THERMOPHYSICAL PROCESSES IN HARDENING CONCRETE AS A FACTOR FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE OF ERECTED REINFORCED CONCRETE STRUCTURES OF TRANSPORT FACILITIES

Introduction. This paper presents the main issues of maintenance of structural properties of concrete depending on the effect of temperature factor and heat and mass transfer processes in contact with the environment during the construction of transport facilities erected from monolithic reinforced concrete under different initial and limiting conditions. Purpose of study: quality assurance of preliminary design studies of reinforced concrete structures, including full-scale modeling of the considered thermophysical processes in hardening concrete, including use of modern calculation and analytical software packages. Methods: application of a special software package for calculation of temperature changes and strength of hardening concrete, estimation of temperature factor impact on the following concrete properties: frost resistance, water resistance, strength and crack resistance. Results: it is shown that recording of the thermal stressed state of hardening concrete allows to ensure required operational properties of structures: quality, reliability, durability, including prevention of appearance of temperature and shrinkage cracks, — one of the most common defects in transportation construction, that reduce quality of the erected surface. The studies described in this paper have been widely tested at Russian transportation facilities in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kuban, Crimea and other regions, the obtained results have resonated with the transport industry. The paper will be interesting and useful for persons involved in the processes of quality assurance of defect-free concreting of multi-mass concrete structures of transportation facilities, as well as for engineers and technicians engaged in the real sector of construction.