Advisory note CONCRETING IN HOT WEATHER D.E. Shirley, BSc, MIChemE, MinstF, AICeram Cement and Concrete Association45.013 First published as Cz, 10 May 1966 Second edition 1970 ‘Third (fully revised) edition 1978 ISBN 0 7210 1115 2 Price: 65p Designed, printed and published by the Cement and Conerete Association, ‘Wexham ‘Springs, Slough SL3 6PL © Cement and Concrete Association 1978 Although the Cement and Concrete Association does its best to ensure that any advice, recommendation or information it may give is accurate, no Mability or responsibility of any kind (including liability for negligence) is accepted in this respect by the Association, its servants or agentCONCRETING IN HOT WEATHER 1 INTRODUCTION In the United Kingdom, the difficulties sometimes met during concreting in drying conditions may be said to arise not from frequent occurrence of these conditions, but from their infrequency. Cool humid weather is so much the rule that the intense drying which can be produced by heat and wind tends to be forgotten, and the precautions against it to be unfamiliar. In countries overseas, by contrast, severe drying conditions may be the rule rather than the ‘exception. Strong sun may be allied with hot dry winds, whilst at night the wind may become chilling. ‘This publication, whilst intended to refer primarily to the United Kingdom, attempts to deseribe general principles likely to be applicable wherever concrete has to be placed in conditions which render it likely to lose moisture prematurely, Exceptional measures may be required if, for example, the concrete is to be placed ina massive construction; these are not considered here, but a list of items for further reading appears in an Appendix. 2. REASONS FOR WEATHER SENSITIVITY IN CONCRETE ‘The properties of conerete in the fresh and hardened states depend greatly upon the behaviour of the paste of cement and water which it contains. This paste must remain fluid for long ‘enough to allow the concrete to be mixed, transported and placed; thereafter, the cement and ‘water must react together to produce new solid material which will bind the aggregate particles. ‘Any influence which tends to remove water from fresh or immature concrete, or to cause an abnormal rate of reaction between cement and water, may thus impair the properties upon ‘which good concreting depends, Loss of water between mixing and placing may reduce ‘workability to such an extent that compaction becomes difficult, whilst that taking place between placing and maturity may give rise to premature cracking and imperfect hydration of the cement, ‘The tendency of water to evaporate is, of course, increased if the concrete should be warm. In addition, cement and water react more rapidly as their temperatures increase. At any given time after the water has been added, therefore, the quantity of hydration products present in a fresh concrete will be greater if it is warm than if it is cool, It will thus stiffen ‘more rapidly than if cool, quite apart from any loss of workability which may result from loss of mixing water by evaporation. ‘The increased rate of reaction between cement and water in warm concrete accelerates the rate at which strength develops during the first few days of hardening: the ultimate strength of the concrete, however, is likely to be noticeably lower than if it had remained cool during its early life (see Figure 5). Water loss and heat gain are able to occur at any or all stages between mixing and maturity, In the absence of appropriate precautions, the nature and severity of their effects will depend greatly upon the weather conditions prevailing during the different stages of concreting,3. WEATHER COMPONENTS AND THEIR EFFECTS igure 1 shows how air temperature, concrete temperature, wind speed and humidity influence the rate at which water evaporates from the surface of concrete. Nevertheless, no simple diagram can summarize adequately all the results of weather conditions, and each component requires separate consideration, 3.1 Solar radi ‘This may greatly affect the temperatures of stored materials, ‘The heat absorbed from the sun's rays during the daylight hours may not be entirely lost during the cooler night; a8 a result the temperature within an aggregate stockpile, for example, may gradually rise toa level certain to produce unacceptably warm concrete. Plant items usually have low heat capacities but, although this permits them to cool overnight, it also enables them to warm up rapidly soon after the sun has risen, The amount of heat stored is relatively small, but it is rapidly released to fresh concrete which comes into contact with plant which has stood in the sun, In particular, formwork and reinforcement must necessarily be prepared in advance of concreting, Unless shaded or otherwise cooled, they are likely to have heated up considerably by the time the concrete is placed; concrete in contact with them may stiffen before it can be compacted. ‘The same is true of an excavation, and the placing of concrete against warm dry ground may result in two ill effects - the concrete may not only gain heat trom the ground but lose water to it by absorption. 