Influence of Hydration Temperature on Durability and Mechanical Property Performance of Prestressed and Precast High-Performance Concrete Beams

Concrete technology has continued to advance throughout the years to meet the demands of designers and innovative structural systems. With the advent of high-performance concrete (HPC), which contains large amounts of cementitious materials, the investigation of the impact of concrete temperature development during hydration on concrete performance is of keen interest. Match-curing technology was used to investigate the influence of concrete temperature development during hydration on the mechanical and material property performance of prestressed and precast HPC beams. These members were fabricated for use in two recently constructed HPC bridges in Texas. The investigation was conducted in conjunction with the design, instrumentation, and construction of the Louetta Road Overpass in Houston, Texas, and the North Concho River US-87 and South Orient Railroad Overpass in San Angelo, Texas. FHWA and the Texas Department of Transportation cosponsored these projects as part of the Strategic Highway Research Program to stimulate the use of HPC and to demonstrate the suitability of HPC in highway structures. The results of the study indicated that for HPCs that contain large amounts of cementitious materials, the concrete temperature during hydration can have a dramatic impact on both the mechanical and the material (durability) performance of the concrete. Temperature recommendations are provided to avoid less than optimal concrete performance on the basis of the member shapes and mix designs investigated in the study.