Influence of curing temperature on mechanical properties and evaluation of the equivalent age

Concrete is known to have its durability and strength properties considerably reduced by thermal cracks. However, the relationship between the thermal cracking index and the crack occurrence probability has not been accurately established. The main objective of the present study is to experimentally investigate the influence of curing temperature on mechanical properties of cement paste and mortar. Thus only mortar and cement paste specimens were employed in for the experiments. The experiments were carried out for three temperature levels in order to verify the applicability of the equivalent ages for different temperature values. The results show that the curing temperature and age influence the mechanical properties of concrete. As a conclusion, in the case when an equivalent age is applied, there is the possibility to predict the strength properties and fracture energy of mortar even on the case variable curing temperature.