Modeling the structural behavior of concrete at early ages is one of the most
challenging, yet fundamental, tasks for civil engineers working on mass concrete. To obtain
a reasonably accurate model, a number of factors should be taken into account. Considerations
should include both external influences as well as the changes occurring in the complex
structure itself. The modeling of an early-age concrete massive slab requires the proper
assignment of initial conditions, including the initial temperature of the analyzed element and
the adjacent structures. The temperature distribution in the subsoil is the factor analyzed in this
paper. The aim of the study is the determination of the temperature distribution in the ground,
which is useful in the process related to the acquisition of the most accurate model of the
analyzed structure and reflects the actual conditions in the numerical model. For this purpose,
the analytical method described in the literature was applied and subsequently evaluated on the
basis of the numerical calculation. The performed calculations allow the estimation of the
depth representing the range of the influence of the temperature in the ground and the values of
the temperatures corresponding to the successive layers of the subsoil. Moreover, aiming the
optimization of the numerical analysis of the massive foundation slab, the legitimacy of such
detailed consideration of the temperature development in the underlying subsoil was evaluated
by the comparison with the temperature distribution in the slab obtained with simplified
consideration of the constant soil temperature.The publication is financed by BKM-547/RB6/2018 resources. Funding provided by the Portuguese
Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) to the Research Project IntegraCrete PTDC/ECM EST/1056/2014 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016841), as well to the Research Unit ISISE (POCI-01-
0145-FEDER-007633) is also gratefully acknowledged