TIME-DEPENDENT BEHAVIOUR OF REINFORCED CONCRETE MULTI-

STOREY BUILDING FRAMES DUE TO SHRINKAGE

C.H. LIU*, F.T.K. AU** and P.K.K. LEE***

*
Jacobs China Ltd.,
Hong Kong, China
albertchliu@hotmail.com

**
Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong,
Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
francis.au@hku.hk

***
Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong,
Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
hreclkk@hkucc.hku.hk

The long-term effects of shrinkage often give rise to serious cracking problems in reinforced concrete
buildings with large floors. To identify the problematic areas, shrinkage movement analysis can be
carried out by finite element method with proper creep and shrinkage models using step-by-step time
integration. The typical multi-storey building considered is constructed in stages and the construction
period for each floor and the supporting columns is 20 days. The time-dependent stresses and strains of
the building are studied with respect to various parameters including the number of bays, number of
storeys and time lag of the staged construction sequences.

Results of multi-bay frame models show that the restrained shrinkage stress increases with the number of
bays in the frame. However, results of the shear-wall frame show that the first floor slab has the
maximum shrinkage stresses and is therefore subjected to the most severe cracking. The stress initially
decreases with height until it reaches its minimum value roughly at the upper quarter height of the
building and then the stress increases again. The trend continues up to the roof. Furthermore, results of
shear-wall building show that the shrinkage stresses at the lower floors may exceed the tensile strength of
concrete even though late-cast strips are provided, implying that measures such as provision of anti-crack
reinforcement may be required.

Keywords: Creep, reinforced concrete, building frames, serviceability, shrinkage, simplified method.

Introduction
Shrinkage cracking is a common problem in Hong Kong. If a large building is
structurally connected to two or more core walls, the comparatively stiff core walls will
prevent the shortening of concrete structures and shrinkage stresses will develop. It could
lead to substantial shortening movement and, if the movement is restrained, serious
cracking of the concrete structure.
In some cases, the shrinkage cracks formed have been causing aesthetic, water
leakage and durability problems. The cracking of RC structures is a very complicated
phenomenon as it involves the interaction between concrete and steel reinforcement, the
shape and size of the structure as well as the stiffness of the supports. A recent
parametric study shows that the magnitude of induced stress normally increases with the
length of structure and support stiffness (Liu et al. 2006). Such cracking problems can be
alleviated by proper planning and analysis of the construction activities. The
development of a systematic approach to the shrinkage movement analysis of RC floors
is expected to encourage more practising engineers to spend time on the prevention of
problems rather than on remedial works after the problems have surfaced. It helps not
only in the identification of problematic areas but also in the decision of a suitable
concreting sequence.
Both shrinkage and creep can cause deformation of concrete member. If the
member is free to expand or contract, no stresses will be induced. However, if free
deformation is prevented, stresses will develop. Creep strains normally compensate for
part of the shrinkage effects. Therefore shrinkage and creep do interact with each other.
One way to reduce the restraint forces due to shrinkage of concrete is provision of
movement joints, which allows the concrete to shrink freely. However, movement joints
often lead to problems such as leakage, increased construction cost and time, and
expensive maintenance. Stage construction by providing late-cast strips is another
common solution (Liu et al. 2005). It is assumed that the time lag between the first-cast
portion and the late-cast portion is long enough for substantial portion of drying
shrinkage strain to take place. In this case, various structural members may have
different ages, and hence different tendencies to shrink (Kim and Cho 2004 & 2005, Kim
and Ahn 2009). The late-cast strips should be sufficient narrow; otherwise, its own
shrinkage will be large enough to cause cracking.
The stresses and strains in an RC structure vary with time, during which the
shrinkage and creep of concrete gradually develop. For the analysis of time-dependent
stresses and deformations, it is necessary to utilise the basic time functions for strain or
stress of the constituent materials. In the shrinkage analysis of an RC floor comprising
beams and slabs supported on columns and walls, the finite element method (Au et al.
2007 & 2009) may be employed taking into account the shrinkage and creep strains
induced. As the creep strains within a time interval are dependent on the loading history
up to the moment, a step-by-step time integration (SBSTI) numerical procedure is
normally employed (Au et al. 2007).
In recent years, the use of joints in concrete building has attracted the interests of
various engineers (Bussell et al. 1995, Monroe 1991, Simpson 2002). They presented the
guidelines for provision of joints, the selection of suitable type of joints and the good
practice for construction of joints. However, there are relatively few publications on the
theoretical background of the effect of stage construction on the long-term behaviour of
multi-storey reinforced concrete (RC) building. Although this phenomenon is
predictable, few guidelines, if any, have been given in the common codes of practice. In
fact, the shrinkage cracking problem can be avoided by proper planning during the early
stage of design process. The present investigation is to evaluate the stresses and strains
of RC members subjected to the effects of shrinkage and creep. Also, the use of late-cast
strips in reducing the shrinkage stresses is discussed. Furthermore, an effective design
strategy to avoid cracking of concrete in tension is presented.
Shrinkage and Creep of Concrete in Hong Kong
Time integration has been widely used in creep and shrinkage analysis (Bažant 1982,
Au et al. 2009). The total strain c(t) at time t, including the instantaneous and creep
strains, due to a constant stress σc(to) applied at the age to is expressed in terms of the
modulus of elasticity Ec(to) at the age of loading and the creep coefficient (t,to) as
σ c (to ) (1)
εc ( t )  1   (t,to )
Ec (to )

