Subject: PHYS211 Lecture

Schedule: M/W
Course/Year/Section: CEE23

Topic:
Effects of Weather on Concrete

Date Submitted: September 7, 2015

Group Member:
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Title:
Effects of Weather on Concrete
Introduction:
Gromicko and Shepard (2015) states that concrete is a commonly known and widely used
building material. Concrete has been used for many amazing things throughout history, including

architecture, infrastructure and more. It spans over 5,000 years, from the time of the Egyptian
Pyramids to present day decorative concrete developments. (2014) Concrete has been known to
have properties that are advantageous as a construction material, such as its strength and
durability. Ham and Oh (2013) states that despite this properties, there are factors that affect the
properties that concrete has. One of these factors are the weather condition that it endures.
Portland cement concrete exposed to high temperatures during mixing, transporting, casting,
finishing, and curing can develop undesirable characteristics. (p.1)
Concrete transforms from a semiliquid to a solid material due to a chemical reaction
called hydration. When water is mixed with cement powder, the chemical reaction causes a
crystallization process to begin. The speed of this reaction depends on the temperature of the
concrete. When it's hot outside, the reaction proceeds quickly. When it's cold, the chemical
reaction slows down. The crystals typically grow for months and months after the concrete is
poured. The more crystals that grow, the stronger the concrete becomes. If the temperature drops
below 14 degrees early in the life of new concrete, the crystals stop growing. Crystal growth can
begin again once the concrete warms above 14.
Concrete needs to form as many internal crystals as possible to resist pressures caused by
water that may freeze within the concrete. It needs to attain a minimum compressive strength of
500 pounds per square inch to avoid freeze damage. Under normal temperatures, concrete can
achieve this minimum strength in as little as 24 hours. In cold weather, one needs to fool the
concrete into thinking it's warm outside
Weather conditions affect the stability, design and performance of the structure. The
construction industry needs to make note of such conditions as most of its operations are

performed in the open and subject to all kinds of weather.This research will be focusing on the
effect of weather conditions to concrete properties particularly concrete.
Background of the Study:
In its simplest form, concrete is a mixture of paste and aggregates, or rocks. The paste,
composed of port land cement and water, coats the surface of the fine (small) and coarse (larger)
aggregates. Through a chemical reaction called hydration, the paste hardens and gains strength to
form the rock-like mass known as concrete. Within this process lies the key to a remarkable trait
of concrete: it's plastic and malleable when newly mixed, strong and durable when hardened.
These qualities explain why one material, concrete, can build skyscrapers, bridges, sidewalks and
superhighways, houses and dams. The key to achieving a strong, durable concrete rests in the
careful proportioning and mixing of the ingredients. A mixture that does not have enough paste
to fill all the voids between the aggregates will be difficult to place and will produce rough
surfaces and porous concrete. A mixture with an excess of cement paste will be easy to place and
will produce a smooth surface; however, the resulting concrete is not cost-effective and can more
easily crack.
Todays concrete is made using Portland cement, coarse and fine aggregates of stone and
sand, and water. Admixtures are chemicals added to the concrete mix to control its setting
properties and are used primarily when placing concrete during environmental extremes, such as
high or low temperatures, windy conditions, etc.("History of Concrete - InterNACHI," n.d.)
Engineers analyze information about weather when designing instruments such as
barometers, thermometers and anemometers, as well as software that integrates complex weather
information for meteorologists to use. Civil engineers utilize weather data when designing

houses and other structures, to ensure that those designs are appropriate for the climate of their
locations.
Retarding effects of a retarder depends upon a number of factors including dosage of the
admixture, time of addition to the mix and curing conditions. Some admixtures act as retarders
when used in small amounts but behave as accelerators when used in large amounts. For
example, sugar behaves as a set retarder but the large amount of sugar (0.2 to 1% by the weight
of cement) will virtually prevent the setting of cement. At higher temperatures some retarders
become less effective in cement set retardation than at lower temperatures. For example, the
efficiency of either hydrophobic material or super plasticizers in retarding cement setting is
lower at higher temperatures (350 C and 500 C) than at lower temperature (200 C).

