Houston Pier and Beam Concrete Foundations, Concrete Slabs, Piers, Drilling, Concrete Pouring, Foundation Repair

For Structures not exceeding 36' ft in height we would generally provide 1" gravel aggregate with 6 sacks of
pure Portland per cubic yard concrete with a maximum 4" slump. Once the concrete arrives on site you will
need to measure the concrete temperature. It is well known that the chemical reaction of cement with water is
exothermic and liberates a considerable quantity of heat during the curing period. When cement, water,
stone and sand are mixed together, a chemical reaction starts. This is between the cement paste and water.
In this curing process, the volume of the slab, and the inner pressure/strain exerted on the rebars will change
in a fashion that depends on the composition of the concrete mixture.

The curing process is affected by the water to cement ratio, the curing temperature, humidity and the type
of cement. Hydration is responsible for the hardening (strength) of the concrete. For concrete, the gain in
strength continues for a long time, and theoretically for an indefinite period of time. However, the strength of
the concrete reaches a peak within 7days. During this process something else happens. Water in the
concrete mixture will evaporate, resulting in a decrease in the volume of the concrete. The volume of
concrete also decreases due to re-arrangement of finer particles within the larger ones. The different
proportions of cement, water, air entrainements, admixtures and sand will bring about different temperatures,
pressure and strain variations within the concrete slab as well. The result of the volume change is strain, also
known as shrinkage strain, and this is responsible for some small cracks that may appear after the curing
process of an improperly optimized concrete mix, also aggrevating the thermal stresses induced during the
curing process may cause cracks within the structure, thus weakening it.

The maximum optimum temperature of the concrete cannot exceed 40.2 °C. The temperature change
measured within the concrete follows the same trend as the ambient air and surface temperatures
surrounding the slab but with a larger change in the initial stage and tailing off to the ambient temperature
with increasing time. Adjust air entrainment and tri-calcium silicate admixture proportions according to the
absorption component properties criteria.

The barometric pressure variables and humidity criteria need to be calibrated into the optimization
performance variables table (provided by a www.concreteforever.com on site project manager) prior to the
pour by a qualified engineer or by a one of the qualified Concreteforever.com technicians, as this will
determine the performance criteria and the optimum amounts of air entrainment and bi-calcium silicates
admixtures required to optimize the mix according to these variables

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