Low Heat Development in Self-Compacting Concretes

for Massive Structures

By R. Troli, J.J. Ogoumah Olagot, S. Monosi and M. Collepardi



Synopsis: Self-compacting concretes (SCC) are special cement mixes
which can be placed without any vibration at all. The fresh mixes are
characterized by very high fluidity and cohesion. These properties can be
more easily obtained by decreasing the maximum size of the coarse aggregate
and increasing the cement content. This characteristics is just the opposite of
that required for concrete mixes for massive structures. These mixtures need
coarse aggregate with high maximum size and low cement content in order to
reduce the risk of thermal cracking related to the high heat development due
to cement hydration.
Special SCC have been studied. They contain a gravel with a maximum size
of 18 mm, a very low cement content ( 150 kg/m
3
) a large amount of
limestone filler (250-380 kg/m
3
) and fly ash in the range of 50-150 kg/m
3
so
that the amount of fine materials is approximately 500 kg/m
3.
.
Due to the combined use of an acrylic superplasticizer and a viscosity agent
based on a colloidal byopolimeric emulsion, unsegregable SCC with a slump
flow of about 700 mm were manufactured. The compressive strength was
about 20 MPa at 3 days and 30-40 MPa at 28 days.




Keywords: Bleeding, Fly Ash, Heat of Hydration, Self-Compacting
Concrete, Superplasticizer.

Roberto Troli is a research civil engineer and director of the Enco Structural
Divison. He is author of several papers in the field of concrete technology,
particularly in the area of chemical and mineral admixtures in the durability of
concrete, and repair of deteriorated structures.

Jean J acob Ogoumah Olagot is a civil engineer working as researcher in the
field of concrete at Enco, Spresiano (TV), Italy.

Saveria Monosi is Professor of Materials Science and Technology at the
Marche Polytechnical University of Ancona, Italy. She is author or co-author
of mumerous papers in the area of concrete durability and chemical
admixtures.

Mario Collepardi is Professor at the Civil Engineering Faculty Leonardo da
Vinci, Milan Politecnico, Milan, Italy. He is author or co-author of numerous
papers on concrete technology and cement chemistry. He is also the recipient
of several awards for his contributions to the fundamental knowledge of
superplasticizers and their use in concrete.


INTRODUCTION

Mass concrete structures are particularly vulnerable to the risk of cracking
due to the development of thermal gradient (
t
) between the nucleus of the
structure and its periphery. This is related to the total heat of cement
developed during hydration in the concrete (H
t
) at the time t, and the
difference in dissipating this heat from the nucleus and the outer part (Fig. 1).
From a practical point of view (by taking account the thermal expansion,
the elastic strain as well as the creep of concrete) a thermal gradient not
higher than 20C is needed to avoid the risk of thermal cracking [2]:

T
3
T
max
20C (1)

where T
max
is the maximum difference in temperature between the
nucleus and the periphery of the structure (Fig. 1), which, in general occurs at
a time of 3 days (T
3
). It is very difficult to calculate T
max
since it depends on
many parameters such as the thermo-insulating properties of the forms, the
size and the shape of the structure, the environmental temperature and wind
conditions after placing, etc. However, we can easily calculate the maximum
gradient T
max
in extreme conditions such as:
- no thermal dissipation (adiabatic heating =T) for the nucleus;
- complete thermal dissipation of the periphery (T =0).

In these extreme and conservative conditions

T
max
=T
3
=T
3
(2)

where T
3
is the adiabatic heating of the nucleus after 3 days from the
placing.
In the case of adiabatic heating for the nucleus, the maximum increase in
the temperature of the structure at 3 days can be calculated as:

T
3
=H
3
/(ms
h
) =ch
3
/(ms
h
) (3)

where h
3
is the heat of hydration of 1 kg of cement (unitary heat) at 3 days, c
is the cement content in 1m
3
of concrete, m is the specific weight of 1m
3
of
concrete (generally 2400 kg/m
3
), and s
h
is the specific heat of concrete
(generally 1.1 kJ kg
-1
C
-1
). Therefore, T
3
can be also written as:

T
3
ch
3
/(24001.1) ch
3
/2600 (4)

Therefore, if there is a limit of 20C in the adiabatic heating of the nucleus
at 3 days (T
3
20C) in real (not-extreme) conditions, the maximum thermal
gradient between nucleus and periphery (T
3
) is even lower than 20C:

T
3
<<T
3
20C (5)

Then, in order to avoid any risk of thermal cracking, by taking into account
the equations (4) and (5), a cement content (c) and a cement type, with a given
unitary heat of hydration (h
3
), must be adopted so that:
C 20
2600
h c
3

(6)
ch
3
52MJ/m
3
(7)

In order to reduce the thermal cracking risk, a cement content as low as
200-250 kg/m
3
is usually adopted for very massive concrete structures such as
dams. This means that aggregates with maximum size as large as 100-150 mm
are usually used to reduce the amount of mixing water (w) and consequently
the cement content at a given w/c. For the same reason, concretes at a stiff
consistency are usually adopted to reduce w and then c at a given w/c.
For both the large size of aggregates and the stiff consistency of the fresh
mixture, this concrete is manufactured in special mixers and placed under
very effective compaction methods.

