Effects of environmental temperature and age on the elastic modulus of concrete

Abstract

Concrete mechanical properties change constantly with age, temperature, humidity and the other environmental factors. This research studies the effects of temperature and age on the development of concrete elastic modulus by a series of prism specimens. Elastic modulus test was conducted at various temperatures and ages in the laboratory to examine the effects of temperature and age on it. The experimental results reveal that the concrete elastic modulus decreases with the rise of temperature but increases with age. Then, a temperature coefficient K is proposed to describe the effects of temperature and validated by existing studies. Finally, on the basis of K, analytical models are proposed to determine the elastic modulus of concrete at a given temperature and age. The proposed models can offer designers an approach to obtain more accurate properties of concrete structures through the elastic modulus modification based on actual age and temperature, rather than using a value merely based on laboratory testing.