NRMCA CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY MIDDLE EAST (CTME) PROGRAM STUDENT GUIDE AND NOTES NRMCA ENGINEERING DIVISION Shrinkage & Cracking CC NRMCA November 2011 © National Ready Mixed Concrete Association 900 Spring Street, ver Spring, MD 20910 Phone 301.587.1400 Fix 301.585.4219 wowaammenongNRUCA ConoRETE TECHNOLOGY Mipoie ExeT Paoomau Table of Contents OBJECTIVES: VOLUME CHANGES IN CONCRETE PLasmic suRINKAGE (CrrteaL/AUTOGENGUS SNAG Drivane Senin ‘THURAAL SRNR. CARBONATION SRNEAGE CRACKING... 1 2 3 4 H 4 PREVENTING/MINIMIZING CRACKING.. ADDITIONAL REFERENCES. [REVIEW QUESTIONS, Learning Objectives 41. Volume changes in concrete 2. Factors affecting concrete cracking 3. Methods of preventing or minimizing crackingNRMCA Cowonere Shrinkage & Cracking Objectives: his presentation focuses on how and why conerete changes in volume, how this affects the cracking tendency of concrete, and what one can do to prevent ‘of minimize cracking, Volume Changes in Concrete: Conctete is a complex material that undergoes volume changes throughout it lifetime. ‘Concrete undergoes volume changes ranging fiom those due to autogenous shrinkage at early ages to drying shrinkage at later ages. ‘The most common causes of volume change include: Yate cre (EI Occurs in Fresh Concrete while the oes ‘autogenous Shrinkage ‘Shrinkage witout Temperature Change or Moisture Loss (Chemical ‘and SeltDesiccation Shrinkage During Hydration) Drying Shrinkage ‘Occurs in Hardened Concrete (due to loss of water) Thermal Shrinkage ‘Change in Length Due fo Temperature Ghange (especialy after peak of hydration) ‘Carbonation Shrinkage ‘Wien Hydrated Cement Paste Reads ‘with Carbon Dioxide Plastic shrinkage Plastic shrinkage cracking is a problem that is tiggered by conditions that lead to increased evaporation rates of water from the surface of fresh concrete, specifically high temperature, low relative humidity, high wind speed, and high concreteNRMCA Cononere TecwwoLoor Mivoie East Paooan temperature. The evaporation tat is typically predicted using the ACI 305 nomograph (Fig 2.1.5 from ACI 305), as illustrated below. If the evaporation rate is calculated t0 be higher than the threshold value (1 kg/m’ /h), precautionary measures should be taken, which may inchide the ase of synthetic fibers, the lowering of fresh concrete temperature (eg, using crushed ice, chilled water, liquid nitrogen, etc), the use of iisters to saturate surface above the slab, and the pre-wetting of forms and bases, to name a few (see ACI 305 for more preventive measures). Plastic shrinkage cracking is driven by the fact that fresh concrete has very little tensile strength (or strain capacity), thus increasing early-age strength can be part of a strategy to avoid plastic shrinkage cracking. act + When the rate of evaporation exeeds } kg/m? per hour, precaulionary measures should be taken. [ Q ‘Chemical/Autogenous shrinkage ‘This form of shrinkage has become a popular and important topic as of lately. Tn recent years there bas been considerable interes in eaty-age behavior of concrete, and much of this interest has been fueled by the use of high-performance concrete (HPC), which is often characterized by relatively low water-to-cementitious materials ratios (w/cm) of less than 0.40 and the use of supplementary cementing materials. When using such mixtures in field applications, it is important to realize that there may be insufficient water present internally to fully hydrate the portland cement. As the cement reaction proceeds and the amount of free water decreases, air takes the place of water in pores, lowering the pore relative humidity. An air-water meniscus forms withNRMCA Conenete Teewwocogy MIDDLE ExsT PRogaaw an accompanying surface tension. ‘The surface tension imparts a tensile stress on the ‘matrix, causing shrinkage. This is referred to as “chemical shrinkage,” which is defined as the volume reduction associated with the hydration reactions in a cementitious ‘material (ensen and Hansen 2001). When aggregates are present, they are placed in compression by the cement mattis, providing restraint. The degree of restraint that the aggregates provide depends on the aggregate stffitess and volume used in the mixture. Although they are often considered to be the same property, autogenous shrinkage is different than chemical shrinkage in that it is defined as the bulk strain of a closed, isothermal, cementitious material system not subjected to extemal forces. Chemical shrinkage can then be defined as “a change in the absolute volume” while autogenous shrinkage can be defined as “a change in the apparent volume” (Jensen and Hansen, 2001). These two quantities tend to be identical up until concrete sets; thereafter, they deviate, with chemical shrinkage typically being significantly larger than autogenous shrinkage. A more detailed descsiption of autogenous and chemical shrinkage can be found in Riding (2007). -Autogenous shrinkage is generally only a concem from low w/em concrete mixtures. ‘ConereWorks (a free software program used in this course and available for download at www.texasconcreteworks.com) assumes