An Introduction to ACI 306.1-87 Specifications for Cold Weather Concreting Cea ‘The histori! developments leading to the new ACI speeifation on cold weather concreting ae reviewed. [Attention Is focused an the evolutior the current definition of ‘eold weath and on changes in the protection {equltements to prevent damage trom, treezing at an early age. The evolution ‘ofthe current erteria for form romoval Is aleo reviewed, and the paper Concludes witha presentation of key ‘aspects ofthe standard specification, ince 1930, the American Conerete Institute has pub- lished a series of committee reports and recommended practices on the subject of cold weather concreting. These public tions provide recommendations for concrete construction during pe- riods of cold weather so that result- ing structures meet strength and du- rability requirements. In June 1987, the Institute adopted the Standard Specification Sor Cold Weather Conereting (ACI 306.1-87). To impart an apprecia- tion of these requirements, the fol- Towing discusses the evolution of the standard by reviewing previous ACI documents dealing with cold weather concreting. In addition, a review is given of the evolution of the definition of ‘cold weather.” This article concludes with excerpts from the specification so that po- tential users will be aware of its contents, ‘There are two problems involved with building concrete structures during periods of cold weather possible permanent damage to con: crete if it freezes at an early age, and a low rate of strength develop. ment. For almost 60 years, the American Conerete Institute has published guidelines for overcom: ing these problems. The objectives of these guidelines are to: 1. Provide protection against freezing at early ages. 2. Assure the development of the strength required to safely resist im- posed loads during construction and 3. Prevent the formation of high thermal stresses, which may lead to cracking and impairment of dura- bility. The specific procedures used to obtain these objectives should not place an unnecessary economic bur~ den on construction. The essence of cold weather con- creting practice is the furnishing of a level of protection consistent with exposure conditions as well as re- quirements of the structure, With proper planning and execution, the arrival of cold weather need not signal a halt in construction activ- ity Historical development Im 1920, the ACI JOURNAL pub- lished a report titled "Winter Con: creting Methods,” by Robert C Tohason, chairman of ACI Com: mittee 604, This first ACI docu- rent on the subject of cold weather conereting was at the time de- scribed ‘as the tentative, first of- fering from his committee to which the Institute looks for some ap- proach to the basic material from which recommended practice for use in concreting at low tempera tures may be writen later.’ The re port's intent was to initiate discus sion among the committee members that would “lay the foundation for a more comprehensive report.” It specifically addressed building con: struction, but stated that the princi ples for protection were equally ap- plicable to mass construction, which is typically easier to protect because of internal heating from hydration. This first report did not explicitly define ‘winter.’ However, in a sec: tion entitled “Winter Protection,” Johnson recommended, “when the daytime temperatures are below freezing itis necessary to enclose the structure and furnish temporary heat.”” Here, the implied definition of winter was when the daytime temperature fell below freezing. This report also stated Conerete should be placed in the forms not colder than 70 F and not hotter than 140 F and should be maintained at no less than 70 F for at least seven days. It was further stated that the length of the protection period could be reduced to less than seven 50 ‘Concrete International‘A heated enclosure of plastic sheeting provided the ‘necessary protection during cold weather construction of Corps of Engineers project in Faicoanks, Al days by using high early strength concrete, or by increasing the ce ment content. Similar alternatives for reducing the duration of the protection period were carried over Into subsequent documents dealing with this subject. The required protection period noted was intended to protect against freezing damage at early ages. As for protection requir ‘ments prior to form removal, John- Is impossible to give any def: inite rules as to the minimum time forms must remain in place on winter concrete jobs. The safe time to strip forms must be determined by the par ticular conditions on each structure. The temperature rec- ords and test cylinders should both be used in figuring this time. ACI 604-48 The first ACI standard on cold weather concreting was published in 1948." At that time, with R. W. Spencer as chairman, ACI Commit tee 604 on Winter Concreting Methods recognized that the pro- tection requirements for structural concrete (buildings, pavements, and other thin sections) were different than those for mass concrete. Hence, the standard dealt with these as separate items. For structural conerete, it recom- mended that protective measures be taken when “the air temperature at the point of placement is likely to fall below 40 F during the 24-hr pe- riod after placing concrete, or be- low 30 F during the succeeding 6 days. . .""? The use of 40 F (4.5 C) as the temperature determining whether protection must be pro. vided has been carried over to sub- sequent ACI documents dealing with cold weather concreting. For structural concrete made with ordinary portland cement, protec: tion requirements stated that the conerete was (0 be maintained at temperatures not less than S0 F (10, ©) for seven days or not less than 70 F (21 C) for three days. It was fur- ther recommended that a concrete be kept at a temperature of at least 40 F (4.5 C) for four days following the protection period. With high early strength cement, the protection periods could be re- duced to three and two days at min: imum temperatures of 50 and 70 F (20 and 21 C), respectively. Upon removal of protection, the conerete temperature should not fall more than 40 F (4.5 C) during a 24-hr pe- riod. The maximum conerete tem- perature at the mixer was specified as 90 F (32 ), and the maximum surface temperature during protec- tion, 100 F (38 