Size and Shape Effects on Mass Concrete Strength: Experimental Evaluation and Model Development

Size and Shape Effects on Mass Concrete Strength: Experimental Evaluation and Model Development | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Size and Shape Effects on Mass Concrete Strength: Experimental Evaluation and Model Development Suhang Yang, Gonglue Gao, Zhifeng Xu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7566435/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study investigates the influence of specimen size and shape on the compressive strength of mass concrete, aiming to develop a robust predictive model for large-scale structural applications, particularly in hydraulic and foundation engineering. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) R42.5 and three coarse aggregate gradations (20–40 mm, 40–80 mm, and 80–120 mm) with a maximum aggregate size of 150 mm were used, with water-cement ratios ranging from 0.40 to 0.50. Specimens of different sizes (cubes: 150–450 mm; cylinders: Φ150×300 mm to Φ450×900 mm) were tested at 28, 90, and 180 days. The study finds that compressive strength consistently decreases with increasing specimen size, with a more pronounced size effect in cylinders than in cubes. A multi-factor model, extending Bažant's Size Effect Law (SEL), was developed to incorporate curing age, water-cement ratio, and maximum aggregate size. The model's predictive accuracy (R² = 0.84 for cubes, R² = 0.86 for cylinders) significantly outperforms classical models such as Bažant’s SEL (R² = 0.33) and Abrams’ water-cement ratio formula (R² = 0.31). This model offers improved applicability for mass concrete with large aggregates and provides valuable insights for safety evaluations, code calibration, and the design of large-scale structures. Mass concrete Size effect Curing maturity Water–cement ratio Aggregate size Strength prediction model Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7566435","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":514797674,"identity":"fe0a489f-30d2-4c9e-ba08-159456ede998","order_by":0,"name":"Suhang Yang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Changzhou Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Suhang","middleName":"","lastName":"Yang","suffix":""},{"id":514797675,"identity":"c3ff110c-d924-4cb4-b115-4ee4c2bf339c","order_by":1,"name":"Gonglue Gao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Changzhou Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gonglue","middleName":"","lastName":"Gao","suffix":""},{"id":514797676,"identity":"5b525cf5-1e46-4a1d-9919-eb28a21c8baf","order_by":2,"name":"Zhifeng Xu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAuElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACHgYDHgYGORCDNC3GpGkBocQGorUYnD97oODtnrr0+e29xyQYamyiCWu5kZdgOOfZ4dwNZ86lSTAcS8ttIKyFx8CY58CB3A0SOWYSjA2HidBy/gxIS126/AyitRzIAWlhTmC4QawWyRs5BoZzDhw23HDmjLFFAjF+4Tt/xszgzYE6efn2HsMbH2psCGtROMDAZgDnJRBSDgLyDQzMD4hROApGwSgYBSMYAADe3T92Ebte1wAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Changzhou Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zhifeng","middleName":"","lastName":"Xu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-09-08 16:53:17","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7566435/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7566435/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":93375432,"identity":"65bbed8e-b4cc-4ddd-90eb-9c2397d63ed2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-13 08:09:19","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":644257,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"MassManuscript00810.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7566435/v1_covered_aca8dace-bf9b-441a-b6cc-4aadc2f69ae6.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Size and Shape Effects on Mass Concrete Strength: Experimental Evaluation and Model Development","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Mass concrete, Size effect, Curing maturity, Water–cement ratio, Aggregate size, Strength prediction model","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7566435/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7566435/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study investigates the influence of specimen size and shape on the compressive strength of mass concrete, aiming to develop a robust predictive model for large-scale structural applications, particularly in hydraulic and foundation engineering. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) R42.5 and three coarse aggregate gradations (20\u0026ndash;40 mm, 40\u0026ndash;80 mm, and 80\u0026ndash;120 mm) with a maximum aggregate size of 150 mm were used, with water-cement ratios ranging from 0.40 to 0.50. Specimens of different sizes (cubes: 150\u0026ndash;450 mm; cylinders: Φ150\u0026times;300 mm to Φ450\u0026times;900 mm) were tested at 28, 90, and 180 days. The study finds that compressive strength consistently decreases with increasing specimen size, with a more pronounced size effect in cylinders than in cubes. A multi-factor model, extending Bažant's Size Effect Law (SEL), was developed to incorporate curing age, water-cement ratio, and maximum aggregate size. The model's predictive accuracy (R\u0026sup2; = 0.84 for cubes, R\u0026sup2; = 0.86 for cylinders) significantly outperforms classical models such as Bažant\u0026rsquo;s SEL (R\u0026sup2; = 0.33) and Abrams\u0026rsquo; water-cement ratio formula (R\u0026sup2; = 0.31). This model offers improved applicability for mass concrete with large aggregates and provides valuable insights for safety evaluations, code calibration, and the design of large-scale structures.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Size and Shape Effects on Mass Concrete Strength: Experimental Evaluation and Model Development","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-09-17 06:57:56","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7566435/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"176efeb4-9aa1-40d6-9500-ddb3fb70873a","owner":[],"postedDate":"September 17th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-10-11T19:08:27+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-09-17 06:57:56","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7566435","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7566435","identity":"rs-7566435","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}