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Overview and future trends of shrinkage research

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Materials and Structures (2006) 39:827–847
DOI 10.1617/s11527-006-9114-z
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Overview and future trends of shrinkage research
Konstantin Kovler · Semion Zhutovsky
Received: 1 August 2004 / Accepted: 29 November 2005 / Published online: 5 July 2006

C RILEM 2006
Abstract Non-structural cracking of concrete is a se-
rious problem and the underlying phenomena, namely,
shrinkage and creep, need to be better understood.
Much research has been devoted to this complex
problem. However, despite major successes, the phe-
nomenon of shrinkage is still far from being fully un-
derstood. The paper discusses the main aspects of con-
crete shrinkage, with a focus on autogenous and dry-
ing shrinkage, which are especially important in high-
strength and normal-strength concretes, respectively.
These aspects include the theories of physical mecha-
nism, prediction models and future research trends.
Shrinkage of concrete due to (a) moisture changes,
which result in surface and capillary tension, move-
ment of interlayer water and disjoining pressure and
(b) chemical reactions (hydration/dehydration shrink-
age, thermal shrinkage, crystallization swelling, car-
bonation shrinkage and phase transition shrinkage, is
reviewed. Many of these mechanisms often cannot be
directly linked to the macroscopically observed di-
latation/contraction. In some case, volume changes
due to chemical reactions influence porosity and de-
gree of saturation. Most chemically induced volume
changes are affected by temperature, since chemi-
cal reactions are generally accelerated by the tem-
perature elevation and slowed down by the tempera-
ture reduction. An overview of recent model devel-
K. Kovler · S. Zhutovsky
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion
– Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
opments is presented. Shrinkage reduction methods
(cement modification, using admixtures and fibers,
proper mix design, methods of internal curing) are
discussed.
Résumé Les fissures non-structurales du béton sont
un sérieux probleme, et l’origine de ce phénomène,
à savoir, retrait et fluage, nécéssite une meilleure
compréhension. Pour cette raison, beaucoup de
recherches ont été consacrées à ce probleme com-
pliqué. Toutefois, malgré de grands succés, le
phénomène de retrait est encore loin d’etre compris à
fond.
Cet article débat et résume les aspects impor-
tants du retrait du béton, en se concentrant sur
une autogène et retrait à sec, qui est partic-
ulièrement important dans le béton de haute et nor-
male résistance, respectivement. Ces aspects com-
prennent des theéories de méchanisme physique,
prédiction de modèles, et futures directions de
recherches.
Le retrait du béton, due (a) aux changements
d’humidité, qui résultent en surface et capillaire pres-
sion, mouvement d’eau de couche intermédiaire et
décomposition de pression et (b) de réactions chim-
iques (hydration/déshydratation du retrait, retrait ther-
mal, augmentation de la cristallisation, carbonisation
du retrait et la période de changement du retrait,) est
revisée.
Plusieurs de ces méchanismes ne peuvent pas sou-
vent etre directement liés à la dilatation/contraction
828
macroscopiquement observée. Dans quelques cas, le
changement de volume due aux réactions chimiques,
est principalement le résultat d’une augmentation ou
diminution de porosité et de degrée de saturation.
La plupart des changement de volumes provoqués
chimiquement, sont affectés par la température parce
que les réactions chimiques sont générallement
accélerées par l’élevation de température et ralen-
tis par la diminution de température. Une syn-
these des recents modèles de dévelopement est
presentée.
La diminution des méthodes de retrait (modifica-
tions du ciment en utilisant des produits d’addition
et des fibres, un correct mélange de mortier, et des
méthodes de conservation intérieures) sont débatues.
1. Shrinkage through the eyes of a practicing
engineer
Shrinkage of concrete is the time-dependent strain
measured in an unloaded and unrestrained specimen at
constant temperature. From the viewpoint of practicing
engineer it is important from the outset to distinguish
between plastic shrinkage, chemical shrinkage and
drying shrinkage. For example, some high strength
concretes are prone to plastic shrinkage, which occurs
in the wet concrete, and may result in significant
cracking during the setting process. This cracking
occurs due to capillary tension in the pore water. Since
the bond between the plastic concrete and the rein-
forcement has not yet developed, the steel is ineffective
in controlling such cracks. This problem may be severe
in the case of low water content, silica fume concrete
and the use of such concrete in elements such as slabs
with large exposed surfaces is not recommended [1].
Drying shrinkage is the reduction in volume caused
principally by the loss of water during the drying pro-
cess. Chemical (or endogenous) shrinkage results from
various chemical reactions within the cement paste and
includes hydration shrinkage, which is related to the de-
gree of hydration of the binder in a sealed specimen.
Concrete shrinkage strain, which is usually considered
to be the sum of the drying and chemical shrinkage
components, continues to increase with time at a de-
creasing rate. Shrinkage is assumed to approach a fi-
nal value, as time approaches infinity and is dependent
on all the factors which affect the drying of concrete,
including the relative humidity and temperature, the
Materials and Structures (2006) 39:827–847
mix characteristics (in particular, the type and quan-
tity of the binder, the water content and water-to-
cement ratio, the ratio of fine to coarse aggregate, and
the type of aggregate), and the size and shape of the
member.
All these aspects are important for the practical
engineer. However, the focus of the present paper is
physical and chemical mechanisms of shrinkage, espe-
cially those of drying and autogenous shrinkage. Dry-
ing shrinkage has been intensively studied since the 40s
and autogenous shrinkage has become a “hot topic”
of concrete research only recently, in the last decade;
with developing of high-strength / high-performance
concrete (HSC/HPC).
How can shrinkage be explained? It has to be noted
that the same common physical mechanisms can be
used for explaining both drying and autogenous shrink-
age. There are many interesting theories suggested, and
we would like to review the most popular ones.
2. Shrinkage due to moisture changes
2.1. Capillary tension
One of the first theories is that of shrinkage (or swelling)
stress, in which the liquid phase is placed under stress
in relation to its initial state. Freyssinet [2] suggested
that the stresses, which can be developed are capillary
stresses. The force in this case should be proportional to
the surface tension σ of the liquid that fills the capillar-
ies and inversely proportional to the radii of curvature
r1 and r2 of the menisci that limit the liquid phase. If
the quantity of water diminishes, the radii do likewise
and the capillary force increases.
The idea of Freyssinet since been adopted by var-
ious authors, but almost completely abandoned in a
few years [3]. Only in 50s the capillary mechanism of
shrinkage became again popular among the researchers
[4].
When vapor pressure over the liquid (P) is equal
to the saturation vapor pressure (P0 ), equilibrium be-
tween liquid and vapor exists, i.e. number of molecules
leaving the liquid equal to the number of molecules re-
turning to the liquid at any given time. This state cor-
responds to relative humidity of 100%. When relative
humidity drops below 100%, or, in other words, vapor
pressure is below saturated pressure, evaporation takes
place.
Materials and Structures (2006) 39:827–847
Fig. 1 Effect of surface curvature on vapor pressure [6]
In capillary pores, the vapor pressure over menis-
cus is different from that over a plane surface liquid.
This difference can be explained by Fig. 1. In this fig-
ure, the circle represents the sphere of attraction of one
molecule on the surface of a liquid [5].
It can be seen that number of molecules hindering
evaporation of the molecule, represented by shaded part
of the circle, is greater in the case of concave sur-
face. Thus, at presence of the meniscus, equilibrium
is achieved at vapor pressure lower than the saturated
vapor pressure that is at relative humidity below 100%.
On the other hand, due to surface tension difference
in pressure of the liquid and air pressure just after the
meniscus exists. The difference in pressure can be cal-
culated from the equilibrium equation, which can be
written as follows:
2πr 2 Pin = 2πr 2 Pout + 4πγ r
where γ is surface tension of the liquid, r is radius
of menisci curvature, Pin is pressure inside the liquid
and Pout is gas pressure above the meniscus. Here the
meniscus is considered to have spherical shape, so the
menisci radius is equal to radius of the capillary. This
equation can be rearranged to the Laplace equation:
2γ
Pc ≡ Pout − Pin = −
r
The difference between Pout and Pin is called capillary
pressure (Pc ). The capillary pressure, given by the air
pressure minus water pressure, is always negative [7].
This means the water is in the state of tension (or de-
pression).
The relation between capillary pressure and relative
humidity is given by Kelvin equation:
RT ln(RH)
Pc =
Vm
where R is the gas constant, T is the temperature in
Kelvin and Vm is the molar volume of water. The Kelvin
829
Fig. 2 Relation between
radius of curvature and
vapor pressure [6]
and Laplace equations can be combined, giving us re-
lationship between radius of curvature and relative hu-
midity:
 
