Title: Damage Due to Hydration in Roller Compacted Concrete: The Case of the Riou Dam

Author(s): J. P. Bournazel and E. Bourdarot

Publication: Symposium Paper

Volume: 145

Issue:

Appears on pages(s): 1003-1012

Keywords: age; construction joints; cracking (fracturing); damage; dams; degradation; hydration; mass concrete; models; roller compacted concrete; temperature; thermodynamics; ultrasonic tests; Design

DOI: 10.14359/4494

Date: 5/1/1994

Abstract:
For the calculation of civil engineering structures, designers employ the mechanical aspect underestimating the physicochemical phenomena in connection with the hydration of cement paste. Although the mechanical approach is widely sufficient for classical structures, this is not the case for large structures like dams, where thermophysical phenomena play a leading part. After a short analysis of the degradation observed on a roller compacted concrete dam, showing the importance of the control of hydration effects on mass concrete, the authors present a thermomechanical model able to describe the main evolutions of concrete properties with aging. Application to the Riou dam shows the ability of the approach to simulate temperature, strains, and stresses and, as a consequence, the risk of damage for the structure. Cracks in the middle of the dam are properly represented. This approach permits determination of the position and number of construction joints and setting the schedule of construction as thickness of concrete layers or maximum delay between two layers.