PURPOSE OF THE WORK

The purpose of the present work was to study self-compacting concrete
(SCC), with a relatively small maximum size of coarse aggregate (18 mm),
which should be thermally crack-free in mass concrete structures such as slab
foundations with very congested metallic reinforcement (Fig. 2).
The production of a low-heat and self-compacting concrete seems to be a
conflicting task. Low heat and self-compaction of concrete mixes are
apparently conflicting properties for the need of low and high cement content,
respectively. However, due to the availability of very effective
superplasticizers, and new anti-bleeding agents, this objective could be
achieved.

EXPERIMENTAL

In the following sections the materials used and the methods adopted will
be presented.

Materials

The following materials were used. A Portland cement according to EN
197/1 (CEM I 52.5 R) was used. Table 1 shows the unitary heat of hydration
at different times of this cement and Table 2 shows its chemical compositon.
Two different fine mineral additions were used to replace part of the
cement and reduce the heat of cement hydration. Table 2 shows some typical
characteristics of these mineral additions: ground limestone and fly-ash.
Natural aggregates in the form of 0-4 mm sand with a fineness modulus of
2.80 and 4-18 mm natural gravel were used. A superplasticizer based on
acrylic polymer (AP) specially studied for low-slump loss ready-mixed
concrete (Dynamon SR1 by Mapei, Milan, Italy) was used as well as a
Viscosity Modifying Agent (VMA) based on a colloidal byopolimeric
emulsion (Viscofluid SCC by Mapei, Milan, Italy).
Table 3 shows the composition of four concrete mixtures all containing
about 150 kg/m
3
of Portland cement and about 300-380 kg/m
3
of a mixture of
ground limestone and fly ash. The total binder content (including Portland
cement, fly ash and ground limestone) was about 500 kg/m
3
. The dosages of
VMA and superplasticizer were adjusted to obtain a slump flow of about 700
mm with a negligible bleeding by using only about 150 kg/m
3
of mixing
water. The superplasticizer dosage head to be increased if the fly ash ground
limestone ratio is increased (Table 3) due to the higher specific surface area of
fly ash with respect to ground limestone (Table 2).


METHODS

The fresh mixtures were characterized by the measurements of their slump
flow. Moreover, the bleeding capacity was determined by collecting the total
amount of bleeding water (every 20 minutes) on the top of concrete into a
container (5.2 l) up to the setting time.
Concrete mixtures after mixing were placed without vibration in an
insulating polystyrene container of 500mmx500mmx500mm and, by the use
of a thermocouple in the nucleus of the concrete, the change in the
temperature (T) was recorded for about 1 week in quasi-adiabatic condition.
These tests were carried out to confirm whether or not these SCCs are suitable
for mass concrete structures according to equation (7) where, for these
concretes, c =150 kg/m
3
and h
3
=345 kJ/kg:

ch
3
=150345 =51 750 <52 000 kJ/m
3


The concrete mixtures were placed without any compaction in cubic molds
(150 mm) for determining the compressive strength from 1 day up to 90 days.
The curing was done at 20C and 95% RH. Shrinkage tests were carried out
on prismatic specimens (100mm100mm500mm) placed without vibration
and exposed to dry air (RH =50%) at 203C after their demolding at 1 day.

RESULTS

Materials

Table 4 shows the slump flow and the bleeding capacity when increasing the
content of fly ash (from Mix A to Mix D). There is a significant reduction in the
bleeding capacity at equal slump flow and an increase in the cohesiveness of
the mixture when the amount of fly ash increases.

Thermal Change

The thermal change in the nucleus of the mixtures A and D as a function of
time is shown in Figure 2, where it is seen that the temperature increase (T
3
)
at 3 days is lower than 20C. In mixture D the temperature rising rate is lower
than in mixture A for the higher amount of acrylic superplasticizer which
retards early cement hydration. However, for both mixtures similar results were
obtained when using 300 kg/m
3
of ground granulated blast fournace slag
cement [3]. These results are in agreement with equation (7) and confirm that
these special SCCs are also suitable for mass concrete structures.



