Response laws and prediction model of temperature change in concrete in a controlled climate

An artificial climate environment was used to control the temperature of instrumented concrete specimens. The response of the concrete to heating and cooling was studied experimentally by measuring the temperature at fixed positions in the specimens. The thermal conductivity of the concrete was determined at the same time. The experimental observations are compared to a predictive model. The results show that the times for the temperature to equilibrate with ambient temperature vary with the specimen. The thermal properties of the concrete change as the concrete ages. The thermal conductivity of the material is strongly influenced by both water cement ratio and the total water content of the concrete. The effect of these variables follows a linear relationship. By comparing the theoretically predicted response curves to the experimentally derived ones it was possible to prove the reliability of the predictive model.