P 2γ Vm
ln(RH) = ln = (4)
P0 RTr
This equation is often related as Kelvin-Laplace equa-
tion. The implication of this equation is demonstrated
in Fig. 2.
When relative humidity is 100% (P = P0 ), the wa-
ter surface in the capillary is plane (r = ∞) and no
evaporation takes place. With a decrease in relative hu-
(1) midity (RH1 = P1 /P0 ), water starts to evaporate until
a meniscus with radius of curvature r1 corresponding to
RH1 in Kelvin-Laplace equation is formed. Further de-
crease in relative humidity causes further evaporation
with corresponding decrease in the curvature radius of
the meniscus. The minimum radius of meniscus curva-
ture is equal to the radius of the capillary. Therefore, if
relative humidity drops below relative humidity corre-
sponding to the minimum meniscus curvature radius,
evaporation takes place until all the water evaporates.
(2) This is correct for the cylindrical capillary with con-
stant diameter. However, in capillary pores of concrete
that have certain size distribution, evaporation takes
place until the biggest pores are emptied and meniscus
is formed in the pores with radius equal to the meniscus
curvature radius corresponding to the relative humid-
ity. By this means, in concrete, pores that have radius
lower that meniscus radius are filled by water and pores
with bigger radius are empty.
As was stated by Laplace equation, water in capil-
laries is under depression, i.e. under tensile stress. This
(3)
tensile stress in capillary water must be balanced by
compressive stress of the surrounding solid. Thus, emp-
tying of capillary pores in cement paste by any drying
or throughout chemical reaction will subject the paste
830
to compressive stress, which in its turn, will result in
volume decrease, i.e. shrinkage. Portland cement paste
is considered to be viscoelastic material, therefore this
volume change have both elastic and viscous, i.e. creep,
components. Both components vary with age and w/b
ratio.
According to the Laplace equation the capillary wa-
ter depression, or simply capillary depression, depends
on radius of curvature of meniscus, which is, as stated
above, close to the capillary radius. Therefore, capillary
induced shrinkage is dependent on pore size distribu-
tion of the cement paste, which is affected by w/b ratio
and mineral admixtures and varies with age.
The linear strain of shrinkage of a partially saturated
porous medium due to the capillary stresses σcap in the
water-filled pores, ε, was estimated by D. Bentz and E.
Garboczi [8] and originally by [9] as:
 
Sσcap 1 1
ε= − (5)
3 K KS
where S is the saturation fraction or fraction of water-
filled pores, K is the bulk modulus of the porous ma-
terial, and K s is the bulk modulus of the solid skeleton
within the porous material.
This equation is valid for a fully saturated linear
elastic material and is only approximate for partial sat-
uration. In terms of shrinkage, two counteracting ef-
fects of removing water from a porous material can be
observed. As hydration proceeds, smaller and smaller
pores are emptied. The schematic representation of the
process is presented on Fig. 3. It can be seen that as
more empty porosity is created due to self desiccation,
Fig. 3 Hypothetical pore size distribution for cement-based ma-
terials indicating that as more empty porosity is created due
to self-desiccation, smaller and smaller pores are being emptie
(adopted from [10])
Materials and Structures (2006) 39:827–847
smaller and smaller pores are being emptied while hy-
dration proceeds. Consequently, the values of σcap in-
crease. On the other hand, as water is removed, the satu-
ration value, S, decreases. Thus, the resulting behaviour
of shrinkage depends on the system being examined
and the relationship between S and r determined by
the pore size distribution.
This mechanism is operative only when capillary
water becomes continuous [7], i.e. at RH exceeding
40% [11]. Some researchers suggest that capillary ten-
sion is of great importance at relative humidity in the
range of 50–100% [12], when others consider this range
to be 35–100% [13].
2.2. Surface tension
Interaction forces between a molecule in the bulk of
liquid and its neighbours are balanced from all sides
and pressure in the bulk of the liquid is uniform. On the
contrary, at the surface of the liquid, interaction forces
between a surface molecule and interior molecules
are not balanced by similar forces from outside of the
phase. Equilibrium conditions require a compensating
force equal by value, but with opposite direction, to be
applied to the surface layer of molecules. This force
is the surface tension of the liquid. As a result, the
surface tends to contract and behaves like a stretched
elastic skin.
The surface tension induces compressive stress in-
side the material. In particles of colloidal size, such as
the cement gel particles having large specific surface
area, surface tension induces huge compressive stresses
of the order 250 MPa [5, 6]. Variations in the level
of such stresses will cause noticeable volume changes.
The surface tension, or rather surface energy of the col-
loidal system, may be changed by adsorption of gases
or vapors. If a film of thickness  is adsorbed at given
vapor pressure P the surface energy decreases by γ
[xiv, xv]:
 P
γ = γ0 − γ = RT d(ln(P)) (6)
0
where R is the gas constant (8.31441 JK−1 mol−1 ) and
T is temperature in Kelvin. It can be seen from the
equation that drying, or vapor pressure reduction, or
relative humidity reduction, which are all equivalent,
increases surface tension and compressive stress, in-
duced by it, causing volume decrease, i.e. shrinkage.
Materials and Structures (2006) 39:827–847
Fig. 4 Schematic
representation of different
stages of interlayer water
movement (adopted from
[15])
The length changes (l/l), are directly related to the
corresponding changes in surface tension or, likewise,
in surface energy [5, 15]. It was shown by Bangham
that, in certain limits, this relation is linear [16]:
l/l = λ · γ (7)
The proportionality factor λ that relates the dimensional
changes to the surface tension in the pore system was
expressed by Hiller in terms of colloidal system prop-
erties [17, 18]:
·ρ
λ= (8)
3E
where is pore wall area of empty pores, ρ is specific
mass and E is elasticity modulus of the material. It
should be noted that as only physically adsorbed water
affects surface tension, hence this mechanism is valid
only at low humidities, when variation in water content
of the paste are mainly due to variations in amount
of absorbed water. At higher humidity, water starts to
fill capillary pores in the paste, which is outside the
range of surface forces and disjoining pressure causes
additional expansion of the colloidal system. For that
reason, it has been suggested that the surface tension
mechanism is valid only up to the relative humidity
of 40%. Later it was suggested that this mechanism is
operative in the range of relative humidity of 5–50%
[5, 15]. Hence, Equation (7) cannot be applied outside
of this range.
2.3. Movement of interlayer water
C-S-H particles of the cement gel are composed of lam-
inar sheets, which large surface area having electrical
charge. These particles forming layered microstructure,
attract highly polarized water molecules at interface up
831
to few monolayers apart. Movement of this water into
and out of layered C-S-H particles structure will affect
spacing between the layers causing in this way volume
changes. Schematic representation of this process ac-
cording to Munich model is shown in Fig. 4 (a) and (b)
[15].
Exit and reentry of interlayer water cause length
change l0 . Most researchers attribute shrinkage at rel-
ative humidity below 35–40% to this mechanism [6, 11,
13, 15].
2.4. Disjoining pressure
As it was already stated, reentry of interlayer water in-
duces repulsive forces between layers of CSH particle.
However, by the adsorption of interlayer water, not only
repulsive forces arise. There is a decrease in attractive
van der Waals’ forces between solid layers, i.e. in cohe-
sion, induced as well. The net surface repulsion force
and loss of attraction forces is usually called disjoining
pressure and, sometimes, is referred as swelling pres-
sure [7, 19]. The change in disjoining pressure results
in volume changes, i.e. shrinkage. This mechanism is
illustrated by Fig. 5.
The simplified sketch of the fundamental aspects of
the Munich model regarding disjoining pressure mech-
anism is shown in Fig. 6.
Additional disjoining pressure can arise under the
action of capillary pressure. The disjoining pressure
arises by repulsion between water molecules keeping
the CSH particles at certain distance, which is illus-
trated in Fig. 6 (b) [7].
According to Powers [12], the disjoining pressure
is a result of capillary and adhesive forces giving rise
to a negative pressure in the water in the wedge-like
832 Materials and Structures (2006) 39:827–847

