A TEMPERATURE AND MOISTURE MODULE FOR HYDRATING PORTLAND CEMENT CONCRETE PAVEMENTS

Abstract

A computer based temperature and moisture analysis module has been recently developed at the Texas Transportation Institute referred to as Temperature and Moisture Analysis for Curing Concrete (TMAC2). This module produces the moisture and temperature profiles and accounts for the interaction between them at any points in a hydrating concrete slab as a function of time and ambient boundary conditions. These profiles, which are transient in nature and determined as a function of curing methodology and material characteristics, can be easily transmitted to analytical software for stress and deformation evaluation. A special test slab was constructed and carefully instrumented for temperature and relative humidity monitoring to collect specific data for program verification purposes. Deflection data collected from the test slab were compared to the results from Westergaard type solution for corner displacement to show potential for pavement design application under a board set of condition depicted by temperature and moisture gradient prediction from the TMAC2 software. This paper presents the details of the development of TMAC2, verification of the analysis module, and examples of the effects of combinations of climatic, construction, and material factors on profile development. Details of the test slab and the instrumentation are also presented.