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This Symposium Publication contains 12 papers presented at the Adam Neville Symposium in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1997. Topics relating to creep and shrinkage include admixture and cementitious materials effects, special high-performance considerations, temperature and humidity influences, reinforced and prestressed concrete analysis and design procedures, and much more. Note: The individual papers are also available as .pdf downloads.. Please click on the following link to view the papers available, or call 248.848.3800 to order. SP194

This paper presents a simplified, comprehensive and rational method to account for the effects of creep and shrinkage in reinforced concrete struc-tures. The analysis of the effects of creep and shrinkage on reinforced and prestressed concrete structure is a multifaceted problem. In general, creep and shrinkage are not common knowledge and concern of most structural engineers. The procedure includes (a) a simplified estimation of the creep and shrinkage strains in plain concrete, (b) the analysis of the effect of creep on reinforced concrete structures using the age-adjusted modulus of elasticity, (c) the analysis of the effects of shrinkage using an equivalent temperature drop. (d) the relaxation of stresses, internal forces and moments from imposed deformations, (e) the analysis of thermal changes on structures. An introductory approach of analysis of concrete structures creep and shrinkage should be satisfactory for structures not critically sensitive to the effects of creep and shrinkage. For structures sensitive to these effects, such as tall buildings or record span bridges, a more advanced analysis will be necessary, which is beyond the scope of this paper. The presented method includes most of the aspects affecting the effects of creep and shrinkage on concrete struc-tures, and it may be coupled with more advanced treatment of specifically related subjects.

This paper presents a comparison between laboratory creep and shririkage data and the performance of a long-span box-girder bridge structure. As part of a long-term instrumentation and monitoring program on the North Halawa Valley Viaduct, a number of laboratory creep and shrinkage tests were performed on the concrete used in the viaduct. The data are compared with current theoretical models for the prediction of creep and shrinkage. These models all underestimate the long-term effects on the concrete used in this structure. This is attributed in part to the nature of the basalt aggregates available on the Hawaiian Islands. It is shown that with as little as 28 days of data from creep and shrinkage tests, the prediction models can be modified to provide a far more accurate prediction of the long-term performance of the structure.

This review assesses the general effects on elasticity; creep and shrinkage of concrete arising from the use of admixtures: plasticizers (water-reducers), super-plasticizers (high range water-reducers), slag, fly ash and silica fume. Previously published test data are collectively analyzed to quantify creep and shrinkage of concrete containing the admixture as a proportion of creep and shrinkage of plain concrete having the same mix proportions. The analysis shows the effects of the admixtures are highly variable and the expressions given for predicting deformations are only recommended in the absence of test data.

Creep and shrinkage of concrete are important factors in the design and analysis of concrete structures, particularly for the long-term serviceability and durability and for the construction stage of long span, prestressed con-crete structures. Because of very low water-cementitious ratio (w/cm), chemical admixtures and sometimes mineral admixtures, the evolutions of moisture state and rate of cement hydration in high-performance concrete (HPC) are significantly different from those in normal concrete. For example, the cement hydration in HPC terminates earlier due to the lack of water, resulti ng in faster development of relative strength at early ages and little long-term strength gain. At the same time, self-desiccation in the form of a rapid decrease in internal relative humidity starts in HPC at very early ages. Consequently, base (autogenous) shrinkage of HPC is very high compared with normal concrete. The moisture permeability, which affects the development of creep and shrinkage of concrete, is at least one order smaller for HPC than for normal concrete. As a result well as creep and the development shrinkage property of strength and modulus of elasticity as es of HPC are remarkably different from those of normal concrete. The current prediction models for time-dependent properties, particularly creep and shrinkage, which have been derived from experimental data on normal concrete, are not applicable to HPC. This paper will discuss the main parameters affecting the time-dependent properties and the differences between HPC and normal concrete, based on the results of an extensive experimental program at the University of Calgary and data from the literature. A recently developed model to estimate creep and shrinkage of HPC is also presented and examined.