Shrinkage and Creep of Concrete

(Section-II)

Shrinkage

The concrete undergoes some volume changes due to

settlement of the fresh concrete, chemical combinations of
high alkali cements with certain reactive aggregates,
changes in moisture content, changes in temperature and
due to applied loads.
During the process of the hydration of the cement there
occurs change in volume due to the reduction in volume of
the cement paste.
When the cement paste is plastic, it undergoes a volumetric
contraction.
Concrete shrinks when it dries and expands when wetted
again due to moisture movement.

Plastic Shrinkage

Plastic shrinkage occurs mainly due to the settlement of the

cement paste and bleeding of water to the top which finally
evaporate.
When the deformation is restrained by reinforcement,
stresses will be developed which results in cracking of
concrete.
Higher w/c, badly proportioned concrete, rapid drying and
greater bleeding are reasons of plastic shrinkage.
Cracking reduces the ability of the structure to carry the
designed load and reduces the durability of the structure.

Plastic Shrinkage

Plastic Shrinkage Cracks

Autogenous Shrinkage

Drying Shrinkage

Drying shrinkage occurs due to loss of water by

evaporation from freshly hardened concrete exposed to air.
Mechanism of drying like timer.
It is the loss of water held in gel pores that causes in
change in volume.
Finer the gel more is the shrinkage.

Drying Shrinkage Cracks

Carbonation Shrinkage

Creep in Concrete

Creep in Concrete
water

Creep

Consequences of creep
Creep

defined as the flow of concrete under

sustained stress or load.
When a concrete member is loaded, the
member deforms to a certain amount as
soon as the load is applied.
The deformation of the specimen increases
with time even when the load on the
member is kept constant.

Consequences of creep
The

creep may be due to viscous flow of the

cement paste, closure of internal voids and
seepage flow of colloidal water from the gel
that is formed by hydration of the cement.
The greater the force, the steeper the
pressure gradient with resulting increase in
rate of expulsion of moisture and
deformation.

Creep recovery
When

the load on the specimen is removed,

the
instantaneous
strain
decreases
immediately, this instantaneous recovery is
followed by a gradual decrease in strain,
called creep recovery.
The longer the loading period, the less the
recovery due to the hardening of the
concrete.

Factors influencing Creep

Aggregate

cement ratio
Water cement ratio
Nature of aggregate and its grading
Composition and fineness of cement
Age at the time of loading
Intensity and duration of stress
The humidity of the ambient air

Factors influencing Creep

Greater

the maximum size of an aggregate

with graded uniformly from fine to coarse,
the less the creep of concrete.
Variations in particle shape, surface texture
of the aggregate influences the creep
characteristics of the concrete.
One of the most important factor affecting
creep is relative humidity of the air
surrounding the concrete.

Factors influencing Creep

An

increase in the humidity reduces the rate

of loss of moisture and this reduces the
seepage. Creep is higher with lower relative
humidity.
Drying shrinkage at or near the surface of
the specimen. Concrete having high
shrinkage shows high creep.
C=Ci (1+S), Ci is the creep under
shrinkage, S is the shrinkage under relative
humidity, is the constant.

Factors influencing Creep

Creep

decreases with increase in the size of

the specimen.
The greater the degree of hydration of the
cement at the time of load application, the
lower the amount of total creep.

Creep and Time

Generally

18 to 35% of the 20 years creep

occurs in 2 weeks.
40 to 70% occurs in 3 months and 64 to 83
% occurs in one year.

General effects of Creep

Creep

affects strains and deflections and

also stress distribution.
Creep increases deflection of a reinforced
concrete beam under sustained load.
Creep affects the stability of the structure
since the deformation of the structure gets
increased.
In pre-stressed concrete the loss of prestress due to creep in concrete is more.