Modeling the thermal and mechanical properties of early age concrete containing ground granulated blast furnace slag

In this study, a multi-component hydration model of cementitious material was applied to estimate the heat of hydration, adiabatic temperature rise (ATR), and compressive strength of concrete containing ground-granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS). Different types of GGBFS were hydrated in limewater solution to measure their heat generations. The reference heat of slag in the multi-component hydration model (DuCOM) was revised using the heat measured from each type of GGBFS. Hence, the revised model is sensitive to the chemical compositions of slag. Isothermal and adiabatic heat measurements, as well as compressive strength experiments, were conducted using concrete with four different types of GGBFS. Results show that the proposed model is able to estimate the heat of hydration, adiabatic temperature rise, and compressive strength of concrete mix using different types of GGBFS with various w/cm ratios and air contents. The model predictions versus experimental results show reasonable agreement with the maximum average error percentage of 6.8% and 11% for the heat of hydration and compressive strength, respectively. The proposed method can be a useful technique to obtain the thermal and mechanical properties of GGBFS blended concrete with different cement and GGBFS sources.

Automated summary

In this study, a multi-component hydration model was used to estimate the heat of hydration, adiabatic temperature rise, and compressive strength of concrete containing ground-granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS). Different types of GGBFS were hydrated in limewater solution to measure their heat generations. The proposed model showed reasonable agreement with experimental results, making it a useful technique for obtaining the thermal and mechanical properties of GGBFS blended concrete.