Problem Statement:
Research Aim and Objectives:
1. To determine and develop a better understanding on the effects of hot weather to
construction materials specifically concrete.
2. To determine and develop a better understanding on the effects of cold weather to
construction materials specifically concrete
Rationale of the Study:

This research is conducted to give knowledge about how weather conditions affect
engineering materials specifically concrete. This research will not only give knowledge to the
researchers, it will also be of great help to the readers especially those who are in the field of
engineering. It will help them be more knowledgeable when it comes to the effect of weather
conditions on concrete.
While hot weather conditions are commonly encountered in summer, combinations of
high temperatures, winds and low humidity could result in conditions leading to problems with
concrete placement and finishing at any time. This research will provide guidance on the effects
of weather conditions on the properties of concrete, and the precautions that should be taken,
particularly with flatwork, to minimize any potential adverse effect
Results and Discussion:
Hot weather causes rapid evaporation of water from the surface of the fresh
paste / concrete. Consequently the paste / concrete set rapidly than its normal setting and
shortens the length of time for concreting operations. For example, it has been reported that
when the temperature of cement mortar with water/cement (w/c) ratio of 0.6 is increased from
27o C to 45.5o C, both the initial and final setting times are halved. Other problems such as rapid
decrease of slump, formation of cold joints and plastic shrinkage cracking, increased difficulty in
air entrainment, enhanced permeability and reduced durability and reduction in ultimate strength
may arise due to hot weather.
As the summer starts, and when the temperatures increases, so do the problems related
with the placement and curing of concrete begins. By taking certain precautions, however, we
can minimize these problems and protect the soundness of the concrete in our projects. Hot

weather is defined by the American Concrete Institute as any combination of high air
temperature, low relative humidity, and wind velocity tending to impair the quality of fresh
concrete or hardened concrete, or otherwise resulting in abnormal properties.
The normal procedure adopted for concreting in fair weather will not be valid for
concreting when the temperature is low or below the freezing point. In Pakistan, such areas are
fairly small when compared to fair weather regions. The production of concrete in cold weather
introduces special and peculiar problems, such as delay in setting and hardening, damage to
concrete in plastic condition when exposed to below freezing point owing to the formation of ice
lenses Therefore, it is essential to maintain the temperature of the concrete positively above OC,
possibly at much higher temperature. Any concreting operation done at temperature below 5C is
termed as c old weather concreting. Most codes do not advocate concreting below 5C without
special precaution.
In hot weather, concrete mixed, placed and cured at higher temperature normally
develops higher early strength than concrete produced and cured at normal temperature but at 28
days or later the strength are generally lower and rapid evaporation may cause plastic shrinkage
and cracking and subsequent cooling of hardened concrete would introduce tensile stresses.
While in cold weather, the permanent damage may occur when the concrete in fresh stage is
exposed to freeze before certain pre-hardening period, also concrete may suffer irreparable loss
in its properties to an extent that compressive strength may get reduced to 50% of what could be
expected for normal temperature concrete.

References:

Advantages and Disadvantages of Concrete. (n.d.). Retrieved July 26, 2015, from
http://civiltoday.com/civil-engineering-materials/concrete/15-advantages-and-

disadvantages-of-concrete
The History of Concrete. (n.d.). Retrieved July 26, 2015, from

http://www.nachi.org/history-of-concrete.htm?loadbetadesign=0
Timeline of Concrete & Cement History. (n.d.). Retrieved July 26, 2015, from
http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete-history/

Khan, B., &Ullah, M. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.kau.edu.sa/Files/135/Researches/54945_25263.pdf
Hot-Weather Concreting. (n.d.) Retrieved July 26, 2015, from

http://www.itacanet.org/doc-archive-eng/contruction/hotcon.pdf
Ahmad, S., &Nazir, A. (2004). Investigation of Extreme Weather Concreting. Retrieved
July 26, 2015 from

http://www.cipremier.com/e107_files/downloads/Papers/100/29/100029014.pdf
Carter, T., How Cold Weather Affects Concrete. Retrieved July 26, 2015 from
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1999-11-13/news/9911130138_1_concrete-extracement-cold-weather

Ham, S., Oh, T. Effect of Mixing and Placing in Hot Weather on Hardened Concrete

Properties
Suryakanta.(2015, January 11). WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF WEATHER O9N
CONCRETE? Retrieved September 6, 2015, from http://civilblog.org/2015/01/11/whatare-the-effects-of-hot-cold-weather-on-concrete/