Based on the principle of superposition, the strain caused by stress history σc(t) is
obtained by summation of the responses of dσc() applied at time . The total strain of
concrete c(t) due to the applied stress and shrinkage is given by
Δ c ( t )
1   (t , t o )  1   (t , ) (2)
 c (t )   c (to )    d c ( )   cs (t , to )
 Ec ( t o )  0
Ec ( )

where Δ c (t ) is the stress increment from time to to t and εcs(t,to) is the free shrinkage
from time to to t.
To facilitate subsequent formulation for finite element analysis using time
integration, Eq. (2) is rewritten to give the incremental stress Δσc(t) in terms of the mean
modulus of elasticity Ec (t ) , incremental concrete strain Δεc(t), incremental creep strain
Δεφ(t) and incremental shrinkage strain Δεcs(t) all within the time increment Δt as (Au et
al. 2009)

Δ c (t )  Ec (t ) Δ c (t )  Δ (t )  Δ cs (t )  (3)

The relationship between the strain vector  and displacement vector  of a beam-
column element can be written as
ε  Bδ (4)

where each node has three degrees of freedom and B is the strain matrix. Following the
conventional formulation of finite element method, the incremental element nodal force
vector can be expressed in terms of the incremental displacement vector. The
relationship between the strain vector  and displacement vector  of a beam-column
element can be written as
 du 
  (5)
ε   dx2   B δ
 d v2 
 dx 

Following the conventional formulation of finite element method, the incremental

element nodal force vector can be expressed in terms of the incremental displacement
vector as
 1  1 
q e   B T   σ c dV   B T   Ec (t ) c (t )    (t )   cs (t ) dV
Ve
y
  Ve  y

 1   1  1
   B T   Ec (t )1 y B dV δ   B T   Ec (t ) ε (t ) dV   B T   Ec (t ) εcs (t )dV (6)
 e  y   y  y
V  Ve Ve

where Ve is the element volume and y is the distance from the centroidal axis of the
element (Au et al. 2008).

Before proceeding to further simplification of Eq. (6), it is useful to examine the

time-dependent behaviour of concrete frames. The incremental element nodal force
vector q e in Eq. (6) can be worked out as (Au. et al. 2008 and Liu 2006)
Δq e  K c Δδ  Δf  Δfcs (7)

in terms of the stiffness matrix Kc, incremental displacement vector δ , incremental load
vector due to creep Δfφ and incremental load vector due to shrinkage Δfcs. Note that the
variable t has been omitted for brevity.

