Effect of binders on shrinkage cracking behavior of concrete

Abstract

This research was aimed to study the effect of binders on cracking behavior of high strength concrete under restrained shrinkage condition. The cracking behaviors of concrete that study were cracking age in uniaxially restrained shrinkage test, shrinkage rate, free shrinkage, crack propagation and strength of concrete. The binders used in this study were fly ash and limestone powder. The weight percentage of replacement of cement by fly ash and limestone powder were 30 and 10%, respectively. The water to binder ratios was 0.35. The results indicated that the influence parameters of shrinkage cracking were type of binder, amount of free shrinkage, shrinkage rate and tensile creep of concrete. The use of fly ash and limestone powder could reduce free shrinkage and shrinkage rate of concrete, and result in the longer cracking age than cement-only concrete. The tensile creep of cement-only concrete was higher than that of limestone powder concrete and fly ash concrete, respectively