Global Warming

You Say?
OK, But What About
My Concrete?
by Robert A. Prisby

T here is much discussion and debate about weather.

The real importance is the effect of weather on what
we do and how we deal with it. Summer means
warmer weather and more concrete being placed. This ar-
placed; it is bad. Summer is the time of year when concrete
slab surfaces are at the greatest risk of early surface drying
and when some built-in defects are created.

ticle discusses some of the causes and effects of rapid drying Why should we care?
of concrete slabs in hot-weather conditions and suggests pre- The following is a brief listing of the surface defects related
ventative steps that are low cost and relatively easy to do. to early surface drying:
Concrete hardens by two processes: hydration and dehy- Craze cracking;
dration. Hydration is the chemical reaction between portland Plastic shrinkage cracking (Fig. 1);
cement and water; this is good. Dehydration is simply dry- Curling and warping of pavement slabs;
ing. When dehydration occurs shortly after fresh concrete is Crusting of the surface;

Fig. 1 Plastic
shrinkage cracking,
one of many surface
defects related to early
surface drying.
January 2001 1
 Dusting;
Difficult finishing or bad appear
ance because
I cant close the surface,
It feels like rubber when I try
to trowel it,
It is setting from the top down,
It is still jelly underneath, but
the surface is hard (set);
Raveling of sawcuts due to prema -
ture cutting.
Beyond this listing, early surface
drying also contributes to scaling,
shrinkage cracking, and poor surface
durability. I believe that early surface
drying is a very significant yet prevent-
able factor in many concrete surface
problems. The previous list of surface
defects answers the question: Why
should we care?
Why and when does early
surface drying occur?
Rapid drying of the concrete occurs by
absorption of concrete mixture water
by a dry subgrade, dry aggregates, or,
most importantly, evaporation of sur-
face moisture on a warm, dry, and
windy day. High drying conditions are
the result of the weather (temperature,
Fig. 2 Factors affecting evaporation rates (ACI 305R-99).
2 Concrete International
relative humidity, and wind speed) at
the time of day during concrete place-
ment.
The following is an example of the tity is about 15% of the total volume
weather affecting surface drying. Two
loads of concrete were delivered at
7:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to place a
driveway slab. The weather conditions
on the job site at 7:00 a.m. in western
Pennsylvania (August 29, 1999) were
66 F (19 C), wind speed 7 mph (11 kph),
and 80% relative humidity when the
first truck arrived. All finishing was
completed by 12:30 p.m. on this first
load. Fortunately, the curing com-
pound was applied before lunch.
A second load arrived at 1:30 p.m.,
and the weather conditions were 76 F
(24 C), wind speed 20 mph (32 kph),
and 39% relative humidity. These
weather conditions might seem ideal
for concrete placement, but they are
not because of rapid evaporation. The
evaporation rate had reached a very
dangerous level for the surface of the
concrete. The evaporation rate in-
creased from less than 3/4 gal. (2.8 L)
per hour to 2.5 gal. (9.5 L) per hour
for the 10 x 10 ft (3.05 x 3.05 m) slab.
Consider that the total mixture wa-
ter in the top 1/2 in. (12.7 mm) of the
10 x 10 ft (3.05 x 3.05 m) concrete slab
is 5.4 gal. (20.4 L). This water quan-
of the top 1/2 in. (12.7 mm).
The afternoon placement was ex-
posed to an evaporation rate more than
triple that of the first. It was drying so
quickly that virtually all of the water
in the top 1/2 in. (12.7 mm) would be
evaporated in less than two hours. It
was hardening through dehydration
(drying) and the contractor did not
know it. The surface shrinkage strain
would be very large at a time when the
concrete had virtually no strength to
resist this force. The afternoon slab
was extremely difficult to finish, crust-
ing, and at great risk for those surface
defects.
The following is a brief description
of each of the factors affecting evapo-
ration:
Relative humidity When relative
humidity changes from 90 to 50%,
the rate of evaporation is increased
five times; a further reduction of
10% increases this rate nine times.
Wind speed (Fig. 2) The evapo-
ration rate is four times greater when
 Fig. 3 A worker
blesses the con-
crete surface a
nonrecommended
practice.
the wind velocity increases from 0 to
10 mph (16 kph), and nine times
greater when the wind velocity in-
creases to 25 mph (40 kph).
Concrete and air temperature
When the temperature increases from
50 to 70 F (10 C), evaporation is
doubled; if temperature increases to
90 F (32 C), evaporation is increased
four times.
All of these factors combine during
summer weather. The effect can be a
substantial change in evaporation rates
between one day and the next or be-
tween morning and afternoon on the
same day.
What can a contractor do?
Many articles that address this prob-
lem have recommended sun shades,
wind screens, fog mists, and evapora-
tion retardants. In 20 years of job site
experience, I have never seen sun
shades or wind screens used, even in
equatorial climates.
Unfortunately, I have too often seen
a bucket and a blessing brush to re-
store the water lost by evaporation
(Fig. 3). Most concrete professionals
understand that water applied by either
spraying the surface with a garden hose
or blessing with a cup or a brush prob-
ably adds too much water in some
areas, not enough in others, and does
not address the root cause, which is
continued rapid evaporation.
The first thing a concrete contractor
needs to do is have the right knowl-
edge and equipment to deal with these
situations ahead of time.
January 2001
Knowledge
Watch the Weather Channel the day
be fore. Anytime you hear a forecast of
wind speeds greater than 10 mph (16 kph),
relative humidity less than 50%, or tem-
peratures greater than 85 F (29 C), be
prepared.
Know the conditions at your job site
The Weather Channel may be fore-
casting a 5 mph (8 kph) wind speed, but
if you are placing concrete along a road
while traffic is going by at 50 mph
(80 kph), a burst of wind blows with
every vehicle going by.
Consider changing the placement
schedule to a time when the weather is
more favorable, typically earlier in the
morning.
Watch the concrete surface very
closely; the surface should maintain a
gloss to semigloss water sheen dur-
ing the first few hours. If it quickly loses
its sheen and looks like a flat, dry sur-
face, then it is drying too quickly. Take
action.
Equipment
Know how to use evaporation retar-
dants and have them ready to go in a
pressure sprayer next to the concrete
slab. Re-apply this material to maintain
the water sheen at the surface. Evapo-
ration retardants are different from
surface retarders and water-reducing
set-retarding admixtures. Know the dif-
ference; surface retarders and retarding
admixtures will aggravate rapid drying.
Know how to properly broadcast a
fog mist in the area (Fig. 4). Have the
fogging equipment set up upwind of the
concrete slab. I have seen this success-
fully done with inexpensive pressure
washers turned to the maximum mist
or spray setting. The fog (or mist) is
directed into the air above and upwind
of the slab. This fine fog must be car-
ried by the wind over the concrete
surface. The fog will not be able to be
propelled very far through the air. The
mist should only be enough to restore
the sheen to the concrete surface, and
no droplets should impact the surface.
Also, specially designed fog mist
nozzles are available for approximately
$20 each. Never use a stream of water.
Never use an excess amount of water.
The goal is simply to control the rate of
evaporation around the concrete by
raising the relative humidity and evapo-
rative cooling at the concrete surface.
Be ready to quickly apply the curing
system. Minimize the time the surface
is left unprotected from the rapid evapo-
ration. If you are using a curing
compound, consider applying a double
coating to withstand the rapid drying
exposure.
Other concrete areas
The same weather conditions affect
concrete highway pavement. Because
paving equipment is used to finish the
surface, highway pavements have fewer
finish concerns. Rapid evaporation can
be a significant factor in curling,
rideability, and profile of highway slabs.
Fortunately, it is very controllable by
the same means discussed previously.
A new software program sponsored by
the Federal Highway Administration
3

