Early Age Cracking in Cementitious Systems 111

4.4 VISCO-ELASTIC RESPONSE

Geert De Schutter1 and Konstantin Kovler2

1
Magnel Laboratory for Concrete Research, Department of Structural Engineering,
Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
2
National Building Research Institute – Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of
Technology, Haifa, Israel

4.4.1 Introduction

In extension of the short-term elastic and fracture behavior, as treated in chapter 4.3, some aspects
of the visco-elastic behavior of the hardening concrete, like creep under sustained loading, will be
outlined in this section. Although creep is mainly a long term effect caused by sustained loading,
it is also a very important phenomenon for early age concrete. Due to relatively high creep
deformations and considerable stress relaxation, early age thermal stresses and stresses induced by
autogenous shrinkage can be greatly reduced. In many cases a reduction of thermal and
autogenous shrinkage stresses by about 50% due to the stress relaxation in hardening concrete has
been reported [1, 2, 3].

In this section only the basic creep is considered. For many practical problems related to early age
concrete, especially in massive structures, there is no significant moisture exchange with the
environment. In this way, drying creep is of less importance. Similar state of affairs exists in
practice in high strength concretes cured in sealed conditions.

Several creep and relaxation models have been suggested for early age concrete, like hyperbolic
models and (double) power laws. Within this section of the state-of-the-art report, these models
will not be reviewed. Reference with regards to modeling is made to the literature and additional
details of modeling concepts can be found in chapter 5 in this report. For these models reference is
made to literature. Here, further aspects will be treated, related with the effect of ongoing
hydration on the visco-elastic concrete behavior during hardening, as well as with the way in
which this effect can be implemented in engineering models.
112 RILEM TC 181-EAS: Final Report - July 2002

4.4.2 Magnitude of Viscoelastic Effects

The influence of visco-elastic effects was studied mainly in conjunction with stress relaxation at
early age in restrained conditions, where stresses are generated by thermal effects in concretes rich
in cement and by autogenous shrinkage in high strength concretes having a low w/b ratio. In both
cases the influence of the creep/relaxation induced can be quite significant [2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. The
stresses developed can be as low as 50% of that predicted based on the elastic properties, and this
difference can be attributed to the high level of creep/relaxation at this stage. This is demonstrated
in Figure 4.4.1 for high strength concretes, showing that the early age creep can be as high as 30
to 70% of the autogenous shrinkage. Gutsch and Rostasy [7] showed that loading at 1 day can
result in a creep strain after 100 hours of loading which is approximately equal to the initial elastic
strain, leading to stress relaxation which exceeds 50%.

1
Creep Strain / Free Autogenous Shrinkage

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6 10% Silica Fume : Concrete

Ratio

0.5

0.4 Silica Fume-free : Concrete

0.3

0.2
w/b=0.33
0.1

0
0 24 48 72 96 120 144 168
Time (Hours)

Figure 4.4.1: Ratio between creep strain in restrained conditions and autogenous shrinkage of 0.33
w/b ratio concretes with and without silica fume (after Igarashi et al [3]).
In view of such influences, attention has been given recently to the evaluation and modeling of
early age tensile creep and stress relaxation, studying effects of concrete composition, time of
loading and temperature, all of which have practical and theoretical implications.

The early age visco-elastic response in tension was expressed in terms of creep and specific creep
curves, [3, 4, 8] (e.g. Figure 4.4.2), creep coefficients ([9, 10, 11]) (e.g. Figures 4.4.3 and 4.4.4.)
and creep compliance [12].
 Early Age Cracking in Cementitious Systems 113

'
(a) Restrained Shrinkage
Specific Creep (× ' -6/MPa)

'
'
' SF
'
'
' PC
'
'
0
0 ( ' ( ' 0' 4( 8'
Age (Hours)

' (b) Applied Creep Stress=1MPa

Specific Creep (× ' /MPa)

'
' SF
-6

'
' Loading
'
' PC
'
'
0
0 ' ' ' ' 0' 4' 8(
Age (Hours)

Figure 4.4.2: Specific creep strains in 0.33 w/b ratio concretes made from Portland cement with
(SF) and without (PC) silica fume additive in restrained conditions (a) and under constant stress of
1MPa (b), applied at one day (after Kovler et al [4]).

