Brief Note on Mass Concrete
According to American Concrete Institute (ACI), Mass concrete can be defined as any volume of concrete, with a combination of dimensions of the member being?cast, and boundary?conditions. It is to be designed in such a way that they could easily cope with the increase in heat from the hydration of cement and can automatically change its volume to minimize cracking.
The difference between normal concrete and mass concrete can be justified by its thermal behavior. The key objective of?Mass Concrete ?is to create a structure that provides durability for a long period of time.
The outer surface of a particular structure may be a cooling stage but the interior temperature of mass concrete gets higher due to the cement hydration procedure. If the difference between the temperatures of a structure keeps on changing, the structure may get cracked, and the durability of the structure will get reduced.
There are a few factors responsible for the variation of temperature in a particular structure, like the surrounding atmosphere, the size of a structure matters, the type of cement used, and also the materials used in the concrete mixture. It usually used mat foundations like dams, canals, bridges, etc.
Historically mass concrete is used with large structures such as?dams, bridges,?etc, but however, due to the increased use of fast-paced construction equipment and techniques the mass concrete issues are mainly experienced in old bridges and building structures only.