ABSTRACT
There is considerable concrete component casting work in the construction of small and medium span bridges, and bent cap construction is one of them. Because the bent cap’s casting work is usually completed at one time and the amount of casting volume is relatively large, the heat of hydration will cause the structure to produce apparent temperature stress, which is the main reason for early cracking and structural durability damage after casting. Therefore, the analysis and control of hydration heat become the key to ensuring the quality of such components’ construction. In this study, a numerical analysis method is used to simulate the hydration temperature response of a small span bridge’s concrete bent cap after casting. Meanwhile, for the critical concrete heat release, empirical coefficient of adiabatic temperature rise, and surface convection coefficient in analysis, a swarm intelligence optimization algorithm (genetic algorithm) is adopted to reverse identification the empirical parameters based on the measured data. Finally, based on the cracking probability classification distribution image, the pixels were calculated to obtain the variation of area proportion at different cracking classification. The research results can support the formulation of casting strategy and construction technology evaluation of large volume concrete members of small and medium span bridges.
