Performance-Based Control of Early-Age Cracking in High-SCM Flat Slabs Using Experimental Characterization and Numerical Modelling

This project will help a structural engineering firm reduce unwanted cracking in newly cast concrete floor slabs. The intern will test several concrete mixes that are commonly used by the partner, including one that has cracked in real buildings and others that have performed well. In the laboratory, the intern will measure how much each mix shrinks, how quickly it gains strength, and how much stretching it can tolerate without cracking during roughly the first day after placement. The intern will also use computer models to simulate how actual flat slabs behave during this early period, using the test results to make the simulations realistic. By comparing the different mixes, the project will define practical performance limits that concrete must meet to be considered safe against early-age cracking. The partner organization will gain clear, test-based acceptance criteria to give to suppliers, helping them avoid slab replacement, reduce repair costs, and use more sustainable concrete mixes with greater confidence.

Faculty Supervisor:

Maged Ali Youssef;Mohamed Bassuoni

Student:

Partner:

Entuitive (Toronto)

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

The University of Western Ontario

Program: