Construction and Building Materials 299 (2021) 123833

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Construction and Building Materials

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Effect of calcium sulfoaluminate and MgO expansive agent on the

mechanical strength and crack resistance of concrete
Jinjun Guo a, Shiwei Zhang a, Cuige Qi b, Lin Cheng b, Lin Yang a,⇑
a
School of Water Conservancy Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
b
Shimantan Reservoir Administration of Henan Province, Wugang 462500, China

h i g h l i g h t s

Calcium sulfoaluminate and MgO expansive agents were used together in concrete.

Effect of the blended expansive agent on the mechanical strength was investigated.

The restricted expansion and dry shrinkage of concrete were continuously monitored.

Crack resistance of concrete with the blended expansive agent was evaluated.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This work explored effects of calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) and MgO blended expansive agent on the
Received 9 September 2020 mechanical strength and deformation of concrete. What’s more, the mechanism was investigated using
Received in revised form 14 April 2021 SEM and XRD analysis. Results show that the addition of MgO is beneficial to improve the later strength
Accepted 31 May 2021
of concrete. When the MgO content exceeds 2%, the mechanical strength of concrete at the later stage
Available online 23 June 2021
increases significantly; however, it begins to reduce when the MgO content is more than 5%. All results
illustrate that the optimum mass ratio of CSA and MgO is 2:1, and the concrete shows a certain expansion
Keywords:
at all stages, which also reduces the drying shrinkage at the later stage. Meanwhile, with the optimum
Shrinkage-compensating concrete
MgO expansive agent
mass ratio of CSA and MgO, the crack resistance of concrete can be improved by 97–127 % compared with
Crack resistance a single expansive agent.
Durability Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Microstructure

1. Introduction
Concrete is an important hydraulic construction and building
material. During the hardening process, the shrinkage of concrete
is due to its own hydration reaction and the transmission of mois-
ture. Common types of shrinkage include thermal, autogenous,
drying, and chemical shrinkage [1]. Shrinkage is one of the main
causes of concrete cracking [2]. The shrinkage of mass concrete
in water conservancy projects is mainly due to thermal and drying
shrinkage. To solve the shrinkage problem of mass concrete, a cer-
tain amount of expansive agent can be added to it. With the hydra-
tion of expansive agent, volume expansion of concrete occurs and
the concrete produces a certain pre-stress under the external con-
straints, which improves its crack resistance [3–5]. At present,
sulfoaluminate-type expansive agents are often used in engineer-
ing [6], which have the advantages of fast expansion rate and large
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: yanglin06142@zzu.edu.cn (L. Yang).
expansion in the early stage. However, there are many disadvan-
tages, such as a large shrinkage in the later stage, delayed ettringite
reaction, large water demand, and high curing requirements [7,8].
The sulfoaluminate-type expansive agents can produce a rapid
hydration reaction in the early stage. Hence, they can produce fas-
ter expansion in the early stage, while no expansion in the later
stage. These expansive agents cannot effectively compensate the
drying and temperature shrinkage of cement-based materials in
the later period [9,10]. On the contrary, the MgO expansive agent
hydrates slowly, and then it has the characteristics of delayed
expansion, which is the most economical and effective method to
prevent the temperature-shrinkage cracks of mass concrete [11].
The low-reactivity MgO expansive agent hydrates slowly and
causes a slight expansion in the early stage; however, after an
induction period, the expansion curve grows rapidly and eventu-
ally exceeds that mixed with high-reactivity MgO expansive agent
[11]. Compared with the traditional sulphoaluminate-type and
calcium-oxide-type expansive agents, the low-activity MgO expan-
sive agent can compensate the temperature and drying shrinkage

