ISSN: 1945-7553
Published Online: 24 July 2007
Page Count: 9

A Very Early Strength Concrete for Highway Construction

Punurai, Sun
Research Associate and Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark,New Jersey

Punurai, Wonsiri
Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering, Mahidol University, Nakhonpathom,

Hsu, Cheng-Tzu Thomas
Professor and Director of High Performance Concrete Laboratory, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark,New Jersey

(Received 29 October 2006; accepted 20 May 2007)

Abstract

The purpose of this research study was to develop an improved very early strength (VES) concrete mix for highway construction. More than 50 concrete mixes were evaluated for strength, shrinkage, and curing rate (maturity), eventually leading to the development of an optimized VES concrete mix with improved performance characteristics. The new mix, which is detailed in the paper, can gain strength more reliably than the former standard New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) VES mix, reaching a flexural strength of 350 psi (2.4 MPa) in less than 6.5 h. The improved mix also exhibited 79 to 93 % less shrinkage. The study found that maintaining an initial mix temperature of 28°C (82°F) is crucial to attain target strengths.

Keywords:
very early strength concrete, maturity method, initial mix temperature, shrinkage cracking

Paper ID: JTE100888
DOI: 10.1520/JTE100888
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