Lesson IV-4: Strength and Deformation Behaviour of Concrete - Shrinkage of Concrete

Faculty of Civil Engineering, Institute of Construction Materials, Prof. Dr.-Ing.
Viktor Mechtcherine
International Study Program ACCESS, 2017/2018

Module O-1: Building Materials
Lesson IV-4:
Strength and deformation behaviour of concrete
– Shrinkage of concrete
Prof. Dr. Viktor Mechtcherine

Institute of Construction Materials
Severe damage due to shrinkage
Restrained volume changes due to

shrinkage led in presented case to failure of
a short column
Cracks
Emmons (2005)
TU Dresden, Institute of Construction Materials, Prof. Mechtcherine – ACCESS, Module O-1 Building materials -2-
Failure of repair overlays due to shrinkage
Evaporation
Autogenous
Volume Changes
Shrinkage
Vaysburd (2006)
Absorbed
Water
Combination of different types of

shrinkage led in presented case to
cracking of repair materials
Types of shrinkage
• Plastic shrinkage Also recognized:

“Early-age shrinkage” (DIN 1045) • chemical shrinkage
“Capillary shrinkage” • total shrinkage
• Autogenous shrinkage (DIN 1045)
• Drying shrinkage (DIN 1045)
• Carbonation shrinkage
(not embodied in DIN 1045)
End of placing Age of concrete oo
Definitions
• Plastic shrinkage
This shrinkage is manifested soon after the concrete is placed in the forms
while the concrete is still in the plastic state. Plastic shrinkage is caused
by loss of water by evaporation from the surface of concrete or by the
absorption by aggregates or substrate.
• Drying shrinkage
Shrinkage due to the evaporation of water from hardened concrete.
Typically observed when concrete is exposed to an environment with low
humidity and high temperature. Caused by moisture movement that is
manifested by moisture loss
Definitions
• Autogenous shrinkage t0
The bulk deformation of a Age of specimen
closed, isothermal cementitious
material system not subjected
to external forces.
Volume change
Creation of
vapor-filled
pores
fluid solid
transition
• Chemical shrinkage
Entire volume reduction due to
hydration.
solid water air
Definitions
• Total shrinkage
Shrinkage ε‘cs(t,t0) that typically incorporates both drying shrinkage
component and autogenous shrinkage component εds(t,t0), i.e.
εcs(t,t0)=εds(t,t0)+εas(t,t0)
• Carbonation shrinkage
Shrinkage occurs as the various cement hydration products are carbonated
in the presence of CO2. This shrinkage is probably caused by the
dissolution of crystals of calcium hydroxide and its reaction to calcium
carbonate. CaCO3 has a higher density and subsequentely a smaller
volume than Ca(OH)2  carbonation shrinkage.
Sorption behaviour of porous materials
Sorption isotherm of a
Moisture content 
porous material
RH [%]
Mechanisms of water absorption:
• Physical attachment of water molecules on the surface due to adsorption forces
(surface tension)
• Water condensation
increasing for smaller pore diameters
increasing with rising ambient water vapour pressure
• In some cases: chemical attachment of water molecules due to attraction
forces with the material of the pore walls (chemo sorption, e.g. dipole effect)
Capillary suction and capillary stresses
4  cos   2
H 
w  d r  w
2
w 
r
H = capillary ceiling
 = contact (wetting) angle between water and capillary
σ = water surface tension
d = capillary diameter
r = capillary radius
ρr = meniscus radius
pk = capillary pressure
w = water specific weight
σW = tensile stress in water
Concept of the moisture potential
Sorption isotherm Integral pore distribution

Moisture content u
micro pores
capillary pores
Relative air humidity φ [-] Pore radius r [m]
hygroscopic transit over

hygroscopic
Moisture content u
Moisture potential Φ [-]

Kiessl (1983)
TU Dresden, Institute of Construction Materials, Prof. Mechtcherine – ACCESS, Module O-1 Building materials - 10 -
Mechanisms of swelling and shrinkage
1. Disjoining pressure
swelling shrinkage
H2O H2O
2. Tensile of compressive stresses in the pore walls