Specific creep values were shown to be higher for the silica fume concretes [3, 4, 13] (e.g. Figure
4.4.2), a trend which is different than in mature concrete.

As was shown by Kovler et al [4] (see Figure 4.4.2), the values of specific creep measured in
restrained conditions are lower than those obtained under constant load by 20-40%. This is consistent
with the concept of so-called age-adjusted effective modulus (AAEM) method suggested by Bažant
[14], in which the aging coefficient lower than 1 is introduced. In other words, the aging coefficient
takes into consideration that the load under restrained conditions is applied gradually; therefore the
creep deformation should be loess than that obtained when a constant stress is applied from the
beginning of loading. The aging coefficient by definition is equaled to the ratio between specific creep
114 RILEM TC 181-EAS: Final Report - July 2002

strain under restrained conditions and that under constant load and can be simply determined from
these two tests. Like the creep coefficient, aging coefficient depends on the age at first loading, the
duration of load, geometry of the loaded element, drying conditions and other factors. The theoretical
value of the aging coefficient is still under debates, and there are contradictory opinions on this issue.
For example, in the period immediately after initial loading the aging coefficient should be
theoretically equal to 0.5. However, according to the norms CEB-FIP and others, the aging coefficient
is closed to 1.0 after the loading. In many practical implications, the aging coefficient is accepted
constant with an average value of 0.8. As was shown by Kovler [15], the experimental magnitude of
aging coefficient for early age concrete made with w/c=0.7 and tested under basic creep falls between
0.6 and 0.8. This value is similar to those of high-strength concrete (see Fig. 4.4.2).

The creep coefficient was shown to be very sensitive to the age and temperature of loading,
increasing with decrease of age and increase in temperature [11]. Age dependent coefficients are
shown in Figure 4.4.3 and a master curve of creep function vs. equivalent time (taking into
consideration the combined effect of time and temperature, see section 4.4.5) is shown in Figure
4.4.4.

Several studies suggested that the creep coefficients are similar in tension and compression (e.g.
[16]).

2.0
ϕ (t,t1) [-]

te1 = 16 h, α1 = 0.2979, P1c(α1) = 0.3302, P2c(α1) = 0.2366

te1 = 1 d, α1 = 0.4059, P1c(α1) = 0.3171, P2c(α1) = 0.2466
1.5 te1 = 2 d, α1 = 0.5576, P1c(α1) = 0.1344, P2c(α1) = 0.3465
te1 = 7 d, α1 = 0.7237, P1c(α1) = 0.1015, P2c(α1) = 0.3313
cal ϕ(t,t1)

1.0

0.5

T = 20 oC, isoth.
0.0
0.1 0.5 1 5 10 50 100 500 1000
t - t1 [h]
Figure 4.4.3: Effect of time of loading and duration of loading on the creep coefficient of early age
concrete at 20oC (after Gutsch [10]).
 Early Age Cracking in Cementitious Systems 115

2.0

ϕ (t,t1) [-]
CO1
1.5 meas ϕ(tel,tel1), α1 = 0.5576, T = 20 oC, isoth.
meas ϕ(tel,tel1), α1 = 0.5231, T = 40 oC, isoth.
cal ϕ(tel,tel1, α1)
1.0

0.5

0.0
0.1 0.5 1 5 10 50 100 500
tel - tel1 [h]
Figure 4.4.4 Relation between equivalent time and creep coefficient of early age concrete (after
Gutsch [10]).

4.4.3 Concepts of Modeling of Basic Creep of Early Age Concrete

Historically, some information on the relation between basic creep and hydration has already been
presented about 50 years ago. In 1959 Ross commented that the properties of concrete are
profoundly affected not only by age but also by temperature during the curing period; thus time
alone is not a significant parameter by which creep properties can be compared [17]. Based on
experimental results Ross concluded that creep is also a function of maturity, and seems to be even
more sensitive to changes in maturity than to changes in strength or modulus of elasticity. Creep is
a function of hardening rather than of the age of concrete.

Ali and Kesler, using the degree of hydration as a fundamental parameter [18], also followed this
idea in 1964. In 1970 Meyers and Slate concluded that the degree of hydration at the time of
loading and the amount of microcracking developed before and during the time under load are two
of the most important variables affecting the creep of concrete [19].