3.2 Air temperatures ‘Air has a low heat capacity and, if still, conducts heat poorly, Nevertheless, its ability to take up water vapour increases with its temperature. ‘The existence of a high air temperature can thus increase the rate at which water is able to evaporate from conerete, whether during mixing, transporting, placing or hardening. For example, if air and conerete are at 20°C, the rate of water loss from the concrete by evaporation is twice that which would result if both were at 10°C. 3.3, Humidity Whilst low humidity may help to prolong the life of cement in store, it has no beneficial effect ‘upon any other aspect of concreting. A decrease in relative humidity from 90% to 50%, without cchange in any other weather condition, will increase fivefold the rate of evaporation of water from unprotected concrete - whether this be in the mixer, in transit or in place, 3.4 Wind speed . ‘The rate of air movement is probably the factor which does most to create the difficulties associated with concreting in drying weather, Although still air is readily saturated with water vapour, the lightest of breezes provides a constantly renewed supply of air into which water can evaporate from unprotected concrete, Thus, ina breeze of 15 km/h, water ‘evaporates at about four times the rate in still air; in a wind of 40 km/h, the rate is increased to nine times that in still air. 3.5 Overnight temperatures ‘The effects of a fall in temperature overnight, sometimes marked in areas remote {rom the ea, are often overlooked. There are beneficial results; stored materials may lose some of the heat acquired during the previous day, and plant will cool. Nevertheless, lowered night-time temperatures may seriously affect unprotected concrete in the early stages of hardening. During this period the cement is hydraulically active, liberating heat within a eonerete which may already be warm from placing during the heat of the day. "The concrete will be immature,however, and will have developed little resistance to stress ~ least of all to tensile stress,Relative humiaity ~ Concrete temperature "C IR NATURE ~ AIR TEMPERATURE ~"C Siouitisk METHOD OF USE 1. From air temperature. ‘move UP to relative humid 2. Move RIGHT to conc temperature 3. Move DOWN to wind speed 4 Move LEFT to read resultant ‘approximate rate of evaporation RATE OF WATER EVAPORATION ko/m? per hour 0 Evaporation rates greater than O'S kg/m? h ate lkely to necessitate precautions against premature drying Figure 1: Combined influences of alr and concrete temperatures, relative humidity and wind speed upon evaporation of water from a free concrete surface. Evaporation rates greater than 0.5 kg/m" per hour are likely to necessitate precautions against premature drying. (Adapted from: PCA Publication 15 55.027, Skokie, 1968. pp. 4)1 iL is unprotected, its surface must necessarily lose heat to the cool night-time environment and contract as it does so. ‘The relatively low thermal conductivity of concrete will, however, allow the interior of the mass to retain its temperature and dimensions. The resultant tensile stress in the exterior of the conerete is Liable to be relieved by the formation of eracks. ‘Whilst these are not necessarily of structural significance, they are unsightly and may need to be tediously and expensively made good if they are not to act as focal points for later deterioration, 4 THE TEMPERATURE OF FRESH CONCRETE 4.1 ‘Temperature and initial workability ‘The higher the temperature of the batch ingredients, the greater will be the quantity of water ‘needed to produce any given degree of workability (See Figure 2). The precise additional amount will depend upon factors such as cement content, aggregate grading and particle shape: nevertheless, if mix proportions have been selected on the basis of the workability and strength of trial mixes made at a particular temperature, the existence of a significantly hhigher temperature in the concrete on site may cause the conerete to be less workable than expected (see Figure 3). Compaction may be impaired or, if additional water is introduced in the course of controlling the workability to that desired, the water /eement ratio will be increased: in either case, strength and durability are Likely to be reduced, Increasing the water content while keeping the cement content constant will, of course, increase drying shrinkage, as illustrated in Figure 4, 4.2 ‘Temperature and rate of stiffening ‘The reactions taking place between cement and water in the {resh concrete are complex, but broadly follow the general rule that the rate of a chemical reaction is likely to be doubled for every 10% increase in the temperature of the reactants, ‘Thus new solid is created at a greater rate if the cement paste is warm rather than cool, with the result that, at any given time after water has been added to the batch, the concrete 13, stiffer than it would be at a lower temperature, Even if the batch is produced at the desired workability, therefore, the increased rate of cement hydration associated with a higher batch temperature must necessarily cause this workability to be lost more rapidly. Stiffening from this cause is, of course, additional to that which will occur as the result of the increased rate at which water can evaporate from a warm conerete batch. 