An experimental study on the influence of arid climate on early-age cracking of concrete—A case study of the city of Adrar in Algeria

It is well recognized that the arid climate is an essential parameter that causes various problems, such as shrinkage cracking, on concrete in hot weather, especially at an early age. Adrar's region is characterized by its severe aridity and is considered one of the world's warmest areas. The present experimental study aims to study the influence of this arid climate on concrete cracking. In this context, the influence on hardened concretes, made with local materials exposed to local climatic conditions and using the same concrete formulation used in this region, was investigated. The study of concrete cracking was conducted in this work carried out by Standard ASTM C1579. The concrete types investigated here are concrete without adjuvant, concrete with adjuvant, and concrete treated with a curing product. Each concrete underwent two modes of preservation; the first inside the lab and the second outside, in the open air. Also, this work provides results of measurements of the consistency, temperature of fresh concrete, the onset and development of cracks; the findings then compared. It found that those cracks were always present in concrete, and their appearance and evolution were faster for concretes exposed directly to the arid climate. However, it noted that cracks decreased by about 50% in length and 66% in width with the adjuvant's introduction. A further decrease of approximately 40% and 50% in length and width, also reported after treatment with the curing product. It should be noted that all the samples stored inside the laboratory showed more minor cracks whose appearance and evolution slower in comparison with those of samples kept outside, in the open air.