1.

0 Introduction
In the technical specifications given by the project consultant CECB, under section 18 on
page 48 it is said that :
Successful Tenderer

(Contractor) must note that to furnish all design

calculations carry for the building considering both strength wise and Thermal
crack control wise. Design of building and construction should be based on the
following requirements:
a. Concrete Pouring Temperature less than 30 Centigrade.
b. Maximum Hydration Temperature of concrete less than 70 Centigrade.
c. Maximum differential Temperature within the pour concrete and with
adjoining concrete less than 20 Centigrade.
d. Maximum crack width less than 0.15mm.
Contractor should carry out mix design for concrete to be used and make trial
blocks for temperature monitoring before commencement of construction. The
minimum size of concrete block is 3.4x2.5x4.0m.
To address same in the design calculations, two trial blocks were cast to get empirical
data for temperature variation across the section with time.
The walls in the basement are of a maximum width of 2.4m to prevent radiation caused in
the Clinac Rooms at service. The minimum size of the test block specified is
3.4x2.5x4.0m (LxWxH). Nevertheless the first block was cast to a size of 1x1x1m 3. The
second block was cast to the actual maximum wall thickness of 2.4m, a convenient length
of 1.5m and a pouring height of 2.0m to simulate the actual height during construction.
(The results of previous trials have been annexed).
For temperature monitoring before commencement of construction, a trial block of
3.4x2.5x2m will be cast to be witnessed by the consultants. Here, the length and the width
were determined as per the specifications and the height is to match with the actual
pouring height of a lift.

2.0 Literature Review

For the control of early- age thermal cracking, there are two important temperature
differences. ( Clause 2.0, CIRIA Report 91)
1) Difference of mean peak temperature across the section and mean ambient
temperature.
2) Maximum temperature difference within the section.
First one is directly related to the r/f calculations and we have to limit this difference to
30C to suit with our r/f design of thick sections.
Second one has to be limited to 20C as per the clause 6.3.1 , CIRIA 91. This difference
has to be considered under two conditions. That is temperature difference with formwork
and without formwork.
Before removing the formwork maximum temperature difference will be the difference
between the peak at the core and the surface temperature. If this is maintained within
20C, it will satisfy the CIRIA specifications.
After removing the formwork maximum temperature difference will be the difference
between the peak at the core and the ambient temperature. To achieve CIRIA
specifications , formwork has to be removed only after peak temperature reaches to a
temperature which equals to ambient temperature + 20C.
Surface temperature of the section is always below the peak temperature of the section.
Also pouring temperature is almost equal to the ambient temperature. So if pouring of the
adjoining section is done at this stage, it will satisfy the requirement c of the
specification as well.

3.0 Mix design for concrete.

Following design mix will be used by weight for 1m3 of grade 30(20) concrete.
OPC with 25% PFA

390 kg

Fine aggregates

900 kg

Course aggregates

1200 kg

Water

221 Lts

Pozzolith 300R

891 ml

OPC is used with 25% pulverized fly ash (PFA) by weight to reduce the
temperature rise in concrete

Pozzolith 300R is used as a retarder ( refer Fig 3.1 for literature)

Refer Table 3.1 for strength results of the design mix

4.0 Temperature Controlling.

4.1 Preparation of Raw Material.
Aggregates

: Shading the stock piles from the direct rays of the Sun.
Course Aggregates will be sprayed with water prior to use.

Cement

: Fly ash blended cement will be blown in to the silo at least 12 hrs
prior to being used for production to keep cement at low
temperature.

Water

: Reduce the temperature of water to 5 C ( Approx.) by mixing

ice blocks into the water storage tank 1 hr

prior to mixing in

order to keep concrete placing temperature bellow 30 C. ( refer

Table A.1 of the annex , this satisfies the requirement a of the
specifications.)
4.2 Time of concreting
Placing of concrete will be in the late evening, starting after 21.00 hrs., to keep the
concrete placing temperature low.
4.3 Use of formwork / Insulation
15mm plywood will be used for side faces and base of the trial block. Before
commencing concrete placement, formwork will be spayed with water. Top surface of the
block will be covered with the 125mm thick layer of sand.

Formwork should be kept without striking until the peak temperature of the block reaches
to a temperature which equals to the ambient temperature + 20 C. Formwork will be kept
about 7-8 days to satisfy this (Refer Fig A.1)

4.3 Curing of the block

No curing will be done till formwork is removed.

Water storage tank

Fig 4.3 ; Addition of ice to water storage tank

5.0 Temperature Monitoring.

Thermocouples, brand name Omron will be positioned at specified locations
(V1 to V5 and H1 to H2) as shown in the diagram in fig 5.1 inside the block.

These thermocouples will be calibrated before put in to use.

Temperature will be monitored at every one hour interval and will be
recorded until adiabatic condition (uniform temperature) is reached.
(Refer Table A.1 for observation sheets used for already cast trial blocks)

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Lead wires from thermocouple to

Temperature controllers
Thermocouples

Fig 5.2 ; Positioning of Thermocouples inside the trial block

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Fig 5.3; Temperature monitoring with Temperature Controllers

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6.0 Method of Analysis of results.

Temperature variations with time will be plotted and followings will be determined
using these variations. ( Refer Fig A.1 for the variations of already cast trial blocks)
1) Concrete pouring temperature / (Tp) ; First set of temperature readings should
be bellow 30 C to satisfy requirement a of the specifications.
In Fig A.1, Tp = 28-29 C
2) Maximum temperature reading / (Tmax) ; This should be bellow 70 C to
satisfy requirement b of the specifications.
In Fig A.1, Tmax = 66 C
3) Difference of mean peak temperature across the section(Tm) and mean
ambient temperature(Ta) / (T1) ; This should be within 30 C to comply with
r/f design of large sections.
In Fig A.1, Tm = (63+53)/2 = 58 C & Assuming Ta = 28 C , T1= 58-28 = 30 C
4) Maximum temperature difference within the section / (T) ; This should be
within 20C to satisfy the CIRIA specifications.
In Fig A.1, T = 63-53 C = 10 C
In this case , T is only 50% of the allowable T. This is because of the proper
insulation (Durra boards) being used for that trial block. So degree of insulation
can be reduced and 15mm plywood will be used for the new block without
additional insulation.
5) Time taken to peak temperature of the section reaches to 48 C ( 20 C + mean
ambient temperature) / (tf) ; This indicates the minimum time period which
formwork should be kept without striking to satisfy CIRIA specifications and
requirement c of the specifications.
In Fig A.1, tf = 176 hrs

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