American Concrete Institute (ACI) defines Mass Concrete as “Any volume of concrete with dimensions large enough to require that measures be taken to cope with the generation of heat from the hydration of cement and attendant volume change to minimize cracking”.
Concretetherm aims to improve the performance, safety, and durability of mass concrete bridge substructures.
When the thermal stresses exceed the concrete’s tensile strength, cracking is highly possible.
Thermal cracking compromises durability, and accelerates reinforcement corrosion.
Thermal cracking can be mitigated by controlling temperature differentials through improved mix design, effective insulation, and proper formwork removal timing.
Accurate material modeling and 3D thermal–stress modeling are essential for the estimation of thermal stress magnitude and cracking prevention.
Using 3D numerical analysis cracking risks can be investigated, therefore prevented.
A 3D transient thermal model analyzes time‑dependent heat transfer inside a structure.
It calculates how temperature rises, falls, and spreads due to conduction, convection, and radiation.
This type of model is used when thermal conditions are not steady and must be tracked dynamically to identify hot spots, cooling rates, and thermal gradients.
A 3D thermal stress model uses temperature data often from a thermal simulation to determine how a structure expands, contracts, or warps due to heating and cooling.
It calculates resulting stresses, strains, and potential failure points.