Prediction model of shrinkage and creep in Hong Kong

The recommendations for the prediction of shrinkage and creep in the Code of
Practice for Structural Use of Concrete (Hong Kong Building Department 2004) are
largely based on the British bridge code BS5400: Part 4 (BSI 1990). However, the above
Hong Kong code requires an additional multiplier of Cs = 3.0 to be applied to the
expression for evaluation of shrinkage sh(t) based on the parameters KL, Kc, Ke and Kj
defined in BS5400: Part 4 as:
ε sh (t )  C s K L K c K e K j (8)

Analysis of Common Building Frames

In this study, the time-dependent changes of forces in common building frames and
shear-wall frames are determined by finite element analysis using SBSTI. A study is
carried out to investigate the use of stage construction in controlling shrinkage stresses
particularly focusing on the effect of time-lag, and number of storeys. Examples of rough
estimation of shrinkage stresses in two-dimensional cases are presented.
Recommendations are also given for provision of reinforcement for crack control.
Multi-Bay Frames
The number of bays varies from 1 to 9

Stresses in middle member are investigated

..
+ ..

Figure 1. Multi-bay Frame model

The first model studied is the single-storey multi-bay concrete frame. Shrinkage
studies using this model are carried out to investigate the effects of the number of bays on
the resulting shrinkage stresses. Nine models with number of bays varying from one to
nine (Figure 1) are studied.
It is considered that the resistance to horizontal loading due to shrinkage of floor is
provided by the bending resistance of the columns, and the reinforcement provided in
resisting the horizontal wind load is sufficient to minimise the cracking due to shrinkage
of concrete. Therefore, the beams located between the shear walls are considered to be
subjected to the most serious cracking due to shrinkage.

10
8
No. of bays

6
4
2
0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Axial stress in beam (MPa)
Figure 2. Total number of bays on the axial stress of the beam
Figure 2 shows the variation of shrinkage stresses of the model with the number of
bays after 1,000 days at the middle span of the multi-bay frame as shown in Figure 1. It
is observed that the shrinkage stresses increase with the number of bays as the degree of
horizontal restraint increases with the number of bays.

Shear-Wall Frame Buildings

Shrinkage studies of multi-storey shear-wall frame buildings are carried out to
investigate the effect of the late-cast strip taking into account construction sequence.
Three models of 10-storey, 15-storey and 20-storey concrete buildings are analysed to
investigate the shrinkage effects. The model is a two-dimensional concrete building
supported by shear walls and columns (Figure 3). The wall is modelled as an equivalent
column at the centreline of the wall with consideration of shear deformation, and the
beam-wall joints are connected to the wall centreline by hypothetical rigid arms. The
inherent flexibility of beam-wall joints is ignored in the study.
The columns and walls of the first storey are fully fixed at the bottom ends or
foundation. Stresses will be induced as shrinkage strains are restrained horizontally by
the walls and columns of the building. The hatched areas represent the walls, while the
other vertical and horizontal lines represent the columns and beams respectively. The
problem of shrinkage stresses mainly lies with the first floor while the problem is much
less serious with the upper floors. The shrinkage problems discussed in this paper are on
the assumption of natural shrinkage condition that different floor levels are subjected to
the same moisture condition. In the present study, shrinkage movement of the first floor
is primarily restrained by the shear walls or core walls which are connected to the
foundation of the building. Other shrinkage problems due to different moisture
conditions at different floor levels have been discussed by Liu (2007).
It is assumed that wet curing is provided for 3 days after casting so that shrinkage
only occurs after wet curing. Analysis is carried out for the period from Day 3 to Day
1000. Although the beams are normally not cast together with columns and wall, it is
assumed that all the beams in a storey are cast together with the supporting columns and
walls for simplicity. The construction period per floor is 20 days.

Shrinkage stresses without adopting late-cast strip

In multi-storey buildings, there is difference of shrinkage strains between a certain
floor and the floor below. Therefore, it is essential to consider the effect of construction
sequence in order to evaluate the shrinkage stress in members of the building.

