Title:
Evaluation of Concrete Drying Shrinkage Related to Moisture Loss
Author(s):
Reza Abbasnia, Mohammad Shekarchi, and Jamal Ahmadi
Publication:
Materials Journal
Volume:
110
Issue:
3
Appears on pages(s):
269-278
Keywords:
adsorption; diffusion; drying; humidity; shrinkage; shrinkage factor.
DOI:
10.14359/51685660
Date:
5/1/2013
Abstract:
Drying shrinkage, defined as the volumetric change of concrete induced by moisture loss, can change characteristics of concrete such as durability, stress distribution, and deformation. Considering the importance of shrinkage effects and the absence of any comprehensive method to estimate shrinkage value, this paper attempts to integrate numerical and experimental methods to predict shrinkage strain based on internal moisture loss. The hypothesis of volume changes being proportional to internal moisture loss is used to evaluate the shrinkage strain, where the proportionality coefficient, called the “shrinkage factor,” is to be determined experimentally and is a function of the material properties and humidity conditions. Results show that the proposed method has acceptable accuracy for estimating the shrinkage and evaluating the shrinkage strain distribution.