This study was to analysis the hydration heat and crack index considering the buttress part of the basic nuclear containment walls. The maximum hydration heat of buttress part was higher about 6% than those conventional containment wall. Also, early crack index of buttress part by hydration heat was decreased about 26% than conventional containment wall. Whereas the crack index by external restraint were similar on the all of specimens.

This study analyzed the temperature rise and thermal cracking in the nuclear containment structures owing to the hydration heat of cementitious materials. The main parameters investigated were the one-layer casting height of concrete to examine the shortening of construction time of the structures. The current mixture proportions of concrete needs to be modified to increase the one-layer height of concrete, minimizing the likelihood of the occurrence of thermal cracks.

To examine the in-place strength development of concrete of nuclear containment structures with the wall thickness of 1200 mm, mock-up wall specimens were prepared. For maturity evaluation, the temperature rise in the wall specimens owing to hydration heat of cementitious materials was also measured. The in-place strength of concrete was measured using core specimens collected at different locations of mock-up walls. Test results showed that in-place compressive strength development was 1.5 times higher than the strength measured from the standard cylinders. This indicates the maturity effect is needed to be considered in predicting the compressive strength development of concrete in mass structures.