes’ actual strain reference temperature. When
increasing Tref to 50 °C, it is seen that tensile stresses arise in all levels. The results showed
that the maximum tensile stresses in the lower and center level were reached within the first
day of curing, while the maximum tensile stresses induced at the top level were found towards
the end of the simulation. Table 7.2 also shows that all layers were subject to crack risk, where
superficial surface cracks are most likely to emerge in layers I to V, and through cracks in 2/3
layers among layers VI to VI.II. Defining Tref to 50 °C was in this study considered the most
representative estimation that would correspond to the strain reference temperature of the mat
foundation concretes.
Table 7.1: Compilation of the MahanaKhon mat foundation measured and simulated maximum
temperatures.
Layer Level Max. measured Max. simulated Temperature
temperature [°C] temperature [°C] difference [°C]
Lower 56.1 61.4 5.3
I Center 73.5 67.7 -5.8
Top 61.7 54.2 -7.5
Lower 62.5 67.4 4.9
II Center 68.2 69.3 1.1
Top 64.4 57.6 -6.8
Lower 57.6 56.6 -1.0
III Center 61.4 57.6 -3.8
Top 54.0 51.3 -2.7
Lower 59.9 58.2 -1.7
IV Center 66.7 59.5 -7.2
Top 61.3 51.5 -9.8
Lower 58 58.4 0.4
V Center 62.5 60.2 -2.3
Top 58.8 52.2 -6.6
Lower 66.0 68.1 2.1
VI Center 71.0 69.8 -1.2
Top 72.9 65.9 -7.0
Lower 71.8 66.0 -5.8
VI.I
Center 82.2 68.1 -14.1
Top 77.1 66.0 -11.1
Lower 65.8 68.9 3.1
VI.II
Center 76.9 71.5 -5.4
Top 77.8 69.3 -8.5
74
By increasing Tref to 70 °C, it is seen that there is a large crack risk in all mat foundation
layers. In fact, 3/5 layers were subject to crack risk in all three levels among layers I to V,
and surprisingly, 3/3 layers among layers VI to VI.II. This occurrence was rather unexpected
as the temperature gradient between Tref and the mat foundation layers’ final temperatures
were quite comparable. Furthermore, the heat generation rate incorporated into the numerical
model for layers VI to VI.II was larger than the one for layers I to V, which explains the fact
that layers VI to VI.II generally were subject to larger temperatures than layers I to V. This
would, however, rather reduce the tensile stresses than increasing them. This indicates that the
Young’s modulus is the one parameter that is strongest associated with the increased tensile
stresses. Looking at Figure 5.3 (c), it is seen that the Young’s modulus accelerates with a larger
rate for the fct = 60 MPa concrete compared to the fct = 28 MPa concrete. After 7 days, the
developed Young’s modulus for the 60 MPa concrete is nearly twice as large as the 28 MPa
concrete. This will certainly result in larger stresses induced in layers VI to VI.II.
Theoretically speaking, the induced tensile stresses would be significantly lower than the
simulated ones as the measured temperatures are found to be larger than the ones simulated in
COMSOL Multiphysics. The differences in temperatures between the concrete and the strain
reference temperature would thus be lower in comparison to the simulated model. In regards
to the crack risk analyses, it is seen that the majority of cracks that may emerge when Tref is
specified to 70 °C are through cracks. Setting Tref to 70 °C was an overestimation of the strain
reference temperature, that reflected a ”worst case” scenario. Additionally, no cracks in the
mat foundation have been observed or documented, which justifies the fact that specifying Tref
to 70 °C most likely won’t represent the actual case.
75
CHAPTER 7. CONCLUSIONS
Table 7.2: Compilation of the MahanaKhon tower mat foundations simulated maximum tensile
stresses, and crack risk.
Layer Level Tref = 30 °C Tref = 50 °C Crack Tref = 70 °C Crack
[MPa] [MPa] type [MPa] type
Lower 0.00 0.12 3.00*
I Center 0.00 0.12 Surface 0.79 Through
Top 0.00 2.80* 8.23*
Lower 0.00 0.03 0.72
II Center 0.00 0.06 Surface 1.59 Surface
Top 0.00 2.72* 8.15*
Lower 0.00 0.14 4.66*
III Center 0.00 0.45 Surface 5.69* Through
Top 0.00 3.25* 8.71*
Lower 0.00 0.12 3.10*
IV Center 0.00 0.20 Surface 3.42* Through
Top 0.00 2.53* 7.82*
Lower 0.00 0.10 2.79*
V Center 0.00 0.17 Surface 3.30* Through
Top 0.00 2.70* 7.80*
Lower 0.00 0.52* 4.98*
VI Center 0.00 0.51* Through 6.80* Through
Top 0.00 2.07 9.81*
Lower 0.00 0.70 7.00*
VI.I
Center 0.00 1.10 Surface 9.11* Through
Top 0.00 4.10* 12.30*
Lower 0.00 1.84 10.45*
VI.II
Center 0.00 3.50* Through 12.10* Through
Top 0.00 6.00* 14.50*
76
The model developed in this study was built on a number of parameters extracted from pre-
vious studies, which certainly affected the accuracy of the results. The generated heat during
hydration, compressive strength, and strain reference temperature are fundamental parameters
in the developed finite element model that will clearly affect the outcome of the study. Repro-
ducing samples of the mat foundation concretes to monitor the above mentioned parameters
and subsequently implement them into the constructed model, would be a rather interesting
approach for future research in order to test the accuracy of the finite element model.
77
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display&id=932. [Online; accessed 19-January-2019].
Thermocoupleinfo, howpublished = https://www.thermocoupleinfo.com/