Fig. 5 Disjoining pressure

pd: (a) dry matrix material
and (b) matrix material with
adhered water (adopted
from [7])

Fig. 6 Capillary pressure

and induced disjoining
pressure: (a) wedge model
and (b) interlayer model
(adopted from [7])

structure of two CSH particles held together by capil-
lary pressure, see Fig. 6 (a).
Powers model suggests that this mechanism is
valid over the whole range of relative humidity, while
Munich model considers that disjoining pressure is
important beyond 50% relative humidity. Feldman
and Sereda, on the contrary, completely reject this
mechanism.
2.5. Influence of degree of saturation/RH on
shrinkage mechanism involved
Variations in moisture content of cement paste are as-
sociated with volume changes. The volume decrease
of the cement paste is often referred, as shrinkage. The
four different mechanisms were discussed in this sec-
tion. The appearance of one or another is strongly de-
pendent on degree of saturation of the cement paste.
Capillary pressure, for example, becomes important
when pore water becomes continuous, whereas disjoin-
ing pressure is important at low degree of saturation [7].
Another concern in the activation of shrinkage
mechanisms is the relative humidity of the cement
paste, which however is obviously connected with de-
gree of saturation since the equilibrium between ad-
sorbed water and vapor pressure must exist. Indeed, any
change in relative humidity disturbs the equilibrium
and causes evaporation or condensation, respectively
depending on either RH is decreased or increased.
By this means, shrinkage and swelling are described
by more than one mechanism. There is some disagree-
ment on which mechanism is active at particular rel-
ative humidity. Different opinions of several authors
concerning relative importance of each mechanism are
presented in Table 1.
Most researchers attribute volume changes at rel-
ative humidity above 40% to the capillary tension.
Movement of interlayer water, for the most part, is con-
sidered responsible for the volume changes at relative

Table 1 Shrinkage mechanisms after various authors (adopted from [6])

Relative humidity, %

Authority 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Variations in swelling pressure

