INTRODUCTION

Movement generated in concrete due to moisture dynamics

from the time it is poured till it hardens and thereafter.
This is the single most important factor, which plays a
dominant role in various forms of cracking
The movement of moisture across the surface generates
microcracks on the surface of the concrete.
The diffusion of moisture from concrete leads to the
shrinkage of concrete and plays an important role in cracking
and serviceability.
 INTRODUCTION
These unseen fine cracks and microcracks in the skincrete,
serves as the potential pathway that:
Provides the interconnections necessary for the transport of
aggressive chlorides through the covercrete into the
reinforcing steel and accelerates the rate of movement of the
carbonation front.
PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROCESSES IN YOUNG
CONCRETE
EVAPORATION OF MOISTURE IN FRESH CONCRETE

Conditions that cause high evaporation rates from the

concrete surface, and increase the possibility of plastic
shrinkage cracking, include:

 Wind velocity in excess of 5 mph

 Low relative humidity
 High ambient and/or concrete temperatures
 PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROCESSES IN YOUNG
CONCRETE
EVOLUTION OF HYDRATION IN CONCRETE

The hydration process also gives rise to two physical actions:

Chemical shrinkage associated with the consumption of

water in hydration reaction (autogenous shrinkage)

Generation and dissipation of heat due to exothermic

hydration reactions - thermal shrinkage in concrete.
 PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROCESSES IN
YOUNG CONCRETE
DIFFUSION OF MOISTURE FROM THE CONCRETE

Exposing concrete to environment, with a lower humidity,

results in a hygral shock on the system. Potential from
differential in moisture content of concrete and environment
starts moisture diffusion concrete.

The moisture diffusion is a process in which moisture diffuses

from the system into the ambience at the concrete-fluid (air)
interface by a convective process
 PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROCESSES IN YOUNG
CONCRETE
DIFFUSION OF MOISTURE FROM THE CONCRETE

 The diffusion of moisture from the concrete domain is a key

physical process, which generates several physical mechanisms.

 These mechanisms are of paramount importance for

serviceability of concrete structures and its integrity and
durability. The principal physical process that is generated, as
the moisture is lost from concrete, is drying shrinkage.
 SHRINKAGE IN CONCRETE
DEFINITION

 Shrinkage is defined as the time dependent deformation resulting

from reduction in volume of an unloaded concrete specimen at
constant temp & relative humidity.

 The shrinkage is associated with the loss of moisture to the ambient

environment or due to chemical processes.

 The volume change of the colloidal inert system in concrete, as its

moisture content changes, due to the diffusion of moisture into
ambience is the principal component of shrinkage.
 SHRINKAGE IN CONCRETE

 Concrete element saturated by liquid water

 Subjected to environment having lower relative humidity
 Thermodynamic imbalance occurs between the external
moisture concentration and that within the sample.
 To restore thermodynamic equilibrium, the sample exchanges
moisture with the exterior. This causes the water to diffuse from
concrete.
 SHRINKAGE IN CONCRETE

DRYING SHRINKAGE

 Moisture Diffusion occurs in both plastic and hardened states

and are termed as the plastic shrinkage and drying shrinkage

AUTOGENOUS SHRINKAGE

 The autogenous shrinkage or chemical shrinkage is volume

change associated with change in concentration of cement
gel due to the chemical process of hydration.
 SHRINKAGE IN CONCRETE

CARBONATION SHRINAKGE
 The carbonation shrinkage results from the local release of
crystallization pressure, due to dissolution of the crystals of
calcium hydroxide embedded in the structure of the hydrated
cement paste

THERMAL SHRINKAGE
 The volume contraction due to dissipation of heat generated by
the hydration of cement is called thermal shrinkage.
 CREEP IN CONCRETE

tertiary creep

secondary creep

primary creep

Deformation

initial elastic strain

time

The evolution of strain in a concrete, under a constant

state of stress over a long period of time
 CREEP IN CONCRETE
Material undergoes rapid straining over a short period of time
indicated by the vertical line. It encompasses both reversible
and irreversible strain components.
Generally regarded as time-independent elastic strain el.
 If the load is sustained, the strains increase at a gradually
decreasing rate, and may reach a value, which is two to three
times greater than the initial elastic strain.