4.3 ‘Temperature and strength development ‘The temperature of fresh concrete influences the rate at which the cement hydrates, and thus the rate at which it liberates heat within the hardening mass of placed concrete, ‘The higher the concrete's initial temperature, the more heat will the cement release during the early Stages of hardening and the higher will be the peak temperature within the mass. As an approximate rule, it may be assumed that, if the temperature of the fresh concrete can be , reduced by 19C, the peak temperature during hardening will be reduced by 1.5°C. ‘The effect of elevated temperatures during mixing and early hardening is, of course, to enhance strength development at early ages. Figure 5 shows, for example, that a concrete in which a temperature level of 40°C persists during mixing and early curing will show an enhanced one-day strength, The rate of strength development thereafter, however, is much Feduced. As the result, the strength at 28 days may be only about two-and-a-half-times that at one day. In contrast, if the temperature of the concrete remains at 159C during the same early stages, the reduced rate of cement hydration produces a more modest one-day strength, Nevertheless, the subsequent rate af gain in strength is greater, the 28-day strength being about eight times the strength at one day. ‘To summarize, the higher the temperature of fresh concrete, the greater will be the possibility that high temperatures will develop and persist during the early stages of hardening. Early Strengths are likely to be enhanced, but expected strengths at 28 days may not be attained.to change slump by 28mm Percentage change in water content requ ° © o = wo 30 Freah concrote temperature —°C Figure 2: Effect of fresh concrete temperature on change in water content needed to produce 25 mm change in slump. ‘Cement content: 307 kg/m’, maximum aggregate size: 40mm. (Adapted from: Klieger, P. Effect of mixing and curing temperature on concrete strength Journal of the American Concrete Institute. Proceedings Vol. 54, No. 12. June 1958. pp. 1063-1081. ) eae re ga °o 0 20 30 o 50 Fresh concrete temperature ~ °C Figure 3: Decrease in workability of fresh concrete, made with constant water content, as temperature level is increased. Cement content: 307 kg/m’, maximum aggregate size: 40 mm. (Adapted from the same source as Figure 2.)"50160 WO 1809200210 230240280 ‘Water content—bg/m? (=liees/n?) Figure 4: Influence of water content of fresh concrete upon drying contraction at three levels of cement content. (Adapted from: Concrete manual. Seventh edition. Denver, US Bureau of Redamation, 1966.) pp. 642. = % = 6 5 ot £ a1 28 anys z bor zot Tay ol ° 2 30 1 0 Batch temperature maintained curing fst 24h of curing °C Figure 5: Typical effect of early-age temperature upon strength development. Batch temperature maintained during first 24 h of caring. Adapted from: Hot weather concreting. Journal of the American Concrete Insititue. Proceedings Vol. 74, No. 8. August 1972, pp 317-332. ACT title No. 74-33.)4.4 Estimation of fresh conerete temperature ‘The foregoing sections demonstrate that there is every incentive to produce concrete at the lowest feasible temperature, ‘The temperature of the fresh batch (T) can be estimated from: teat, + Swi, Ta oy where t, = temperature of aggregate = aggregate/cement ratio tg. = temperature of cement w= water /eement ratio ty = temperature of water ‘The specific heat of water is unity, and, for simplicity, that of solids such as cement and aggregate is taken as 0. 2 (instead of the more correct figure of 0. 