Augmentaion by capillary effects
Powers Variations in surface energy Capillary tension
Ishai Feldman Movement of interlayer water Capillary tension and variations in surface energy
& Sereda
Wittmann Variations in surface energy Variations in swelling pressure
Materials and Structures (2006) 39:827–847
humidity below 35%. Most researchers assume that
variations in surface energy is the cause of shrink-
age/swelling at relative humidity below 40%, and
some, on the contrary, believe that this mechanism is
active at relative humidity above 40%. Disjoining pres-
sure is also the object of controversy. Some researchers
suppose that disjoining pressure is responsible for the
volume changes at high relative humidity, some con-
sider it is operative at low relative humidity, and some
completely reject this mechanism.
3. Shrinkage due to chemical reactions
3.1. Mechanisms involved
Practically all cement paste properties depend on ce-
ment hydration, which is actually exothermic chemical
reaction. Since temperature variation caused by chem-
ical reaction produce volume changes and since vol-
ume of reactants typically differs from reaction prod-
ucts volume, chemical reactions are unignorable source
of cement paste volume changes.
Several mechanisms of shrinkage (or swelling)
caused by chemical reactions can be distinct (the au-
thors would like to follow the classification suggested
in the excellent review of F.H. Wittmann [15]).
The major mechanisms include:
– hydration shrinkage;
– thermal shrinkage;
– crystallization swelling;
– carbonation shrinkage;
– phase transition shrinkage;
– dehydration shrinkage.
Many of these mechanisms often cannot be directly
linked to the macroscopically observed dilatation. In
some case, volume changes due to chemical reactions
results mainly in an increase or decrease of porosity and
degree of saturation. Most chemically induced volume
changes are affected by temperature, since chemical
reactions generally accelerated by the temperature ele-
vation and slowed down by the temperature reduction.
3.2. Hydration shrinkage
Nearly all chemical reactions are accompanied by vol-
ume changes. Minerals constituting Portland cement,
833
the major of which are alite (C3 S), belite (C2 S), celite
(C4 AF) and tricalcium aluminate (C3 A), react with wa-
ter forming hillebrandite, xonolite, tobermorite, afwil-
lete, foshagite, riversideite, plombierite, gyrolite, oken-
ite, hydrocalumite and some other minerals building up
cementitious gel [20]. By this means, cement hydration
is not single chemical reaction, but complex set of quite
a few reactions and each reaction has its own volume
stoichiometry.
As far as hydration proceeds, the two calcium sili-
cates result most probably in the same products: cal-
cium silicate hydrate (with an uncertain and vari-
able. stoichiometric composition, known in abbrevi-
ated form as C-S-H) and calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2 ],
known also as portlandite. The C3 A, in the presence
of calcium sulfate and water, reacts to form ettringite
(C3 A · CaSO4 · 12H2 O), and finally a stable calcium
aluminate hydrate (C3 AH6 ) is formed. C4 AF reaction
with calcium sulfate proceeds more slowly than the re-
action of C3 A, forming C3 AH6 and C3 FH6 .
Because the cacium silicates represent the bulk of
Portland cement, the volumetric change that occurs
during their hydration is preponderant. Nevertheless,
what follove refers to a great extent to the reduction in
the volume of the whole hydrating cement paste sys-
tem. If, for instance, volume C of dry cement reacts
with volume W of water, being the nonevaporable wa-
ter (i.e. more or less chemically combined), the resul-
tant volume P of the products of hydration is always
such that P < C + W . There is some uncertainty about
the precise magnitude of the reduction of the volume
of hydrating cement paste system, i.e. the sum of the
volume of the solid products of hydration and of the
water-filled gel space.
More than 100 years ago, Le Chatelier estimated
the volume reduction to be between 8 and 12 percent
of the original space occupied by unhydrated cement
and by water which was destined to become part of
the hydrated cement paste system. Nearly 60 years
ago, Powers found the volume reduction to be 0.254
of the volume of nonevaporable water [3]. He also
found that the nonevaporable water represents about
23 percent of the mass of unhydrous cement (that has
a specific gravity of about 3.15) and that the hydrated
cement paste has a characteristic porosity of 28 per-
cent. Figure 7 represents the volumetric proportion of
a paste with a w/c ratio of about 0.48 at three stages:
prior to hydration, at 50% hydration, and at 100%
hydration.
834
Fig. 7 Schematic representation of the volumetric proportions of
sealed cement paste (w/c = 0.475) at different stages of hydration
(adopted from [21])
Assume that the paste has initial volumes of 60 ml
of water and 40 ml of cement, and it is in a sealed
condition (no outside moisture is involved). Bleeding is
not considered. Fig. 7(a) represents this initial state and
Fig. 7(c) represents the volumetric composition when
the paste has fully hydrated. It may be summarized, that
the 40 ml of cement produce 61.6 ml of solid hydration
products, which include 21.6 ml of chemically bounded
water.
These solid products represent the solid constituent
of the cement gel. Within the cement gel there are 24.0
ml of pores that are filled with adsorbed gel water. Of
the initial 60 ml of mix water, 7 ml remain in the cap-
illary pores. The volume of cement gel plus water in
the capillaries equals to 92.6 ml, which is 7.4 ml less
than the initial volume of 100 ml. Thus 7.4 ml of the
capillary pores are empty. Figure 7(b) shows the com-
position when 50% of the cement has hydrated; the
volume of cement gel is exactly 50% of the volume for
the fully hydrated condition.
The above volumetric relationships were derived us-
ing the following assumptions based on previous exper-
imental findings [21, 22]:
1. The chemically combined water equals to 23% of
the mass of hydrated cement.
2. The volume of the solid reaction products equals to
the volume of hydrated cement plus 74.6% of the
volume of chemically combined water.
3. The gel water cannot migrate into capillary pores.
Materials and Structures (2006) 39:827–847
Furthermore, the following assumptions can be
made about the hydration of this particular paste un-
der sealed conditions:
1. At complete hydration, the hardened cement paste
is made up of the solid particles, gel water, capillary
water, and capillary pores.
2. The capillary water is consumed in the formation of
the solid hydration products and filling the gel pores.
3. There is a certain reduction in the volume occupied
by hardened paste compared with the original vol-
ume of the freshly mixed paste. It can be seen from
Fig. 7 that the total volume of reaction products is by
7.4% smaller than the volume of reactants. This kind
of shrinkage is called hydration shrinkage, some-
times hardening shrinkage or, more often, simply
chemical shrinkage, and results in partially empty
capillary pores under sealed conditions.
Since it is impossible to estimate quantitatively all
cement hydration reactions, the final chemical shrink-
age cannot be calculated precisely even if the mineral
composition of cement is known. Experimental assess-
ments of chemical shrinkage usually give a value of
chemical shrinkage in the range of 0.05–0.06 liter per
kg of cement hydrated, which is in fact 7–8% [15]. Ob-
viously, the ultimate chemical shrinkage depends not
only on cement type, but also on cement content and
degree of hydration.
Self desiccation is the reduction in the internal rel-
ative humidity of a sealed system when empty pores
are generated. This occurs when chemical shrink-
age takes place at the stage when the paste matrix
has developed a self-supportive skeleton. The chem-
ical shrinkage (which is an internal phenomenon) is
larger than autogenous shrinkage (which is an exter-
nal, bulk phenomenon). Autogenous shrinkage occurs
under isothermal unrestrained conditions without ex-
change of moisture or any other substance with the
surrounding (i.e. sealed curing).
Since the products of hydration can form only in
water-filled space [23], only a part of the water in the
capillary system can be used in hydration to take place;
there must be enough water present both for the chem-
ical reactions and for filling of gel pores. Thus, if the
w/c is 0.42 or greater, full hydration of cement is pos-
sible. If, however, the w/c is lower, at some state of
hydration there will not be enough water to saturate
the solid surfaces of the capillary pores. The hydra-
tion stops commonly when the vapor pressure in the
Materials and Structures (2006) 39:827–847
Table 2 Specific heat of hy-
dration of the main Portland ce-
ment minerals [15]
Mineral Specific heat, cal/g
C3 S 120
C2 S 62
C3 A 207
C4 AF 100
capillary pores falls below 0.8 of the saturation pres-
sure. Within certain limitations, e.g. if concrete is iso-
lated from a moisture source, this can be considered
as self desiccation. Such isolation exists usually when
a concrete element is perfectly sealed. Practically, the
same situation may be found also in the interior of a
large concrete mass.
On the other hand, if water can enter into the hy-
drating cement paste from outside, hydration will con-
tinue until there is not enough space left to accommo-
date hydration products. This occurs when the w/c is
smaller than about 0.38. P.-C. Attcin, A.M. Neville,
and P. Acker consider that the presence of remnants
of unhydrated cement is not a disadvantage. Cement
can serve an excellent, although expensive, “aggregate”
[24].
Consequently, when concrete is continuously wet-
cured (basically internally in case of HSC), the capil-
lary system will always be full of water so that hydra-
tion will proceed uninterrupted.
3.3. Thermal shrinkage
Since cement hydration is exothermal reaction, a cer-
tain degree of heat is liberated when Portland cement
react with water. Portland cement has complicated min-
eral composition. Each mineral can react with water by
several ways, as was previously described. For each
chemical reaction amount of liberated heat is differ-
ent. Hence, the specific heat of hydration depends on
the mineral composition of cement. The values of the
heat of hydration for the main components of Portland
cement are shown in Table 2.
Taking into account a typical mineralogical compo-
sition of ordinary Portland cement, the value of about
110 cal/g for ordinary concrete can be obtained. A sig-
nificant portion of heat is liberated while concrete is
still fresh and easily deformable. As a result, thermal
swelling can be observed at this stage.
835
The amount of heat generated and the development
of concrete strength are influenced by several factors.
The resulting temperature depends not only on cement
content, but also on dimensions and geometry of con-
crete element. In massive element, thermal deforma-
tions are especially significant. As a rate of hydra-
tion declines, the temperature decreases and, as a con-
sequence, the concrete undergoes thermal shrinkage.
Since at this stage the concrete have a hard microstruc-
ture, thermal shrinkage can cause serious cracking [6,
15].
Generally, the main factors influencing the tempera-
ture history and consequently the development of ther-
mal shrinkage/swelling in time are:
1. the respective proportion of the four main com-
pounds in Portland cement;
2. the specific surface of the cement;
3. the initial temperature of the concrete
4. the ambient temperature during the progress of hy-
dration, and
5. the mass and shape of the concrete element (the last
controls the heat flow to outside).
It should be noted that the ultimate value of thermal
shrinkage is strongly dependent on the coefficient of
thermal expansion. The thermal expansion coefficient
of cement paste, and therefore thermal shrinkage as
well, depend on curing conditions and moisture content
[25, 26]. The effect of relative humidity on the thermal
expansion coefficient of cement paste is shown in Fig.
8 [25].
Fig. 8 Effect of relative humidity on coefficient of thermal ex-
pansion of cement paste (adopted from [25])
836
3.4. Crystallization swelling
During cement hydration both colloidal products and
crystallized phases are formed. At the early age, when
concrete is still plastic, the hydration products can ex-
pand in the water filled space. One solid skeleton is
build up, further crystal growth is hindered and as con-
sequence internal pressure is created. This crystalliza-
tion pressure can cause moderate swelling [15].
Generally, under normal conditions and for ordinary
cement drying, autogenous or other type of shrinkage
overcompensates crystallization swelling. In expanded
or shrinkage compensated cements this mechanism is
used. By addition of sulphates, for example, volumi-
nous sulphonate hydrates are formed during hydration,
which results in crystallization pressure that may bal-
ance normal shrinkage over a certain period if well
proportioned [15].
3.5. Carbonation shrinkage
The cement paste, generally, contains free calcium hy-
droxide, which is produced during cement hydration.
In the presence of water the calcium hydroxide reacts
with atmospheric carbon dioxide:
Ca(O H )2 + C O2 → CaC O3 + H2 O (9)
This reaction, called carbonation, is accompanied
by a decrease of the cement paste volume, i.e. by car-
bonation shrinkage. Carbonation shrinkage is affected
by ambient relative humidity, CO2 concentration, paste
porosity and its moisture content [6, 15].
The mechanism of carbonation shrinkage is not
completely clear, because CaCO3 formation impli-
cates volume increase. Powers associates carbonation
shrinkage with dissolution of calcium hydroxide crys-
tals, which are under crystallization pressure [27]. By
this means, carbonation shrinkage is the result of crys-
tallization pressure reduction. Deposition of the re-
sulting calcium carbonate does not involve volume
changes, according to Powers, because it occurs in
pores, i.e. in places where the sample is not under pres-
sure. However, this mechanism cannot completely ex-
plain all available experimental data [6].
Carbonation reaction takes place only at presence
of carbon dioxide found in atmosphere. Thus, carbon-
ation proceeds from the surface of concrete to the inte-
rior. Depending on the quality of concrete and ambient
Materials and Structures (2006) 39:827–847
conditions, carbonation depth can vary from several
millimeters to several centimeters. Therefore, carbon-
ation shrinkage is limited to the surface zones only [6,
15].
3.6. Shrinkage due to phase transitions
Some phases in hydrated cement paste, especially alu-
minate hydrates, slowly undergo transition to a more
stable form. This phase transition, or as it is also called
conversion, is accompanied by volume changes. This
mechanism is often called conversion shrinkage. The
conversion shrinkage is pronounced in cements with
high alumina content [15].
3.7. Dehydration shrinkage
As was previously stated, during hydration numerous
hydration products are formed. Some of the hydration
products are not stable with respect to a decrease of rel-
ative humidity. Well-crystallized phases can lose their
hydrate water at precise values of relative humidity.
This loss of hydrate water is associated with volume
change, i.e. dehydration shrinkage [15].
4. Shrinkage prediction and modeling
The focus of shrinkage research today is to under-
stand more the phenomenon of autogenous and drying
shrinkage and to predict the deformation behavior of
modern concrete structures in various combinations of
mechanical load and environmental conditions. There-
fore, the models reviewed hereafter deal mainly with
autogenous and drying shrinkage, which are justly con-
sidered as the most important shrinkage components in
high-strength and normal-strength concretes, respec-
tively.
4.1. E.A.B. Koenders and K. van Breugel (1997)
E.A.B. Koenders and K. van Breugel developed a
model that uses thermodynamic approach to deter-
mine autogenous shrinkage of hardening cement paste
[18, 28]. This model is, in fact, an extension of nu-
merical simulation model of hydration and microstruc-
ture development presented earlier by K. van Breugel
and called HYMOSTRUC (abbreviation of HYdration.
MOrphology and STRUCtural development) [29, 30].
Materials and Structures (2006) 39:827–847 837