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.123833
0950-0618/Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
J. Guo, S. Zhang, C. Qi et al.
of mass concrete in the later period, and the hydration product is
stable [12]. Moreover, the addition of MgO expansive agent
improves the durability of concrete [13,14]. At the same time,
the references show that the MgO expansive agent has an ability
of self-healing, which can repair the tiny cracks of concrete
[15,16]. At present, MgO expansive agent has been used in many
projects and has achieved good results [17,18].
The calcium sulfoaluminate and MgO expansive agents have
been blended to form a composite expansive agent, making up
the shortcomings to obtain an appropriate amount of expansion.
Studies show that ettringite is beneficial for the production of bru-
cite [19–20]. At the same time, the two expansion sources show
the performance of continuity, integrity, and stability. The use of
moderate heat Portland cement with double expansive sources
not only produce early expansion but also later expansion, which
can improve the crack resistance of mass concrete and has
achieved good applications in practical engineering [21–23]. Some
scholars have carried out related research on the dual-expansion
source expansive agents. Effects of calcium sulfoaluminate and
CaO mixed with MgO expansive agent on the strength of concrete
(mortar) and restricted expansion ratio were studied, and the
results show that the composite expansive agent reduces the early
strength but improves the strength of concrete in the later period
[22,24,25]. The two expansive agents have good coordination,
and their expansion efficiency is higher than that of a single expan-
sive agent [24–30]. However, the above research on the crack resis-
tance of shrinkage-compensating concrete is based on the
mechanical or deformation performance indicators, e.g., the com-
pressive and flexural indices [24,28], index of restricted expansion
rate [25,29,30], index of expansion rate [26], autogenous shrinkage
index [27]. The crack resistance of shrinkage-compensating con-
crete is related to its deformation and mechanical performance,
and both of them are mutually restrictive. Therefore, the use of a
single evaluation index is imperfect. The mechanical strength and
deformation of shrinkage-compensating concrete need to be con-
sidered at the same time, and a comprehensive index should be
used to evaluate the crack resistance of shrinkage-compensating
concrete. Furthermore, it is necessary to conduct relevant research
on the crack resistance of concrete at different stages.
In this work, effect of calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) expansive
agent combined with MgO expansive agent on the compressive
strength, axial tensile strength, restricted expansion ratio and dry
shrinkage deformation was carried out. It aims to offer a basis for
the preparation of shrinkage-compensating concrete and improve
the crack resistance.
2. Material and methods
2.1. Materials
P O 42.5 Portland cement (Chinese standard GB175-2007 [31])
and Grade Ⅰ fly ash (Chinese standard GB/T1596-2017 [32]) were
used in this work. The CSA and MgO expansive agents were con-
formed to the Chinese standard GB23439-2017 [33], and the reac-
tion time between MgO expansive agent and citric acid was 160 s,
which was used to evaluate the activity of MgO. The chemical com-
Table 1
Composition of raw materials.
Composition (%) SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3
Cement 22.65 4.98 4.10
Fly Ash 41.10 23.6 1.14
MgO 1.51 0.68 0.48
CSA 25.75 15.50 0.90
2
Construction and Building Materials 299 (2021) 123833
positions of above materials are listed in Table 1. The naphthalene-
series superplasticizer (sodiun naphthalene sulphonate formalde-
hyde condensate) meets the Chinese standard GB8076-2008 [34],
and the water reduction ratio is 16.1%. The physical properties of
raw materials are shown in Table 2.
The fine aggregate is natural river sand with the maximum size
of 4.75 mm and fineness modulus of 2.71. The coarse aggregate is
crushed stone with the size of 16–31.5 mm. The concrete mix pro-
portions used for the study of mechanical and deformation proper-
ties are listed in Table 3. The total mass of binder materials is
300 kg/m3 and the expansive agents are mixed with the replacing
ratio of 10% invariably, i.e., 30 kg/m3 in total. However, the mass
ratio of CSA and MgO is 4:1, 2:1, 1:1 and 1:0, respectively. For
example, the C4M1 group indicates that the mass ratio of the CSA
and MgO expansive agents is 4:1, and the other groups are repre-
sented in the same way. The OC group is prepared without expan-
sive agent, used as control specimens. The mass of 30 kg/m3 is
replaced by cement and fly ash in the ratio of 4:1.
2.2. Specimen preparation and curing method
Cubic specimens with the size of 150  150  150 mm were
prepared for the compression test, and each group of three speci-
mens were tested to assess the compressive strength. Dog-bone
shaped specimens of 600  196  100 mm were produced for ten-
sile strength test, as shown in Fig. 1, and the cross-sections and
gauge lengths were 100  100 mm and 100 mm, respectively. Each
group of four specimens were tested to determine the tensile
strength. The fresh concrete was placed by embedding a steel bar
reinforcement (10 mm diameter, 300 mm length) for a restricted
expansion rate, and 12 mm thick steel plates were welded at both
ends of the steel bar. The test of drying shrinkage was conducted
using the rectangular specimens with the size of
515  100  100 mm, and three specimens were prepared for each
mix proportion.
For above specimens, the compression and axial tensile speci-
mens were cured at the standard condition (20 ± 2 °C and 98% rel-
ative humidity) after demolding until up to the test age. The
specimen with restricted expansion rate was cured in water at
the temperature of 20 ± 2 °C to the test age. The specimens used
for measuring the dry shrinkage were cured under the conditions
of 20 ± 2 °C and 65 ± 5% relative humidity.
2.3. Test methods
2.3.1. Mechanical properties test
A WAW-1000 servo-hydraulic universal testing machine was
used to measure the mechanical properties of concrete, including
the compressive strength and axial tensile strength of the speci-
mens on the 14th, 28th, and 60th day of curing. The load rates
for compressive strength and axial tensile test were controlled at
0.5 MPa/s and 0.4 MPa/min, respectively. ABX120-100AA strain
gauge (length of 100 mm) was used to measure the concrete strain.
After the specimen was removed from the curing room, the surface
of the middle part was dried with a hair dryer, and then the strain
gauges were glued on two sides of the test specimen, as shown in
CaO MgO Na2O K2O SO3
60.43 1.9 – – 2.31
2.10 1.40 – 1.10 0.40
2.18 93.50 – – –
24.1 0.90 0.10 0.49 28.78
J. Guo, S. Zhang, C. Qi et al. Construction and Building Materials 299 (2021) 123833