• decreasing relative humidity of the ambient atmosphere
 smaller menisci radii in the capillary pores  higher tensile stress in the water 
 compressive stress in the pore walls  shrinkage
• decreasing RH of the ambient atmosphere
 selfsame mechanisms in reverse order  swelling
Moisture transport – Basic formula
Moisture transport based on the non-linear diffusion theory:

 Moisture potential

 div D()  grad () D() Moisture dependent diffusion coefficient
t
div Spatial differential operator “divergence”
grad Spatial differential operator “gradient”
Moisture exchange between surface (O) and the ambient air (A):
qn  HF (O   A ) qn Moisture flow

HF Moisture transition coefficient
O   A Moisture potential difference
Shrinkage deformations due to moisture gradients:
 sh  h   h Hygral expansion coefficient
Plastic shrinkage
– Crack formation –
In the fresh state
Emmons (1993)
At the end of setting
Plastic shrinkage
Formation of cracks
during first few hours
after casting of
concrete
(Leipzig, 2006)
Slowik, V., Schmidt, M. and Fritzsch, R., Capillary pressure in fresh cement-based materials and
identification of the air entry value, Cement and Concrete Composites 30(2008)7, 557-565.
Concrete slab in car park
Slowik Prof.
TU Dresden, Institute of Construction Materials, (2009)
Mechtcherine – ACCESS, Module O-1 Building materials - 15 -
Development of capillary pressure
Abrupt change in
Capillary
capillary pressure
pressure
Beginning of
pressure
buildup
Time
Bleeding
 1 1 
p      
 1
R R2 
Crack formation due to plastic shrinkage
Kapilla
100 µm
Fly ash
Crack formation due to plastic shrinkage
Drying suspension
• Water evaporates.
• Formation of menisci between surface particles.
• Development of capillary pressure.
• Particle motion driven by various forces.
• Localization of stresses.
• „Crack formation“.
Slowik, V., Hübner, T., Schmidt, M. and Villmann, B., Simulation of capillary shrinkage cracking in
cement-like materials, Cement and Concrete Composites 31(2009)7, 461–469.
Capillary pressure and plastic shrinkage
Cement paste, CEM I 42.5 R

200 -800
Kapillardruck
Capillary pressure
[cm³]
[kPa]
volume decrease[cm³]
Verdunstetes
Water evaporation,
Wasserverdunstung,
[mbar]
150 Volume of -600
Wasser
evaporated
pressure
Volumenänderung
water
100 -400
Kapillardruck
50 -200
Capillary
Volumenänderung
Volume change of
specimen
0 0
(20°C, 45% RH)
-50 200
0
120
240
360
480
600
720
840
960
Zeit Time
nach after
Baustoffeinbau [min]
casting [min]
Controlling capillary pressure
Slowik (2009)
Controlling capillary pressure
 Crack pattern after 24 h
Cured slab Slab without curing

Slowik (2009)
Predicting risk of cracking due to plastic
shrinkage from evaporation rate
RH, % Concrete
• Suggested by C. Menzel in 1954 temperature, °C
• E = rate of evaporation
• Wind speed = wind horizontal
speed 0.5 m above the
evaporating surface
• T and RH  1.2…1.8 m above
the evaporating surface on its
windward side shielded from the
sun radiation
Wind velocity, km/h
Air temperature, °C
Evaporation rate, kg/(m²h)

• E > 0.5 kg/(m2h)  cracks can occur
• E > 1.0 kg/(m2h)  precautionary Slowik (2009)
measures are mandatory
(e.g. windscreens around all sides of
concrete elements)
Shrinkage of ordinary concrete and HSC
Ordinary
Shrinkage
Total shrinkage after concrete

Drying shrinkage beginning of drying
Autogenous shrinkage
Start of drying Age of concrete
High-
Drying shrinkage Total shrinkage after Strength
Shrinkage
beginning of drying
Concrete
(w/c < 0.4)
Autogenous Autogenous shrinkage
shrinkage after beginning of drying
Start of drying Age of concrete

