Hydration Process and Crack Tendency of Concrete Based on Resistivity and Restrained Shrinkage Crack

Hydration process, crack potential and setting time of concrete grade C30, C40 and C50 were monitored by using a non-contact electrical resistivity apparatus, a novel plastic ring mould and penetration resistance methods, respectively. The results show the highest resistivity of C30 at the early stage until a point when C50 accelerated and overtook the others. It has been experimentally confirmed that the crossing point of C30 and C50 corresponds to the final setting time of C50. From resistivity derivative curve, four different stages were observed upon which the hydration process is classified; these are dissolution, induction, acceleration and deceleration periods. Consequently, restrained shrinkage crack and setting time results demonstrated that C50 set and cracked the earliest. The cracking time of all the samples occurred within a reasonable experimental period thus the novel plastic ring is a convenient method for predicting concrete＇s crack potential. The highest inflection time（t_i） obtained from resistivity curve and the final setting time（t_f） were used with crack time（t_c） in coming up with mathematical models for the prediction of concrete＇s cracking age for the range of concrete grade considered. Finally, an ANSYS numerical simulation supports the experimental findings in terms of the earliest crack age of C50 and the crack location.

Evaluation Method and Mitigation Strategies for Shrinkage Cracking of Modern Concrete

The complex compositions and large shrinkage of concrete,as well as the strong constraints of the structures,often lead to prominent shrinkage cracking problems in modem concrete structures.This paper first introduces a multi-field(hydro-thermo-hygro-constraint)coupling model with the hydration degree of cementitious materials as the basic state parameter to estimate the shrinkage cracking risk of hardening concrete under coupling effects.Second,three new key technologies are illustrated:temperature rise inhibition,full-stage shrinkage compensation,and shrinkage reduction technologies.These technologies can efficiently reduce the thermal,autogenous,and drying shrinkages of concrete.There after,a design process based on the theoretical model and key technologies is proposed to control thecracking risk index below the threshold value.Finally,two engineering application examples are provided that demonstrate that concrete shrinkage cracking can be significantly mitigated by adopting the proposed methods and technologies.

Effect of Shrinkage Reducing Agent and Steel Fiber on the Fluidity and Cracking Performance of Ultra-High Performance Concrete

Due to the low water-cement ratio of ultra-high-performance concrete(UHPC),fluidity and shrinkage cracking are key aspects determining the performance and durability of this type of concrete.In this study,the effects of different types of cementitious materials,chemical shrinkage-reducing agents(SRA)and steel fiber(SF)were assessed.Compared with M2-UHPC and M3-UHPC,M1-UHPC was found to have better fluidity and shrinkage cracking performance.Moreover,different SRA incorporation methods,dosage and different SF types and aspect ratios were implemented.The incorporation of SRA and SF led to a decrease in the fluidity of UHPC.SRA internal content of 1%(NSRA-1%),SRA external content of 1%(WSRA-1%),STS-0.22 and STE-0.7 decreased the fluidity of UHPC by 3.3%,8.3%,9.2%and 25%,respectively.However,SRA and SF improved the UHPC shrinkage cracking performance.NSRA-1%and STE-0.7 reduced the shrinkage value of UHPC by 40%and 60%,respectively,and increased the crack resistance by 338%and 175%,respectively.In addition,the addition of SF was observed to make the microstructure of UHPC more compact,and the compressive strength and flexural strength of 28 d were increased by 26.9%and 19.9%,respectively.

Self-catalyzed Effect and Cracking Risk in Mass Concrete Containing Micro-slag

The main results obtained from the experimental and engineering investigation on the heat evolution and cracking risk of a furnace concrete block were presented. The heat evolution of experimental mortars containing micro-slag under different environmental temperatures was instrumented in order to investigate the self-catalyzed effect, which was discovered in engineering. More-over,the thermal stress of the furnace concrete due to heat temperature rise was calculated to evaluate the cracking risk of mass concrete containing micro-slag due to self-catalyzed effect. The experimental results illustrate that with the development of hydration and initial temperature of mixture, the hydra-tion can be also accelerated and temperature of concrete will be continued to rise, which was the self-catalyzed effect. And the thermal stress due to self-catalyzed effect could not result in the cracking of furnace concrete.

