n 2.1.6.4.

Creep and shrinkage

m
ti'
2.1.6.4.1. Definitlons
~
3:: The distinc6on between creep and shrinkage is conventional. Normally the The total strain at time t, ec(t), of a concrete member uniaxially 1oaded at
&. delayed strains of loaded or unloaded concrete should be considered as two time t0 with a constant stress o'c(t0 ) may be expressed as follows
!!.. aspects of a single physical phenomenon.
~ Also, separation of initial strain and creep strain is a matter of conven- ec(t) ec;(lo) + s,At) + ecs(l) + Bcr(l) (2.1-59)
<>
g tion. In structural analysis, the total load dependent strain as given by the = ec<T(t) + ec,(t) (2. 1- 60)
creep function (refer to clause 2. 1.6.4.3) is of importance. The initial and
creep strain components are defined consistently, so that their sum results
in the correct load dependent strain. where
For the prediction of the creep function the initial strain eá(t) is based on ec;(to ) is the initial strain at 1oading
the tangent modu1us of elasticity as defined in eqs (2. 1- 15) and (2. 1-57). ecc (t) is the creep strain at time t > t0
ecs (t) is the shrinkage strain
ecr(l) is the therma1 strain
e,.<T (t) is the stress dependent strain: eC<T(t) = ec;(to) + ecc (t)
ec,(t) is the stress independent strain: ec,(t) = ecs(t) + ecr (t).

2.1.6.4.2. Range of appllcability

The model does not predict local rheo1ogjca1 properties within the cross-
section of a concrete member such as variations due to interna! stresses,
moisture states or the effects of local cracking.
T he prediction mode1 is not applicable to
• concrete subjected to extreme temperatures, high (e.g. nuclear
reactors) or low (e.g. LNG-tanks)
• very dry climatic conditions (average relative humidity RH < 40%)
• structural lightweight aggregate concrete.
The effect of temperature variations during hardening can be taken into
account in accordance with eq. (2.1 - 87). The effect of0°C < T < 80°C is
dealt with in subsection 2.1.8.
The prediction model for creep and shrinkage gjven below predicts the
mean behaviour of a concrete cross-section.
Unless special provisions are gjven the model is valid for ordinary struc-
tural concrete (12 MPa < fck ~ 80 MPa) subjected toa compressive stress
lacl < 0.4fcm(t0 ) at an age of loading t0 and exposed to mean re1ative
humidities in the range of 40 to 100% at mean temperatures from 5°C to
30°C.
It is accepted that the scope of the model also extends to concrete in
tension, though the relations gjven in the following are directed towards the
prediction of creep of concrete subjected to compressive stresses.

3::
2.1.6.4.3. Creep ?::¡
(a) Assumptions and re/ated basic equations ~
Here, concrete is considered as an ageing linear visco-e1astic material. In Within the range ofservice stresses lael < 0.4fcm(t0 ) , creep is assumed to be ~
reality, creep is a non-linear phenomenon. T he non-linearity with respect to linearly re1ated to stress.
creep inducing stress may be observed in creep experiments at a constant For a constant stress applied at time t0 this leads to
stress, particularly if the stress exceeds 0.4fcm(t0 ), as well as in experiments
..,. with a variable stress history even below stresses of 0.4fcm(t 0 ). ac(to) "'( )
..., ecc (t, lo ) = E . '+' t, lo (2.1-6 1)
Cl
r

~ In this section a so-called product formulation for the prediction of creep where S:
has been used, i.e. creep after a given duration of loading can be predicted >
....¡
from the product of a notional creep coefficient which depends on the age </>(t, 10 ) is the creep coefficient ~
of concrete at loading and a function describing the development of creep Ec; is the modulus of elasticity at the age of 28 days according to S:
r-
with time. As an alternative, creep may also be described by a summation (eq. (2.1- 15) or (2.1 - 16)).
formulation as the sum of delayed elastic and of viscous strains. Advan- The stress dependent strain Bc11 (t, t0 ) may be expressed as
tages and disadvantages of both approaches as well as an alternative
prediction model based on a summation formulation are given in: 'Evalu- (2.1- 62)
ation of the time dependent behaviour of concrete', CEB Bulletin 199,
Lausanne, 1990.
where
J(t, 10) is the creep function or creep compliance, representing the total
stress dependent strain per unit stress
EcUo) is the modulus of elasticity at the time of loading t 0 according to
eq. (2.1-57); hence 1/EcCto) represents the initial strain per unit
stress at loading.

