UNIVERSITY OF TRIPOLI

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
GRADUATE STUDIE

ADVANCED R.C DESIGN (CE 605)

SHRINKAGE & CREEP

BY
BADREDIN M. AMMAR

Registration Number : 2216103

Lecturer
.

Fall 2016
CE 605 ADVANCED R.C DESIGN

Shrinkage & Creep

1-1 Shrinkage
Shrinkage is the property of the properties of concrete, which becomes hardened
in the air. It does not cause shrinkage problems unless there is a restriction on the
movement, which causes tension stresses within the concrete, which leads to crack it
and can minimize the harmful effects of shrinkage by :

1. Effective curing
2. Movement joints
3. Shrinkage Reinforcements

1-2 Occurrence reasons of the Shrinkage

Shrinkage happens in the concrete result :

1. Drop hard parts in the mixture and the loss of free water from the fresh
concrete, causing what is known as plastic shrinkage.
2. Chemical union between cement and water leads to a Autogenous shrinkage .
3. Drying concrete as a result of water loss causes a drying shrinkage.

1-3 Types of shrinkage

1. Plastic shrinkage : Due to the loss of water in the plastic state due to
evaporation .
2. Autogenous shrinkage : Chemical shrinkage ( lower volume of hydrates than
cement and water ) + self desiccation ( reduction in the pore water due to
hydration ) .
3. Thermal shrinkage : Due to the decrease in temperature after setting .
4. Drying shrinkage : Due to the loss of water to the environment in the hardened
state.
5. Carbonation shrinkage : Volume reduction due to the reaction of hydrated
cement paste with CO2 in the presence of moisture .

Figure (1-1) . Shapes of shrinkage.

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CE 605 ADVANCED R.C DESIGN

1-4 Many factors influence the shrinkage of concrete caused by the variations
in moisture conditions :
1. Cement and Water Content. The more cement or water content in the concrete
mix, the greater the shrinkage.
2. Composition and Fineness of Cement. High-early-strength and low-heat
cements show more shrinkage than normal portland cement. The finer the
cement, the greater the expansion under moist conditions.
3. Type, Amount, and Gradation of Aggregate. The smaller the size of aggregate
particles, the greater the shrinkage. The greater the aggregate content, the
smaller the shrinkage .
4. Ambient Conditions, Moisture, and Temperature. Concrete specimens
subjected to moist conditions undergo an expansion of 200 to 300 106, but
if they are left to dry in air, they shrink. High temperature speeds the
evaporation of water and, consequently, increases shrinkage.
5. Admixtures. Admixtures that increase the water requirement of concrete
increase the shrink-age value.
6. Size and Shape of Specimen. As shrinkage takes place in a reinforced concrete
member, tension stresses develop in the concrete, and equal compressive
stresses develop in the steel. These stresses are added to those developed by
the loading action. Therefore, cracks may develop in concrete when a high
percentage of steel is used. Proper distribution of reinforcement, by producing
better distribution of tensile stresses in concrete, can reduce differential
internal stresses. The values of final shrinkage for ordinary concrete vary
between 200 and 700 106.For normal-weight concrete, a value of 300
106 may be used. The British Code gives a value of 500 106, which
represents an unrestrained shrinkage of 1.5 mm in a 3-m length of thin, plain
concrete sections. If the member is restrained, a tensile stress of about 10
N/mm2 (9.8 N/mm2) arises. If concrete is kept moist for a certain period after
setting, shrinkage is reduced; therefore, it is important to cure the concrete for
a period of no fewer than 7 days.

Exposure of concrete to wind increases the shrinkage rate on the upwind side.

Shrinkage causes an increase in the deflection of structural members, which in

turn increases with time.

Symmetrical reinforcement in the concrete section may prevent curvature and

deflection due to shrinkage.

Generally, concrete shrinks at a high rate during the initial period of hardening,
but at later stages the rate diminishes gradually. It can be said that 15 to 30% of the
shrinkage value occurs in 2 weeks, 40 to 80% occurs in 1 month, and 70 to 85%
occurs in 1 year.

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CE 605 ADVANCED R.C DESIGN

2-1 Creep

Concrete is an elastoplastic material, and beginning with small stresses, plastic

strains develop in addition to elastic ones. Under sustained load, plastic deformation
continues to develop over a period that may last for years. Such deformation
increases at a high rate during the first 4 months after application of the load.
This slow plastic deformation under constant stress is called creep

Figure (1) shows a concrete cylinder that is loaded. The instantaneous

deformation is 1, which is equal to the stress divided by the modulus of elasticity. If
the same stress is kept for a period of time, an additional strain, 2, due to creep
effect, can be recorded. If load is then released, the elastic strain, 1, will be
recovered, in addition to some creep strain. The final permanent plastic
strain,3, will be left, as shown in Fig. (1). In this case, 3 = (1)2, where is
the ratio of the recovered creep strain to the total creep strain. The ratio
ranges between 0.1 and 0.2. The magnitude of creep recovery varies with the
previous creep and depends appreciably upon the period of the sustained load. Creep
recovery rate will be less if the loading period is increased, probably due to the
hardening of concrete while in a deformed condition.