(Sakata & Shimomura 2004)
Tensile stresses due to restrained autogenous
shrinkage
Stress based on
restrained shrinkage
Hook’s law
Tensile stress from
Stress
relaxation
Stress in
Cracking structural
element
Age of concrete
Free shrinkage
Measurements of free shrinkage
Setup for testing autogenous shrinkage
gauge corrugated mould (ø)
specimen end cup
Ø 30 Ø 80
L L
400 380 l
Small or large scale automated dilatometers

• worldwide used setups
• utilization acc. to maximum aggregate size
Measurements of free shrinkage
Setup for testing autogenous or total shrinkage
Prism 160 x 40 x40 mm³

exposed to ambient air
Prism sealed with few

layers of sealing material
Graf-Kaufmann device (manual, automated)

• acc. to standard DIN 52450
• if sealed  test of autogenous shrinkage,
if unsealed  measurement of total shrinkage
• tests are performed on hardened concrete (min. age 1d)
Measurements of restrained shrinkage
Setup for testing shrinkage under restraint
sealing material
38
W 38 strain and
temperature
157
gauges
H
330
152
Instrumented ring test

• set-up acc. to ASTM C1581-04
• set of dual automated rings equipped with gauges
• measured strains calculated to stresses
Moisture distribution in the restrained repair
overlay
Initial moisture
distributions
Initially saturated substrate Initially dry substrate
Crack pattern in the restrained repair overlay
Strain distributions 30 days after the beginning of drying
 x  0.133  103   el ,ult
 x  0.133  103
 x  0.133  103 Water saturated substrate

 x  1.33  103
w  0.01 mm
 x  6.67  103
w  0.05 mm
Dry substrate
Shrinkage test results for repair materials
0.35
0.3
0.25
Shrinkage, %
High
0.2
Shrinkage
0.15
0.1
Moderate Concrete
Shrinkage
0.05
Low
Shrinkage
0
-0.05
Increased tendency to crack
Factors impacting shrinkage
Aggregate
Measured shrinkage Drying time
Concrete
Paste
Factors impacting shrinkage
Parameter Influence on shrinkage, cs
Water-to-binder ratio,   cs

Related to concrete
Cement stone volume, Z Z cs

technology
Cement type: slow-hardening cements SL, quick cs (SL) <cs (R) <
SL, R, RS
hardening (high strength) cements R, (RS) <cs (RS)
Pozzolanic additives, such as silica fume SF SF  cs
Stiffness of the aggregates, Ea Ea  cs
Ambient relative humidity, RH RH  cs

External
Effective thickness of structural element at potential

h cs
drying, h
Ambient temperature, T T cs
Autogenous shrinkage – Mechanisms
Distinct for w/c ratio < 0.42
• shortage of free water
• decrease of the relative humidity in

pores
• decrease in the menisci‘ radii of the

pore water
• increasing tension within

the pore water
Capillary pressure
σ ρk
pc • compressive stresses
2  cosδ in the solid skeleton
pc 
r σ
with δ • volume reduction of the entire
system (autogenous shrinkage)
 = surface tension r
Autogenous shrinkage – Prevention measures
Water curing Sealed curing
External curing does not allow sufficiently rapid of curing water into the
interior of the concrete members!
Internal curing by using materials, which first absorb the water in the
fresh mix and subsequently release it with decreasing relative
humidity in the pore system during hydration.
Potential materials used for water storage
Super Absorbent Polymers (SAP)

- most of SAP are cross-linked polyelectrolytes
- wasser absorption due to secondary chemical bonds
- in high-ionic solutions mostly < 20 g/g.
Coiled cross-linked Hydrated chains molecule

chains
hydrophilic polymer
+ water chains
cross-links
between
chains
dissociated sodium
carboxylate groups
Potential materials used for water storage
Dry SAP before application SAP pores in hardened concrete
• SAP can „survive“ intensive concrete mixing