type-k-thermocouple.htm, y. . . n. . (n.d.).
Thomas, M. (2007), Optimizing the use of fly ash in concrete, Technical report, Portland Cement
Association.
Tolhurst, L. (2015), Commercial recovery of metals from coal fly ash, Technical report, Lucid
Insight Ltd.
Utsi, S. (2008), Performance Based Concrete Mix-Design - Aggregate and Micro Mortar Opti-
mization Applied on Self-Compacting Concrete Containing Fly ash, PhD thesis, Luleå Uni-
versity of Technology.
Wang, K. and Ge, Z. (2009), ‘Modified heat of hydration and strength models for concrete
containing fly ash and slag’, Computers and Concrete 6, 19–40.
Xiao-Yong and Park, K.-B. (2015), ‘Analysis of compressive strength development of concrete
containing high volume fly ash’, Construction and Building Materials 98, 810–819.
81
Appendix A
Temperatures
A.1 Measured temperatures
Figure A.1: Measured temperatures from thermocouples in mat foundation layer II. The inter-
ruption in the monitoring occurred due to a power failure, which resulted in no temperatures
being recorded for three hours.
83
APPENDIX A. TEMPERATURES
Figure A.2: Measured temperatures from thermocouples in mat foundation layer III.
Figure A.3: Measured temperatures from thermocouples in mat foundation layer IV.
84
A.1. MEASURED TEMPERATURES
Figure A.4: Measured temperatures from thermocouples in mat foundation layer V.
Figure A.5: Measured temperatures from thermocouples in mat foundation layer VI.
85
Figure A.6: Measured temperatures from thermocouples in mat foundation layer VI.II.
A.2 Simulated temperatures
Figure A.7: Simulated and measured temperature development in layer II.
86
A.2. SIMULATED TEMPERATURES
Figure A.8: Measured and simulated temperature development in layer III.
Figure A.9: Measured and simulated temperature development in layer IV.
87
Figure A.10: Measured and simulated temperature development in layer V.
Figure A.11: Measured and simulated temperature development in layer VI.
88
A.3. TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION
Figure A.12: Measured and simulated temperature development in layer VI.II.
A.3 Temperature distribution
(a) (b) (c)
Figure A.13: Contour plots of simulated temperature distribution in layer II at (a) 3 660 minutes
(maximum temperature spotted) (b) 3 840 minutes (removal of insulation) and (c) 8 040 minutes
(final time of simulation).
89
(a) (b) (c)
Figure A.14: Contour plots of simulated temperature distribution in layer III at (a) 2 670
(a) (b) (c)
Figure A.15: Contour plots of simulated temperature distribution in layer IV at (a) 3 330
90
A.3. TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION
(a) (b) (c)
Figure A.16: Contour plots of simulated temperature distribution in layer V at (a) 3 030 minutes
(maximum temperature spotted) (b) 3 240 minutes (removal of insulation) and (c) 5 400 minutes
(final time of simulation).
(a) (b) (c)
Figure A.17: Contour plots of simulated temperature distribution in layer VI at (a) 720 minutes
(removal of insulation) (b) 960 minutes (maximum temperature spotted) (c) 3 120 minutes (final