The application of the principie of superposition is consistent with respect For variable stresses or strains, the principie of superposition is assumed
to the assumption of linearity. However, due to the actual non-linear to be valid.
behaviour of concrete sorne prediction errors are inevitable when linear On the basis of the assumptions and definitions given above, the consti-
superposition is applied to creep of concrete under variable stress, par- tutive equation for concrete may be written as
ticularly for unloading or decreasing strains, respectively. For linear creep 1
prediction models, the error depends on the type of model which is under- OCJc(-r)
lying the creep prediction (refer to CEB Bulletin 177).
The structural effects of time-dependent behaviour of concrete are dealt
Bc (t) = CJc(to)J(t, lo) + f J(t, -e) ---a! d-e + Bm(t)
to
(2.1-63)

with in detail in section 5.8 of this Model Code and in CEB-Manual on

'Structural Effects of Time-dependent Behaviour of Concrete', CEB
Bulletin 142/142 bis, Lausanne, 1984.

(b) Creep coefficient

The relations to calculate the creep coefficient are empírica!. They were The creep coefficient may be calculated from
calibrated on the basis of laboratory tests (creep in compression) on struc-
tural concretes. f/J(t , lo) = <f>of3c(t - lo) (2.1- 64)
n In this prediction model only those parameters are taken into account where
~ which normally are known to the designer, i.e. characteristic compressive
=a strength, dimensions of the member, mean relative humidity to which the if>o is the notional creep coefficient eq. (2.1-65)
S: member is exposed, age at loading, duration of loading and type of cement. f3c is the coefficient to describe the development of creep with time after
8..
!!. 1t should be pointed out, however, that creep of concrete does not depend loading eq. (2.1- 70)
~ on its compressive strength or age at loading per se, but rather on its t is the age of concrete (days) at the moment considered
"' composition and degree of hydration~ creep of concrete decreases with t0 is the age of concrete at 1oading (days), adjusted according to
r (')
decreasing water/cement ratio, decreasing cement content and increasing The notional creep coefficient may be estimated from
m
tl:l
:!¡ degree of hydration.
"O Due to the inherent scatter of creep and shrinkage deformations, the (2.1-65)
S: errors of the model and the general uncertainty caused by randomness of with
o
o.
!!. material properties and environment, a deformation prediction may result
(')
o in a considerable prediction error. After short durations of loading or 1 - RHfRHo
o.
<> l + 0.46(h/h 113 (2.1-66)
drying the prediction error is higher than after long durations of loading 0
)
8
and drying. Based on a computerized data bank of laboratory test results 5.3
a mean coefficient of variation for the predicted creep function V., = 20% PC!cm) (2.1 -67)
has been estimated. Assuming a normal distribution this corresponds toa
10 and 5 percent cut-off, respectively, on the lower and the upper side ofthe
mean value of (2.1-68)

</>o.1o = O. 74</>; 4>o.os = 0.664> where

4>o.9o = 1.26</>; 4>o.9s = 1.344>
h = 2Acfu (2.1-69)
The prediction error should be taken into account in a probabilistic
approach where appropriate. !cm is the mean compressive strength of concrete at the age of 28 days
(MPa) according to eq. (2.1 - 1)
fcmo = lOMPa
RH is the relative humidity of the ambient environment (%)
RHO = 100%
h is the notational size of member (mm), where Ac is the cross-section
and u is the perimeter of the member in contact with the
atmosphere
h0 = lOOmm
t 1 = 1 day.