Influence of MB-value of Manufactured Sand on the Shrinkage and Cracking of High Strength Concrete

The relation between methylene blue （MB） value of MS and its limestone dust content and clay content was investigated. The effects of MB value ranging from 0.35 to 2.5 on the workability of fresh concrete and crack propagation characteristics at the age of 24 hours, and effects on the mechanical properties, dry shrinkage of the harden concrete were tested. The experimental results show that the MB value is not related with the limestone dust content of MS, but in direct proportion to clay content. With the increase of MB value, the concrete workability decreases, and the flexural strength and 7 d compressive strength reduce markedly, whearas the 28 d compressive strength is not affected. When the MB-value is less than or equal to 1.35, the change of the MB-value has a little influence on early plastic cracking and dry shrinkage property of concrete, but when the MB-value is more than 1.35, the tendency of plastic cracking and dry shrinkage is remarkable.

Effects of microfine aggregate in manufactured sand on bleeding and plastic shrinkage cracking of concrete

Construction industries have started to utilize manufactured sand(MS)as an effective alternative for river sand in concrete.High-grade parent rocks are crushed to obtain MS,which also produces a considerable amount of microfine aggregate(MFA).The higher percentage of MFA could lead to both positive and negative effects on the performance of cement-based mixes.This research was done to examine the influence of varying MFA levels,specifically 0%,3%,6%,9%,and 12%(by weight)as the partial replacements of MS on bleeding and plastic shrinkage cracking of concrete.In addition to the varying MFA levels,some concrete mixes also included fly ash(FA)and superplasticizer to investigate the effect of free-water content in the mixes.The bleeding test data were taken as on-site measurements,while the cracks from the plastic shrinkage cracking test were evaluated using an image processing technique.The results concluded that the MFA replacements and the effective water-to-cement ratio have a significant effect on the selected concrete properties.With the increasing replacement levels,cumulative bleeding and crack initiation life gradually decreased,while a progressive increase was observed for crack width,crack length,and crack area.

Spatial Thermal Crack Control in Mass Concrete

The finite element software,MIDAS is used to predict the distribution of temperatures and,analyzes the cracking control methods within a hydrating mass concrete.The temperature control of mass concrete has great significance in assuring the project quality.Adiabatic or semi adiabatic temperature measurement is mostly used for measuring and controlling the temperature fluctuation during construction.The temperature distribution produced by the finite element thermal analysis of the model is used to quantify the maximum allowable internal temperature difference before crack initiation on concrete.This study analyzes the data from one high-rise structure project in Shanghai are used to verify the finite element model developed.Results suggest that reliance on a limiting maximum temperature differential to control cracking in massive concrete applications should be supplemented with a requirement for analysis showing the calculated spatial temperature and stress response to the predicted temperature distribution within the concrete,to ensure that the induced tensile stresses will not exceed the tensile strength of the concrete and so minimize the risk of having thermal cracks at early age.

Anti-Crack Performance of Low-Heat Portland Cement Concrete

The properties of low-heat Portland cement concrete（LHC） were studied in detail. The experimental results show that the LHC concrete has characteristics of a higher physical mechanical behavior, deformation and durability. Compared with moderate-heat Portland cement（MHC）, the average hydration heat of LHC concrete is reduced by about 17.5%. Under same mixing proportion, the adiabatic temperature rise of LHC concrete was reduced by 2 ℃-3 ℃,and the limits tension of LHC concrete was increased by 10× 10^-6-15×10^-6 than that of MHC. Moreover, it is indicated that LHC concrete has a better anti-crack behavior than MHC concrete.

Assessment of early-age cracking of high-performance concrete in restrained ring specimens

High-performance concrete （HPC） is stronger and more durable than conventional concrete. However, shrinkage and shrinkage cracking are common phenomena in HPC, especially early-age cracking. This study assessed early-age cracking of HPC for two mixtures using restrained ring tests. The two mixtures were produced with water/binder mass ratio （mw/mB） of 0.22 and 0.40, respectively. The results show that, with greater steel thickness, the higher degree of restraint resulted in a higher interface pressure and earlier cracking. With steel thickness of 6 mm, 19 mm, and 30 mm, the age of cracking were, respectively, 12 days, 8 days, and 5.4 days with the mw/mB = 0.22 mixture; and 22.5 days, 12.6 days, and 7.1 days with the mw/mB= 0.40 mixture. Cases of the same steel thickness show that the ring specimens with a thicker concrete wall crack later. With the mw/mB = 0.22 mixture, concrete walls with thicknesses of 37.5 mm, 75 mm, and 112.5 mm cracked at 3.4 days, 8.0 days, and 9.8 days, respectively; with the mw/mB = 0.40 mixture, the ages of cracking were 7.1 days, 12.6 days, and 16.0 days, respectively.