22), Uf, for example, equation 1 is applied to a concrete having an aggregate/cement ratio of 6 and ‘a water /cement ratio of 0,6 the temperature to be expected in the fresh mix is: t+ 6t, +3, reo C3) 4.5 Heat contents of raw materials ‘The three items in the numerators of equations 1 and 2 represent the amount of heat which the cement, aggregate and water respectively contribute to the fresh batch. If the temperature of each is assumed to be 10°C, for the sake of simplicity, equation 2 shows that the aggregate contributes 6 units of heat to this particular concrete, whereas the water contributes $ units and the cement only 1. Expressed differently, to reduce the temperature of this concrete by 1°C would require aggregate to be cooled by 1.79C, or the water by 3,3°C, To attempt the same 19C reduction by cooling the cement, on the other hand, would require tts temperature tobe reduced by no less than 10°C. ‘The results obtained from this type of calculation will vary with the mix proportions in use, of course. Nevertheless, they serve to illustrate a general principle: in considering measures to Limit the temperature of the fresh concrete batch, attention must be focused on means of ‘keeping the aggregate and water at as low a temperature as possible. Cement makes a negligible heat contribution by comparison; the reasons for keeping it cool are different and are discussed in section 5. 5 TECHNIQUES IN ARID CONDITIONS 5.1 Choice of materials , 5.1.1 Cements In weather conditions which accelerate hardening, it is unlikely that rapid-hardening cements will be required, Indeed, their use should be avoided in these conditions as a general rule. Conversely, the use of low-heat cements may alleviate difficulties to some extent, Nevertheless, it needs to be borne in mind that to use these latter cements does not render unnecessary the precautions described here, Although at normal temperatures low-heat cements hydrate more slowly than ordinary cements, their rates of hydration increase as temperatures are raised, Whatever type of cement is used, concrete which becomes warm ‘will lose workability more rapidly than if it remains cool. Further, even though the temperature of the concrete may be marginally lower at all stages when a low-heat cement is being used, drying conditions will still accelerate evaporation of ‘Water during mixing, transporting, placing and curing: measures to minimize this evaporation ‘will still be necessary, if defects such as plastic cracking (otherwise known as ‘wind cracking’ - See 5.4) are not to oceur.‘The temperature within a mass of hardening concrete may rise more slowly if a low-heat Cement is used in place of ordinary Portland cement, but there will still remain the need to Gnsure that unacceptable tensile stresses do not arise in the exterior of a mass as the result of surface cooling. 5.1.2 Admixtures Accelerating admixtures are, of course, likely to be unnecessary and undesirable in hot weather. Retarders, on the other hand, depress the rate at which cement hydrates in the freshly mixed concrete, and may thus usefully reduce any tendency to premature stiffening from this cause, The retardation effect may extend into the early stages of hardening, delaying to some extent the evolution of heat within the placed mass: nevertheless, although the result may be to delay the development of the maximum temperature within the mass, the temperature level at the maximum is unlikely to be significantly reduced. Retarding admixtures do not, therefore, eliminate the need to guard against temperature differentials arising in the hardening concrete. Water-reducing admixtures, too, are of value in hot weather, because they can help to offset the tendency, mentioned in Section 4.1, for a concrete of given proportions and water content to be less workable when made with warm constituents. Incorporating this type of admixture may allow the concrete to be given the intended workability without any undesirable increase in water content, ‘Admixtures which combine retarding and water-reducing properties are available. Not the Teast of their advantages is that they allow two desirable effects to be achieved without the need to measure out two Separate admixtures. Nevertheless, it must again be stressed that admixtures can neither depress the evaporative tffect of drying conditions, nor eliminate the possibility of temperature gradients developing between the interior and exterior of hardening conerete. Effects such as these can only be minimized by appropriate techniques of mixing, transporting, placing and curing. 5.2 Storage of materials 5.2.1 Aggregates Measures taken to limit the temperature of stored aggregates produce the greatest effect in minimizing the temperature of fresh concrete (see 4.5). Even obstructing the sun's rays, by providing a suitable screen, can result in the aggregate attaining the temperature of the air Pather than the much higher temperature of bare rock exposed to the sun, Plastics netting, intended to produce maximum shade with minimum wind resistance, is now available for this purpose, Provided an adequate supply of water is available, it can be used to reduce still further the temperature of the aggregate, For maximum efficiency, it should be applied to the stockpile ‘as 2 continuous fine spray rather than an intermittent jet, because it is then able to wet each ‘aggregate particle more effectively and cool it by combined evaporation and conduction, = Water for cooling need not, of course, be of a quality suitable for drinking; brackish water or ‘even Sea-water might be considered, provided any resultant concentration of salts or Suspended matter in the aggregate could be shown to have no significant effect upon the concrete. ‘The shading and spraying of aggregate stockpiles is often felt to be impracticable because of their sheer size. Nevertheless, the problems might, in many instances, be reduced to manageable proportions by limiting the amount of aggregate to be shaded and cooled to the quantity which will be required for the next day's concreting. 