STE - 652 Advanced Reinforced Concrete Design
TIME -DEPENDENT EFFECTS IN
REINFORCED CONRETE
ENGR. FREDERICK P. PEREZ II
Page 01
Introduction
Stresses, strains, and displacements of concrete
structures reinforced with or without prestressing
vary continuously with time as a result of the effects
of creep and shrinkage of concrete and
relaxation of prestressed steel. These time-
dependent parameters cause redistribution of forces
between various members and produce changes in
the internal forces and the reactions at the supports
of statically indeterminate structures. The time-
dependent changes are more important in structures
built in stages than in those constructed in one
operation.
Page 02
Creep
Concrete creep occurs when the strain in concrete gradually increases over
time while the stress caused by the load remains constant. In simpler terms,
creep denotes the progressive increase in strain or deformation of a
structural component subjected to a constant load.
Depending on the type of concrete, the structural design, and the service
load conditions, creep can result in noticeable displacements within the
structure. Severe strains caused by creep can result in functional issues,
redistribution of stresses, loss of Prestressing, and even failure of concrete
structural members. It should be noted that complete reversal of creep is
not achievable. Essentially, creep is an irreversible phenomenon that occurs
due to the continuous application of the load, even within a single day,
resulting in permanent deformation or irreversibility. When concrete is
subjected to continuous and constant compression, creep gradually reduces
stress over time. This process is commonly known as relaxation. Creep is
also referred to as “plastic flow,” “plastic yielding,” or “plastic deformation”.
Page 03
Creep Stages
In terms of creep strain kinematics under high constant stress, concrete
experiences three stages of creep: primary, secondary, and tertiary
creep, see Figure 1. Stress level dictates whether the concrete will
experience all the three stages, or only a subset of them. The primary stage
of creep occurs early in the loading history. It is characterized a high early
creep rate that steadily decreases with time. Primary creep is generally
associated with low stress up to about 40% of short-term compressive
strength (f’c).
The secondary stage of creep occurs later when creep strains increase
with a relatively constant creep strain rate. Under higher compressive
stresses (greater than ~0.4 f’c), the concrete undergoes additional damage
processes as a result the propagation of microcracks initiated during loading.
Additional nonlinear creep strains are developed as the relationship between
the linear creep strain and elastic strain is lost. Tertiary creep is the last
stage and generally occurs only when stress become greater than ~0.75 f’c
During this stage, concrete experiences coalescence of microcracks, which
ultimately results in concrete failure. The tertiary creep stage is signified by a
Figure 1. Evolution of creep strains with time (primary, secondary, rapid increase in the creep strain rate.
and tertiary stages of creep).
Page 04
Effects of Creep
• Creep leads to an increase in deflection over time, which should be considered into account during the design phase.
• Creep gradually transfers the load from the concrete to the reinforcement
• Additional load carried by the reinforcement causes the complete development of strength in both the steel and concrete, making
creep behavior advantageous in reinforced concrete columns.
• Creep in columns subjected to non-axial loads leads to increased deflection and can potentially result in buckling.
• In mass concrete, creep can potentially lead to cracking as the concrete undergoes temperature fluctuations caused by hydration
heat and subsequent cooling cycles.
• In statically indeterminate structures, creep can reduce the concentration of stresses arising from factors such as shrinkage,
temperature variations, or foundation settlement. It restricts internal pressures caused by non-uniform or shrinkage-induced loads
in concrete structures.
Page 05
Factors Affecting
Creep
[Link] strength - The higher the strength of the concrete, the less it tends to deform over time. Moreover, increasing
the applied stress on concrete leads to a greater tendency for creep.
2. Aggregates - Stronger aggregates provide better restraint, resulting in reduced creep.
3. Water-to-Cement Ratio - The content of the paste and the quality of the mix design are among the most important factors
affecting creep. All factors that impact the water-to-cement ratio also have an effect on the deformation or creep of concrete.
4. Age of Concrete under Loading - As concrete ages, its tendency to creep decreases. The following table illustrates this
relationship:
Creep Age of Creep Age of
Coefficient Concrete Coefficient Concrete
1 After 1 yr. 1.26 After 10 yrs
After 2
1.14 1.33 After 20 yrs.
yrs.
After 5 Page 06
1.20 1.36 After 30 yrs.
yrs.
Factors Affecting
Creep
5. Cement Moisture - Increasing the moisture content of cement in concrete enhances creep.
6. Cement Type - The type of cement has a significant impact on creep, consequently influencing the strength of concrete during
the application of loads.
7. Size - The size also has an impact on the amount of creep. As the size increases, the creep decreases. This is because there is
less leakage as the pathway for water discharge becomes longer. resulting in increased internal friction resistance against water
flow.
8. Temperature - The temperature to which the concrete is exposed can have two opposing effects on creep:
• If a concrete member is exposed to temperatures higher than the normal range during the curing process prior to loading, its
resistance increases and the creep strain at lower temperatures decreases.
• On the other hand, exposure to high temperatures during the service period can increase creep. The effect of temperature on
creep is particularly important in prestressed concrete reactor vessels (PCRVs).
Page 07
Shrinkage
Mechanical loading, deleterious reactions, and environment loading can
result in the development of tensile stresses in concrete structures.
Furthermore, concrete shrink as it dries under ambient conditions. Tensile
stresses occur when free shrinkage is restrained. The combination of high
tensile stresses with low fracture resistance of concrete often results in
cracking. This cracking reduces the durability of a concrete structure.