It is not known whether creep approaches a finite value. Nevertheless, the The deve1opment of creep with time is given by
hyperbolic time function given in eq. (2.1-70) approaches an asymptotic
value for t -+ oo . Evaluations on the basis of test results indicate that Pc(t - lo)
(t - t0 )/t 1 Jo.J (2.1 - 70)
[ PH + (t - t0 )/t 1
eq. (2.1-70) is a reasonably good approximation for the time development
of creep up to 70 years of loading under the conditions indicated in with
Table 2.1.1 O. From experimental observations of creep up to 30 years one
8
may conclude that the increase of creep from 70 years up to 150 years of
duration of loading will not exceed 5% of the creep after 70 years. PH = 150 {1+ (1.2 ~) } :0+ 250 ~ 1500 (2.1-7 1)

where
t 1 = 1 day
RHO = 100%
Izo= l OOmm.
r

~ In cases where a 1ower 1eve1 of accuracy is sufficient, the va1ues given in

Tab1e 2.1.10 can be accepted as representative va1ues for the creep coef-
ficient after 70 years of loading of a normal weight ordinary structural
concrete with a characteristic compressive strength between 20 and
50 MPa. These 70 year va1ues may be taken as final creep coefficients.

Table 2.1.10. Creep coefficient cP (70y, t0 ) of an ordinary structura{ concrete

after 70 years of loading

Age at loading Dry atmospheric Humid atmospheric

t 0 (days) conditioos (indoors) conditions (out of
(RH =50%) doors) (RH = 80%)

Notiona1 size 2A,/u (mm)

50 150 600 50 150 600

1 5.8 4.8 3.9 3.8 3.4 3.0

7 4. 1 3.3 2.7 2.7 2.4 2.1
28 3. 1 2.6 2.1 2.0 1.8 1.6
90 2.5 2.1 1.7 1.6 1.5 1.3
365 1.9 1.6 1.3 1.2 1.1 1.0

The data given in Table 2. 1.1 O app1y for a mean temperature of the
concrete between 10°C and 20°C. Seasona1 variations of temperature
between - 20°C and + 40°C can be accepted. The same is true for vari-
ations in re1ative humidity around the mean values given in Table 2.1.10.

(e) Effect of type of cement and curing temperature

For classification of different types of cement refer to Appendix d, clause The effect of type of cement on the creep coefficient of concrete may be
d.4.2.1. taken into account by modifying the age at loading t 0 according to eq.
Different types of cement result in different degrees of hydration. Creep (2.1 - 72):
of concrete depends on the degree of hydration reached at a given age
Q 9
c¡o rather than on the age of concrete. Therefore, the effect of type of cement lo = lo,T [ ( / y.2 + 1]a ;;;::: 0.5 days (2.1-72)
~ is taken into account by modifying the age at loading such that for a given 2 + lo,T li ,T
:::: modified age the degree of hydration is approximate1y independent of the where
~ type ofcement. The value for t0 according to eq. (2.1 - 72) has to be used in
n8. eq. (2.1-68). The duration of Joading t - t0 used in eq. (2.1-70) is the lo,T is the age of concrete at Joading (days) adjusted according to
.. actual time under load. eq. (2.1-87)
~ t .... = 1 dav
r
Q The creep behaviour of concrete with blended cements may as a first a. is the power which depends on the type of cement;
,
~ approximation be calculated with the formulae given here. However, larger
::0 prediction errors may- be expected. a = - 1 for slowly hardening cements SL, O for normal or
S:
o rapid hardening cements N and R, and 1 for rapid
Q.
~ hardening high strength cements RS.
~
<> (d) Effect of high stresses
~ The main reasons for the non-linear behaviour are micro-cracking due to For stress levels in the range of 0.4.f:. (t0 ) < lac l < 0.6fc,(t0 ) the non-
111

shrinkage or high loads and stress-induced ageing under load. linearity of creep may be taken into account using eqs (2. 1- 73)

Eq. (2.1-73a) represents a simplification in so far as it does not take into 4>o,k = 4>0 exp [aAk<1 - 0.4)] for 0.4 < k" :::; 0.6 (2.1-73a)
account the observation that non-linearity decreases with increasing 4>o,k = 4>o (2.1-73b)
duration of loading and with decreasing change of moisture content during
loading. where
4>o,k is the non-linear notional creep coefficient, which replaces 4>0 in
It should be noted that delayed elastic strains upon total unloading are eq. (2.1-64)
Jjuear functions of stress up to stress levels of lael = 0.6fc,(t0 ). k" = laciU~m (t0 ) which is the stress-strength ratio
(1.<1 = 1.5.
For mass concrete and at very high reJative humidities, the coefficient a."
may be as low as a" = 0.5.