5.2.2 Water It is sometimes suggested that mixing water may be cooled with ice, Whilst ideal in theory, in practice the required quantity of ice will rarely be available at short notice and at acceptable cost. Failing a supply of ice, water taken directly from the main is likely to have a useful cooling effect because of its high specific heat and relatively low temperature, Tt ean, of course,gain heat if itis led from the main to the mixer in pipes laid on the Surface of the ground: Supply pipes should ideally be buried but, if this is impracticable, their absorption of heat may bbe minimized by lagging them or even by banking soil over them, Particularly to be avoided, if possible, is the use of water which is warm as the result of having been stored in tanks unprotected against heat gain. If there is no alternative to storing water in tanks, these should be lagged and protected against solar radiation, either by shading or by painting on a reflective (e.g. white) coating. 5.2.3 Cement Because cement is intended to react with water, it has an affinity for atmospheric water vapour. High atmospheric temperatures increase the rate at which this vapour can diffuse through the walls of cement bags and react with their contents, The same is true of atmospheric carbon dioxide, To minimize this diffusion, and thus prolong the cement's storage life, the bags should be kept in a ventilated dry store at the lowest feasible temperature, Cement stored in a silo is likely to be better protected against ingress of water vapour and carbon dioxide, but may absorb heat if the silo should be exposed to prolonged strong sunlight, Silos should, therefore, be protected against heat; they should be either shaded against radiation or given a coat of white or other reflective paint and, where possible, be lagged. ‘The use of silos implies bulk delivery of cement, and in hot weather cement so delivered may be warmer than usual, Cement gains heat during the grinding process, but in normal weather is usually able to cool to atmospheric temperature during the stages between grinding and delivery. Hot weather slows this natural cooling process - for which there is no practicable Substitute - with the result that the cement may be warm when it arrives on site. When weather is normal, and mixing water and aggregates are cool, the amount of heat contributed to the fresh concrete by warm cement is negligible (see 4.5). Nevertheless, in truly hot conditions, the use of warm cement introduces a little more unwanted heat into the fresh concrete, and should be avoided if possible, Since it is impracticable to cool cement artificially before despatch, supplies should be called forward in advance so that they may cool on site before use - particularly if spare silo capacity should be available, Even in ideal conditions there should be no undue delay between making a batch of concrete and placing it. In drying weather it is even more important to minimize delays, and hence the length of tiine during which loss of workability may occur through a combination of water evaporation and accelerated stiffening due to high temperatures. Neither of these effects can bbe fully suppressed and the only way of combating them is to place the concrete as soon after mixing as possible, If loss of workability is allowed to occur, it can rarely be made good without ill effect. For ‘example, concrete held too long in a rotating mixer drum will be liable to gain heat from internal friction as well as from external sources such as solar radiation; it will also lose ‘water by evaporation. Although any resultant loss of workability may be corrécted by mixing in more water before discharge, the resultant increase in water /eement ratio may produce unacceptable effects upon drying shrinkage, strength, abrasion resistance and durability. ‘These properties may be similarly impaired if concrete should be retempered with additional water at the point of placing, in an attempt to restore workability lost through stiffening in transit, 5.4 Placing and finishing ‘The existence of drying conditions accentuates the normal need for rapid placing and effective compaction. Whatever means of compaction is used, it is always difficult to displace entrapped alr from a ‘mass of placed conerete. Ideally, concrete should be placed in such a way a8 to strike a vibrating surface, e.g. that of a poker