Datasheet > june

2005

early-age Shrinkage of Concrete

Introduction adverse effect of early-age shrinkage is thus best

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Once it has stiffened, set and hardened, concrete is achieved by the adoption of good site practices
a relatively brittle material that shrinks over time. particularly good compaction and control of
Cracking will occur if the concrete is restrained moisture loss.
against the movement that results from this Following background information on the
shrinkage. While long-term (drying) shrinkage has evidence for, the mechanism of and the influences
been the focus of specifiers, recent studies have on early-age shrinkage and the associated cracking,
shown that the early loss of moisture from fresh this Data Sheet provides recommendations for
concrete can produce large tensile stresses in the minimising it and/or the resulting cracking of the
concrete at a very early age, leading to early-age concrete.
shrinkage cracking.
The focus on long-term shrinkage has led to
increasingly tighter limits being placed on the
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56-day drying shrinkage of concrete in order to

control related cracking. Such specifications have
very little impact on early-age shrinkage and the
related cracking which may occur within a day or
so of the concrete being placed. This cracking is recent studies have shown
often incorrectly diagnosed as resulting from drying
shrinkage at a later age. that the early loss of moisture
The shrinkage models currently used in
Australian Codes and Standards do not take from fresh concrete can produce
account of the movement resulting from the early-
age shrinkage of concrete. Similarly, early-age large tensile stresses in the
effects are not measured in standard shrinkage
tests on concrete specimens. Avoidance of the concrete at a very early age.
 EARLY Movement in Concrete This internal restraint mechanism
General supplemented by external restraint from formwork,
Almost as soon as water is added to the mix, a subgrade friction, member geometry, etc can lead
chemical reaction between water and cement to early cracking.
(hydration) is initiated, although its effects may Early-age shrinkage cracks may be obvious
not be apparent for the first few hours. The impact immediately or become apparent at a later time.
of this time-dependent reaction on the setting, n Immediate Cracking Immediate cracking can
stiffening, hardening and strength development be evident within a few hours due to the internal
of concrete is well documented, but the fact that and external restraints producing stresses in
shrinkage occurs in the first few hours of its life has the upper layers of the concrete that exceed the
not been adequately recognised. tensile capacity of the concrete.
Recent research sponsored by Cement Concrete n Later Cracking Early-age shrinkage effects
& Aggregates Australia (CCAA) at the University can leave a 'weakness' in the concrete that
of Queensland1,2,3 has shown that early-age will provide a strain release point or crack
shrinkage can develop strains in concrete of similar propagation location in the concrete when
magnitude to those resulting from drying shrinkage. drying conditions occur.
These develop at a time when the concrete has very
little tensile strength and hence cracking is likely.
Similar cracking may also be what is known INFLUENCES ON EARLY-AGE SHRINKAGE AND
as plastic cracking. This phenomenon is well CRACKING
documented4 and is associated with drying The following factors have a significant impact on
conditions and loss of moisture through the the extent and magnitude of early-age shrinkage
concrete surface. The fact that cracking sometimes and associated cracking.
occurs at early ages in very benign environments
(eg indoors where drying conditions and moisture Restraint Against Movement
loss are not evident and plastic cracking therefore Restraint against movement is one of the prime
unlikely) is evidence of the existence of early-age reasons for cracking. Restraint does not change
shrinkage. the early age shrinkage per se but increases the
tensile stress on the concrete and the likelihood of
Early-age Shrinkage the concrete cracking. The greater the restraint, the
Concrete maintains almost semi fluid properties higher the risk of cracking.
for a few hours. Hydration reactions are very slow All concrete is subject to some form of external
during the first 34 hours of a concretes life but restraint and some level of internal restraint as it
accelerate over the following 812 hours when dries out.
the concrete changes from a semi fluid state into
a more rigid one capable of cracking. The time Compaction
period depends on many variables including the Well compacted concrete limits the amount
constituents of the concrete, the mix proportions of contraction that is possible by eliminating
and weather conditions. voids and reducing the early-age shrinkage and
In freshly consolidated concrete, water in the potential for cracking. Good compaction increases
spaces between the cement and the aggregate the tensile strength of the concrete and hence
particles exert a positive pore pressure on the mix. its ability to resist tensile stress without cracking.
As the surface layer of the concrete dries out, this Voids near the surface of the concrete are of
situation changes and the concrete moves from a particular concern as they significantly reduce the
saturated to a partially saturated state. This causes tensile capacity of the concrete in that location and
capillary tension in the pore water which creates can provide sufficient weakness for crack formation.
a capillary suction that draws the solid particles
closer together. Where the concrete is restrained Bleeding
from contracting in this manner the shrinkage Inadequate bleed water on the surface of concrete
causes stresses to develop in the external layers. will increase the early-age shrinkage and the
Where this stress exceeds the tensile capacity of propensity of the concrete to crack. The rate at
the concrete it inevitably cracks. The difference which concrete bleeds is more important than the
in saturation levels throughout the depth of the total amount of bleed water in predicting whether
concrete provides more than adequate internal or not the concrete will dry, shrink and crack at an
restraint to cause these surface or near-surface early age. While bleed water remains on the surface
tension stresses to develop. It is principally this of the concrete there can be no suction created in
internal restraint that leads to early-age shrinkage the capillaries of the concrete and no danger of
cracking. early-age shrinkage and cracking.