 The strain, thereafter, continues to grow over time under a

constant state of stress. This phenomenon is known as creep
or viscous deformation cr.
 CREEP IN CONCRETE
 The delayed strain that evolves under sustained stress is strongly dependent
on exposure-state of the specimen under stress is known as the “basic creep”
and the “drying creep”

 The “basic creep” is the strain under sustained stress, which occurs under
sealed conditions - no moisture exchange b/w the ambient atmosphere and
specimen is in hygral equilibrium with its surrounding.

 The “drying creep”, is the increase in the strain under a sustained stress in
which the loaded specimen exhales the moisture present in it into the
ambience and consequently undergoes drying process simultaneously.

 The drying creep therefore incorporates the dual processes of shrinkage and
creep.
 MECHANISM OF DRYING SHRINKAGE

The actual microscopic and the basic physical mechanism by

which drying shrinkage occurs is complex.
Generally agreed that basic mechanism of drying shrinkage of a
concrete is the diffusion of the capillary and adsorbed water to
the environment.
The four major shrinkage mechanisms that have been
proposed are:
Hydrostatic tension in capillary pore
Disjoining pressure changes
Changes in surface tension of colloidal particles
Movement of interlayer water.
 FREE AND RESTRAINED SHRINKAGE

Free shrinkage is a contraction that an element of concrete

would undergo due to moisture diffusion (drying), if there were
no constraint on its movement, i.e. each infinitesimal element of
the specimen was unrestrained.

The shrinkage strain-time curve becomes asymptotic after some

time, when the moisture content in the specimen is in
equilibrium with the environmental humidity. The free
shrinkage strain at this stage is called the ultimate free
shrinkage strain.
 FREE AND RESTRAINED SHRINKAGE

The shrinkage strain measured experimentally in systems with

external and/or internal restraints is always less than the free
shrinkage strain of the material. This is generally termed as the
restrained shrinkage or apparent shrinkage.

The restrained or apparent shrinkage includes not only the free

shrinkage strain but the stress-related strain as well.
 FACTORS AFFECTING DRYING
SHRINKAGE

The environmental conditions have a pronounced influence on

magnitude of drying shrinkage together with the moisture content
in the concrete.
Several other factors like
composition of concrete,
type of cement,
type of aggregate,
water content,
additives
size and shape of concrete member
Construction practices also affect drying shrinkage.
MECHANISM OF STRESS GENERATION IN
CONCRETE DUE TO SHRINKAGE

EFFECT OF SHRINKAGE GRADIENTS ON STRESSES

Deformation States Initial undeformed

state
(a)
Concrete

free shrinkage
deformation
Dfree
sh

(b)

s tcon
( sh)

s ccon
( sh)
(c)
MECHANISM OF STRESS GENERATION IN CONCRETE DUE TO
SHRINKAGE
REINFORCED CONCRETE UNSUPPORTED
Deformation States Initial undeformed
state

(a)
Concrete

free shrinkage
deformation
Dfree
sh

(b)

Final shrinkage
deformation
Delsh( conc)
s tcon
( sh )

s ccon
( sh)

(c) Delsh( steel)

CONCRETE RESTRAINED BY SUPPORT AND STEEL
 MODELS FOR COMPUTING SHRINKAGE

 Several mathematical models have been developed to predict

shrinkage in concrete elements. The three types of models for
predicting shrinkage are:
Empirical model based on average cross sectional shrinkage
[ACI, CEB-MC (90)].
Semi-empirical model based on theory of elasticity and
composite theory [Pickett, Hansen].
Phenomenological models based on diffusion theory
[Carlson, Iding and Bresler, Bazant, Sakata, and Rahman]..
 Branson’s formula (1971)
The prediction model proposed in the early 70’s by Branson is very important
because it is embedded the core of the ACI-209 model codes.
where φ is the creep coefficient (related to the instantaneous
deformation, εsh is shrinkage, ˆt is the duration of loading
(drying), φu is the ultimate value of the creep coefficient εsh,u =
ultimate shrinkage), and c, d, e and f are parameters.
Optimization of these parameters to give the best fit of the
measured data yielded to
Practical formulation of shrinkage and creep of concrete (1976)
Development of formulae for shrinkage, which were with small modifications
incorporated into the model B3, one of the best prediction models for creep and
shrinkage. The time development of shrinkage is described by equation
Practical formulation of shrinkage and creep of concrete (1976)
Practical formulation of shrinkage and creep of concrete (1976)
 fib Model Code 2010 Shrinkage
The Model code introduces subdivision of the total shrinkage strain "εcs(t, t0) into two
components, autogenous shrinkage " εcas(t) and drying shrinkage or swelling " εcds(t, t0).

