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Scarpas et al. (Eds.), 7th RILEM International Conference on Cracking in Pavements, pp.

635-642
RILEM 2012




Application of different fibers to reduce plastic
shrinkage cracking of concrete


Tara Rahmani
1
, Behnam Kiani
1
, Mehdi Bakhshi
2
, Mohammad Shekarchizadeh
1


1
School of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran,
Tehran, Iran
2
Department of Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering, School of
Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University,
Tempe, USA



Abstract. Cracking generated by shrinkage is a major concern, particularly in
structures with a high surface area to volume ratio. It has been well established that
the inclusion of fibers in concrete contribute to the shrinkage crack reduction. In
the present study, the efficiency of different fibers in arresting the cracks in
cementitious composites due to restrained plastic shrinkage was investigated. This
paper focused on the effects of using steel, glass and polypropylene fibers at
volume fraction of 0.1%. Crack characteristics including the maximum crack
width, average crack width, and total crack area were measureed using the image
analysis. The test results indicate that steel fibers were more effective in reducing
restrained plastic shrinkage cracking compared to others whereas glass fibers had
better performance than polypropylene fibers.


1. Introduction

Plastic shrinkage cracks may often appear during the first few hours after casting
while concrete is still in a plastic state and has not attained any significant strength.
When the rate of water loss due to evaporation exceeds the rate of bleeding,
negative capillary pressures generate which pull the solid particles together and
consequently result in shrinkage [1-3]. At this time, the restraints provided by a
rough substrate or steel reinforcement cause tensile stresses within the concrete and
may lead to cracking [4, 5]. Plastic shrinkage cracks facilitate the ingress of
aggressive agents into the concrete and affect the long term durability,
serviceability, and aesthetic aspects of the structure [6, 7]. These cracks are more
commonly observed in thin concrete elements with a high surface area to volume
ratio like slabs on grade, industrial floors, bridge decks, tunnel linings, etc [8, 9].

Precautionary measures minimizing the loss of water from the concrete surface
including prolonged curing, erecting wind breaks and sunshades, fogging, and
reduced use of admixtures that prevent bleeding can help reduce the plastic
shrinkage cracking [10]. Fiber reinforcement has proven to be one of the most
effective methods to reduce plastic shrinkage cracking [5, 8]. Fibers inhibit further
crack propagation by providing the bridging forces across the cracks [4].
T. Rahmani et al.

636

In this paper, the behavior of steel, polypropylene, and glass fibers at low volume
fractions in controlling plastic shrinkage cracks were evaluated by percent
reduction of crack width (PRCW) and percent reduction of crack area (PRCA)
relative to plain concrete. To achieve this purpose, an image analysis technique
was used to estimate the crack measurements.


2. Mechanism of Plastic Shrinkage

Capillary pressure is the source of shrinkage in the plastic stage of cementitious
materials and may eventually lead to cracking. Figure 1 shows the process of
capillary pressure build up and plastic shrinkage. After casting, bleeding may
occur, i.e. the solid particles settle due to gravitational forces and on the surface a
plane water film is formed (Figure 1A). Evaporation at the upper surface
continuously reduces the thickness of the water film and, eventually, the near
surface particles are no longer covered by a plane water surface. As a result of
adhesive forces and surface tension, water menisci are formed between the solid
particles. The curvature of the water surface causes a negative pressure in the
capillary water. This pressure acts on the solid particles resulting in the contraction
of the still plastic material (Figure 1B). The ongoing evaporation at the surface
causes a continuing reduction of the main radii of the menisci resulting in an
increase of the absolute capillary pressure value as well as of the shrinkage strain
(Figure 1C). If a certain pressure is reached, the largest gaps between the particles
at the surface can no longer be bridged by the menisci and air penetrates locally
into the pore system accompanied by a local pressure break down (Figure 1D).
When air starts to penetrate the pores, the plastic cracking risk is assumed to reach
its maximum because the drained pores are weak points in the system. The
contracting forces between the particles in the air penetrated regions are
considerably smaller than those in the water filled regions. Hence, a localization of
strains is taking place leading to visible cracks [1, 11].




