Simulation of a temperature rise in concrete incorporating fly ash or slag

Granulated slag from metal industries and fly ash from the combustion of coal are among the industrial by-products and have been widely used as mineral admixtures in normal and high strength concrete. Due to the reaction between calcium hydroxide and fly ash or slag, compared with Portland cement, the hydration of concrete containing fly ash or slag is much more complex. In this paper, by considering the producing of calcium hydroxide in cement hydration and the consumption of it in the reaction of mineral admixtures, a numerical model is proposed to simulate the hydration of concrete containing fly ash or slag. The heat evolution rate of fly ash or slag blended concrete is determined from the contribution of both cement hydration and the reaction of mineral admixtures. Furthermore, a temperature rise in blended concrete is evaluated based on the degree of hydration of cement and mineral admixtures. The proposed model is verified with experimental data on the concrete with different water-to-cement ratios and mineral admixtures substitution ratios.