The Maturity Approach in Concrete Technology-Going Beyond Compressive Strength

Abstract

The maturity approach has been used conventionally to model temperature effects on the development of concrete compressive strength. Its application to concrete technology, however, goes far beyond simply estimating compressive strength. When the maturity approach is based on cement hydration kinetics, it can be applied to any concrete property related to the extent of cement hydration. In this study, the application of the maturity approach to model the development of various concrete properties was investigated. In addition to compressive strength, other properties evaluated included degree of hydration and ultrasonic pulse velocity. Hyperbolic equations were investigated for the development of each model. Different values of apparent activation energies were calculated according to the procedure in ASTM C 1074. It was concluded that activation energy is an indication of the thermal sensitivity of the concrete property investigated. The calculated value of activation energy depends on the specific property and the maturity model used.