Design and Preparation of High Elastic Modulus Self-compacting Concrete for Pre-stressed Mass Concrete Structures

Requirements of self-compacting concrete （SCC） applied in pre-stressed mass concrete structures include high fluidity, high elastic modulus, low adiabatic temperature rise and low drying shrinkage, which cannot be satisfied by ordinary SCC. In this study, in order to solve the problem, a few principles of SCC design were proposed and the effects of binder amount, fly ash （FA） substitution, aggregate content and gradation on the workability, temperature rise, drying shrinkage and elastic modulus of SCC were investigated. The results and analysis indicate that the primary factor influencing the fluidity was paste content, and the main methods improving the elastic modulusof SCC were a lower sand ratio and an optimized coarse aggregate gradation. Lower adiabatic temperature rise and drying shrinkage were beneficial for decreasing the cement content. Further, based on the optimization of mixture, a C50 grade SCC （with binder amount of only 480 kg/ m3, fly ash substitution of 40%, sand ratio of 51% and proper coarse aggregate gradation （Vs.~0 mm： V10-16 ram： V16.20 mm= 30%： 30%：40%）） with superior workability was successfully prepared. The temperature rise and drying shrinkage of the prepared SCC were significantly reduced, and the elastic modulus reached 37.6 GPa at 28 d.

Cracking Tendency of Restrained Concrete at Early Ages

A modified testing system characterized by full automation, steady operation and high accuracy of strain and stress measurements was developed to determine the cracking tendency of high strength concrete （HSC） in restrained condition at early ages. The shrinkage stress and the tensile creep behavior of HSC at early ages were investigated. The influence of W/C ratio and curing conditions on the early-age shrinkage stress and tensile creep was evaluated. It was found that the lower W/C ratio and drying curing condition resulted in higher shrinkage stress, stress induced tensile creep and greater cracking tendency.

Investigation on Cracking of Concrete Shear Wall under Exceeded Temperature Differences Rate

In situ, the changes of temperature, deformation, and stressing of steel bar of C40 reinforced concrete shear wall were measured, respectively. The results are obvious that the temperature change of climate is one of the most effective factors which could lead the concrete shear wall to cracking at earlier age. The temperature differences between inside and outside concrete shear wall are so large that the concrete will gain larger shrinkage. This larger shrinkage which is caused by the temperature reducing ratio will gain the strained action of head, end and reinforced steel bar of concrete shear wall. This action can lead to tensile stress on the surface and inside concrete shear wall. If the tensile stress would exceed the pull strength of concrete, the concrete shear wall would crack and cause deterioration. Thus, the enhancing curing of concrete shear wall in suit at earlier age, and controlling temperature reducing ratio and deform caused by shrinkage, will be available treatments which control occurring and developing of cracking on concrete shear wall.

Factors Affecting the Efficiency of Fibers in Concrete on Crack Reduction

The object of this research effort was, upon request for evidence from a building contractor, to compare the influence of various amounts and types of fibers on crack widths, using a steel ring mold. Comparisons were made between synthetic fibers (polyolefin) of 48 mm length, hooked-end steel fibers of diameters 0.6 mm and 1.05 mm, both of 50 mm length. 10-liter samples were extracted from concrete ready-mix truck batches at delivery sites, whereupon fibers were mixed into the samples, layer by layer, by applying a drill-mounted mortar mixing device. For each amount of fiber content, 4 rings were cast, and of the plain concrete control samples, 5 rings were cast. After removing the outer steel casting, strain gages were installed on the exposed outer concrete surface. Strain values were continuously logged, and crack developments and crack widths were measured daily. Sufficient data with statistically high significance were obtained to indicate that: A synthetic fiber content of 3 kg/m3 did not decrease crack-widths as compared to the non-fiber concrete samples. Synthetic fiber contents of 5 kg/m3 and higher, did reduce crack widths on par with hooked-end steel fibers in the amounts of 25 kg/m3 and above. Hooked-end steel fibers of aspect ratio 80 are more efficient with regards to crack width reduction, yielding 33% narrower cracks, than hooked-end steel fibers, at equal weight-contents, with aspect ratio 45.

Investigation on the Free and Restrained Shrinkage of Self-compacting Concrete

A novel ellipsis-ring cracking apparatus with an automatic monitoring system was used to measure the restrained shrinkage and initial cracking time of self-compacting concrete (SCC). The free shrinkage, restrained shrinkage and strength were integrated to evaluate the effect of the mineral admixtures and content of cementitious materials on shrinkage of SCC. The experimental results show that the initial cracking time of SCC incorporating fly ash was delayed, the shrinkage value and rate was reduced. The hydration achievement of silica fume increased free shrinkage and reduced initial cracking time of FA-SCC comparing to control sample, but silica fume improved the mechanical properties of FA-SCC in early age. As same strength, with the reducing the content of cementitious materials, the initial cracking time of SCC delayed and cracking sensitivity decreased markedly, especially when the content of cementitious materials achieve 450 kg/m3.

