{"id":9996,"date":"2022-05-25T16:41:35","date_gmt":"2022-05-25T13:41:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/betotrade.ee\/betooni-suvine-jarelhooldus\/"},"modified":"2023-01-30T13:09:09","modified_gmt":"2023-01-30T10:09:09","slug":"summer-maintenance-for-concrete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/betotrade.ee\/en\/summer-maintenance-for-concrete\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer maintenance for concrete"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The increasingly summer-like weather is causing more and more problems with cracking of concrete surfaces. In windy and hot weather, water evaporates very intensively from the concrete surface and the risk of plastic shrinkage cracking is very high. Thus, post-casting maintenance becomes very important in higher air temperatures. The hydration process of concrete is most intense in the initial stage and it is necessary to ensure favorable curing conditions at that time. In summer conditions, these conditions mainly mean preventing excessive water evaporation from the surface. Without water, the curing process slows down or stops altogether.<\/p>\n

The main visible problem, as mentioned above, is cracking caused by plastic shrinkage. This is mainly caused by too fast drying of the water. Shrinkage causes tensile stresses in the surface layer and if the concrete has not reached sufficient tensile strength to resist these stresses, the surface of the concrete cracks.<\/p>\n

The rate of water evaporation depends on the ambient temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and the temperature of the concrete being installed. The amount of water evaporation can be found using graphs or calculations.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Example. Amount of water evaporation from the floor surface:
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The results can be evaluated as follows:<\/strong>
\nE \u2265 1 – very high risk of plastic shrinkage cracking. <\/strong><\/span>
\n0,5 \u2264 E <1 \u2013 medium risk of plastic shrinkage cracking.<\/strong><\/span>
\nE < 0,5 \u2013 low risk of plastic shrinkage cracking.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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To keep moisture on the concrete surface longer, post-casting maintenance is necessary. There are mainly 2 options for this:<\/p>\n