• volume increase
• the shape retained
• negative influence on strength and stiffness
Effect of SAP on autogenous shrinkage of
Ultra High Performance concrete (UHPC)
Mitigation of autogenous shrinkage by means of SAP
Age of concrete [d]
0 7 14 21 28
0
wtotal/c = 0.22+0.08, + SAP/c = 0.6%
-200
wtotal/c = 0.22+0.05, + SAP/c = 0.3%
-400
Strain [µm/m]
Strain [µm/m]
-600
wtotal/c = 0.22+0.04, + SAP/c = 0.3%
-800
-1000
w/c = 0.26
-1200
w/c = 0.22
-1400
Dilatometer
Autogenous and total shrinkage of UHPC
with SAP
Autogenous shrinkage Total shrinkage
Age of concrete [d] Age of concrete [d]
0 7 14 21 28 0 7 14 21 28
0 0
wtotal/c = 0.22+0.08, + SAP/c = 0.6%
-200 -200
wtotal/c = 0.22+0.05, + SAP/c = 0.3%
-400 -400
Strain [µm/m]
Strain [µm/m]
-600 -600
wtotal/c = 0.22+0.04, + SAP/c = 0.3%
-800 -800
-1000 -1000
w/c = 0.26
-1200 -1200
w/c = 0.22
-1400 -1400
Relevance of SAP addition to UHPC
Reduction of stresses induced by autogenous shrinkage

8
Tensile stresses in concrete [N/mm²]

7
w/c = 0.22
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
wtotal/c = 0.22+0.08
-1
(+ SAP/c = 0.6 %)
-2
0 7 14 21 28 35
Instrumented ring test
Time [d]

Lesson IV-4: Strength and Deformation Behaviour of Concrete - Shrinkage of Concrete

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Faculty of Civil Engineering, Institute of Construction Materials, Prof. Dr.-Ing.

International Study Program ACCESS, 2017/2018

Prof. Dr. Viktor Mechtcherine

Restrained volume changes due to

Combination of different types of

• Plastic shrinkage Also recognized:

• Autogenous shrinkage (DIN 1045)

• Drying shrinkage (DIN 1045)

End of placing Age of concrete oo

Sorption isotherm Integral pore distribution

Relative air humidity φ [-] Pore radius r [m]

hygroscopic transit over

Moisture potential Φ [-]

2. Tensile of compressive stresses in the pore walls

Moisture transport based on the non-linear diffusion theory:

qn  HF (O   A ) qn Moisture flow

Shrinkage deformations due to moisture gradients:

 sh  h   h Hygral expansion coefficient

In the fresh state

At the end of setting

Cement paste, CEM I 42.5 R

Cured slab Slab without curing

Evaporation rate, kg/(m²h)

Total shrinkage after concrete

Start of drying Age of concrete

Setup for testing autogenous shrinkage

gauge corrugated mould (ø)

specimen end cup

Small or large scale automated dilatometers

Setup for testing autogenous or total shrinkage

Prism 160 x 40 x40 mm³

Prism sealed with few

Graf-Kaufmann device (manual, automated)

Setup for testing shrinkage under restraint

Instrumented ring test

Initially saturated substrate Initially dry substrate

Strain distributions 30 days after the beginning of drying

 x  0.133  103   el ,ult

 x  0.133  103 Water saturated substrate

Measured shrinkage Drying time

Parameter Influence on shrinkage, cs

Water-to-binder ratio,   cs

Cement stone volume, Z Z cs

Pozzolanic additives, such as silica fume SF SF  cs

Stiffness of the aggregates, Ea Ea  cs

Ambient relative humidity, RH RH  cs

Effective thickness of structural element at potential

Distinct for w/c ratio < 0.42

• shortage of free water

• decrease of the relative humidity in

• decrease in the menisci‘ radii of the

• increasing tension within

Water curing Sealed curing

Super Absorbent Polymers (SAP)

Coiled cross-linked Hydrated chains molecule

Dry SAP before application SAP pores in hardened concrete

• SAP can „survive“ intensive concrete mixing

Reduction of stresses induced by autogenous shrinkage

Tensile stresses in concrete [N/mm²]

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