Cracking behaviors and crack control of self-consolidating concrete: a review of literature

Cracking in concrete occurs from volumetric instability, mechanical loading, and/or environmental attack. Compared to conventional vibrated concrete, self-consolidating concrete often has a higher susceptibility to crack due to different mixture design, material properties and construction practices. To obtain a better understanding of self-consolidating concrete cracking behaviors for designing and constructing crack-controlled structural elements, reported current research and practices are reviewed and analyzed in this paper. It has been believed that when well designed and welt constructed, high quality self- consolidating concrete can be successfully used in various structures with cracks properly controlled.

Construction Technical Temperature Cracking for a and Control of Concrete Plate Type Raft Foundation

The mass fiat raft foundation Section is large and Cement is in large quantities, the temperature changes in the larger cement hydration heat of the water releasing, the temperature stress is main reason reducing cracking. According to the basement of a project of Guangzhou large slab raft foundation engineering as an example, Discussing the construction technology measures of early crack of large volume concrete of raft plate in the process of construction,. The results show that it Can effectively prevents the slab foundation structure cracking and achieves good results through controlling Concrete materials and concrete temperature Parameter such as the lifting machine temperature and the pouring temperature and the expansion joint or the whole pouring length.

聚乙烯醇纤维掺量对高延性地聚合物混凝土早期抗裂和收缩性能影响

研究了聚乙烯醇(PVA)纤维掺量对高延性地聚合物混凝土早期塑性收缩开裂、干燥收缩和自生收缩的影响.结果表明,与地聚合物混凝土相比,掺PVA纤维的高延性地聚合物混凝土抗开裂性能和抗收缩性能显著提高,PVA纤维体积掺量为2%的地聚合物混凝土抗开裂和抗收缩性能最好.基于试验结果,建立了收缩预测模型,该模型能够一定程度反映地聚合物混凝土早期收缩特征.

城市轨道交通混凝土抗裂防渗技术研究与应用

抑制混凝土开裂渗漏是保障城市轨道交通地下结构建设质量的重点和难点。以城市轨道交通地下车站为例,分析了混凝土开裂的主要原因,介绍了施工期混凝土抗裂性评估与设计方法,提出了混凝土材料抗裂性能控制指标,以及保障指标实现的材料、施工控制措施,结合实际工程,介绍了成套技术应用效果,为类似工程抗裂防渗建设质量提升提供指导。

组合梁栓钉对高性能混凝土约束收缩效应研究

为探究高性能混凝土在栓钉约束作用下的收缩特征及开裂行为,制作了钢-混凝土组合构件,通过试验研究了不同栓钉因素对高性能混凝土约束收缩应变、约束度及开裂风险的影响规律,运用正交试验方法研究了栓钉直径、间距、高度对高性能混凝土约束收缩的影响,得到了主要敏感因素。结果表明:高性能混凝土较普通混凝土的约束收缩应变发展趋势更为平滑;各栓钉因素对约束收缩的敏感性影响的主次顺序依次为直径、间距、高度;混凝土收缩在组合梁高度方向上呈现出一定的收缩梯度,混凝土约束收缩应变随高度增加而增大,但栓钉高度在30 mm处、间距在75 mm处、直径在150 mm处对高性能混凝土约束收缩几乎没有影响;栓钉对混凝土的约束作用可定义为3个阶段,即约束增强阶段、约束下降阶段和约束稳定阶段;组合梁构件最大开裂风险发生在栓钉的根部,当栓钉间距由150 mm减少到75 mm,直径由13 mm增加到22 mm时,最大开裂风险分别增加了20.03%和36.05%,栓钉高度的改变对最大开裂风险没有影响;采用高性能混凝土以及直径小、高度高的栓钉布置方式可以有效减小混凝土的收缩及开裂风险。

混凝土早龄期收缩开裂细观力学机理研究

缓减混凝土早龄期收缩开裂是提升混凝土结构耐久性和防水性能的关键环节,对此研究了基于细观力学的混凝土早龄期收缩开裂机理。采用随机骨料模型对混凝土内粗骨料、砂浆和界面过渡区(ITZ)进行参数化建模生成混凝土细观结构,建立混凝土细观数值模型,针对现行试验规范,确定模拟所需力学参数并验证计算方法。结果表明,混凝土早龄期的收缩应变随时间的变化趋势受粗骨料随机分布的影响不大,不同分布形式下的混凝土24 h收缩应变值最大相对误差为7%;平板混凝土试件早龄期的收缩裂缝沿着裂缝诱导器尖端区域的ITZ单元发展,不同粗骨料分布形式下的裂缝面积最大相对误差为9.5%。