Table 2
Physical properties of raw materials.

Properties Specific surface area (m2/kg) Density (g/cm3) Setting time (min)
Initial setting Final setting
cement 386 3.16 90 300
fly ash 528 2.10 — —
CSA 267 2.71 154 209
MgO 250 2.65 235 280

Table 3
Mix proportions of concretes (kg/m3).

Group Water Cement Sand Stone CSA MgO Superplasticizer Fly ash
C4M1 140 214 711 1283 24 6 2.09 54
C2M1 140 214 711 1283 20 10 2.09 54
C1M1 140 214 711 1283 15 15 2.09 54
C1M0 140 214 711 1283 30 0 2.09 54
OC 140 238 711 1283 0 0 2.09 60

device was adjusted to ensure that the eccentricity was not greater
than 15%. The axial tensile test of concrete is shown in Fig. 2.

2.3.2. Deformation properties test

(1) Test of restricted expansion ratio
The test of restricted expansion ratio was conformed to the Chi-
nese standard GB 23439-2013 [33]. All the specimens
(300  100  100 mm) used for testing the restricted expansion
ratio were demolded after 24 h, and the initial readings were
recorded by measuring with the test device for restricted expan-
sion ratio shown in Fig. 3. The length change ratio was calculated
according to Eq. (1).

L1  L
e¼  100 ð1Þ
L0

Where, e is the change ratio of the length; L1 is the length of the

specimen at the measured age (mm); L is the initial length of spec-
imen (mm), and L0 is the reference length of the specimen
Fig. 1. Dog-bone specimen (in mm).
(300 mm).
(2) The test of drying shrinkage
The drying shrinkage of concrete was measured by a TR-NC
non-contact concrete shrinkage and deformation tester. As shown
in Fig. 4, high-precision displacement sensors were used at both
ends of the specimen to measure the deformation of concrete,
and the collected data were transmitted to the data collection
equipment. All the specimens (515  100  100 mm) were placed
in the mold, however, there was a certain gap between the sides
of the test specimen and the inner walls of the mold. A layer of
plastic film was laid on the bottom of the mold, and lubricating
oil was evenly spread between them. After that, the specimen
was placed in a room at 20 ± 2 °C and 60 ± 5% relative humidity.
The top surface and four sides of the specimen were directly
exposed to the dry environment. The deformation of all the speci-
mens were continuously monitored for 60 days.

2.3.3. Microstructure test

Fig. 2. Axial tensile test.
Fig. 2. After the specimen was installed on the testing machine, the
preload was performed firstly and it was 15–20% of the failure
load. According to the measured strain value, the load transfer
3
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM, EVO HD 15, ZEISS, 10 kV
and 1.85 mA) was used to observe the microstructure of concrete
and provide evidences to the effect of expansive agents on the
mechanical properties of concrete. X-ray diffraction (XRD, PANa-
lytical Empyrean, Germany, Cu-Ka, 45 kV and 40 mA) was used
to analyze the mineral phase composition of concrete, revealing
the effect of compound expansive agents on the deformation of
concrete. These tests were conducted according to reference [35].
J. Guo, S. Zhang, C. Qi et al. Construction and Building Materials 299 (2021) 123833

Fig. 3. Test device for restricted expansion ratio.