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 Surface Drying AVOIDING EARLY-AGE SHRINKAGE CRACKING
Surfaces that dry in the first few hours will exhibit From the early-age shrinkage mechanism and the
higher early-age shrinkage and are more prone to factors affecting it, it is clear that the following will
cracking. Early-age shrinkage will lead to cracking reduce early-age shrinkage and resultant cracking.
only if the surface of the concrete is allowed to dry
in the early hours of its life. This is of concern in all n Reduce external restraint, eg reduce subgrade
environmental conditions and not merely in hot or friction
drying weather. n Provide adequate compaction
n Provide early surface protection against drying
Very Early Protection n Adequately cure the concrete
Protection of concrete surfaces during the first n Provide joints early.
few hours will reduce the early-age shrinkage and
the chance of cracking. Protection may be provided A successful outcome is much more dependent
by using wind breaks, fog spraying with water on these site practices than on the specification of
or applying an evaporative retarder (eg aliphatic tighter shrinkage limits which have been shown
alcohols). The latter is frequently the most practical to have little impact on early-age shrinkage and
method; they are sprayed onto the concrete associated cracking.
surface immediately it is screeded and re-applied
after each subsequent finishing operation such as
trowelling and brooming. REFERENCES/FURTHER INFORMATION
Recent studies have shown that this alone can
stop a great deal of the cracking caused by early- 1 Rebibou S J, Dux P F and Nooru-Mohamed M B
age shrinkage. The aliphatic alcohols slow down Shrinkage in Concrete Pavements Paper
the rate of evaporation from the concrete surface presented at 21st Biennial Conference of the
and hence delay the increase in the suction forces Concrete Institute of Australia, 2003
that promotes the cracking until the concrete has
a higher tensile capacity and is more able to resist 2 Dux P F Mechanisms and Significance of
the developed tensile stresses. Cracking in Concrete Paper presented at
Concrete Institute of Australia Symposium,
Curing Brisbane, September 2000
Concrete that is not cured will exhibit greater
early-age shrinkage and be more prone to 3 Dux P F, Morris P H and Ribibou S J Early
cracking. It is vital to keep moisture in the concrete and Later Age Shrinkage of Concrete Paper
surface for longer than the few hours the surface presented at New Zealand Ready Mixed
protection method covers; hence it is important Concrete Association Conference, Napier,
to initiate an adequate curing regime within a few 1213 September 2003
hours of placing.
4 Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia
Joints Data Sheets
Joints in concrete paving do not affect the Plastic Settlement Cracking
early-age shrinkage but are a means of relieving Plastic Shrinkage Cracking
the strains developed as a result of that shrinkage Drying Shrinkage of Cement and Concrete
and hence control cracking. Where joints are in Hot Weather Concreting
place at a very early age (ie within a few hours of Download from www.concrete.net.au.
placing), they can limit the strain that builds up in
the concrete and assist in preventing early cracking.
Later forming of joints will not provide any control
over early-age shrinkage cracking.

Page 3 of 4 > early-age Shrinkage of Concrete

june CCAA OFFICES
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