Practitioner’s Guide to Cold Weather Concreting

The general requirements for producing satisfactory concrete during cold weather are discussed, and methods for satisfying these requirements are described. One of the objectives of cold weather concreting practice is to provide protection of the concrete at early ages to prevent damage from freezing. For many structural concretes, protection considerably in excess of that required to prevent damage by early freezing is needed to assure development of adequate strength. The following items are discussed in the report: recommended temperature of concrete, temperature records, temperature of materials, preparations prior to placement, duration of protection period, methods for determining in-place strength, form removal, protective insulating covers, heated enclosures, curing methods, and accelerated admixtures. References are included that provide supplementary data on the effects of curing temperature on concrete strength.