In 1971 Timusk and Ghosh prudently concluded that the maturing component of creep appears to
arise primarily from the hydration process [20]. In 1973 Ghosh became firmer stating that there
will be no maturing creep if the hydration is stopped [21]. In this way it was clear that not only the
degree of hydration at the time of loading is important, but also the evolution of the degree of
hydration during the time under load.

Khalil and Ward gave an even more convincing result in 1977 [22]. They found that for any mix,
with or without admixture, the creep strain is the same for a given increase of hydration under
load, provided that all the mixes are loaded at the same degree of hydration and the same
stress/strength ratio. This suggested that the age at loading only affects creep in so far as it is
related to the degree of hydration and development of strength. The maturing creep or basic creep
is clearly related to the progress of hydration while under load, and not only to the state of
hydration at the age of loading.

Van Breugel also considered basic creep as a typical hydration property. In 1980 he incorporated
the effect of progressing hydration on stress relaxation in an existing relaxation formula [23]. This
formula is still widely used for practical calculations in the Netherlands.
116 RILEM TC 181-EAS: Final Report - July 2002

In 1993 Rostasy et al. proposed a basic creep formulation in which the degree of hydration at
loading is an important parameter [24]. However, the creep evolution was still related to the time
development. This was also done by De Schutter and Taerwe [25]. Mazars and Bournazel
considered maturity instead of the degree of hydration, but related the maturing creep evolution to
the maturity development [26].

Lokhorst and Van Breugel studied the influence of microstructural development on the creep
behavior of hardening concrete [27]. In this way the importance of further hydration while under
load was emphasized once more. It has been known already for a long time that creep is not
linearly proportional to the stress-strength ratio for maturing concrete and cement paste [21].
Timusk and Ghosh have proven experimentally that linearity is re-established when the hydration
is stopped [20, 21, 28, 29].

In [30] Van Breugel stated that traditional relaxation theories can only partly explain the stress
reduction in the early stage of hydration. For this reason, he tried to relate the early relaxation
behavior to microstructural changes in the hardening paste, using the evolution of the degree of
hydration. According to [31], both magnitude and kinetics of short-term creep are strongly
influenced by the hydration reaction through the volume growth of the hydration product in the
capillary space.

Altoubat and Lange [32] considered the complexity of basic creep mechanisms in high strength
sealed concretes, where there is no exchange of moisture with the environment around, but there is
internal drying. This implies the need to address another component in sealed conditions which is
different than the classical basic creep, and the interaction between the two. They referred to
mechanisms of stress induced drying which is generated under sealed conditions which should be
superimposed on the basic creep of saturated concrete.

4.4.4 Degree of Hydration-Based Modeling of Basic Creep

As already mentioned before, Van Breugel [23] introduced in 1980 the degree of hydration into a
stress relaxation formula valid for hardening concrete. Afterwards, other researchers also
incorporated the degree of hydration in models for early age basic creep behavior, as summarized
in [24, 25]. In these attempts, only the degree of hydration at loading is considered, while the
basic creep evolution is still related to time evolution, without any further coupling with the
degree of hydration or any other fundamental parameter related with microstructural development.

In [33] the evolution of the degree of hydration while under load is also introduced as an
important parameter for the modeling of early age basic creep behavior. Based on simple but
fundamental physical observations, a simple Kelvin model with degree of hydration-based
stiffness and viscosity is developed for the simulation of the viso-elastic behavior of early age
concrete, including instantaneous deformation and basic creep. The Kelvin model is illustrated in
Figure 4.4.5. The validity of the model was verified by means of creep tests under constant or
varying stresses. With this degree of hydration-based Kelvin model the coupling between visco-
elastic behavior of early age concrete and the microstructural development was illustrated once
more. By implementing this Kelvin chain model into a finite element code, accurate early age
stress simulation can be obtained [34].
 Early Age Cracking in Cementitious Systems 117

E 1 (r)

E 0 (r)

η 1 (r)

Figure 4.4.5: Degree of hydration-based Kelvin model [19].

In a further approach, a basic creep model for hardening concrete was introduced with the
evolution of the degree of hydration as the main parameter for the evolution of the basic creep
strain [35, 36]. The basic creep evolution is related to the evolution of the hydration process and
the microstructural development by means of the degree of hydration. Time is no longer an
explicit parameter.

