Concrete Maturity: A Quantitative Understanding of How Early-Age Temperatures Affect the Maturity Concept

University Of Colorado At Denver-Downtown Campus, Denver CO

Investigators

Abstract

This is a three-year proposal submitted by a project team at the University of Colorado at Denver, to investigate how early-age temperatures affect the concrete maturity concept. The objective of the proposed research is to address limitations with the methods currently being used to develop the maturity index-strength relationship, especially the method found in the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM), C1074-93, "Standard Practice For Estimating Concrete Strength by The Maturity Method". The objective will be accomplished by developing a quantitative understanding of the effects that early-age temperatures have on the maturity concept, including the limiting strength. In order to fully understand these effects three main phases of testing will be implemented. Each of the three phases is set up to evaluate the effects of temperature on two different concrete mixes. Once the effects of early-age temperatures are understood, a new method that takes these effects into account while developing the maturity index-relative strength relationship will be developed. Ultimately, a revision to the ASTM standard C1074-93 method will be proposed. The new method will be a modified version of the already developed maturity index-relative strength concept introduced by a research team at the National Institute of Standards and Testing (NIST) in 1984.