Preliminary Evaluation of Cool-crete

Cracking of concrete bridge decks leads to the penetration of water and road salts that accelerate corrosion of reinforcement in the deck which can further increase cracking and detrimental effects. One of the primary causes of cracking is due to restrained shrinkage resulting from design practices, construction processes, and material properties. If concrete properties could be improved to reduce or possibly eliminate cracking caused by restrained shrinkage, significant savings could be achieved. A new additive for concrete known as Cool-crete reduces the heat of the hydration process and could greatly improve on some of the difficult issues that the curing process of concrete creates. The primary goal of the research was to determine if Cool-crete performed better than conventional concrete in terms of shrinkage cracking in bridge decks. To meet this goal, two slabs, one (the control slab) using a conventional Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) job mix formula (JMF) and the second, using the same JMF modified by including the Cool-crete additive, were placed in the laboratory and monitored for internal temperatures and strains caused by restraint during curing. The control slab had higher internal temperatures relative to the room temperature. In addition, strains were high enough to expect cracking, but visual inspection did not find any surface cracking. The Cool-crete slab had lower temperatures and strains, but minor surface cracking was observed.

• Record URL:
  http://cdm16007.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p267401ccp2/id/12938
• Corporate Authors:

  Ohio University, Athens

  Department of Civil Engineering
  Athens, OH  United States  45701

  Ohio Department of Transportation

  1980 West Broad Street
  Columbus, OH  United States  43223

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Steinberg, Eric
  • Ellison, Travis
• Publication Date: 2015-9

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Photos; Tables;
• Pagination: 48p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Additives; Admixtures; Bridge decks; Concrete curing; Cracking; Evaluation; Laboratory studies; Shrinkage
• Geographic Terms: Ohio
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways; Materials; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls; I32: Concrete;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01580247
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA/OH-2015-21
• Contract Numbers: SJN 135020
• Files: TRIS, ATRI, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Nov 2 2015 9:18AM