vibrator - at the end of its fall into the formwork, in order that air shail be displaced before true compaction begins, If the concrete is stiffening more rapidly than usual, as the result of drying conditions, attention to this point iscorrespondingly more important; it may require the provision of extra vibrators in or on the formwork, together with an adequate reserve of standby vibrators for use in the event of vreakdown, ‘Once the concrete has been compacted into place, evaporation of water can occur only from the free surface, Nevertheless, in the absence of appropriate precautions, the existence of ‘drying conditions may promote Such a rate of evaporation {rom this surface that water deeper within the concrete eannot migrate quickly enough to make good the loss. Under these Conditions the surface of the concrete shrinks and, because plastic concrete cannot resist Stress, cracks may form shortly after placing. Because it oecurs while the concrete is still plastic, this defect is often known as ‘plastic cracking’, It would be better remembered, however, by the alternative name of 'wind ‘cracking’ - asa reminder that it is primarily caused by air movement promoting undue ‘evaporation of water. Whilst rarely of structural significance in reinforced concrete and often easily closed by re-compacting the surface while the concrete remains plastic, cracks 30 caused can, on occasions, penetrate deeply. In such cases, they may allow reinforcement in their vieinity to corrode prematurely. ‘On occasions these cracks are noticed after concrete has been left to harden unprotected Svernight, It is then too late for them to be closed by re-compaction, and it may be necessary to seal them by less convenient means if they are not to act a8 centres for later deterioration. ‘Once again, to describe this defect as ‘wind cracking’ serves also as a reminder of the appropriate precaution - the reduction of air movement over the concrete, Sometimes it is Suggested that temporary wind-breaks may be erected to windward of the concrete, and mist Sprays used to raise the humidity of the air in contact with the concrete, Nevertheless, in tnost instances it will be preferable to reduce evaporation more positively, by providing covers ‘Shieh can be positioned immediately after the concrete has been placed, rolled back in sections Ts finishing proceeds, and immediately afterwards replaced to complete the curing process. 5.5 Curing Under any conditions, the aims of curing are to confine the water within the concrete so that it can react with the cement, and to maintain the concrete at a temperature at which the reaction rill proceed at an acceptable rate, The existence of drying conditions merely makes it more Important to consider the efficacy of the various means of curing, 5.5.1. Minimizing evaporation ‘An impervious sheet such as polythene, preferably pigmented to reflect radiation, can form an effective barrier against evaporation if correctly used. It is best positioned as finishing proceeds, even though this may require the sheet to be fastened at the edges yet also supported fn order not to mar the finished surface, As soon as the surface is hard enough, however, the sheet may be lowered into close contact with the conerete and securely weighted or fastened Gown all Found to prevent wind from blowing underneath. Wind underneath the sheet will promote evaporation and defeat the object of curing. In extreme cases a loose sheet may allow more plastic cracking than no sheet at all. ’ Sprayed curing compounds, pigmented when necessary to reflect solar radiation, have an ehiect comparable with that of impervious sheet if they are consistently applied at the coverage Secommended by the manufacturer, However, they are best applied after the water sheen has disappeared from the concrete surface, by which time drying conditions may already have Cvanerated an undesirable amount of water. It may be necessary, therefore, to provide femporary covers of impermeable sheet during the interval between finishing and applying the curing compound, ‘The same drawback is shared by curing methods such as ponding, covering with damp sand or Sawdust, or with wet hessian; these are best not applied until the concrete surface is hard enough to resist damage, Further, constant vigilance is necessary to guard against the Supposed protective layers drying out and becoming useless. Indeed, layers of sand, sawdust ‘and hessian may become worse than useless if they dry, for they can then act as a wick to draw moisture from the concrete and accelerate its evaporation into the atmosphere, Particularly to be avoided is the practice of spraying concrete intermittently with a jet of cold water from a hose, ‘The force of the jet may mar the immature surface, whilst its relatively 10low temperature may cause intermittent local chilling. Casual curing of this kind may be worse than no curing at all, because the constant fluctuation of temperature and moisture ‘content at the Surface of the concrete may induce crazing and cracking, If water is to be applied, it should be at a temperature similar to that of the conerete itself, and should emerge as a fine mist from suitable fog-nozzles. The artificial mist 30 created may tend to drift away downwind, making it necessary to provide temporary wind-breaks to windward of the surface being cured. 