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Title: Shrinkage Cracking of High-Strength Concrete

Author(s): Karl Wiegrink, Shashidhara Marikunte, and Surendra P. Shah

Publication: Materials Journal

Volume: 93

Issue: 5

Appears on pages(s): 409-415

Keywords: autogenous shrinkage; compressive strength; cracking; creep; elastic modulus; free shrinkage; high-strength concrete; restrained shrinkage; silica fume; tensile strength.

DOI: 10.14359/9844

Date: 9/1/1996

Abstract:
Pozzolanic materials, along with high-range water-reducing admixtures, have improved strength and durability of concrete construction. Since com-pressive strength is the most commonly used parameter to describe the quality of concrete in practice, high-strength concrete, often called high-performance concrete, has been used in many structures that are sensitive to shrinkage cracking. No systematic study has been performed to assess the restrained shrinkage cracking behavior of high-strength concrete. This paper presents research on the restrained shrinkage cracking on several strength levels of concrete. Higher strength levels were obtained by partial substitution of cement with silica fume and by reducing the water content. Ring-type spec-imens were used for restrained shrinkage cracking tests. Free shrinkage, creep, weight loss, compressive, and splitting tensile strength were also investigated. Results indicate that the free shrinkage for different concretes does not depend on the unit water content or weight loss and that high-strength silica fume concrete shows higher shrinkage and lower creep. Cracking for high-strength silica fume concrete develops much faster and is signijcantly wider than that of normal-strength concrete.