Fig. 5. Concrete axial tensile failure.

45
C4M1
40 C2M1
35 C1M1
Compressive Strength (MPa)

C1M0
30
OC
25

20

15

10
Fig. 4. Test of drying shrinkage.
5

0
3. Results and discussion 14 day 28 day 60 day
Age (days)
3.1. Effect of mass ratio on compressive and tensile strength of
concrete Fig. 6. Compressive strength of concrete at different age.

The shrinkage-compensating concrete specimen after test the

axial tensile strength is shown in Fig. 5. The tensile failure of
shrinkage-compensating concrete is perpendicular to the long axis
of the specimen, and the shape is irregular and rough. There were
many small cracks inside the concrete. In the process of increasing
tensile stress, these cracks continued to expand along the weak
strength area, forming larger cracks with other small cracks until
the specimen fractured [36]. Therefore, the tiny cracks in concrete
were the main reason for the ultimate failure. The expansion
sources generated from the hydration reaction of expansive agent
and filled the internal defects, which in further improved the ten-
sile strength of concrete. However, if the expansion amount was
too high to be held, more micro-cracks formed and the tensile
strength of concrete was reduced.
The compressive and tensile strengths of concrete with differ-
ent mass ratio of CSA and MgO expansive agents are shown in
Figs. 6 and 7, respectively. From the compressive and tensile
strengths of shrinkage-compensating concrete mixed with 10%
CSA and OC, it is found that adding 10% CSA reduced the compres-
sive and tensile strengths of concrete in the early stage. At 14 days,
the compressive strength of shrinkage-compensating concrete
mixed with CSA was 9.3% lower than that of OC, and the tensile
strength showed a reduction of 7.9%. This is because a great deal
of expansive products had a negative effect on the microstructure
of concrete and many cracks generated in the paste-aggregate
interface under the free-curing condition [37,38], and thus the
compressive strength of shrinkage-compensating concrete was
lower than that of OC. As shown in Fig. 8, numerous ettringite crys-
tals filled the internal pores of the C1M0 concrete, and expansion
cracks were found around the pores. Apart from crystals, amor-
phous ettringite phase also exist in the vicinity of these
aluminum-bearing nuclei and integrate in the C–S–H gels [39].
Therefore, excessive expansive agent was not benefit to the

