Hot weather concreting

M. S. Venugopal and N. Subramanian Due to geographic and climatic reasons a large portion of the concreting done in India is done under conditions of high temperature. The paper gives a brief account of the effects of high temperatures on the ingredients used for making concrete and the remedial measures necessary during mixing, transporting, placing, curing and finishing of concrete.
A lot of the concreting done in India is done under conditions of high temperature. Almost all parts of the country excepting the northern regions experience hot weather throughout the major part of the year except for the few winter months between November and February. Hot weather poses special problems for mixing, placing and curing of concrete. The average temperature at any construction site is of the order of 30C to 35C, and these temperatures result in more rapid hydration of cement, a demand for larger quantities of mixing water and quick evaporation of water in the concrete mix. As a consequence, there is a reduction in the workability and strength accompanied by volunie changes. Many authors have noted strength reductions of up to 17 per cent due to summer concreting problems
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Effects of hot weather

Hot weather affects Portland cement concrete in the

following waysz 3. (i) High temperatures on wet plastic concrete affects the gel formation during the process of hydration resulting in a reduction in strength of concrete. (ii) In hot weather, the cement sets faster than under normal conditions. High temperatures increase the rate of hardening of the concrete making the time interval between mixing and placing very critical. Quicker setting due to hot weather results in inadequate consolidation resulting in the concrete strength being reduced drastically. In certain cases due to the drying up of mixing water, additional water is added, the operation being sometimes called retempering. This undesirable retempering can reduce the strength of concrete by as much as 50 per cent. (iii) In hot weather the problem of drying and shrinkage becomes more pronounced, with the tendency of concrete to crack either before or after hardening increasing. In plastic concrete, shrinkage cracks may result from the rapid evaporation of water. In the hardened concrete, shrinkage and drying cracks are formed either due to the increased quantity of mixing water added, or by the cooling of the concrete from the initial elevated temperature. (iv) Curing is an important stage during the hardening process; since immersion curing is not possible in structures, different methods are adopted like spraying water regularly, covering the structure with wet sacks, ponding of water over flat surfaces, etc. In hot weather there is rapid evaporation of the curing water resulting in non-uniform temperature conditions.
Effects of high temperatures on ingredients of concrete

stage of unground clinker and the finished cement will be short, thus the temperature of the cement is likely to be relatively higher. Even though the temperature of cement used in the concrete does not affect the strength and behaviour of concrete, it is preferable not to use cement at a temperature more than 27C. Aggregates: Aggregates are normally stored in the open. In hot weather the aggregates get heated. The hot aggregates absorb quite a portion of the mixing water; they also increase the temperature of fresh concrete. It is generally not possible to sprinkle water on the aggregates because control on the water cement ratio, which is the vital factor for strength, can be completely lost if quality control techniques are not used. However, while stockpiling the aggregates, a small quantity of water may be sprinkled between the two layers. In some mass concrete works where facilities can be easily set up, refrigerated air can be forced through the aggregates. Water: Every kilogram of water added for mixing has the greatest effect on the temperature of concrete as the specific heat of water is about five times that of the aggregates or cement. However, the quantity of water used in concrete is less than the other ingredients. Water used for concreting should be normally cool.
Mixing and transportation

The problems associated with the mixing operation overlap the problems associated with aggregates. It is therefore necessary to keep the temperatures of the ingredients at a practical level so that the temperature of the fresh concrete is also at the desirable level. It is also necessary to ensure that the cement is well dispersed with other materials before adding the .water, otherwise a small lump of cement would take substantial quantity of water resulting in the formation of balls and the quick setting of concrete. The time of mixing should be optimum so as to minimise the loss of water by evaporation during mixing, at the same time ensuring adequate strength. The time between mixing and placing should also be kept at a minimum. The mixer machine, the pans, the wheel barrows, and other tools used in mixing and transporting should be protected from sun in order to ensure that the water in the mix is not absorbed by the heated equipment.
Placing and protection

Cement: Cement is often delivered at relatively high temperatures. During peak demand periods, or when there is a short supply, the storage period between the
M. S. Venugopal, BTech, ME, Scientist, Structural Engineering Research (Regional) Centre. Madras. N. Subramanian, BE, MSc(Eng), AMIE. AM ASCE, MIABSE, Senior Research Fellow (CSIR), Structural Engineering Laboratory, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

Normally there should be no delay between placing and compacting the concrete once delivered to the site. This practice assumes great importance in hot weather as the water in fresh concrete evaporates rapidly. Similarly the concrete surface should also be finished quickly. Delays cause slump loss.
Curing

Cement sets and hardens quicker in hot weather. At the same time loss of moisture due to hot weather causes deterioration of strength; hence curing should be promptly initiated and carefully carried out.
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Precautions and remedial measures