time of simulation).
91
(a) (b) (c)
Figure A.18: Contour plots of simulated temperature distribution in layer VI.II at (a) 1 380
minutes (maximum temperature spotted) (b) 2 100 minutes (maximum temperature spotted)
(c) 7 320 minutes (final time of simulation).
92
Appendix B
Thermal stresses
B.1 Development
Figure B.1: Simulated thermal stresses development in layer II for Tref = 30°C.
93
APPENDIX B. THERMAL STRESSES
94
B.1. DEVELOPMENT
Figure B.4: Simulated stresses development in layer III for Tref = 30 °C.
Figure B.5: Simulated thermal stresses development in layer III for Tref = 50 °C.
95
Figure B.6: Simulated thermal stresses development in layer III for Tref = 70 °C.
Figure B.7: Simulated thermal stresses development in layer IV for Tref = 30 °C.
96
B.1. DEVELOPMENT
97
Figure B.10: Simulated thermal stresses development in layer V for Tref = 30 °C.
98
B.1. DEVELOPMENT
Figure B.13: Simulated thermal stresses development in layer VI for Tref = 30 °C.
99
100
B.1. DEVELOPMENT
Figure B.16: Thermal thermal stresses development in layer VI.II for Tref = 30 °C.
101
B.2 Distribution
(a) (b) (c)
Figure B.19: Contour plots of simulated thermal stresses distribution in layer II for Tref = 50
102
B.2. DISTRIBUTION
(a) (b) (c)
Figure B.20: Contour plots of simulated thermal stresses distribution in layer II for Tref = 70
(a) (b) (c)
Figure B.21: Contour plots of simulated thermal stresses distribution in layer III for Tref = 50
103
(a) (b) (c)
Figure B.22: Contour plots of simulated thermal stresses distribution in layer III for Tref = 70
(a) (b) (c)
Figure B.23: Contour plots of simulated thermal stresses distribution in layer IV for Tref = 50
104
B.2. DISTRIBUTION
(a) (b) (c)
Figure B.24: Contour plots of simulated thermal stresses distribution in layer IV for Tref = 70
(a) (b) (c)
Figure B.25: Contour plots of simulated thermal stresses distribution in layer V for Tref = 50
105
(a) (b) (c)
Figure B.26: Contour plots of simulated thermal stresses distribution in layer V for Tref = 70
(a) (b) (c)
Figure B.27: Contour plots of simulated thermal stresses distribution in layer VI for Tref = 50
°C at (a) 240 minutes (first peak) (b) 720 minutes (removal of insulation) (c) 3 120 minutes
106
B.2. DISTRIBUTION
(a) (b) (c)
Figure B.28: Contour plots of simulated thermal stresses distribution in layer VI for Tref =
70 °C at (a) 240 minutes (b) 720 minutes (removal of insulation) (c) 3 120 minutes (maximum
(a) (b) (c)
Figure B.29: Contour plots of simulated thermal stresses distribution in layer VI.II for Tref =
50 °C at (a) 180 minutes (first peak) (b) 2100 minutes (removal of insulation) (c) 7 320 minutes
107
(a) (b) (c)
Figure B.30: Contour plots of simulated thermal stresses distribution in layer VI.II for Tref =
70 °C at (a) 180 minutes (b) 2100 minutes (removal of insulation) (c) 7 320 minutes (maximum
108
Appendix C
Mat foundation casting sequences
109
TRITA-ABE-MBT-18387
ISBN 978-91-7729-880-9
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DEGREE PROJECT IN CIVIL ENGINEERING AND URBAN