4
J. Guo, S. Zhang, C. Qi et al.
3.0
2.5
Tensile Strength (MPa)
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
14 day 28 day
Age (days)
Fig. 7. Tensile strength of concrete at different age.
Fig. 8. C1M0 group microstructure at 14 days.
mechanical properties of concrete. The compressive strength of
shrinkage-compensating concrete mixed with 10% CSA was similar
to that of OC at 60 days, and the tensile strength was 5.5% lower
than that of OC.
Under the mixed condition of MgO and CSA, the compressive
and tensile strengths of the U4M1 concrete was the highest at
14 days; besides, they were separately 6.5% and 6.4% higher than
the U1M0 group. The microstructure shows that more early expan-
sion products (AFt) filled the larger pores when an appropriate
amount of CSA was added, which optimized the internal pore
structure of concrete, reduced the internal porosity, and improved
the mechanical properties [40]. However, when excessive CSA was
added, certain expansion damage occurred inside the concrete, and
the mechanical strength was reduced. From 14 to 60 days, mixing
more than 2% MgO expansive agent increased the growth rate of
the later strength of concrete. At 28 days, the compressive strength
of the C1M1 group increased by 13.6% compared with C1M0, and the
tensile strength increased by 7.0%.
Compared with C1M0, the compressive strength of the C2M1
group increased by 10.5% and the tensile strength increased by
15.3% at 60 days, indicating that the incorporation of the MgO
expansive agent can improve the later mechanical properties of
concrete. The hydration product (Mg(OH)2) of MgO expansive
agent densified the internal structure of concrete, thereby
improved its mechanical properties [11,38]. At the same time, it
is found that the C1M1 group had the highest mechanical proper-
ties at 28 days, but the C2M1 group had the highest mechanical
Construction and Building Materials 299 (2021) 123833
properties at 60 days, mainly because the excessive expansion of
C4M1
the MgO expansive agent (5%) in the later stage would cause
C2M1 expansion damage to the concrete and reduce its mechanical
C1M1 properties.
C1M0
OC
3.2. Effect of mass ratio on the elastic modulus of concrete
The elastic modulus of concrete is its basic mechanical property
parameter. It develops with the hydration reaction of cement and
is closely related to the microstructure of concrete [41]. The change
in the elastic modulus of concrete at various ages is shown in Fig. 9.
It can be observed from the figure that, compared with OC, the
addition of 10% CSA slightly reduced the elastic modulus of con-
crete in 14 days, which is consistent with the result obtained from
60 day Li et al. [42]. Under the condition of MgO and CSA blended expan-
sive agent, with the increase of MgO content, the elastic modulus
of concrete decreased at 14 days. The elastic modulus of the
C1M1 group at 14 days decreased by 6.4% compared with that of
the C1M0 group. At 28 days, there was insignificant difference for
the elastic modulus of concrete prepared with various mixes. How-
ever, at 60 days, the elastic modulus of the C2M1 group increased
by 5.2% compared with that of the C1M0 group. Even so, the elastic
modulus variation of concrete prepared with different mix propor-
tion was limited.
3.3. Effect of mass ratio on the ultimate tensile microstrain value of
concrete
When concrete is axially stretched, the maximum tensile strain
before breaking is defined as the ultimate tensile microstrain
value. The higher the concrete’s ultimate tensile microstrain value
is, the better it can withstand the deformation caused by temper-
ature or drying shrinkage. In the temperature control of mass con-
crete, the ultimate tensile microstrain value of the axial tension is
generally used as the main index for crack resistance of concrete.
The ultimate tensile microstrain values of the tested concrete
mixes at various ages are shown in Fig. 10. From the compare of
OC and C1M0 groups, it was found that the addition of 10% CSA
reduced the ultimate tensile microstrain value of concrete. Com-
pared with the OC group, the ultimate tensile microstrain value
of the C1M0 group at 14, 28 and 60 days reduced by 13.5%, 12%,
and 9.9%, respectively. At 14 days, the ultimate tensile microstrain
value of the C1M1 group was 13.8% higher than that of the C1M0
group, and the ultimate tensile microstrain value of the C4M1
group was 10.8% higher than that of the C1M1 group. Above results
showed that the concrete with 8% CSA had better mechanical prop-
erties in the early stage, however, it was reduced when 10% CSA
40
C4M1
35 C2M1
C1M1
30
C1M0
Elastic Modules (GPa)
25 OC
20
15
10
5
0
14 day 28 day 60 day
Age (days)
Fig. 9. Elastic modulus of concrete at different age.
5
J. Guo, S. Zhang, C. Qi et al. Construction and Building Materials 299 (2021) 123833

120 restrained expansion ratio of shrinkage-compensating concrete

C4M1
110 (14 days  0.015%) [43].
Ultimate Tensile Microstrain Value

C2M1
100 From 14 to 90 days, with the continuous hydration of the MgO
C1M1
90 expansive agent, the restrained expansion ratio of shrinkage-
C1M0
80 compensating concrete gradually increased. At 28 days, the
OC
70 restrained expansion ratio of the C1M1 and C2M1 groups was sim-
60 ilar to that of the C1M0 group. At 90 days, the restrained expansion
50 ratio of C1M1 group increased by 22.3% compared with the C1M0
40 group. These results showed that, compared with the C1M0 group,
30 the restrained expansion ratio of concrete mixed with MgO expan-
20 sive agent continuously increased after 14 days, even though the
10 growth rate was less than that in the early stage (before 14 days).
0 The composite expansive agents composed of MgO and CSA not
14 day 28 day 60 day only produced a rapid expansion and high expansion amount,
Age (days) but also continued to expand in the later period.
There are two reasons for the expansion of shrinkage-
Fig. 10. Ultimate tensile microstrain value of concrete at different age.
compensating concrete under water curing conditions. Firstly,
the internal hydration products (C-S-H gel) of concrete absorbed
free water from the external environment to produce expansion
was mixed. From 14 to 60 days, with the further hydration of MgO [44]. Secondly, the expansive agents hydrated to form ettringite
expansive agent, the growth rate of the ultimate tensile micros- (AFt) and Mg(OH)2 crystals, both of them brought volume expan-
train value of concrete increased significantly in the later period. sion of concrete. Under the immersion condition, the concrete
At 60 days, the ultimate tensile microstrain value of the C2M1 tended to be saturated and the hydration of CSA completed in a
group increased by 26.6% compared with that of the C1M0 group. short time. Moreover, the ettringite presented a compact morphol-
The incorporation of MgO expansive agent improved the ultimate ogy and steady crystalline character with external water supply
tensile microstrain value of concrete in the later period, which is [39]. Therefore, the restrained expansion rate of C1M0 group had
benefit to improve the crack resistance of concrete. no significant variation after 14 days.

