Cold Weather Concrete
Cold weather concreting has some unique challenges, but with a little knowledge and a few tools it may not bring your project to a halt.
Specifications & Recommendations
First, you should review the appropriate specifications and relevant resources to determine the requirements for cold weather concreting. You can click here for a quick review of some ACI requirements and recommendations. Note any definitions of "cold weather" along with all requirements such as necessary protection, temperature records, and curing recommendations.
intelliRock
Engius offers several tools to help you deal with cold weather. The first is the intelliRock system. The intelliRock system consists of sensors/data loggers that measure what is happening in the concrete placement. Not only can raw temperature information be read and recorded, but an accurate estimate of actual in-place strength can be determined as well. Note that due to the geometry, protection, and environment of the concrete placement, concrete specimens (cylinders or beams) are rarely indicative of the actual in-place strength of the placement. If the placement is warmer than the specimens, then the placement will cure and gain strength more quickly than the specimens. If the placement is colder than the specimens then the concrete cylinders/beams can give a dangerous overestimate of concrete strength. intelliRock, using concrete maturity technology (ASTM C 1074) measures and records what is actually happening in the concrete placement itself. This gives an accurate indication of strength in real-time.
Although some intelliRock users discover that the concrete placement is not as strong as they previously thought due to temperature discrepancies between the placement and test specimens, it is very common for intelliRock users to be surprised by the amount of heat that is being generated, and trapped in the concrete placement which is accelerating the rate of cure and strength gain. The intelliRock is the ideal tool for optimizing cold weather concrete workflow and improving safety.
powerblanket
Powerblankets are electrically heated blankets used for protecting concrete in cold weather, heating/thawing ground and embeddedments prior to concrete placement, and accelerating the rate of cure and strength gain. The blankets are available in a variety of sizes and powers depending on your particular requirements.
- Heat and protect concrete
- Accelerate curing & strength gain
- Accelerate maturity gain with addition of heat
- Preheat rebar
- Save on fuel cost
