# Early-Age Cracking in Concrete: Causes, Consequences, Remedial Measures, and Recommendations
## 7 Remedial Measures for Early-Age Cracking
### Construction Based Remedial Measures  
The selection of suitable formwork could reduce the risk of the early-age cracking in concrete [39]. Before starting the placing of concrete, it must be ensured that all formwork systems are installed accurately and securely to prevent any movement during casting. It is also recommended that the subgrade and formwork be wetted to reduce the amount of water absorbed and subsequently removed from the freshly cast concrete [53].  
Concrete placing is one of the important procedures in the construction stage. However, the contractors should be aware of the factors that influence concrete placement. One of these factors is the volume of concrete to be placed [10]. Pouring the concrete in a huge amount will cause external loading on the existing concrete structure and lead to thermal dilation effects. Therefore, the concrete should be poured at the support sections after the mid-span section to minimize cracking in the negative moment zones [36]. In addition, the sequence of concrete placement should be planned properly to avoid cold joints [108]. In the construction of deep members, concrete should be cast into the deep section and allowed to settle before casting and compacting of the concrete in the top section.  
The following procedures are suggested by several researchers to minimize the environmental effects on concrete pouring:  
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2. Deck pouring should only take place when the ambient temperature is above 7 \({}^{\circ}\)C (40 \({}^{\circ}\)F) and below 32 \({}^{\circ}\)C (90 \({}^{\circ}\)F), but it should be avoided when the maximum ambient temperature change is expected to be equal or greater than 10 \({}^{\circ}\)C (50 \({}^{\circ}\)F) [107].
3. Concrete pouring should be avoided in windy conditions [28].
4. Concrete casting should be restricted to an ambient temperature in the range of from 7 \({}^{\circ}\)C (40 \({}^{\circ}\)F) to 27 \({}^{\circ}\)C (80 \({}^{\circ}\)F), maintaining the concrete temperature at or above 10 \({}^{\circ}\)C (50 \({}^{\circ}\)F) for the first 72 h, and limiting the fresh concrete temperature at placement to 27 \({}^{\circ}\)C (80 \({}^{\circ}\)F) [105].  
External curing should be adopted to reduce water evaporation from the surface of concrete elements. Fourteen-day curing is strongly recommended, but 7-day curing is essential for concrete [28]. A suitable curing method includes curing with insulation, misting, wet blanket, and curing compound, which should be applied properly to fully cover the concrete surface [10; 28; 105]. The cooling methods using liquid nitrogen, cooling pipe, chilled water, and shaved or chipped ice are also suggested for use to control the heat in concrete elements [9; 10].  
The effect of vibrations on fresh concrete should not be ignored. Re-vibrating the concrete during its initial setting time can close the cracks in concrete elements [108]. For conventional concrete, the particle velocities in concrete up to one day old should not exceed 5 mm/s. Moreover, the vibrations of more than 50 mm/s should not be applied to concrete that is one to seven days old [64]. This is because a vibration speed greater than 50 mm/s would weaken the concrete elements by affecting the microstructure of concrete and thereby reducing its strength.