Influence of shrinkage-reducing agent and polypropylene fiber on shrinkage of ceramsite concrete

This paper reports a study done on the impact of a shrinkage-reducing agent (SRA) and polypropylene fiber
(PPF), individually and jointly, on ceramsite concrete (CC). The results indicate the following: (1) CC
mixed with SRA alone, results in early micro-expansion increases as SRA content increases while self-
shrinkage and drying shrinkage decreases. (2) CC mixed only PPF, results in early micro-expansion, self-
shrinkage and drying shrinkage decreases as PPF content increases; amplitude decrease is large for early
micro-expansion, but insignificant for self-shrinkage and drying-shrinkage, and shrinkage reduction is
smaller compared to SRA. (3) If an SRA-PPF mix is added to CC, both contributed significantly to self-
shrinkage, drying shrinkage, and reduction. (Gong & Zhang, 2018)

The effects of shrinkage-reducing admixtures used in self-compacting concrete on its strength and
durability
This study explores the effects of shrinkage-reducing admixtures (SRA) used in self-compacting concrete
(SCC), a specific type of concrete which is gradually receiving widespread use, yet to be improved to the
desired properties and expected to replace traditional concrete in the future, on its strength and durability.

In this study, SCC mixtures with and without (reference) different SRA dosages were produced to define
the optimum SRA utilization rate in SCC mixtures. After deciding the SRA dosage to be used in mixtures,
properties of reference and SRA-added SCC mixtures were evaluated by focusing mainly on the
workability, strength and durability properties after subjected to either direct water submersion or cyclic
Na2SO4 solution.
As a result of the experimental program, it was concluded that the presence of SRA has adverse effects on
the mechanical properties of SCC specimens although these effects are not dramatic regardless of the
harshness of environmental exposure. The influence of SRA addition on fresh-state properties was also
minimal so that the workability of reference and SRA-added SCC mixtures were found to be similar.
Occurrence and further development of both drying and restrained shrinkage were substantially restricted
with varying rates when SRA was incorporated in SCC mixtures. Overall, this study concludes that with a
proper selection of SRA dosage, SCC mixtures performing well even under very hazardous environments
can successfully be produced and be taken advantage of without sacrificing much of workability and/or
mechanical properties and risking the occurrence and further development of shrinkage-originated
cracking. (Demir & Tekin, 2018)

Shrinkage behavior of fly ash based geopolymer pastes with and without shrinkage reducing
admixture
In this study, flowability, compressive strength, drying and restrained shrinkage, cracking potential,
and pore size distribution of fly ash based geopolymer (FG) pastes were investigated. The FG pastes were
made with two SiO2/Na2O mole ratios (Module), two solute mass concentrations (Concentration), with and
without shrinkage reducing admixture (SRA), and their properties were compared with those of Portland
cement (PC) pastes. A liquid-to-binder ratio (L/B) of 0.33 was used for both PC and FG pastes. The drying
condition of 25 °C and 50% RH was used for both free and restrained drying shrinkage tests. The results
indicated that the Module and Concentration of activators affected all properties of FG pastes investigated.
All FG pastes had a lower cracking tendency than the PC pastes, the latter of which cracked first although
its shrinkage was not the highest. The drying shrinkage of FG pastes increased with decreasing Module and
increasing Concentration. There was a critical pore size, ds, computed from both the water loss and pore
size distributions, which was strongly related with free drying shrinkage of all the pastes studied. The
smaller the ds value, the larger the free drying shrinkage a paste will have. SRA substantially coarsened pore
structure, significantly reduced free drying shrinkage, noticeably reduced restrained ring shrinkage,
distinctly delayed crack initiation time, and considerably decreased crack width of all pastes studied. (Ling
& Fu, 2019)

Shrinkage-reducing admixtures
The use of shrinkage-reducing admixtures is a simple and efficient way to fight early cracking of concrete
with a water–cement ratio (w/c) or water–binder ratio (w/b) less than 0.40 due to the early development of
autogenous shrinkage, as well as the long-term cracking of concretes with w/b or w/c greater than 0.40 that
are subjected to severe drying shrinkage. Shrinkage-reducing admixtures can be used alone or in
combination with expansive agents in order to better fight these different forms of shrinkage. Their dosages
are much higher than the dosages of the other chemical admixtures used in concrete, with the exception of
the superplasticizer dosage in high performance concrete (HPC) with a very low w/c (on the order of 0.30–
0.35). (Gagne, 2016)