1F

2F
1F

3F
2F
1F

10F
9F Consider axial stresses along
8F these beams
7F
6F
5F
4F
3F
2F
1F

Figure 3. Multi-storey wall-frame structure constructed floor by floor

 20
20-storey model
15 15-storey model
Floor level

10-storey model
10

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Axial stress in beam at the middle (MPa)
Figure 4. Axial stresses of the beam at the middle of the building

Figure 4 shows the axial stresses in beams at the middle beams of the building, as
shown in Figure 3. The shrinkage stress is at its maximum value at the first floor, and
then decreases with increase in floor level until it reaches the 3/4 height of the building.
Then the stress slightly increases toward the roof. In addition, it is observed that the
shrinkage stresses at the first floor at 1,000 days are virtually independent of the height of
building mainly due to the restraint of foundation.

Shrinkage stresses with late-cast strips

1F

2F
1F

3F
2F
1F

10F
9F Consider axial stresses along
8F these beams
7F
6F
5F
4F
3F
2F
1F

Figure 5. Multi-storey wall-frame structure constructed floor by floor with late-cast

strips.
 A 1 m wide late-cast strip is provided at the middle of every floor of the building
(Figure 5). The closing time of all strips is assumed to be 60 days in the first model,
while it is 120 days in the second model. To find the optimum time lag between the main
part of structure and the late-cast strips, the variation of shrinkage stress is studied. The
stitching time studied includes 60 and 120 days are analysed.
Figures 6 through 8 show the shrinkage stresses at the first floor beams. It is
observed that although late-cast strip reduces the shrinkage stress to certain degree, the
induced stress is still higher than the tensile strength of concrete. To predict whether
cracking will occur, the tensile strength criterion according to the Code of Practice for
Structural Use of Concrete 2004 is adopted. The tensile strength is f ct  0.54 f cu where
a safety factor of 1.5 has been incorporated in the tensile strength, and fcu is the 28-day
cube strength of concrete. The tensile strength is 3.19MPa.

10
Without late-cast
8 60 days late-cast
120 days late-cast
Floor level

6
Tensile strength
4

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Stresses in beams of 10-storey building (MPa)

Figure 6. Tensile stresses of the beams versus floor level of 10-storey building

14 Without late-cast
12 60 days late-cast
10 120 days late-cast
Floor level

8 Tensile strength
6
4
2
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Stresses in beams of 15-storey building (MPa)
Figure 7. Tensile stresses of the beams versus floor level of 15-storey building
 20
Without late-cast
15 60 days late-cast
Floor level

120 days late-cast

10
Tensile strength

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Stresses in beams of 20-storey building (MPa)

Figure 8. Tensile stresses of the beams versus floor level of 20-storey building

To provide longer time for substantial portion of drying shrinkage strain to take
place and further minimise the effect of shrinkage, stage construction with longer time-
lag between the first-cast portion and late-cast strips may be required. Further increase of
the time lag will reduce the stress but it will also hinder the subsequent construction
works. In addition, it should be noted that the optimum stitching time will be different if
the design parameters are changed. The optimum stitching time also depends on the
design code adopted to model the shrinkage and creep behaviour. Although the late-cast
strips can effectively reduce the shrinkage stresses, the resulting construction joints of
course still require good workmanship to avoid subsequent water leakage problems.
In a multi-storey building that is cast floor by floor, the stresses of the upper floors
due to shrinkage will not be the same as those of the lower floors because of the
difference in residual shrinkage strains.

Conclusions
Results of analyses using various building models show that the stresses at the first
floor increase with the number of bays, which reflects the increase in degree of restraint
with the number of bays.
From the study of the shear-wall frames, one can conclude that the stresses at the
first few floors exceed the tensile strength of concrete mainly because of the restraint by
the foundation. Furthermore, it is observed that the use of the late-cast strips can reduce
the stresses. Results show that longer time-lag results in more reduction of stresses.
Although the use of late-cast strips can reduce the shrinkage stresses, the residual
shrinkage strain can still cause cracking of concrete. Therefore, in order to reduce
shrinkage cracking, provision of additional reinforcement for limiting crack widths to an
acceptable level may be required.

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