The temperature of the ingredients, aggregates, cement and water should be kept at practical levels. Aggregate temperature can be brought down by passing cool air over it. Water should be drawn from a cool pond or a storage drum. Pipes bringing water to the concreting spot should be buried in the earth or insulated from the direct rays of the sun. In very hot regions, ice cubes of known volumes can be added to the mixing waterthis itself reduces the temperature of fresh concrete. All the mixing and transporting equipment should be kept under shade and protected from getting heated up. Mixers, chutes, belts, pumps and forms can be painted white to ensure the least absorption of heat. Formwork, props, reinforcements, subgrade and surroundings can be sprayed with cool water prior to concreting. This ensures keeping the area around the concreting place cool and increases the humidity. It reduces evaporation loss from the fresh concrete and keep its temperature low. Where the day temperatures are abnormal, concreting can be done during the cooler hours of the day or at night. The concrete once laid should be quickly finished. Delays and bottlenecks during concreting should be identified in advance and totally avoided by taking proper precautions. If the finished concrete dries quickly and shrinkage cracks appear, the surface should be covered by wet sacks which should be maintained in a damp condition. Adequate personnel to finish the freshly laid concrete should be available otherwise cold joints will form indicating inadequate bond between two blocks of concrete due to the loss of moisture. In hot weather curing is a very critical operation. Regular and constant replenishment of curing water must be maintained. After the termination of curing, the concrete surface shoud not be exposed to hot weather immediately. It should be gradually done, say, by allowing the wet sacks to dry and removing them subsequently.

Adequate data on the temperature of the ingredients, temperature of the place where concreting is done, temperature of the fresh concrete as delivered and after placing in the forms should be collected so that the mix design can take into account the effect of these temperatures on the concrete strength. Sometimes water reducing retarders can he also used as admixtures provided they do not affect the hardening and development of strength. It is advisable not to use high early strength cement without taking all the above precautions.
Summary and conclusions

The extent of the influence of hot weather on mixing, transporting, placing, compacting and finishing of concrete depends on the actual temperature at the work site and the relative humidity. In dry, arid places the reduction in water content due to evaporation and increase in the temperature of fresh concrete is very high. The higher the temperature, the greater is the loss of water from fresh concrete and thus greater is the problems associated with concreting as enumerated in this paper. With the increase in the temperature during the course of the day it is general practice at most construction sites to add a known percentage of water to the original water-cement ratio. However, scientific mix design of concrete should cater for the increase in demand for mixing water by taking into account as many as possible of the number of variables that contribute to the increase in the demand for mixing water, aside from just an increase in the temperature of the site.
References 1. Summer concreting, Journal of the American Concrete

Institute, August 1975. Proc Vol 72, p. 402.

2.

ACI Standard specifications for structural concrete for buildings, ACI 31-72 (Revised 1975). Special publication SP-15.
American Concrete Institute, Detroit, Michigan 48219, USA. Concrete manual. Seventh edition. Bureau of Reclamation, US Department of Interior, Washington, 1974.

3.

Forty years ago there were no computers or finite elementsjust pocket books, said Dr Oleg Kerensky. Site supervision was elementary, but for all that engineers designed good l2ridges which were still here today. Dr Kerensky was addressing the annual luncheon meeting of the Concrete Society's South West Region at the Ashton Court Country Club in Bristol. "I started my training in design in 1937", he reminisced. " In those days if one was late, one was ticked off, and if one made a mistake one was equally ticked off". He recalled that on his first job the foreman proudly reported to him that the night shift had saved ten bags of cement in line with his predecessor's policy of encouraging the saving of cement by paying a small bonus for bags not used. Today's burning subject, according to him, was the lack of productivity, in the construction industry particularly. In the twenties, there was much greater productivity, with simpler tools and simpler methods and techniques. No labour relations policies were new, he said. They had always been there. But punitive methods of disciplining staff were gone, and he told the story of an office boy meeting his managing director in the lift one morning. "Late again, then!" said the managing director, pleasantly enough. "So am I", replied the office boy. " We must restore productivity", Dr Kerensky said "and we can do this only through respect. The ordinaryman should respect the craftsman, the craftsman should respect the foreman, the foreman should respect the engineer, and the engineer should respect the accountant". Engineers
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should take the blame for the lack of leadership, he went on. Restore respect, and the problems would go. Dr Kerensky spoke of the difficult times in which we lived, and concluded by comparing socialism and capitalism. "Capitalism", he said, "is the exploitation of persons by persons, and socialism is that in reverse". "Oleg Kerensky looks back", Concrete, April 1977, p. 29.

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