that autogenous shrinkage is negligible at w/cm above 0.42 and that the amount of autogenous shrinkage increases with a decrease in the w/cm below 0.42. ‘The use of saturated lightweight ageregate or super- absorbent polymers can be used to provide an internal source of water that becomes available as the surrounding pore structure begins to dry or self desiccate, As should be evident, increasing the w/cm to 0.42 is an effective method of preventing autogenous shrinkage, provided that the impact of the increased w/em does not adversely affect strength gain ot other televant properties (eg,, drying shrinkage, permeability, etc). ‘Drying Shrinkage eying shrinkage has been studied in the laboratory and observed in the field for many years, and well before other volume changes, such as autogenous and/or chemical shrinkage, were recognized as key players in volume change and cracking susceptibility. Deying shrinkage is caused by the loss of water from drying and is nominally considered to be relevant after the first 24 hours (with the first 24 hours generally attributed to plastic shrinkage). Both plastic and drying shrinkage are triggered by moisture loss to the environment, which results in concrete shrinking and going into tension if restrained. ‘The most effective method of minimizing drying shinkage is to minimize the paste content as the volume change from drying, is manifested in the paste (note that aggregates generally shrink very litle). Avoiding excessively high w/cm is also effective in reducing drying shrinkage as higher ‘w/em mixtures generally yield a microstructure with more water-filled pores that ulkimately lose the water and exhibit shrinkage. Moist curing is an efficient practical ‘means of reducing drying shrinkage, and when practical, should be used as part of the plan to reduce shrinkage cracking, Shrinkage-reducing admixtures have also been found to be effective in reducing long-term drying shrinkage.NRUCK Conenete TecwnoLogy MiooLe EaetT PRoonau ‘Thermal shrinkage ‘Thermal shrinkage (and expansion) can be caused by the initial heat of hydration ‘within concrete, which upon cooling puts the concrete in tension, of at all times as ambient temperature changes cause concrete to change in volume (and is hence controlled by the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the concrete). ‘Thermal stresses can be reduced by lowering the concrete placement temperature (e., by using crushed ice or liquid nitrogen), lowering the adiabatic temperature rise (due to hydration), and adopting construction techniques that minimize cracking tendency (eg, insulated formwork, timing of form removal, etc). Reducing the paste content and using supplementary cementing matesals (SCMs) as a replacement for portland cement help to reduce the heat of hydration. In general, portland cements that ‘produce proportionally more heat ate characterized by a finer pattile size (eg, higher Blaine value) and tend to have higher C,A and C;S contents. Likewise, fly ashes with lower CaO contents tend to more effectively reduce early-age heat of hydration than fly ashes with higher CaO contents. Chemical admixtures, such as accelerators and retarders, generally only affect the timing at which hydration “kicks in”, but generally they do not have an impact on the overall heat of hydration. ‘The CTE of concrete, as well as other thermal properties such as specific heat, are dominated by the agpregate fraction as aggregates typically occupy 70-80 percent of the volume of concrete. Values exist for estimating the relevant thermal properties of concrete based on the types of aggregates used in the mixture (ACI 209). Carbonation shrinkage Casbonation results from the formation of CaCO, at the surface of concrete. The depth of carbonation is generlly imited for modem concrete and this form of volume change tends to be less relevant that the other mechanisms of volume change already discussed. ‘The implications of carbonation are generally more of concem with regard to carbonation induced corrosion, as discussed in Chapter 4 Cracking ‘The various forms of volume change just discussed ate quite complex in their underlying mechanisms, and this complexity is exacerbated by the fact that the vatious volume change causes may be occurring at the same time. Concrete is subject to the combined effects of these volume changes, and the resultant overall volume change will determine the potential for stress generation. Volume changes in concrete would not cause any problems if concrete were ‘unrestrained — in this case, the concrete would simply expand and contract without stress. However, when concrete is restrained intemally (due to reinforcing steel, aggregates, thermal or hygral gradient, etc) ot extetnally (by subgrade friction, presence of adjacent structure, ete), the strains that occurred without restraint are now pastially or filly restrained, and stresses are generated, a illustrated simplistically below.NRUCA Concnere Tecuuocoay Wile Cast Proanaw Effect of Restraint on Shrinkage est ce Restraints Cause Tensile Stress The aboved example is a bic simplistic as it