Fig. 4 Fog misting of the concrete surface with a pres-
sure washer.
called Hiperpave illustrates this point and other issues af-
fecting early-age concrete conditions.
Control of rapid evaporation is especially important with
high-performance concrete.* High-performance concrete
typically has low initial water contents (low w/cm) and typi-
cally very low bleeding rates; therefore, it is much more
susceptible and sensitive to these weather conditions. The
Pennsylvania Department of Transportations AAA mixture
is included in this group of concrete that is sensitive and
susceptible to rapid evaporation.
4 Concrete International
Summary
The good news is that rapid early drying
is preventable. It takes knowledge and a
few low-cost tools. We need to spread the
word so that we actively prevent these
surface defects. ACI 305R Hot Weather
Concreting, is an excellent reference for
additional information. ACIs Flatwork
Finisher Certification program teaches
the ways to handle these conditions.
References
ACI Committee 305, Hot Weather Concreting,
(ACI 305R-99), American Concrete Institute,
Farmington Hills, Mich., 1999, 20 pp.
Selected for reader interest by the editors.
* High-Performance Concrete (HPC) is concrete
that meets special combinations of performance
and uniformity requirements that cannot always be
achieved routinely using conventional constituents
and normal mixing, placing, and curing practices.
Thus, a high-performance concrete is a concrete
in which certain characteristics are developed for
a particular application and environment. Examples
of characteristics that may be considered critical
in an application are: ease of placement, compaction without segregation,
early-age strength, long-term mechanical properties, permeability, density,
heat of hydration, toughness, volume stability, and long life in severe envi-
ronments. ( Editor)
ACI member Robert A. Prisby has a BS
from Pennsylvania State University, over 20
years of experience in concrete construc-
tion, and has served on several national ACI
and ASTM technical committees. He is past
president of the Pittsburgh ACI Chapter.