Effects of shrinkage and accompanying creep of concrete along with
cracking provide the major concern to the structural designer because of
the inaccuracies and unknowns that surround them. In general, these
effects are taken into account of long-term deformation and
prestress loss analysis of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. Though
considered as long-term effects, shrinkage and creep also have influence on
crack resistance and deformations of RC members subjected to short-term
loading.
Page 08
Shrinkage Types
Plastic
shrinkage Plastic shrinkage develops on the surface of the
fresh concrete i.e. it is a consequence of water
evaporation from the surface of fresh concrete or
absorption in the concrete form or bedding.
Compared to other types of shrinkage it is the
greatest and it size can be 1 % of its cement
volume. It is developing very fast in the first
several hours and as such mainly it is not
registered.
Page 09
Shrinkage Types
Chemical
shrinkage
Chemical shrinkage of cement paste represents
decrease of volume cement paste which occurs
due to chemical binding of water in the process of
cement hydration. In the process of concrete
hardening, several chemical transformations
develop in the cement paste. The direct
consequence of these chemical transformations is
a decrease of cement paste volume. This
phenomenon is clearly shown at the figure 1.
Page 10
Shrinkage Types
Autogenous
shrinkage Autogenous shrinkage of concrete, which some also
call hydration shrinkage is a result of self desiccation
process in the pores of cement stone, it is the use of
water in the cement hydration processes. Chemical
and autogenous shrinkage are very bonded and it is
hard to draw the line between these two types of
shrinkage. Primarily, chemical shrinkage occurs and
then we have additional pores due to hydration.
Process of self-desiccation begins in these pores
because of the process of hydration i.e. inside the
cement stone structure all water is used for hydration
and humidity cannot reach fast enough from the
outside due to density structure. This leads to
shrinkage (even cracks inside the concrete) what we
call autogenous shrinkage (Figure 2.).
Page 11
Shrinkage Types
Drying
shrinkage Opposite to self-desiccation shrinkage (autogenous
shrinkage), this type of shrinkage is reflected from the
surface towards the interior of the concrete mass. Drying
shrinkage refers to the reduction in concrete volume resulting
from a loss of water from the concrete. Initially, free water
escapes to the concrete surface as bleed water. Once the
bleed water has disappeared, excess water will be pulled from
the interior of the concrete mass. Drying level varies
according to the thickness of element, between its maximal
value (on the surface) and its minimal value (in the core).
Parameters, which influence this type of shrinkage, listed
from up to bottom are:
- thickness of element;
- porosity or content of the free water in concrete;
- paste volume;
- binder fineness;
- temperature and relative humidity Page 12
Shrinkage Types
Carbonation
shrinkage Carbonation shrinkage occurs in hardened concrete. CO2
(carbon dioxide) from the environment on cement stone
causes chemical reactions. With water carbon dioxide
makes carbon acid, which reacts with Ca(OH)2 (calcium
hydra dioxide) in cement stone by making CaCO3 (calcium
carbonate) where other compounds of cement stone also
degrade. Water releases during this reaction. There is
0.03% of carbon dioxide in non-polluted atmosphere.
However, in cities and on highways there is 0.3 % of carbon
dioxide. The speed of cement stone corrosion progress
depends on pore structure but more of their water fill
(Figure 9.).
Page 13
Relaxation
In the design of prestressed concrete structures, a very important consideration is the loss of initial
prestress force that may be expected. Losses are due to various factors which are part of the stressing
operation as well as to the immediate and long-term strains in the structural materials.
We must know, or be able to predict, the behavior of the steel subjected to long-term tensile stress and
how this behavior is related to time, temperature, magnitude of initial stress, and rate of loading.
Prior to a discussion of relaxation loss, an understanding of the creep phenomenon in steel wire is helpful.
When wire is required to sustain a relatively high tensile stress, at any temperature, it creeps. Creep is
defined as the continuing elongation of the wire under constant stress (load); that is, for a constant stress,
the wire will increase its length as time progresses.
Page 14
Relaxation
Because of the relatively constant length of the steel tendon in a prestressed concrete structure, a
more reasonable approach to the long-term behavior of prestressing steel under load is the
measurement of stress relaxation. Relaxation is defined as the stress (or load) loss in the wire when
the strain (elongation) does not vary. The loss in initial stress due to relaxation is measured as a
function of time.
Papsdorf and Schwier explain this by indicating that when the elastic range (yield point) is exceeded,
every permanent deformation will reduce the elastic limit of the stressrelieved wire where it had
previously been raised by the stressrelieving process. Because the creep phenomenon represents a
permanentdeformation, it will tend to produce approximately the same ultimate conditions as those
existing in cold drawn wire. Therefore, the convergence of the curves is a result of appreciably
exceeding the yield point of the stress-relieved wire.
Page 15
Creep and Relaxation vs. Stress-Strain Diagram
The behavior of steel wires under long-term tensile stress is
measured by one of two methods: constant stress (creep) or
constant strain (relaxation). The two methods can be more easily
understood if they are both plotted and compared to the stress-
strain diagram, Fig. 6(4). If an initial value of stress a is
applied, an immediate strain value b is obtained from the normal
stress-strain diagram. If the strain is kept constant, then after a
period of time there will be a loss of stress corresponding to a
value e on the
relaxation diagram. At a lower initial value of stress c and for the
same period of time, the relaxation
or loss of stress f will be correspondingly smaller. If the initial
stress a is kept constant, then there occurs, after a period of
time, a creep strain indicated by g, and correspondingly by h at
constant stress c for the same period of time. Creep and
relaxation modified stress-strain curves are governed by load
duration (time) and temperature and usually do not coincide with
Page 1
each other. 6
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