In this model, variation in surface tension is considered

as the major driving force of autogenous shrinkage.
Since the model is based on thermodynamic equi-
librium in capillary pore space, pore size distribution
model was initially established, which is described
mathematically by the following function:

V p (d) = a · ln(d/d0 ) (10)

where V p (d) is volume of all capillary pores with diam-

eter ≤ d; d0 is the minimum capillary pore diameter and
a is the constant which reflects increase of pore space
with respect to the pore diameter. Since only capil-
lary pore are considered to be playing a significant role
in autogenous deformations, d0 was set to 0.002 μm,
which was assumed to be the boundary between capil-
lary and gel porosity.
The total pore volume can be presented as the sum
of volume functions that are occupied by the capillary
water (Vc ) and the empty pore volume that was created
by chemical shrinkage (Vch ). These volume functions
are all a function of the degree of hydration (a):
V p (α) = Vc (α) + Vch (α) (11)
Therefore, a menisci diameter (d) can be calculated,
as the maximum capillary pore diameter, which is still
completely filled with water:
 
V p (α)
d(α) = d0 · e a
(12)
Accordingly, this pore structure model can be presented
graphically as shown in Fig. 9.
Consequently, using Equations (10–12) and assum-
ing a cylindrical pore shape, the pore wall area of empty
pores can be calculated. Thermodynamic equilibrium
in the pore space leads us to the Equation (6), which
describes relationship between surface energy and pore
pressure in the pore system. Autogenous deformations
are calculated using Bangham formula (see Equation
(7)). The proportionality factor (λ) in the Bangham
equation is calculated according to Equation (8), which
utilizes the empty pore wall area found from pore size
distribution.
The authors found that numerical simulations are in
good agreement with experimental results. However,
the use of the Bangham formula in this model of au-
togenous shrinkage seems to be questionable. As was
Fig. 9 Schematic representation of pore size distribution accord-
ing to Equation (10), [18]
mentioned before, even in concrete that exhibits severe
self-desiccation, the relative humidity does not drop
below 75%, whereas, Bangham equation is valid only
at a relative humidity below 40% [15].
4.2. C. Hua, P. Acker and A. Erlacher (1995)
Hua et al. presented a macroscopic scale analytical
model of autogenous shrinkage [31]. It introduced a
macroscopic stress induced by capillary depression and
applied it to viscoelastic aging behavior of the material.
The three possible shrinkage mechanisms were dis-
cussed: (i) variation of capillary depression, (ii) varia-
tion of surface tension of colloidal particles and (iii)
variation of disjoining pressure. The mechanism of
surface tension variation was considered inappropri-
ate for their case, because it operates predominantly
at low relative humidity; above a certain relative hu-
midity the whole surface is covered by absorbed water
molecules and variation of surface energy can no longer
alter the surface tension. Disjoining pressure mecha-
nism was rejected because experimental measurements
demonstrated that the disjoining pressure is practically
constant when the relative humidity varies from 80 to
100%. Indeed, disjoining pressure induced by interac-
tion of two solid surfaces, in close proximity to each
other and in the presence of absorbed water, depends
on thickness of a layer of adsorbed water. The thickness
of the adsorbed layer depends on relative humidity, but
when the relative humidity remains high, its variation
does not cause much change in the adsorbed water, and
therefore the disjoining pressure does not vary at high
838
Fig. 10 (a) Diagram of water evacuation under depression; (b)
and (c) Diagram of mercury intrusion under pressure [31]
relative humidity. Based on these eliminations, the cap-
illary depression was assumed to be the only driving
force of autogenous shrinkage in this model.
According to Laplace law (Equation (2)), there ex-
ists, for a given unsaturated state, radius r0 such that all
the pores with radius smaller than r0 are full of water
and all the pores with radius larger than r0 are empty.
Radius r0 is precisely the radius that determines the
curvature of the meniscus, and therefore the capillary
depression as well. Thus, capillary depression (Pc ) is
a function of the empty pore volume produced by the
chemical shrinkage (V). In this model, in order to
obtain capillary depression as function of empty pore
space (Pc (V)), MIP (Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry)
was used.
Theoretically, if we stop hydration at certain time t0 ,
to which a chemical shrinkage of V (t0 ) corresponds,
and completely dry the cement paste, we will have solid
microstructure identical to that shown in Fig. 10 (a).
Then, as shown in Fig. 10 (b), we cause the same
volume of mercury V (t0 ), to penetrate under a pres-
sure of PHg (V (t0 )) appended in the MIP test. Since
the pressure PHg (AV (t0 )) and depression Pc (V (t0 ))
correspond to the same volume V(t0 ), and solid mi-
crostructure in the two cases (Fig. 10(a, b)) is assumed
to be identical, the equality of access radius r0 leads us
to Equation (13).
γw cos θw
Pc (V (t0 )) = PH g (V (t0 )) (13)
γ H g cos θ H g
In this equation, γw and γHg are surface tensions of
water/water vapor and mercury/vacuum, respectively.
θW and θHg are moistening angles of water and mercury,
respectively, on the solid walls (hydrates). Chemical
shrinkage as function of time (V (t)) can be known
either by direct measurement or via the degree of hy-
dration. The latter method was used by the authors.
The final target of a material model is to quan-
tify the engineering properties of the material, which
in this case is the autogenous shrinkage strain. This
Materials and Structures (2006) 39:827–847
characteristic used to be applied to a continuum
medium. Hardening cement paste is considered as a
continuum medium with aging viscoelastic behavior,
which can be generally characterized by a creep func-
tion (J (t, t  )). The authors used an empirical creep
function proposed by P. Acker (Equation (14)):