3.4. Effect of mass ratio on restrained expansion ratio of concrete 3.5. Effect of mass ratio on the drying shrinkage value of concrete

Fig. 11 shows the restrained expansion ratio of shrinkage- The drying shrinkage value of concrete is shown in Fig. 12. Both
compensating concrete under water curing conditions. It can be of shrinkage-compensating concrete and OC showed drying
observed that the C1M0 group had a higher restrained expansion shrinkage at the temperature of 20 °C and relative humidity of
ratio and growth rate during the first 14 days. When the amount 60%. The dry shrinkage value of OC increased rapidly before
of the MgO expansive agent increased, the restrained expansion 28 days and tended to be steady after 28 days. The drying shrink-
ratio of concrete in the early stage (before 14 days) gradually age values of OC at 7 and 14 days are 56.1% and 81.0% of the 28-
decreased. It indicated that the early expansion effect of the MgO day drying shrinkage values. This is because the self-shrinkage
expansive agent was not apparent. At 14 days, the restrained induced by hydration reaction for OC concrete is significant in
expansion ratio of the C2M1 and C1M1 groups decreased by 12.4% the early stage, but it cannot be recompensed in time.
and 24.3%, respectively, compared with the C1M0 group. The As shown in Fig. 12, the drying shrinkage value of shrinkage-
hydration reaction of the CSA mainly occurred in the early stage compensating concretes was less than that of OC. The drying
(before 14 days), and the 14-day restrained expansion ratio of shrinkage values of the C1M0 group at 14, 28, and 60 days were
the C1M0 group reached 94% of that at 120 days. The restrained
expansion ratio of each group of concrete met the requirements
of the Chinese standard GB50119-2013 for the minimum
-700

-600
Drying shrinkage deformation (%)

0.040
-500
0.035
Restrained expansion ratio (%)

0.030 -400

0.025 -300
0.030
0.020 -200
0.025

0.015 C4M1 0.020

0.015
-100 OC C1M0
C2M1
0.010 0.010 C1M1 C2M1
C1M1 0
0.005
C4M1
0.005 C1M0 0.000
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
100
0.000
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Age (days) Age (days)

Fig. 11. Restrained expansion ratio of concrete at different time. Fig. 12. Drying shrinkage evolution of concrete.

