OPTIMIZATION OF CONCRETE CURING CONDITIONS IN MASSIVE MONOLITHIC FOUNDATION SLABS
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Abstract
The problem of controlling temperature stresses and preventing early cracking in massive monolithic foundation slabs at the stage of their hardening is considered. Existing methods often fail to account for the lag in concrete strength growth relative to the development of temperature gradients, which can lead to dangerous tensile stresses. The objective of the study is to develop a method for optimizing curing conditions aimed at minimizing tensile stress to strength ratio as an objective function. The method is based on combined numerical modeling of heat transfer and stress-strain problems, taking into account the kinetics of heat generation and concrete strength gain. The variable parameters were a coefficient determining the kinetics of concrete heat generation and the heat transfer coefficient from the upper surface of the slab. The interior point method, pattern search and particle swarm optimization were used to solve the optimization problem. Calculation results for various slab thicknesses and climatic conditions showed that to minimize the risk of cracking, it is necessary to reduce the heat transfer coefficient on the upper surface of the slab to 2.5–4.7 W/(m² °C), and to use normal- and rapid-hardening concrete rather than slow-hardening concrete. This is explained by the lag in tensile strength growth behind the development of temperature differences in slow-hardening concrete. Optimization reduced tensile stress levels by 2.2–3.3 times compared to standard conditions, making it possible to concretize slabs up to 3 m thick without the use of artificial cooling systems.
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