1 (t − t  )α(t )
J (t, t  ) = + ε ∞ (t 
) (14)
E(t  ) (t − t  )α(t  ) + b(t  )
where ε∞ (t ), α(t ) and b(t’) are empirical parameters,
which were obtained through a series of the experi-
ments, as well as the values of Young’s modulus.
Shrinkage strain is generated as a consequence of
stress induced by capillary depression. The real stress
induced at the microscopic scale can be assessed from
the capillary depression as follows:
σi j = −Pc δi j (15)
s
Accordingly, macroscopic stress ( ) is introduced. It
is defined by Equation (16).

1
s
ij (X g ) = σi j (Yl )d V (16)
V
V
In this equation, Xg and y1 are global and local variable
(vectors), respectively. With a number of assumptions
about the continuity of the liquid phase, stress distribu-
tion and homogenous – isotropic behavior of cement
paste, this equation is reduced to the following form:
S
= Pc · P (17)
where p is total porosity of the material. The self-
desiccation phenomenon, i.e. relative humidity reduc-
tion, can be observed by computation of relative hu-
midity using Kelvin equation (Equation (3)).
Shrinkage strain was calculated using the creep
function:

t
ε(t) = (1 − 2ν)J (t, t  )d s
(t  ) (18)
0
The authors pointed out that the calculated results were
in good agreement with the experimental data. They
also came to the conclusion that the viscous effect of ce-
ment paste is considerable, and thus cannot be ignored.
By this means, calculations confirmed the assumption
Materials and Structures (2006) 39:827–847
Fig. 11 Schema of cement paste at scale of grains [32]
that capillary effect by itself can explain autogenous
shrinkage.
4.3. C. Hua, A. Erlacher and P. Acker (1997)
The previous model represented autogenous deforma-
tions on the macroscopic scale, whereas the present
model of C. Hua et al. treats autogenous shrinkage at
the scale of hydrating cement grains, but without going
into colloidal detail of the hydrates [32].
The capillary depression, as in the previous model,
was considered to be the driving force for autogenous
shrinkage. The capillary depression was obtained from
experimental measures.
It had been pointed out by T.C. Powers [33] that
the hydrates have several intrinsic properties, namely
internal porosity, specific surface area, etc., and are al-
ways saturated by water. Therefore, the hydrates, in-
cluding embedded in micropores water, can be treated
as homogenous isotropic viscoelastic and locally non-
ageing material without going into the details of their
microstructure. Thus cement paste can be considered to
consist of cement grains made of homogenous isotropic
and non-ageing constituents, and only percentages of
the constituents (hydrates, residual anhydrous cement,
capillary water, etc.) vary during the hydration. Accord-
ingly, the schematic representation of heterogeneous
medium is presented in Fig. 11, where:
1. “Anhydrous cement” considered as elastic.
2. “Hydrates and immobilized water” considered as
viscoelastic.
3. “Capillary water” exerting a capillary depression on
solid skeleton.
4. “Gaseous spaces” supposed to be in the form of bub-
bles. They do not appear in this model and they
are considered to have no direct effect on the solid
839
Fig. 12 Diagram of cement grain development [32]
skeleton and can be replaced by water under the
same capillary depression.
For the purpose of modeling, the hydration in this
model is presented as a procedure of solid volume de-
velopment, which is described in Fig. 12 with:
1. Hydrates at time t;
2. Anhydrous cement at time t;
3. New external hydrate at time t + t;
4. New internal hydrate at time t + t.
In view of that, it is necessary to know volume of cor-
responding components during hydration. The Equa-
tion (19), which connects between volume of cement
hydrated (Vch ) and apparent volume of hydrates (V h ap ),
can be obtained taking into account quantity of chemi-
cally bonded water, chemical shrinkage and the intrin-
sic porosity (28%) of the hydrates.
ap
Vh (t) = 2.156Vch (t) (19)
In this model, the initial state is taken as the time of
setting when continuous skeleton is formed and be-
gins to undergo the capillary depression. To simplify
the model, it was assumed that all cement grains are
spherical and identical, and that distribution of grains
is periodical. These assumptions allow working on pe-
riodic cell. When hydrating grains touch each other, it
is the time of setting. The two distributions were tested:
(i) simple cubical distribution and (ii) centered cubical
distribution. The first distribution gave degree of hy-
dration of 17.76% at time of setting, while the second
showed that degree of hydration at time of setting is
48.94%. Typical degree of hydration observed experi-
mentally at time of setting reaches approximately 20%,
whatever is w/c ratio [34]. The simple cubical distribu-
tion is therefore was considered closer to reality and for
this reason was used for the calculations in this model.
Accordingly, because of the symmetry, an eighth of
840
Fig. 13 Diagram of an eighth of hydrating grain at time of setting
[32]
Fig. 14 Rheological model of viscoelastic material [32]
the sphere, as shown in [32], can be taken as a unit cell
(Fig. 13).
In the mechanical model, as was already mentioned,
the material is composed of three constituents with lo-
cally non-ageing properties:
Anhydrous cement was considered as elastic
isotropic. Its behavior is therefore characterized by
stiffness tensor Aijkl (Ea , va ) depending on Ea (Young
modulus of anhydrous cement) and va (Poisson’s ratio
of anhydrous cement). During hydration, it is succes-
sively replaced by internal hydrate layers.
Hydrates and immobilized water was considered as
a viscoelastic isotropic component corresponding to
the rheological model of Zener, shown by Fig. 14. Its
behavior is therefore represented by three stiffness ten-
sors H1ijkl (Eh1 , νh1 ), H2ijkl (Eh , νh2 ) and ηijkl (η, νη ). The
viscoelastic deformation of each layer begins when it
forms. Accordingly, each new layer is deposited on lay-
ers already deformed by capillary depression and thus
each hydrate layer has its own history of deformation.
Capillary water exerts a capillary depression on the
solid skeleton. It is gradually replaced by external hy-
drate layers.
According to hypothesis of periodicity and symme-
try, the boundary conditions shown in Fig. 15 were
imposed. The load in the boundary conditions was cal-
culated from the capillary depression obtained from
experimental measures.
Materials and Structures (2006) 39:827–847
Although there is a sensitivity of the results obtained
with the model to the material parameters, which are
not known precisely, the proposed micro-mechanics
calculation confirmed that the mechanism of capil-
lary depression gives completely acceptable estimation
of autogenous shrinkage. The proposed model allows
modeling of a macroscopically ageing material, while
constituents have very simple behaviors. This idea can
be also used for the modeling of viscoelastoplastic be-
havior of the cement paste under external load during
hydration, because the loading history of each hydrate
layer is taken into account.
4.4. Ishida et al. (1998)
The proposed autogenous and drying shrinkage model
was derived from micro-mechanical physics of water
in pore structure of concrete [35]. The capillary ten-
sion was assumed to be the driving force of autogenous
and drying shrinkage. The material properties of age-
ing concrete were obtained by the analysis considering
the interrelation of hydration, moisture transport and
pore structure development process. For this purpose,
hydration, microstructure development and shrinkage
models were combined. Only the relevant aspects are
presented here.
Cement hydration model provided hydration level
of each mineral and temperature development due to
heat of hydration. The three types of porosity were dis-
tinguished: interlayer ( pl ), gel ( pg ) and capillary ( pc )
porosity, which were calculated as follows:
tw sl ρs
pl = (20)
2
pg = 0.28 · Vs − pl (21)
Wp
pc = 1 − Vs − (1 − α) (22)
ρp
where tw is interlayer thickness, s1 is specific area
of interlayer, W p is weight of powder material per
unit volume, ρ p is density of powder material, ρs
is dry density of solid crystals, Vs is volume of gel
solids (while 0.28 represent characteristic CSH poros-
ity, which is assumed to be constant during the hy-
dration process). Volume of gel solids was computed
according to Equation (23).
 