6
J. Guo, S. Zhang, C. Qi et al.
0.05
C4M1 C2M1
C1M0 OC
0.04
0.03
K
0.02
0.01
0.00
14 day 28 day
Age (days)
Fig. 13. Crack resistance of concrete.
reduced by 35.4%, 32.9%, and 30.3% compared with OC, respec-
tively. C-S-H gels, the main hydration products of cement, have a
large number of pores and are very easy to shrink due to the loss
of free water in the dry environment [45]. This is the main reason
that results in the dry shrinkage of concrete [46]. When the CSA
expansive agent is added to concrete, more ettringite crystals form
and fill the internal pores of concrete, which not only reduce the
shrinkage but also improve the compactness of concrete [47]. Then
the evaporation of moisture inside the concrete is difficult, and the
dry shrinkage value is reduced again.
Under the mixed condition of MgO and CSA, with the amount of
the MgO expansive agent increasing, the drying shrinkage value of
shrinkage-compensating concrete decreased first and then
increased. The C1M1 and C2M1 groups showed slight expansion in
the early stage (before 3 days), and the dry shrinkage value of
the two groups was the smallest. The dry shrinkage value of the
C1M1 group at 14, 28, and 60 days reduced by 30.9%, 16.8%, and
16.8% compared to the C1M0 group, and the C2M1 group decreased
by 51.7%, 41.0%, and 40.3%, respectively. The results showed that
the MgO expansive agent reduced the drying shrinkage of concrete
more effectively than the CSA. The main reason is that the hydra-
tion reaction of the MgO expansive agent can take place at a lower
Fig. 14. Microstructure of C4M1 and C1M1 concrete at 14 days.
Construction and Building Materials 299 (2021) 123833
humidity, and produce a certain degree of expansion in a dry envi-
C1M1 ronment [48]. Therefore, it is more suitable to prepare shrinkage-
compensating concrete using the MgO expansive agent in a dry
environment.
The MgO expansive agent reduced the drying shrinkage of con-
crete from two aspects. Firstly, the hydration of the MgO expansive
agent produced a certain expansion pressure, which partially com-
pensate the compressive stress caused by the evaporation of capil-
lary water in the hardened cement paste. Secondly, as the
hydration product of the MgO expansive agent, the Mg(OH)2 crys-
tals filled the microstructure of matrix, reduced the porosity and
improved the compactness of concrete [48].
3.6. Concrete crack resistance index
At present, the indicators used to evaluate the crack resistance
of concrete are proposed according to the different uses of con-
60 day crete. Concrete with better crack resistance should have higher
tensile strength, larger ultimate tensile microstrain value, smaller
modulus of elasticity, and smaller dry shrinkage deformation. In
addition to the influence of the above indicators on the crack
resistance of shrinkage-compensating concrete, the pre-stress
should also be considered. Considering the influence of multiple
factors on the crack resistance of concrete, an evaluation index
(K) suitable for the crack resistance of shrinkage-concrete con-
crete is proposed.
ep ðf t þ rz Þ
K¼ ð2Þ
Et ed
where ft is the tensile strength of concrete (MPa), ep is the ultimate
tensile microstrain value of concrete, Et is the elastic modulus of
concrete (GPa), ed is the drying shrinkage value of concrete, and
rz is the pre-stress of shrinkage-compensating concrete (MPa).
According to the Chinese standard GB23439-2017 [33], the calcula-
tion formula for the pre-stress of shrinkage-compensating concrete
is as follows:
rz ¼ l  E  e ð3Þ
Where, l is the reinforcement ratio, (%); E is the elastic modulus of
the steel bar (200 GPa), and e is the length change ratio at the mea-
sured age.
The larger the K value, the better the crack resistance of con-
crete. The K values of concrete at different ages are shown in
Fig. 13. The K value of concrete in the early age is higher than that
in the later, because the early dry shrinkage deformation and stress
7
J. Guo, S. Zhang, C. Qi et al.
Fig. 15. ITZ microstructure of concrete at 14 and 60 days.
of concrete is small. From 28 to 60 days, the crack resistance of
shrinkage-compensating concrete mixed with MgO and the CSA
was significantly improved. The crack resistance of concrete mixed
with 10% CSA at 14, 28 and 60 days was separately improved by
42.7%, 39.5% and 49.2%, compared with that of OC. Although the
addition of 10% CSA reduced the mechanical properties of concrete,
it reduced the drying shrinkage value. Under the condition of MgO
and CSA mixture, with the increase of MgO expansive agent con-
tent, the crack resistance of concrete increased first and then
decreased. Compared with the C1M0 group, the crack resistance
of C1M1, C2M1, and C4M1 groups at 14 days was improved by
42.2%, 99.0%, and 38.7%, respectively. Similarly, at 60 days, the
crack resistance of the C1M1, C2M1, and C4M1 groups was improved
by 37.9%, 127.8%, and 57.0%, respectively. These results showed
that the addition of MgO expansive agent improved the crack resis-
tance of concrete, besides the optimal mass ratio is 2:1.
3.7. Internal microstructure of concrete
At 14 days, the internal microstructure of concrete is shown in
Fig. 14. There were many pores and microcracks in the C4M1 and
C1M1 groups. With an increase in the amount of CSA, the number
of ettringite crystals increased. For C4M1 concrete, needle-rod
ettringite crystals and C-S-H gels filled the pores to form a network
structure [39]. However, for the C1M1 group, a small amount of
ettringite crystals were formed in the pores, which cannot fully fill
the internal pores of concrete. Then, the mechanical strength of the
C1M1 group in the early age (14 days) was lower than that of the
C4M1 group.
8
Construction and Building Materials 299 (2021) 123833
The interface transition zones (ITZs) between cement paste and
aggregate of the C1M0 and C2M1 groups are shown in Fig. 15. At
14 days, a large number of ettringite crystals were found in the
ITZ of C1M0 group, which reduced the crack width and improved
the property of ITZ. The crack width of ITZ in the C1M0 group
was smaller than that of the C2M1 group, and thus the mechanical
strength of U1M0 was higher than that of the C2M1 group. With the
curing age increasing, the bonding cracks reduced due to the
hydration reaction of the MgO expansive agent, and the concrete
microstructure became denser. At 60 days, the crack width of
C1M0 was larger than that of the C2M1 group, and thus the mechan-
ical properties of C1M0 were lower than those of the C2M1 group.
The microstructures of OC and C2M1 groups are shown in Fig. 16.
When the curing age came up to 60 days, the shrinkage of concrete
caused micro-cracks. From the crack width of the two groups, it
was found that the incorporation of the MgO expansive agent
reduced the width of microcracks in concrete, which improved
its mechanical properties.
3.8. XRD phase analysis
Fig. 17 shows the XRD patterns of C1M0 concrete at 14, 60, and
120 days. It was observed that the peaks of AFt had no obvious
change with the time increasing from 14 days to 120 days. This
indicated that the hydration reaction of CSA was nearly completed
before 14 days, then the expansion deformation of concrete was
not affected after 14 days.
Fig. 18 shows the XRD patterns of the C4M1, C2M1, and C1M1
groups at 14 and 120 days. The intensity of AFt peaks increased
J. Guo, S. Zhang, C. Qi et al. Construction and Building Materials 299 (2021) 123833

