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Hotter Cements, Cooler Concretes

Published

Author(s)

Dale P. Bentz, Casimir Bognacki, Kyle Riding, Victor Villarreal

Abstract

In the past 50 years, portland cements have become progressively finer, in order to meet increasing demands for fast-track construction, etc. While finer cements produce higher early-age strengths, they also increase early-age heat release which can produce problems that include thermal cracking, reduced ultimate strengths, and delayed ettringite formation, particularly in mass concrete structures. This paper provides practical strategies for producing cooler concretes with these hotter cements. Modifications regarding materials selection, mixture proportioning, construction scheduling, and construction practices offer the possibilities to reduce both maximum temperature rise and temperature differential within a concrete structure.
Citation
Concrete International
Volume
33
Issue
1

Keywords

cement, fineness, heat release, hydration, temperature rise.

Citation

Bentz, D. , Bognacki, C. , Riding, K. and Villarreal, V. (2011), Hotter Cements, Cooler Concretes, Concrete International, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=905767 (Accessed October 15, 2025)

Issues

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Created January 3, 2011, Updated February 19, 2017
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