2.1 .6.4.4. Shrinkage

For curing peri_ods of concrete members ts < 14 days at normal ambient The total shrinkage or swelling strains ecs(t, ts) may be calculated from
temperatures, the duration of moist curing does not significantly affect
shrinkage. Hence, this parameter as well as the effect of curing temperature 8cs(l, Ls) = 8csofls(t - ts) (2.1-74)
is not taken into account. where
In eqs (2.1-74) and (2. 1-79) the actual duration of drying (t - t9 ) has to
~>eso is the notional shrinkage coefficient (eq. (2.1-75))
be used. It is not affected by possible adjustments of ! 0 or ts according to
eqs (2.1-72) and (2.1-87). f3s is the coefficient to describe the development of shrinkage with time
Similar to creep, shrinkage do es not depend on concrete com pressive (eq. (2.1-79))
strength per se. Shrinkage decreases with decreasing waterjcement ratio t is the age of concrete (days)
and decreasing cement content. ts is the age of concrete (days) at the beginning ofshrinkage or swelling.
A mean coeffi.cient ofvariation ofpredicted shrinkage has been estimated
The notional shrinkage coefficient may be obtained from
on the basis of a computerized data bank, resulting in ~ = 35%. The
~ corresponding 10 and 5 percent cut-off values are Beso = ~>s(fc,){JRH (2.1-75)
r

V>
00 6cs0. l0 = 0.55ecs ; 6cs0.05 = 0.42ecs with ~
ec.\'0.90 = 1.45ecs; 6c.~.95 = 1.58ecs ~
(2.1 - 76) r.r1
In cases where a lower level of accuracy is sufficient, the values given in
where
~
Table 2.1.11 can be accepted as representative values for shrinkage of a ..,r
normal weight ordinary structural concrete with a characteristic strength !cm is the mean compressive strength of concrete at the age of 28 days ~
between 20 and 50 MPa after 70 years of drying. Usually these values may ~~ m
be taken as final shrinkage values. lcmo = 10 MPa ~
f3sc is a coefficient which depends on the type of cement: f3sc = 4 for !]
slowly hardening cements SL, f3sc = 5 for normal or rapid harden-
Table 2.1.11. Shrinkage values ecs,?Oy x Hl for an ordinary structural ing cements N and R, and f3 se = 8 for rapid hardening high
concrete after a duration of drying of 70 years strength cements RS,
Dry atmospheric conditions Humid atmospheric condjtions fJRH = - l.55f3sRH for 40% ~ RH < 99%
(inside) (RH = 50%) (outside) (RH = 80%) (2.1- 77)
f3 RN = + 0.25 for RH ;:::: 99%
Notional size 2Ac/u (mm) where
50 150 600 50 150 600
f3sRH 1 - (~f (2.1-78)
-0.57 -0.56 -0.47 -0.32 -0.31 -0.26
with
RH is the relative humidity of the ambient atmosphere (%)
RHO = 100%.
Though shrinkage reaches a final vaJue, little information exists on the The development of shrinkage with time is given by
shrinkage strains of large members after long durations of drying. There- (t - ts)f t, JO.S
fore, the values calculated using eq. (2.1-79) for 2Acfu = 500 mm, and the [ 350(h/h,J 2 + (t - ls)/tl (2.1- 79)
f3s(l - ls) -
values given in Table 2.1.11 for shrinkage of members with a notional size
of 2Acfu = 600 mm, respectively, are uncertain and may overestimate the where
actual shrinkage strains after 70 years of drying.
h is defined in eq. (2.1- 69)
t 1 = 1 day
h0 = IOOmm.