The ultimate magnitude of creep varies between 0.2 106 and 2 106
per unit stress (lb/in2) per unit length. A value of 1 106 can be used in practice.
The ratio of creep strain to elastic strain may be as high as 4.

Figure (2-1) . Deformation in a loaded concrete cylinder :

(a) specimen unloaded, (b) elastic deformation, (c) elastic plus creep deformation, and
(d) permanent deformation after release of load.

Creep takes place in the hardened cement matrix around the strong aggregate.

It may be attributed to slippage along planes within the crystal lattice, internal
stresses caused by changes in the crystal lattice, and gradual loss of water from the
cement gel in the concrete.

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CE 605 ADVANCED R.C DESIGN

2-2 Creep effect

Creep phenomenon in the concrete harmful effects and other beneficial effects
can be summarized as follows :

2-2-1 Adverse effect :

1. It increases the value of deflection in some cases
2. It works to expand the cracks that arise from other factors
3. Increase of strains due to Creep may lead to cracking of the concrete.

2-2-2 The beneficial effect:

Lead to creep reduce the stresses caused by the constant tensile strain with
time (such as shrinkage) and therefore we have generated stress tension net is
the difference between the original stress and creep effect. This phenomenon
is known as relaxation, which is well-known that the cracks do not consist
only if the net tensile stress exceeds the tensile strength of concrete.

Figure (2-2). The beneficial effect for creep

2-3 The different factors that affect the creep of concrete can be summarized as
follows :
1. Level of Stress. Creep increases with an increase of stress in specimens made
from concrete of the same strength and with the same duration of load.
2. Duration of Loading. Creep increases with the loading period. About 80% of the
creep occurs within the first 4 months; 90% occurs after about 2 years.
3. Strength and Age of Concrete. Creep tends to be smaller if concrete is loaded at a
late age. Also, creep of (14 N/mm2) strength concrete is about 1.41106,
whereas that of (28 N/mm2) strength concrete is about 0.8106 per unit
stress and length of time.
4. Ambient Conditions. Creep is reduced with an increase in the humidity of the
ambient air.
5. Rate of Loading. Creep increases with an increase in the rate of loading when
followed by prolonged loading.
6. Percentage and Distribution of Steel Reinforcement in Reinforced Concrete
Member . Creep tends to be smaller for higher proportion or better distribution of
steel.

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 CE 605 ADVANCED R.C DESIGN

7. Size of Concrete Mass. Creep decreases with an increase in the size of the teste
specimen.
8. Type, Fineness, and Content of Cement. The amount of cement greatly affects the
final creep of concrete, as cement creeps about 15 times as much as concrete.
9. WaterCement Ratio. Creep increases with an increase in the water cement
ratio.
10. Type and Grading of Aggregate. Well-graded aggregate will produce dense
concrete and consequently a reduction in creep.
11. Type of Curing. High-temperature steam curing of concrete, as well as the proper
use of a plasticizer, will reduce the amount of creep.

Creep develops not only in compression but also in tension, bending, and torsion.

The ratio of the rate of creep in tension to that in compression will be greater than
1 in the first 2 weeks, but this ratio decreases over longer periods .

Creep in concrete under compression has been tested by many investigators.

Troxell, Raphale, and Davis measured creep strains periodically for up to 20 years
and estimated that of the total creep after 20 years, 18 to 35% occurred in 2 weeks, 30
to 70% occurred in 3 months, and 64 to 83% occurred in 1 year.

For normal concrete loaded after 28 days, Cr = 0.133t ,where Cr = creep strain
per unit stress per unit length. Creep augments the deflection of reinforced concrete
beams appreciably with time. In the design of reinforced concrete members, long-
term deflection may be critical and has to be considered in proper design. Extensive
deformation may influence the stability of the structure.
Sustained loads affect the strength as well as the deformation of concrete. A
reduction of up to 30% of the strength of unreinforced concrete may be expected
when concrete is subjected to a concentric sustained load for 1 year.

The fatigue strength of concrete is much smaller than its static strength. Repeated
loading and unloading cycles in compression lead to a gradual accumulation of plastic
deformations. If concrete in compression is subjected to about 2 million cycles, its
fatigue limit is about 50 to 60% of the static compression strength. In beams, the
fatigue limit of concrete is about 55% of its static strength.

References

1. M.NADIM HASSOUN AND AKTHEM AL- MANASEER , " Structural Concrete

Theory and Design " , 5th Edition , Wiley ( 2012 ).
2. : " "