ABSTRACT
From decades of practical experience and from theoretical considerations, it is well known that early age temperatures and temperature induced stresses may have a great influence on the quality of the concrete and concrete structures. In order to enhance the quality and performance of concrete structures, control of these temperatures and of the associated thermal stresses is of paramount importance. For quantification of the effectiveness of technical and technological measures for improving the quality, numerical simulation techniques can be used. Simulation programs must be able to predict the development of temperatures, strength, stresses and the risk of early age cracking [54]. Although thermal stresses and the risk of cracking are not correlated linearly with the temperatures in the concrete [4], there is no doubt that temperatures and temperature differentials are among the key-factors in a thermal analysis of concrete structures [47].
