CALCULATION METHOD ANALYSIS OF TEMPERATURE CONTROL AND CRACK PREVENTION FOR CONCRETE DAMS UNDER CHINESE AND AMERICAN STANDARD SYSTEMS

As China's hydropower industry expands globally under the "Belt and Road" initiative, many international projects adopt American standard. The differences between Chinese and American standards present a significant bottleneck, restricting China's hydropower projects from achieving a rapid global development. To address these issues, the calculation methods for temperature stress and the standards for temperature control and crack prevention under Chinese and American standards were compared and analyzed, with specific engineering examples provided for temperature stress calculation and analysis. It indicates that the differences between China and America in formulating temperature control standards and measures are mainly in the following aspects: The standard for determining the starting point value in the elastic modulus test is different; The specimen dimensions and numerical calculation methods for creep tests are different; The calculation methods of external constraints and internal self-constraints in the temperature stress formulas are different; The crack prevention standards are different. Chinese standard is based on compressive elastic modulus and extensibility, while the American standard is based on the tensile strength or tensile strain capacity. The basic theories of temperature stress under Chinese and American standard systems are consistent, the calculation steps and methods are similar. The main differences are concentrated in the selection of key parameter values during the calculation process. The research results are of a great significance for understanding international engineering standard systems and provide a strong technical support for the temperature control and crack prevention of concrete in China's foreign contracted projects.