Figure 1. Capillary pressure build up during plastic shrinkage
Application of different of fibers to reduce plastic shrinkage cracking of concrete

637


It has to be pointed out that air entry does not necessarily result in cracking.
Cohesive stresses between the particles resulting from hindered shrinkage strain
are also required. The combination of the inherent shrinkage and restraint develops
tensile stresses. If the restrained tensile stresses exceed the tensile strength of
concrete, the cracks can develop throughout the surface of concrete [12]. However,
cracking is impossible without air entry into the drying suspension [1, 11].


3. Experimental Program

3.1. Material

ASTM type II Portland cement was used in all concrete mixtures. The coarse
aggregate was 19-mm maximum size crushed natural stone with a bulk specific
gravity of 2.66 while natural river sand with a specific gravity of 2.62 and fineness
modulus of 3.31 was used as the fine aggregate. The water to cement ratio by
weight was 0.47. The mix proportions are given in Table 1. Three types of fibers
namely hooked steel, glass, and polypropylene fibers were used at 0.1 volume
fraction, and their properties are presented in Table 2. It should be noted that the
typical dosage of fibers to reduce plastic shrinkage cracking is smaller than 0.3%
by volume [8].

The average compressive strengths of the plain and fiber reinforced concretes at 28
days and the workability of mixtures are also given in Table 3.


Cement Fine aggregate Coarse aggregate Water
(kg/m
3
) (kg/m
3
) (kg/m
3
) (kg/m
3
)
12.5 mm 19 mm
350 957 174 609 164.5

Table 1. Mix proportions used for mixtures


Fiber
Length
(mm)
Diameter
(mm)
Aspect
ratio (l/d)
Specific
gravity
(gr/cm
3
)
Tensile
strength
(MPa)
Steel 35 0.55 64 8 1100
Glass 15 0.012 1250 2.74 2450
Polypropylene 12 0.022 545 0.91 300-400

Table 2. Properties of the fibers


Mixture Type of fiber
Fiber dosage
(kg/m
3
)
Slump
(cm)
Compressive
strength (MPa)
Plain - - 14-16 38.4
SFRC Steel 7.8 7-9 39.2
GFRC Glass 2.6 5-7 35.8
PFRC Polypropylene 0.91 5-7 35.9
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638

Table 3. Fiber dosage and compressive strength results of concrete mixtures


3.2. Mixing and sample preparation

The mixing procedure used for concrete mixtures was as follows. The coarse
aggregate, sand, and cement were first mixed dry for a period of 1 min. Then, the
water was added, and mixing was continued for another 2 min. This was followed
by 2 min of rest. With fiber reinforced concrete mixtures, the fibers were dispersed
by hand and mixed for another 2 min to ensure the dispersion of fibers throughout
the concrete.

The plastic shrinkage test method used in this study was similar to that prposed in
ASTM C 1579-06 [13]. The plywood mold with a depth of 85 mm and rectangular
dimensions of 360 by 560 mm has been used. The mold was provided with a stress
riser of 63.5 mm height at the center and two base restraints of 32 mm height at 90
mm from both ends, along the transverse direction, as shown in Figure 2. After
casting, the concrete specimens were kept for 24 h in a 2 meter by 1 meter and 1.5
meter height room. Inasmuch as environmental conditions play a significant role
on early age properties of fiber reinforced concrete, the required temperature and
humidity were generated by electric heaters and temperature controller. Fans were
used to achieve a wind speed of more than 4.7 m/s over the entire surface area of
the specimens (see Figure 3). The fresh concrete specimens were exposed to an
average temperature of 36, a relative humidity of 25%, and a wind velocity of 6
m/s. The average evaporation rate, measured by detecting the loss of water from a
plastic bowl placed, was 2 kg/m
2
/h. The specimens were monitored visually for
any signs of cracking at approximately 30 min intervals.

According to ASTM C 1579-06, a test unit is comprised of at least two plain
specimens and two fiber reinforced specimens. So for each type of fiber reinforced
concrete, plastic shrinkage test was carried two times, and in each test, a plain
specimen tested as well. To summarize, two series of data for each type of fiber
and six series for plain concrete were detected and the average of measurements
were reported.