Compressive Strength

Figure 3 shows the results of compressive strength. Concretes containing
fly ash (FA) give better results than those containing ground limestone (GL) at
longer ages (>28 days). This behavior is due to the pozzolanic activity of the
fly ash. On the other hand, due to the higher dosage of the acrylic
superplasticizer adopted in the case of the SCCs when increasing amounts of
fly ash are used, there is a retarding effect in the hydration of Portland cement
and this results in a lower strength rate at early ages in the fly ash mixtures.
These results agree very well with the thermal change results shown in Fig. 2.

Shrinkage Test

Figure 4 shows the length change of the specimens kept in a dry
environment (RH =50%). These results indicate that the drying shrinkage of
these SCCs is of the same order of magnitude as ordinary concretes [1] and
does not depend substantially on the fly ash-limestone ratio.

CONCLUSIONS

The combined use about 150 kg/m
3
Portland cement, of 1-2% AP-based
superplasticizer, and about 350 kg/m
3
powder mineral addition, 0.04%
viscosity modifying agent, and aggregate with a maximum size of 18 mm
allow to manufacture of self-compacting concretes characterized by a low
heat development particularly suitable for mass concrete structures.
The use of the AP-based superplastizer is useful for self-compacting
concretes with negligible workability loss. The presence of the viscosity
modifying agent is needed to reduce bleeding water and segregation, and
improves the cohesiveness of the fresh mixtures.
The performance of SCCs in terms of compressive strength appear to be
better when a mixture of ground limestone and fly ash instead of ground
limestone alone is used as powder mineral addition with the materials that
were studied.
The drying shrinkage of all the SCCs examined is of the same order of
magnitude as for ordinary concretes.


REFERENCES

1. A.M. Neville, Properties of Concrete, 4
th
edition, Longman Group
Limited, Harlow Essex, England, 1995.
2. European Standard, EN 206-1, Concrete Performance, Production,
Placing and Compliance Criteria, 2000.
3. M. Collepardi, J.J. Ogoumah Olagot, U. Skarp, R. Troli, Influence of
Amorphous Colloidal Silica on the Properties of Self Compacting
Concretes, Proceedings of the International Conference "Challenges in
Concrete Construction - Innovations and Developments in Concrete
Materials and Construction", Dundee, Scotland, UK, 9-11 September
2002, pp. 473 483.





Table 1 Unitary heat of cement hydration at different
times for CEM I 52.5 R
HEAT, kJ/kg Time (days)
280 1
345 3
400 7
440 28


Table 2 Chemical composition and physical properties
of mineral additions

CHARACTERISTICS
GROUND
LIMESTONE
FLY-ASH
PORTLAND
CEMENT
CaCO
3
(%)
SiO
2
(%)
Al
2
O
3
(%)
Fe
2
O
3
(%)
Na
2
O (%)
K
2
O (%)
SO
3
(%)
98.1
1.1
-
-
-
-
-
-
59.9
22.9
4.7
0.6
2.2
0.4
4
20.68
3.95
2.52
0.11
0.58
2.23
Specific Surface Area
(m
2
/kg)
310 350 500




Table 3 Composition of concrete mixtures.







* C =Portland Cement ; FA =Fly Ash; GL =Ground Limestone;
TOTAL BINDER =C+FA+GL


Table 4 Properties of the SCC in the fresh state.
Mix* Specific
Weight
(kg/m
3
)
Slump Flow
(mm/sec)
Bleeding
Capacity
(% by vol.)
Cohesiveness by
visual rating
A 2475 700/30 0.12 Fair
B 2470 680/25 0.09 Good
C 2440 680/30 0.06 Very Good
D 2430 680/35 0.01 Excellent
*In Table 3 the composition of the mixes are shown.


C* FA* GL* Total*
Binder
Admixture (% by
total binder)
Mix
(kg/m
3
)
Aggregate
(Max
Size
18
mm)
(kg/m
2
)
Water
(kg/m
3
)
VMA Super-
plasticizer
W/C
FA C
W
+

GL FA C
W
+ +
A 152 -- 381 533 1788 153 0.038 1.14 1.01 1.01 0.29
B 153 51 319 523 1792 154 0.039 1.30 1.01 0.76 0.30
C 151 101 254 506 1777 152 0.040 1.66 1.01 0.61 0.30
D 151 151 192 494 1778 152 0.041 2.04 1.01 0.51 0.31






Fig. 1 Schematic trend of the temperature of the nucleus and the periphery
of a mass concrete structure in real or adiabatic conditions
and complete dissipation of heat changes in temperature in
real and extreme conditions.



Fig. 2 Temperature increase in the nucleus of SCC with mixes A
and D (Table 3) in a quasi-adiabatic condition.












Fig. 3 Compressive strength as a function of time of SCC with
different mineral additions (Table 3).




Fig. 4 Drying shrinkage of concrete mixture as a
function of time for SCC with different mineral additions
(see Table 3 for the composition of mixes A, B, C and D).