Control Measures of Temperature Cracks in Mass Concrete for Bridge Base Slab

Abstract

The risk of early-age concrete cracking in mass concrete of bridge base slab depended on the capacity of hardening concrete to support the thermal stresses caused by the exothermic nature of the hydration process. The outside and inside temperatures of mass concrete for the base slab were monitored and analyzed in its construction time. A number of control measures are proposed to control the temperature cracks from raw material selection and reasonable choice of construction methods and achieve very good results. At the same time, it shows that a reasonable layout of cooling pipes inside the concrete plays a vital role at reducing the difference between the internal temperature of concrete and the temperature of the external environment, which provides valuable experience for other similar projects.