does not consider thatthe stress generated by the restrained volume change is subsequently relieved to some extent by creep and stress relaxation. Although this is too complex to discuss in detail herein, the figure below (after Mehta, 1993) illustrates that early-age creep and relaxation can be beneficial and should be considered when evaluating cracking susceptibility as they lower the actual stresses generated in a concrete structure undergoing volume changes. cae NTE en ei = ‘wie: STRESS Predied ceming wid, es ren TIMENRUCA Concaere Teewwotoey MipoLe Ens Paoonaw Preventing/Minimizing Cracking As briefly highlighted in this chapter, concrete is subjected to various potential forms of volume change, and these volume changes can lead to stresses of a magnitude t0 crack concrete. ‘The table below shows some of methods that can be employed to minimize volume changes and hence minimize the potential for stress development. ‘Volume Changes in Concrete and Methods of Preventing/Minimizing Reduce paste catent Reduce fresh concrete temperature ‘Apply products to reduce evaporation rate of water from top of stab Use fog misters to maintain moisture above slab Preswet formwork and subgrades Erect windscreen or sunshade (rarely pratica) Use nthe re Increase early-age tensile strength Others Reduce pate content Increase wiem (neminaly above wiem of 042 or so) to minimize autogenous shvinkoge, provided that increased wlom wil not adversely afect ler kay Properties (strength, permeability, etc) Use saturated lightweight aggregates to provide internal source of moist curing (only accessed upon intemal dying) ess siperspeitenl penne: bate -PUrpoee. Ae Sane ea (Optimize selection of portand cement, SCMs, and chemical admixtures (GAs) to reduce potential for dying shrinkage Moist Use SCMs as substittion for portland cement io reduce hest of hyration Reduce fresh conerete temperature (Optimize selection of materials (cement, aggregates, SCMs, etc) to minimize heat and stress generation (Optimize construction techniques to avoid cracking (insulation, optimal formwork removal, oc) Develo. mess concealer eva aaekirg_ (ow ACI 208NRUCA Concnete TeoWwoLogy MIDDLE EAST PROGRAM Additional References 4 9. Jensen, O.M; and Hansen, P.F,, "Autogenous deformation and RH- change in perspective,” Cement and Concrete Research, V. 31, pp. 1859- 1865, 2001. Riding, Kyle, “Early Age Concrete Thermal Stress Measurement and Modeling,” Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of Texas at Austin, 2007. ACI Committee 209, “Prediction of Creep, Shrinkage and Temperature Effects in Concrete Structures (ACI 209R-92),” Farmington Hills, Mich., 47 pp. 1992. ACT Commitee 305, “Hot Weather Concreting (ACI 30SR-96)" Manual of Concrete Pract, Part 2. Farmington Hills: American Concrete Institute, 1996. ACT Committee 201, “Prediction of Creep, Shrinkage and Temperature Effects in Concrete Structures (ACT 209R-92),” Farmington Hills, Mich, 47 pp. 1992. ‘wwrw.texasconcreteworks.com, PCA IS 536, Types and Causes of Concrete Deterioration ACI 318 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete (ACI 318-08) and Commentary PCA EB 221, Speirs Gui Durable Conor 10. Mehta, P.K,, Concrete: Strctre, Properties, and Materials, 1993,NRMCA CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY MIDDLE ExsT PRoanau Shrinkage ac Review Questions — 1. Autogenous shsinkage and chemical shrinkage are generally idensical (a terms of ‘nagnitide) afer concrete ste a) Tne b) False —— 2 Shinkage-educing admixeures reduce deying shrinkage by causing the concrete to ‘expand shor after setting tine (simile to a Type K cement. 2) Toe b) False — 3 Carbonation shrinkage is caused by carbon in fly ash reacting with the alkalies in porland cement. a) Tue b) False —— 4 Concrete mixtures witha w/ rato less than 0.40 are most prone to cracking due to autogenous shenkage a) Tue b) False 5. Thezate of ersporation of bleed water from the top surface of concrete is ‘dential to the rate of evaporation of water from a free surfice (eg a reservoir or ink) 3 te b) Fae 6 Phase shsinkage cracking is exacerbated by al ofthe following except a) Higher wind velocity b) Lower clave humidity €) Lower concrete temperance 4) Retardation of setting sie 7. Thecuslng of concrete slabs is caused by: 8) Moisture and shrinkage gradients dhroug depth of slab b) Autogenous shrinkage caused by carbonation ) Alkalsiica reaction &) Decraching of aggregates 8. ——Semiadiabaticcalosimaetr involve: 8) Testing of cement past at isothermal eg constant temperature b) Measurement of het generation and los fom concrete cylinder ©) Measurement of coeficint of thermal expansion of concrete ) Testing of cement paste ia presence of sulfate solution 9. Creeps defined a: 8) An increase in stress under constant stain b) Fatigue damage of concrete under repeated lou ©) A person you might meet at an ACI Convention 4) Anincrease in sin under constant stress 10. Isothermal eaorimetey can be used to 8) Determine temperanite sensitivity of « mixrore b) Measuee tensile strength of concrete ©) Measute creep and stessrelxation 4) Deteimine speciic heat ofa concrete mixture