The resulting basic creep model can be written in the following way:

ε cc (r , rb ,α b ) = ε c 0 (rb , α b ) .ϕ c (r , rb )
in which εc0(rb,αb) is the instantaneous deformation due to the stress level αb at loading, rb is the
degree of hydration at loading, r is the degree of hydration, and
c2 ( rb )
⎛ r − rb ⎞
ϕ c (r , rb ) = c1 (rb ) ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟
⎝ 1 − rb ⎠
For blast furnace slag cement CEM III/B 32.5:
c1(rb) = 2.081 – 1.608 rb and c2(rb) = 0.130 + 0.386 rb.
For other cement types, the same basic creep formulation can be maintained, with slightly
different expressions for the parameters c1 and c2.

As a consequence, all phenomena influencing the degree of hydration thus influence the basic
creep behavior. The temperature influence is implemented automatically through the temperature
influence incorporated in the hydration model applied for the calculation of the degree of
hydration. In this way the equivalent age or maturity no longer needs to be calculated for dealing
with temperature influence on basic creep of hardening concrete.

The results obtained in [35, 36] give further evidence to the main conclusions of the historical
results given in section 4.4.1. There is undoubtedly a very strong correlation between the basic
creep at very early age and the ongoing hydration. The correlation is even so strong that the basic
creep evolution can be simulated merely by means of the knowledge of ongoing hydration,
without explicitly knowing the time evolution.
118 RILEM TC 181-EAS: Final Report - July 2002

4.4.5 Maturity-Based Modeling of Basic Creep

If the degree of hydration-based approach is a valid one for the basic creep evolution for early age
concrete, than this would imply that the effect of temperature on early age basic creep could also
be simulated by means of the maturity method. Both methods (the maturity method and the
degree of hydration concept) indeed lead to same results if they are based on a realistic and similar
temperature function, e.g. the Arrhenius function.

Independently from De Schutter [35, 36], Gutsch [37, 38] also studied the visco-elastic behavior
of early age concrete. However, he used the maturity method instead of the degree of hydration
concept in order to deal with the effect of temperature.
Based on tensile creep and relaxation tests Gutsch showed that the maturity method is indeed
applicable for the basic creep behavior of early age concrete. By introducing the equivalent time
under load, creep and relaxation curves under non-isothermal elevated temperatures can be
transformed into curves under 20°C isothermal conditions, provided the degree of hydration at
first loading is identical (see Figure 4.4.4).

4.4.6 Discussion

Independently from each other, different research teams showed that the basic creep and
relaxation behavior of early age concrete can be modeled by means of the maturity method or by
means of the degree of hydration concept. Although the methods differ, the main conclusion is
similar. The visco-elastic behavior of early age concrete seems to be determined mainly by
microstructural development. As for the strength or stiffness development, this can be modeled by
the combined effect of temperature and time (maturity, equivalent time), or by the degree of
hydration as a parameter for the description of the evolution of the hydration process.

The major questions however remain unanswered. The applicability of both modeling techniques
does not reveal the origin of the basic creep in cement-based materials. Is the phenomenon of
increasing deformations under constant load at very early age really a creep deformation in a
traditional sense, or is it a load-induced alteration of the microstructural development? Are creep
and hydration at very early ages two distinct phenomena of different kinetics? Is the correlation
merely phenomenological, or are both creep and hydration at very early age more fundamentally
coupled? For a significant improvement of the engineering models related to the visco-elastic
response of early age concrete, these fundamental questions have to be answered.
 Early Age Cracking in Cementitious Systems 119