5.5.2 Temperature of concrete ‘The temperature within a mass of hardening concrete is largely determined by the relative rrates at which heat is respectively liberated by the hydrating cement and lost to the surround- ings. ‘The only method of controlling it satisfactorily is to position pipes thr ough the space which will be occupied by the concrete, so that, when the latter is hardening, water may be passed through the pipes to abstract the heat uniformly as it is liberated from the hydrating cement, This may be practicable in rare instances, the pipes being left in position to form additional reinforcement, ‘Attempts to remove heat from the interior of hardening concrete by cooling the surface, ¢. g. ‘with running cold water, are usually unsatisfactory because of concrete's relatively low thermal conductivity, Heat generated within the interior is unlikely to be conducted to the exterior rapidly enough, with the consequence that the interior retains its temperature and dimensions whilst the exterior attempts to contract under the influence of cooling. The consequent tensile stress in the exterior of the immature mass may induce contraction cracks, Like "wind cracking’, thermal cracks may not be structurally significant; nevertheless, because they occur after the mass has lost plasticity, they cannot be simply closed. They may have to be made good if they are not to allow premature corrosion of reinforcement or development of other defects. In most cases, the sounder approach will be to minimize temperature gradients rather than to attempt to control temperature levels - that is to say, to limit heat losses from the concrete's texterior so that heat liberated by the cement is able (o raise the whole of the hardening mass toa uniform temperature. Concrete which has been cured in this way must, of course, also ‘be allowed to cool as uniformly as possible, or tensile stresses may develop as the exterior cools more rapidly than the interior, Possibly the simplest method of applying this principle is to use insulated or timber formwork, and to leave it in position, not only while the concrete is heating up during hardening, but also while it subsequently cools to the temperature of its surroundings, To do this, of course, reduces the possibility of making economies through rapid re-use of formwork, and the consequences of this have to be recognized and accepted. Alternatively, purpose-made panels of insulating material such as expanded polystyrene may bbe used to replace each section of formwork as Soon as it is struck. If this expedient is to be Successful, however, it is vital that enough sheets of the required dimensions shall be prepared beforehand, so that there may be virtually no interval between striking each section of formwork and replacing it by its insulating counterpart. 6 TESTING ‘Samples of concrete taken for test purposes, and the test specimens made from them, have large surface areas in relation to their volumes, Under drying conditions they are thus likely to suffer even more than larger masses of concrete from the effects of evaporation and heat gain, Particular attention to sampling and testing is required, therefore, if misleadingly low test results are to be avoided. [As soon as a sample of fresh concrete has been taken, it should be covered against water loss and heat gain, and made into test specimens without delay. Exposure or delay may result in stiffening great enough to impair compaction and give low test results, ‘Moulds ready for use should be kept a8 cool as possible, and immediately each is filled it should be covered with an impervious plate, AS an additional precaution, the filled and covered moulds should be kept over water in a covered, insulated tank, or in the shade under wet hessian, This is intended to maintain a cool saturated atmosphere around the moulds, not only to prevent moisture evaporation but also to limit the temperature within the hardening test specimens, Like larger masses of concrete, test specimens which suffer high temperatures uduring their early life may fail to attain expected levels of strength and may give misleadingly low results when tested (see Figure 5). It is therefore vital that, if hessian is used to cover the filled moulds, it should be inspected frequently against drying out until the test specimens are to be demoulded, Immediately after demoulding, each specimen should be transferred to a container able to protect it against