C). For mass concrete, protection measures were to be taken when the air temperature at the point of placement is likely to fall below 35 F in the 24-hr period after Covering of concrete during cold weather helps retain ka, heat of hydration placing conerete, The pro- tection requirements were to main- tain the concrete at a temperature Of not less than 40 F (4,5 C) for 14 days. Upon removal of protection, the fall in temperature at any point in the concrete should not exceed 20 F (11 C) during a 24-hr period. The maximum concrete temperature at the mixer was specified as 70 F (21 ©), and during the protection pe- riod the surface temperature was not to exceed 100 F (38 C), ACT 604-48 also stated that forms should not be removed until the concrete had gained enough strength to support the loads. Thus, the engineer responsible for the de- sign of the structure had to give ap- proval before form removal. As guidance, the standard stated that before giving approval, the engi neer should consider the tempera- ture history of the concrete from the time of placement. Added commentary. The stan- dard also contained an Appendix that served as a commentary t0 ex. plain the objectives of cold weather concreting methods. The following five objectives were listed. They have been the mainstay of subse. quent ACI documents on cold weather concreting: 1. Prevent damage to concrete from freezing and thawing at early ages. 2. Allow the concrete to develop early strength, permitting the re- moval of forms for prompt re-use October 1988 3continued and the loading of the structure when desired. 3. Maintain proper curing condi: tions. 4. Limit excessive or rapid tem- perature changes before the strength Of the concrete had developed suf: ficiently to resist temperature stresses, 5. Obtain the degree of economy consistent with the design or in- tended use of the concrete, In discussing the first objective it was stated that: “Experience and ‘meager laboratory tests indicate that if the concrete has attained a com- pressive strength of over 500 psi it will not be seriously damaged by fone or two freezing cycles." This, criterion has been retained to the present day. In the discussion of the second objective, a series of strength-ver- sus-age curves was presented. Taken from the earlier work of Timms and Withey,’ the curves assist the engi: heer in estimating the effects of curing temperature on strength de- velopment. The engineer was ex- pected to use actual temperature records for the structure conerete, and the data from the curves to as” sist in determining when forms could be removed. The standard concluded with 135 listed references dealing with cold weather concreting practice. ACI 604-56 In 1956, under the chairmanship of Lew Tuthill, Committee 604 adopted a revised version of the 1948 standard. Simplifications were made by eliminating the separate ‘treatment of structural concrete and mass concrete, The old standard introduced a ta- ble that gave various temperature requirements depending on the size Of the concrete section and the pro: portions of the concrete mixture. Parts of this table dealing with pro- tection temperatures and tempera- ture drop at the end of the protec- tion period have been retained in subsequent documents, With minor modifications, other changes intro- duced in 1956 have also been re- tained in subsequent documents. Table 1—Protection recommended for concrete placed in cold weather (from ACI 306-66)' Protection recommended at temperature indicted Line 7, ne das “Type Itt, ] Type tt, ropes | atta | yes | eda, Nobel, sed Gee Seon 42) [3 [| 3 | Partial load, exposed (see Section 4.3) 3 2 6 4 4 | Full load, exposed (see Chapter 5) 3 = [seetabies.s | In the 1956 standard, cold weather was defined as the period ‘when the mean daily temperature falls below 40 F for more than 1 day... .”” During the protection period, concrete made with ordi- nary cement was to be maintained for 3 days at a temperature not ower than 40 to $5 F (4.5 to 13 ©), depending on the thickness of the concrete section. In addition, the concrete was to be protected against freezing for the following 3 days. For conerete from high early strength cement, the protection pe- riod at the minimum temperatures could be reduced to 2 days. During transitions in weather, such as in fall and spring, when frost could ‘occur but the mean daily tempera- ture would be above 40 F (4.5 C), the concrete was to be protected from freezing for 48 hours after placement The duration of the initial pro- tection period after the placement of conerete was significantly shorter in the 1956 standard than in pre- vious documents. During the pre~ sentation of the revised document at the ACI convention, Chairman Tuthill reported that tests had shown that concrete with good du rability could be produced with shorter protection periods than fen in the 1948 standard: In describing the test results, Mr. Tuthill noted that the principal conclusions were that air-entrained concrete with 1 percent calcium chloride, if protected 1 day at 50 F, would have good durability and that three days of such protection is ample. Because test results reported by ‘Tuthill involved air-entrained con- crete with 1 percent calcium chlo. tide, the 1956 standard recom: mended the use of such concrete in cold weather. Otherwise, the dura. tion of the protection period was to be increased by a factor of two. Accounting for heat of hydra- tion. Because of the reduction in the duration of the protection pe riod, it became feasible to take ad- vantage of internal heating from hydration to maintain recom- mended protection temperatures. Sufficient insulation is needed to retain the heat evolved from hydra: tion. Hence, a series of tables was added to the 1956 document for de- termining the amount of required insulation as a function of the am- bient temperature, cement content, and member thickness. ‘Another significant change in the 1956 standard was its emphasis on maintaining low temperatures dur- ing conerete production: Concrete which is not allowed to freeze and whieh is placed at low temperatures above freez- ing develops higher ultimate strength and greater durability than conerete placed at higher temperatures. High tempera tures of freshly mixed concrete are always objectionable. The committee emphasizes the op- 2 ‘Concrete International