Simulation of Hardening of the

KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

3 Finite element modeling 31

4 Case study - the MahanaKhon tower 37

5 Finite element model of the MahanaKhon tower mat foundation 51

6 Results and discussion 61

C Mat foundation casting sequences 109

1.2 Research question

 Is there a risk of cracking?

1.4 Report outline

2.1 Concrete constituents

”Aggregate” is a generic term for following rock materials (Burström, 2007):

 Fine gravel (≤ 8 mm)

 Stone (> 8 mm)

2.2 Fresh and young concrete

Figure 2.1: Cone and rod used for slump testing.

Table 2.1: Products of cement hydration (Neville, 1995).

2 Ca3 SiO5 + 7 H2 O −−→ 3 CaO · 2 SiO2 · 4 H2 O + 3 Ca(OH)2 + 173.6kJ/kg (2.3)

2 Ca2 SiO4 + 5 H2 O −−→ 3 CaO · 2 SiO2 · 4 H2 O + Ca(OH)2 + 58.6kJ/kg (2.4)

Figure 2.6: Heat development for varying wcr (Kim, 2010).

2.3 Thermal cracking in mass concrete structures

where fc0 is the specified compressive strength of concrete [MPa]

E = ρc1.5 0.043 fc0

for density values of 1 440≤ ρc ≤2 560 [kg/m3 ], where

fcm (t) = βcc (t) · fcm,28days (2.8)

fctm (t) = (βcc (t))α · fctm,28days (2.9)

Finally, the time dependent development of Young’s modulus is computed according to

fcm (t) 0.3

2.3.1 Types of cracks

2.3.2 Thermal stresses

 The cement content

 The concrete’s thermal properties

 Surrounding conditions such as the surrounding temperature, humidity, wind dimensions,

2.4 The influence of fly ash on concrete

Table 2.4: Chemical composition of type F fly ash (Ramezanianpour, 2014).

2.4.1 Fresh and young concrete

Fresh concrete is characterized by a concentrated suspension of particulate materials with dif-

2.4.2 Temperature increase of young concrete

Table 2.6: Concrete mix proportions (Cengiz et al., 2002).

2.4.3 Heat evolution of young concrete

Table 2.7: Concrete composition (Wang and Ge, 2009).

Heat evolution (kJ/kg) 300

0 50 100 150 200 250

Table 2.9: Binder chemical composition (Fanghui Han, 2014).

Table 2.10: Binder mix proportion (Fanghui Han, 2014).

2.4.4 Development of compressive strength of young concrete

Table 2.12: Concrete mix constituents (Xiao-Yong and Park, 2015).

FA/OPC concrete compressive strength ratio

Finite element modeling

3.1 Mathematical modeling

− n · (−k∆T ) = h(Text − T ) (3.2)

3.1.2 Solid mechanics

Assuming small displacements and rotations, the symmetric strain is defined as

σ = C(E, v) : εel = C(E, v) : (ε − εth ) (3.11)

in which the thermal strain tensor εth is described as

εth = α(t)(T − Tref )I (3.12)

 1. Fresh concrete (0 ≤ te < tS )

 2. Young concrete (tS ≤ te < tA )

 3. Hardening concrete (te ≥ tA )

 1. βT = 1 (applies for when T = 20 °C).

 2. β∆ = 1 (implies that no adjustments were made due to admixtures).

 3. ∆t0e = 0 (meaning that the equivalent time is specified to 0 at casting)

Case study - the MahanaKhon tower

Is there a risk of cracking?

Fine gravel (≤ 8 mm)

Stone (> 8 mm)

The cement content

The concrete’s thermal properties

Surrounding conditions such as the surrounding temperature, humidity, wind dimensions,

1. Fresh concrete (0 ≤ te < tS )

2. Young concrete (tS ≤ te < tA )

3. Hardening concrete (te ≥ tA )

1. βT = 1 (applies for when T = 20 °C).

2. β∆ = 1 (implies that no adjustments were made due to admixtures).

3. ∆t0e = 0 (meaning that the equivalent time is specified to 0 at casting)

The soil height was assumed to 4.5 m.

Only a 2D cross–section of the mat foundation was simulated.