2024 – Monitoring of Temperature Rise and Crack Control During Hydration Process in Concrete Dams and Appurtenant Structures in Restrained Conditions

Ernest Wijesinghe, David Gardiner, Francisco Lopez

This paper presents to dams designers the CIRIA C766 guideline for “Crack control caused by restrained deformation in concrete”, applicable to thick concrete sections. This is presented as an alternative to the traditionally used “ACI-207.1: Mass Concrete Guide” or the Australian Standards AS 3600, AS 5100.5 and AS 3735, which are mainly intended for reinforced concrete framed structures. The internal restraints and combination of internal and external restraints of thick concrete sections have been taken into consideration in CIRIA C766 guidelines, which is considered more representative of concrete dams and some types of appurtenant structures. Monitoring of temperature inside thick concrete sections carried out by the author on site will enable a sound understanding of how the CIRIA C766 approach is put into practice to check and verify structural/thermal designs.