damage, moisture loss and heat gain during transit to the testing laboratory. For example, each might be wrapped in wet hessian before being inserted into its individual polythene bag, the mouth of which is at once securely closed. Should the packed test specimens have to await transport, they should again be kept in the shade, preferably covered with wet hessian to maintain minimum temperature and maximum humidity. In interpreting test results, it may be important to know the temperature history of the specimens, so that due allowance can be made for low values which may arise from unavoidable temperature fluctuations, To this end, a maximum-and-minimum thermometer should, if possible, be kept near the stored cubes so that the daily variation in the environmental {emperature of the specimens can be recorded and reported to the testing laboratory. APPENDIX Further reading ACI COMMITTEE 305, Hot weather concreting. Journal of the American Concrete Institute, Proceedings Vol. 74, No. 8. August 1977. pp. 317-332. 2, PORTLAND CEMENT ASSOCIATION, Hot-weather concreting. Skokie, 1976. pp. 5. Publication No, 15 014,037. 3. RILEM, Concrete and reinforced concrete in hot countries, Proceedings of International Symposium, Haifa, 1971, Vol. 1: pp. ll, 1-258, Vol. 2: pp. xxii, 259-428. Vol. 3: pp. xxii, 1-222,72. 4, BIRT, J.C. Large concrete pours - a Survey of current practice. London, Construction Industry Research and Information Association, 1974, pp. 24. CIRIA Report 49, (Available as C & C A Publication 15, 316.)THE CEMENT AND CONCRE'TE ASSOCIATION The Cement and Concrete Association offers to users of cement and concrete a service of technical information and advice, based on the work of its Research Station, combined with wide practical experience and the collection of information on a world-wide basis. The Association's Training Centre provides an extensive range of courses on conerete practice, technology, and design. Information is disseminated through scientific and technical papers, reports and other publications, and through films, ‘The Cement and Concrete Association is an independent non-profit-making organization, the ‘only members of which are the cement companies listed below. The Association is financed by the member companies and is not subsidized from public funds, Aberthaw & Bristol Channel Portland Cement ‘Company Limited ‘The Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Limited The Cement Marketing Company Limited and subsidiary companies ‘The Ketton Portland Cement Company Limited Ribblesdale Cement Limited The Rugby Portland Cement Company Limited and subsidiary companies Tunnel Cement Limited and subsidiary companies LONDON OFFICE ‘Cement and Concrete Association 52 Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1W 0AQ ‘Telephone 01-235 6861 Telex 261700 Cables: Advicrete Lin RESEARCH STATION ‘Cement and Concrete Association ‘Wexham Springs, Slough SL3 6PL Telephone Fulmer 2727 (from London exchanges 395 2727) Telex 848352 Cables: Advicret Slough ‘TRAINING CENTRE Cement and Concrete Association Fulmer Grange Fulmer, Slough SL2 498 Telephone Fulmer 2727 (trom London exchanges 395 2727) Telex 648352 Cables: Advieret Slough ADVISORY SERVI HEADQUARTERS Cement and Concrete Association Wexham Springs, Slough SL3 6PL Telephone Fulmer 2727 (from London exchanges 395 2727) Telex 848352 Cables: Advieret Slough SCOTLAND ‘Andrew Sutherland, BSc, MICE, FLHE Cement and Concrete Association 2 Rutland Square, Edinburgh EH1 2AS ‘Telephone 031-229 5085 NORTH R. Colin Deacon, BSc(Eng), FICE, FIHE Cement and Conerete Association 18 Appleby House, Town Centre, Thornaby Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland TS17 SEY Telephone Stockton 65603 NORTH WEST Alan Pink, BScTech, MICE, MIHE. Cement and Concrete Association Crown House, 550 Mauldeth Road West Choriton-cum-Hardy, Manchester M21 283 Telephone 061-881 5394/5 NORTH MIDLANDS J, Martin Dykes, BSc, MICE, MIHE, MIWES Cement and Concrete’ Association 7 Lindum Terrace, Lincoln LN2 5RP ‘Telephone Lincoln’ 25876 MIDLANDS Michael E, FitzGibbon, BA, BAI, MICE, FIHE ‘Cement and Concrete Association Engineering and Building Centre Broad Street, Birmingham BI 2DB ‘Telephone 021-643 1914 Telex 336701 EAST J. Gregory-Cullen, MA, MICE, FIHE Cement and Conerete Association 25 Mill Street, Bedford MK40 3EU Telephone Bedford 52486 ’ SOUTH WEST Richard T. L, Allen, MA, FICE, FIHE, FIOB Cement and Concrete Association 67 Park Place, Cardiff CF1 3AS Telephone Cardiff 40840 SOUTH EAST George F. Blackledge, BScTech, MIStructE, MIHE, ‘Cement and Conerete Association 29 High Street, Guildford GUI 3DY Telephone Guildford 76206 NORTHERN IRELAND The Director, Advisory Service Cement and Concrete Association ‘Wexham Springs, Slough SL3 PL Telephone Fulmer 2727 (from London exchanges 395 2727) Telex 848352CONCRETING IN HOT WEATHER (eves [ea yen) CEMENT AND CONCRETE ASSOCIATION PUBLICATION 45.013