Fig. 16. Microstructure of OC and C2M1 concrete at 60 days.

deformation at 120 days. This is the main reason that the concrete
mixed with the blended expansive agents continued to expand in
the later period.

AFt
Intensity

120 day AFt 4. Conclusion

60 day From this work, several conclusions are as follows:

14 day
8 9 10 11 12 13
2θ (degree)
Fig. 17. XRD patterns of C1M0 concrete.
with the amount of CSA increasing. The presence of the MgO
expansive agent in the XRD patterns indicated that the hydration
reaction of the MgO expansive agent was not completed at 14
and 120 days. With the curing age increasing, the intensity of the
MgO peaks gradually decreased. It indicated that the MgO expan-
sive agent continued to hydrate and the amount of Mg(OH)2 grad-
ually increased, then the concrete presented micro-expansion
(1) The addition of CSA combined with MgO expansive agent is
beneficial to the mechanical strength development of concrete,
especially at the later stage.
(2) The expansion of CSA mainly occurs before 14 days, while
the MgO expansive agent plays an expansive role in the later stage.
14 15 16 17 The combination of CSA and MgO expansive agent shows an inhi-
bitory effect on the shrinkage of concrete and improves its crack
resistance.
(3) Considering the mechanical strength and deformation, an
evaluation index of crack resistance is proposed, which is reliable
for shrinkage-compensating concrete.
(4) The crack resistance of shrinkage-compensating concrete
mixed with 10% CSA at 14d, 28d and 60d is separately improved
by 42.7%, 39.5%, and 49.2% compared with OC. With the combina-
tion of MgO expansive agent, the crack resistance of concrete can
be improved in further; besides, the optimum mass ratio of CSA
and MgO is 2:1, and the crack resistance of concrete can be
improved by 97–127% compared with the single expansive agent.

1 1 1 - SiO2
(a) 14 day C4M1 (b) 60 day C4M1
2 - CaCO3
C2M1 C2M1
3 - Ca(OH)2
C1M1 1 C1M1
2
4 - Mg(OH)2
1 1 5 - C3S
2 3 3 1
7 4 6 1
1 6 - C2S
7 3 3 4 8 1 7 6 8 3 5
7 6 5 1 7 - AFt
3 6
8 - MgO

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
2θ (degree) 2θ (degree)

Fig. 18. XRD patterns of concrete mixed with CSA and MgO expansive agent.

9
J. Guo, S. Zhang, C. Qi et al.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Jinjun Guo: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing - original
draft, Funding acquisition. Shiwei Zhang: Software, Validation,
Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing - original draft. Cuige Qi:
Data curation, Visualization. Lin Cheng: Visualization, Investiga-
tion. Lin Yang: Conceptualization, Visualization, Supervision, Writ-
ing - review & editing.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgement
This study was financially supported by the National Natural
Science Foundation of China (No. 51879244 & U2040224). The
authors would like to thank for the financial support.
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