αW p 1 β
Vs = + (23)
1 − 0.28 ρ p ρw
Materials and Structures (2006) 39:827–847
Fig. 15 Boundary
conditions imposed on the
faces [32]
where β is amount of chemically bound water per unit
weight of powder material, α is average degree of hy-
dration and ρw is density of combined water (assumed
to be 1.25). Consequently, porosity distribution is mod-
elled by total porosity function p(r):
φ(r ) = φl + φg {1 − exp(−Bg r )} +
+φc {1 − exp(−Bc r )} (24)
where r is pore radius, Bg and Bc are distribution pa-
rameters, which represent the peak of porosity distribu-
tion on logarithmic scale, corresponding to the gel and
capillary porosity, respectively. Adsorption-desorption
characteristics of interlayer water are modeled based
on Feldman-Sereda interlayer model [36].
The capillary tension is assumed a driving force of
both autogenous and drying shrinkage. Accordingly,
the modeling of volume changes is based on Laplace
equation (Equation (2)), which was modified by “the
area factor” (As [m3 /m3 ]), since the capillary stress is
applied on pore walls were liquid water exists. Hence,
the area factor (As) was defined as the total liquid wa-
ter content per unit concrete volume. The final form of
capillary stress, which is origin of shrinkage, is repre-
sented by Equation (25).
2γ
σs = As (25)
rs
Cement paste is an extremely non-linear material,
hence it is logical to suggest that the stress-stain rela-
tionship, which describes micro-deformation of cement
paste due to capillary stress, is non-linear. However, in
this model effective elastic modulus for capillary stress
(Es ) was used in stress-strain relationship described by
841
Equation (26), where εsh is unrestrained macroscopic
shrinkage strain.
σs
εsh = (26)
Es
Several experimental tests were conducted in order
to verify the model. The results demonstrated accept-
able correlation.
5. Shrinkage reduction methods
5.1. Cement modification
As was already stated, autogenous shrinkage is in-
duced by chemical shrinkage. All cement compo-
nents have different volume stoichiometry of hydra-
tion reaction. Thus, reducing the content of minerals
entering into cement composition and giving higher
chemical shrinkage can diminish autogenous shrink-
age to some degree [37]. Lower autogenous shrink-
age of Portland cement containing higher belite (C2 S)
content and lower contents of alite (C3 A) or celite
(C4 AF) is reported [38]. Therefore, autogenous shrink-
age of concrete made with a moderate heat Portland
cement and low heat Portland cement should be in-
ferior in comparison to the ordinary Portland cement
[37]. However, it is very difficult to evaluate a pure
effect of cement composition on autogenous shrink-
age, because compressive strength is also affected
by it.
Additionally, the increased gypsum content in ce-
ment, which causes autogenous expansion, can be used
to counteract autogenous shrinkage. However, the in-
vestigation for stability of such cement is necessary
[37].
842 Materials and Structures (2006) 39:827–847

Fig. 16 Autogenous
shrinkage of HSC made of
ordinary Portland cement
and blast furnace slag
powder with expansive
additives [39]

Fig. 17 Autogenous
shrinkage of HSC made of
high belite cement with
expansive additives [39]