Evolution of the autogenous shrinkage is defined as

where αas is a constant depending on the cement class.

 fib Model Code 2010 Shrinkage
The formula for drying shrinkage (or swelling)
 fib Model Code 2010 Shrinkage
At high temperatures, the hydration reaction is accelerated and therefore the formula
describing the autogenous shrinkage must be modified, by replacing the actual age of
concrete t by the temperature-adjusted equivalent age tT

The drying shrinkage (or swelling) formulae change as follows

fib Model Code 2010 Shrinkage
fib Model Code 2010 Shrinkage
ACI 209R-92 (1992, reapproved 1997), ACI 209.2R-08 (2008) - Shrinkage
The formula proposed by ACI committee 209, which lumps together drying shrinkage,
autogenous shrinkage, and carbonation shrinkage has the following form

where f reflects the notional size of the drying member, "εshu is the ultimate shrinkage
and α = 1.0.

with V being the volume (in mm3) and S the area of the drying surface (in mm2).

The ultimate shrinkage can be taken as

ACI 209R-92 (1992, reapproved 1997), ACI 209.2R-08 (2008) - Shrinkage

The shrinkage half-time is defined as

ACI 209R-92 (1992, reapproved 1997), ACI 209.2R-08 (2008) - Shrinkage

where T is the concrete temperature and T0 is the reference temperature (both in Kelvin).
 ACI 209R-92 (1992, reapproved 1997), ACI 209.2R-08 (2008) - Shrinkage
Using the second approach

All shrinkage correction factors are summarized in the table

The product of correction factors should not be less than 0.2;

for seasonal drying and wetting conditions, "εshu ≥ 100 × 10−6 and " εshu ≥ 150 × 10−6 if
concrete is under sustained drying.
ACI 209R-92 (1992, reapproved 1997), ACI 209.2R-08 (2008) - Shrinkage
 JSCE (2007) Shrinkage
 The formulae in the Japanese standard for ordinary (compressive strength up to 55
MPa or 70 MPa if water-to-cement ratio was decreased in order to increase strength)
and high-strength concrete are different.
 In the linear analysis of statically indeterminate structures the shrinkage strain can be
taken as 150 ×10−6. This value covers shrinkage reduction due to creep of concrete.

Shrinkage of an ordinary concrete is defined by

 JSCE (2007) Shrinkage
 εsh,u is the ultimate value of shrinkage with the volume-to-surface V/S ratio in mm.
 The formulae are restricted to henv in the interval from 0.45 to 80, water content w
from 130 to 230 kg/m3, the volume-to-surface ratio from 100 to 300 mm, and the
water-to-cement ratio from 0.4 to 0.65. The formula is for Portland cement.
 Total shrinkage of concrete with the mean compressive strength exceeding 55 MPa is
composed of two parts - drying shrinkage and autogenous shrinkage.
 JSCE (2007) Shrinkage
α represents the influence of cement type (11 for ordinary or low-heat cement and 15
for high early-strength cement).

Formulae are applicable for water content w from 130 to 230 kg/m3, the volume-to-
surface ratio from 100 to 300 mm, henv from 0.4 to 0.9, and t0 from 1 to 98 days (if t0 >
98 days then t0 = 98).

The autogenous shrinkage in (A.125) is described by

where ts is the start of setting in days and a and b are composition-dependent

constants given in the standard (e.g. for w/c = 0.4 a = 0.1 and b = 0.7).
MODELS FOR COMPUTING SHRINKAGE

PHENOMENOLOGICAL MODEL FOR COMPUTATION OF

SHRINKAGE

In a phenomenological model for shrinkage computations,

the moisture loss evolution in a specimen forms the basis
for shrinkage computations. For evolution of moisture loss,
the well-established physical theory of diffusion can be used.

D sh (t )   (C ) DC (t )

(C) is moisture dependent coefficient of shrinkage and

DC(t) is the increment of moisture loss in the specimen.
 CL

1 4
2 Repair Layer 5 75 mm
3 6

200 mm
Old Concrete

500 mm

Finite element mesh of the composite

system in COMSOL with moisture
diffusion from repair layer
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