Figure 2. Plywood mold with the stress risers
Application of different of fibers to reduce plastic shrinkage cracking of concrete

639




Figure 3. Environmental chamber for keeping specimens


4. Results and Discussion

From the cracking data, several values including maximum crack width, average
crack width, total crack area, and time of first crack appearance were acquired and
presented in Table 4. For each specimen, the cracks were represented by 6 digital
images. These images were analyzed by the algorithms developed in the MATLAB
programming environment. Then, the analysis results were superposed to obtain
the crack width (average and maximum) and total crack area. The width of cracks
was measured every 10 pixels along the crack. It is assumed that the lens was
parallel to the surface of the concrete, and that it produced no optical errors.


Mixture
Time of
first
visible
crack
(min)
Average
crack
width
(mm)
Maximum
crack
width
(mm)
Total
crack area
(mm
2
)
Percent
reduction
of crack
width (%)
Percent
reduction
of crack
area (%)
Plain 90 0.763 2.623 253.90 - -
SFRC 125 0.359 0.997 120.34 52 53
GFRC 120 0.379 1.123 109.24 43 59
PFRC 110 0.517 1.845 144.86 30 43

Table 4. Plastic shrinkage test results


4.1. Time of first crack appearance

The age of first visible crack, which could be identified by eyes, was detected for
each specimen. The specimens were checked for cracks every 30 min. For plain
concrete, 90 min after casting a fine crack was observed whereas in the case of
fiber reinforced concretes, this time was detected more than 110 min. This is
because the fibers in concrete act as bleeding channels, which supply water to
replenish the drying surface and reduce the magnitude of capillary stresses
developed [14]. After the first visible crack, for plain specimens the cracks will
widen while in the case of fiber reinforced concrete, owing to the fiber bridging
effect, the widening of the cracks are prevented. The microscopic images revealing
the fiber bridging effect across the cracks are shown in Figure 5.
T. Rahmani et al.

640

4.2. Crack characteristics

Addition of steel, glass, and polypropylene fibers at the same volume fraction were
effective in controlling the restrained plastic shrinkage cracking. The effect of fiber
reinforcement on crack pattern is shown in Figure 4. As shown, plane concrete
exhibited a denser crack pattern while in the case of fiber reinforced concretes,
many subparallel cracks occured. The reduction of maximum crack width relative
to plain concrete for different fiber reinforced concretes varied from 30% to 50%.
The percent reduction of average crcak width for steel, glass, and polypropylene
fibers were obtained 52%, 43%, and 30% respectively. In all cases, total crack area
decreased with adding fibers in the range of 40% to 55%, and fibers of all types
and lengths were extremely effective.

Steel fibers have the best performance among the other fibers, reducing the total
crack area by 53% and maximum crack width by 48% to less than 0.1 mm. This
may be due to the hooked end shape of steel fibers, which improves the bonding
between fibers and matrix and results in higher tensile strain capacity. Glass fibers
had better performance compared to polypropylene fibers. It can be attributed to
the fact that polypropylene fibers are shorter than glass fibers thus they could have
got pulled out of the matrix (see Figure 5).







Figure 4. Crack pattern obtained using image analysis.
(a) Plain, (b) SFRC, (c) GFRC, and (d) PFRC


b
a
c
d
Application of different of fibers to reduce plastic shrinkage cracking of concrete

641


Figure 5. Microscopic images of crack bridging effect induced by fibers.
(a) glass fiber, and (b) polypropylene fiber


5. Conclusions

The addition of fibers significantly reduced the restrained plastic shrinkage
cracking and delayed the first crack appearance. The reduction of maximum crack
width and total crack area were ranged 30-50% and 40-60%, respectively. Among
the various fibers investigated at a volume fraction of 0.1%, steel fiber was found
to be most effective in reducing the crack width and area, because the steel fibers
improves the tensile strain capacity of concrete and restricts the growth of cracks.
Glass fibers performed significantly better than polypropylene fibers.


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