What is a maturity function?
A maturity function is a mathematical equation used to calculate maturity. This number describes the effect that temperature and time have on the strength development of concrete.
The standard definition is as:
“A maturity function is a mathematical expression to account for the combined effects of time and temperature on the strength development of a cementitious mixture. The key feature of a maturity function is the representation of how temperature affects the rate of strength development.”
Types of functions
There are many different maturity functions, each having a slightly different approach and parameters. In Maturix, three of the most used maturity functions are available:
- Nurse-Saul function
- Freiesleben Hansen & Pedersen (Arrhenius) function
- Dutch “Weighted Maturity” function
Table of Contents
- The Nurse-saul function
- The Freiesleben Hansen & Pedersen (Arrhenius) function
- The Dutch “Weighted Maturity” function
The Nurse-saul function
Background
The Nurse-Saul function is seen as the first maturity function as it was introduced already back in 1951. At that time, there was a need for a procedure to account for the combined effects of time and temperature on strength development – specifically related to the curing of concrete at different temperatures.
This lead to the basic concept of concrete maturity:
“Concrete of the same mix, at the same maturity, has approximately the same strength whatever combination of temperature and time go to make up that maturity.” (Saul 1951)
This idea of using the accumulated time and temperature to determine the strength development led to the Nurse-Saul maturity function. This was standardized by the ASTM C1074 in 1987, and is still today one of the most used functions for calculating concrete maturity (mainly in the USA and Canada).
Datum temperature
Datum temperature is the temperature at which concrete stops its strength development. The datum temperature was traditionally set to be -10 °C, however many use 0 °C as a conservative assumption, even though the development of strength might continue below these temperatures.
ASTM C1074 recommends a datum temperature of 0 °C for Type I cement without admixtures and a curing temperature range from 0 to 40 °C.
The Freiesleben Hansen & Pedersen (Arrhenius) function
Background
After the introduction of the Nurse-Saul function, some researchers found out that the function’s assumption that the rate of strength development was a linear function of temperature was not always applicable. This limitation was especially problematic if the temperature was outside the 0-40°C range. After this finding, many researchers proposed other alternative functions to overcome this limitation.
One of the new proposed functions was the Freiesleben Hansen and Pedersen function. This was introduced in 1977 and is based on the Arrhenius equation. This assumes that the rate of strength development is an exponential function of temperature, and is used to compute the equivalent age at a reference temperature.
With its non-linear approach and with correct parameters, this function will be able to give you the most accurate prediction of the in-place strength (especially outside the 0-40°C range) compared to e.g. the Nurse-Saul function.
Activation energy
The activation energy (E) represents the minimum energy that a molecule needs before it can take part in the chemical reaction. The value of the activation energy will depend on several factors like:
- Cement composition
- Cement fineness
- Mineral admixtures
- Water/cement ratio
- Degree of hydration
Standards and experience recommends an activation energy of 38.000 to 45.000 J/mol for Type I cement without admixtures or additions. But in fact, this will vary from concrete mix to concrete mix and on the curing temperature. Therefore, when a higher accuracy is desired this can be determined experimentally by following the procedure in standards.
The Dutch “Weighted Maturity” function
The weighted maturity function was proposed by Papadakis and Bresson, and modified by Vree in 1979. This maturity function is widely used in the Netherlands and in some other European countries.
The weighted factor
This function also tries to address some of the limitations with the Nurse-Saul equation. To do that, two additional parameters are included:
- The C-value, which is specific for the different types of cement
- The “nk” value allows for a non-linear effect of temperature on the strength development
The “C” and “nk” values combined as C^(nk) make up the “weighted factor” which, for values of C greater than one, increases almost exponentially with temperatures above 12.45 °C. Some values for “C” have been recommended for certain cement types.
- C = 1.25 for CEM I 32.5R, CEM I 52.5, CEM I 52.5R, and CEM II/B-V 32.5R
- C = 1.65 for CEM III/B 42.5 LH HS
- C = 1.60 for CEM II/B 42.5 LH HS plus
- C = 1.0 for CEM III/A 52.5 and CEM V/A 42.5
These values can also be determined by carrying out some laboratory tests.