5.2. Expansive additives decrease autogenous shrinkage of high-strength / high-

Use of expansive additive can reduce total shrinkage
in comparison to that of ordinary concrete, although
autogenous shrinkage occurs even in concrete with ex-
pansive additives. Action of expansive additive differs
for different type of additive and for different concen-
trations [39]. Effect of various expansive additives is
shown in Fig. 16. It can be seen that use of expansive
additive alone does not completely compensate auto-
genous shrinkage of high-strength concrete made of
ordinary Portland concrete. Use of expansive additive
in combination with high belite or low heat Portland
cement can be more effective, which is demonstrated
in Fig. 17 and Fig. 18.
There is an indication that a replacement of part
of Portland cement by fly ash can significantly
performance concrete [37]. On the other hand, a partial
replacement of cement by fly ash results in decrease in
the rate of strength development. Therefore, selecting
additive, a balance between the strength development
and the effect of reducing autogenous shrinkage should
be considered.
It is confirmed that powder treated by water repel-
lent is also effective to reduce autogenous shrinkage
[40]. However, effect of most expansive additives on
hydration process and autogenous shrinkage has not
been cleared yet [37].
5.3. Admixtures reducing drying shrinkage
Autogenous shrinkage can be also reduced using drying
shrinkage reducing admixtures [37]. Drying shrinkage
Materials and Structures (2006) 39:827–847
Fig. 18 Autogenous shrinkage of HSC made of ordinary Port-
land cement (AS) and low heat Portland cement combined with
shrinkage reducing agent and expansive additive (LAS) (adopted
from [41])
reducing agent directly affects surface tension of cap-
illary pore water resulting in a decrease of both surface
tension and capillary tension mechanisms of shrinkage.
In other words, autogenous shrinkage is reduced with-
out significant changes in other properties of hardened
concrete.
The reducing effect of drying shrinkage admixtures
on autogenous shrinkage compared with that of expan-
sive additives is shown in Fig. 19 [38]. As we can see
from Fig. 18 [41], a combination of drying shrinkage
reducing agent and expansive additive can be highly
effective. Autogenous shrinkage of high-strength con-
crete with w/b ratio of 0.23 made of (a) ordinary Port-
land cement (AS) and (b) low heat Portland cement,
using both expansive additive and shrinkage reducing
agent is demonstrated.
It has to be noted that self-desiccation still occurs in
the mixes with expansive additives and drying shrink-
age reducing agent, consequently causing autogenous
deformations, which is indicated by the slope of the
shrinkage curves in Fig. 19.
5.4. Fibers
Incorporation of fibers into cementitious matrix has
been proven effective extending toughness and ability
of cracking resistance [42]. The most appropriate type
of fibers, which may be applied to high-performance
matrix, is steel fibers. Plastic fibers present little interest
for HPC applications owing to their intrinsic properties,
except possibly impact capacity improvement [43].
It was shown that certain types of fibers could reduce
drying shrinkage of HPC by up to 65% [44]. There are
843
Fig. 19 Influence of expansive additives and drying shrinkage
reducing agents on autogenous shrinkage of concrete (adopted
from [38])
some indications that fibers with high elasticity mod-
ulus can be effective reducing autogenous shrinkage
as well [45]. However, numerous tests on early age
shrinkage showed that the addition of steel fibers does
not practically influence the free shrinkage, i.e. unre-
strained shrinkage, of concrete, whereas the major ef-
fect of fiber reinforcement is cracking reduction when
external restrain is applied [46].
Obviously, reinforcement with fibers, having high
elasticity modulus, greatly decreases cracking sensitiv-
ity and increases the ultimate tensile stress the concrete
can sustain, although the fiber reinforced concrete still
exhibits substantial autogenous shrinkage.
5.5. Mix proportions
The major factor, which affects autogenous shrinkage,
is w/c or w/b ratio [37]. However, reduction of autoge-
nous shrinkage by means of w/c or w/b ratio increase
is not practical, because water to cement ratio is deter-
mined by the strength and durability requirements.
Aggregate content affects volume changes as well
[43, 6]. Still, it cannot be the instrument reducing auto-
genous shrinkage effectively, since low w/b ratio of
high-performance concrete, requiring higher cement
content and thus higher paste volume, predetermines
low aggregate concentration.
As aggregate restrains the shrinkage of the paste,
the concrete shrinkage will also decrease with increase
of aggregate stiffness [6]. Nevertheless, this is neither
always possible, nor economically proved.
844
As we can see, mix proportioning cannot be used as
effective shrinkage reducing method.
6. Internal curing
Internal curing is a new and quickly developing trend
in modern concrete technology. The primary goal of
internal curing is to counteract autogenous shrinkage
in HSC/HPC, however it can be considered more than
just a new strategy to combat against one of the types of
shrinkage. In fact, internal curing influences majority
of physical and mechanical properties of concrete, and
what is the most important – its durability.
The term internal curing implies introduction to
the concrete mixture of a new component, which
will serve as curing agent. In this relation, inter-
nal curing, as well as normal curing, can be classi-
fied into two categories: water adding, when curing
agent performs as water container slowly releasing
water, and non water adding, when curing agent in-
tended in delay or prevent loss of water present in the
system.
With regard to high-strength concrete, water adding
internal curing is preferable, since non-water adding
internal curing is unable to prevent self-desiccation.
As internal curing agent is part of the system and is
finely dispersed, it can overcome the problem of low
permeability of low w/b ratio cementations system,
which harmfully affects efficiency of traditional curing.
Therefore, water-adding internal curing can be consid-
ered as more effective method of reducing autogenous
shrinkage than non water adding, since it straight-
forwardly affects the cause of autogenous shrinkage,
namely self-desiccation.
Internal curing, as well as external curing, can be
classified into two categories:
1. Internal sealing, when the curing agent is intended
to delay or prevent loss of water from the hardening
concrete, and
2. Internal water curing (sometimes called “water en-
trainment”), when the curing agent performs as a
water reservoir, which gradually releases water.
6.1. Internal sealing (“self-curing”)
The concept of concrete, which does not need any exter-
nally applied curing and involves adding to the concrete
Materials and Structures (2006) 39:827–847
during the mixing water-soluble chemicals, was called
“self-curing” [47]. Instead of this term the name “inter-
nal sealing” introduced recently by RILEM Technical
Committee TC-196 ICC (Internal Curing of Concrete)
is widely used nowadays. These water-soluble chem-
icals are intended to reduce water evaporation as the
concrete is exposed to air-drying. Water-soluble poly-
mers, having hydroxyl (-OH) and ether (-O-) functional
groups, were found satisfying requirements set out for
a “self-cure chemical”, i.e. they enhanced water reten-
tion in the concrete and increased degree of hydration.
Hydrogen bonding occurred between these functional
groups reduced water pressure of water and decreased
evaporation [47]. Experimental research on the effects
of these additives on concrete microstructure showed
that strength was greater than the control at the low
dosage; but at high concentrations, the strength was
lower, which can be explained by the fact that high
concentrations affect the paste-aggregate bond. This
research also showed that admixture alters the C-S-H
gel morphology, reducing absorptivity of the concrete
[48]. The research was conducted on ordinary concrete.
This concept may be applied to HPC as well, which,
however, requires additional research [49].
6.2. Internal water curing (“water entrainment”)
using pre-saturated lightweight aggregate
The idea that self-desiccation can be counteracted by
the use of pre-saturated lightweight aggregate was con-
ceived by several authors [23, 50, 51]. This method
received name of “autogenous curing” in work [51].
Later it was suggested that if self-desiccation can be
diminished or even prevented by this means, thus au-
togenous shrinkage, caused by self-desiccation, is also
affected by this method. The autogenous deformation
of lightweight concretes with pre-saturated lightweight
aggregate and concretes, where normal weight aggre-
gate was partly replaced by pre-saturated lightweight
aggregate, were investigated. The experiments showed
that high-strength concrete, which exhibits no autoge-
nous shrinkage, can be obtained by this method [52–
55].
6.3. Internal water curing (“water entrainment”)
using super-absorbent polymers
A new method for prevention of self-desiccation by
use of super-absorbent polymer particles as concrete
Materials and Structures (2006) 39:827–847
admixture was proposed recently [56]. During concrete
mixing, the particles of super-absorbent polymer will
absorb water and form macroinclusions containing free
water. This free water intended to be consumed during
cement hydration providing internal curing to the sur-
rounding paste matrix and preventing, by this means,
self-desiccation. This concept is analogous to the air
entrainment, used for frost protection of concrete, and
thus is often called “water entrainment”.
Summary
It is widely accepted that autogenous volume changes
are caused by chemical contraction of hydrating ce-
ment. Chemical contraction phenomena have been ex-
tensively studied and can be readily calculated. Conse-
quently, most of the researchers attempted to reveal the
relation between chemical shrinkage and external vol-
ume changes and proposed a prediction formula based
on this relation.
Most of the researchers arrived to the conclusion that
the mechanism responsible for autogenous shrinkage is
capillary tension, which is considered as one of the de-
cisive mechanisms of drying shrinkage as well. How-
ever, A.E.B. Koenders and K. van Breugel built their
model on the assumption that the driving force for auto-
genous shrinkage is variation in surface energy, though
this mechanism is operative only at relative humidity
below 40% [6, 15]. Both mechanisms are closely re-
lated to humidity reduction, i.e. self-desiccation. By
this means, the mechanism of chemical source, i.e.
chemical shrinkage, activates the other mechanism,
which is related to moisture variations.
All of the investigators recognized the importance
of the role that pore structure plays in autogenous de-
formations, which follows from the Laplace equation
(Equation (2)). For that reason, the pore size distri-
bution found either theoretically or experimentally is
essential and integral part of all the reviewed models
of autogenous shrinkage. Moreover, the accurate repre-
sentation of pore size distribution is a necessary condi-
tion for proper calculation of autogenous deformation.
Several approaches to mechanical behavior of the
cement paste were suggested. The simplest approach
proposed elastic response to the stress induced by hu-
midity changes at microscopic level. The more sophis-
ticated approach considered viscoelastic behavior of
the cement paste by means of creep function. Finally, in
845
one of the models, a micro-mechanics method was ap-
plied to analyze behavior of the cement paste at scale of
hydrating cement paste. The last method allows mod-
eling of a macroscopically ageing material with vis-
coelastic behavior, and additionally taking into account
a loading history. A comparison of elastic and viscous
components leads to the conclusion that the creep com-
ponent is considerable and cannot be neglected.
With regard to the modern developments of the
methods for preventing or mitigating shrinkage, espe-
cially autogenous and drying shrinkage, the following
are noteworthy:
– cement modification by reducing content of miner-
als giving higher chemical shrinkage and increasing
gypsum (however, in this case investigation of sta-
bility is essential);
– use of expansive additive can reduce total shrink-
age, although autogenous shrinkage occurs (use of
expansive additive in combination with high belite
or low heat Portland cement can be more effective);
– use of drying shrinkage reducing admixtures, which
directly affecting surface tension of capillary pore
water resulting in a decrease of both surface ten-
sion and capillary tension mechanisms of shrinkage
(such admixtures reduce also autogenous shrink-
age);
– use of internal curing methods, which are based on
water-soluble chemicals intended to reduce water
evaporation as the concrete is exposed to air-drying,
pre-saturated lightweight aggregates and super-
absorbent polymers (“water-entraining” agents).
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