4.4.7 References
1. De Schutter, G., ‘Fundamental and practical study of thermal stresses in hardening massive concrete
elements’ (in Dutch). Doctoral thesis, Ghent University, (1996).
2. Springenschmid, R., Breitenbucher, R., and Mangoid, M., ‘Development of the cracking frame and the
temperature-stress testing machine’, in ‘Thermal Cracking in Concrete at Early Ages’,
R.Springenschmid, editor, Proc. RILEM Symp., E&FN SPON, (1994) 137-144.
3. Igarashi, S., Bentur, A. and Kovler, K., ‘Stresses and creep relaxation induced in restrained autogenous
shrinkage of high strength pastes and concretes’, Advances in Cement Research, 11 (4) (1999) 169-177.
4. Kovler, K., Igarashi, S. and Bentur, A., ‘Tensile creep behavior of high strength concretes at early ages’,
Materials and Strcutures, 32 (1999) 383-387.
5. De Schutter, G. and Taerwe, L., ‘Fracture energy of concrete at early ages’, Materials and Structures,
30 (1997) 67-71.
6. Kanstad, K., Bjøntegaard, Ø., Sellevold, E.J., Hammer, T.A. and Fidjestøl, P., ‘Effect of silica fume on
early age cracking sensitivity of high performance concrete’, in ‘Shrinkage of Concrete – Shrinkage
2000’, V.Baroghel-Bouny and
P.-C.Aitcin, editors, Paris, (RILEM PRO 17 2000) 101-114.
7. Gutsch, A. and Rostasy, F.S., ‘Young concrete under high tensile stresses-creep, relaxation and
cracking’, in ‘Thermal Cracking in Concrete at Early Ages’, R.Springenschmid, editor, Proc. RILEM
Symp., E&FN SPON, (1994) 111-118.
8. Bissonnette, B. and Pigeon, M., ‘Tensile creep at early ages of ordinary, silica fume and fiber reinforced
concretes’, Cement and Concrete Res. 25 (5) (1995) 1075-1085.
9. Lura, P., Van Breugel, K. and De Vries, H., ‘Experimental research about early-age creep of B65 and
B85 concrete mixtures’ in Proc. Int. Workshop on ‘Control of Cracking in Early Age Concrete’, Tohoku
University, Japan (2000) 169-180
10. Gutsch, A.-W. ‘Stoffeugenschaften Jungen Beton – Versuche und Modelle’, Doct. Thesis, TU
Braunschweig (1998).
11. Gutsch, A.-W., ‘Properties of early age concrete – experiments and modeling’ in Proc. RILEM Int.
Conf. on Early Age Cracking in Cementitious Systems, K. Kovler and A. Bentur, editors, Haifa, (RILEM
2001) 11-18.
12. Pane, I. and Hansen, W., ‘Early age creep and stress relaxation of concrete containing blended cements’, in
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Haifa, (RILEM 2001) 279-290.
13. Bažant Z. P. ‘Prediction of concrete creep effects using age-adjusted effective modulus method’. ACI J.,
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14. Igarashi, S. and Kawamura, M., ‘Effects of microstructure on restrained autogenous shrinkage behavior
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Cementitious Systems, K. Kovler and A. Bentur, editors, Haifa, (RILEM 2001) 125-132.
15. Kovler, K., ‘Drying creep of concrete in terms of the age-adjusted effective modulus method’, Magazine
of Concrete Research, 49 (181) (1997) 345-351.
16. Ozawa, M. and Morimoto, H., ‘Evaluation of creep of high strength concrete at early ages’, pp. 181-190,
in: Proc. Int. Workshop on ‘Control of Cracking in Early Age Concrete’, Tohoku University, Japan,
(2000) 181-190.
17. Ross, A.D., ‘A note on the maturity and creep of concrete’. RILEM Bulletin, March, (1959) 55-57.
18. Neville, A.M., Dilger, W.H. and Brooks, J.J., ‘Creep of Plain and Structural Concrete’, Construction
Press, London and New York, (1983).
19. Meyers, B.L. and Slate, F.O., ‘Creep and creep recovery of plain concrete as influenced by moisture
conditions and associated variables’, Magazine of Concrete Research 22 (70) (1970) 37-41.
20. Timusk, J. and Ghosh, R.S., ‘Maturing creep of portland cement paste’, ACI Journal, 68 (12) (1971),
959-963.
21. Ghosh, R.S., ‘A hypothesis on mechanism of maturing creep of concrete’, Materials and Structures, 6
(31) (1973) 23-27.
120 RILEM TC 181-EAS: Final Report - July 2002

22. Khalil, S.M. and Ward, M.A., ‘Effect of degree of hydration upon creep of mortars containing calcium
lignosulphonate’, Magazine of Concrete Research, 29 (98) (1977) 19-25.
23. Van Breugel, K. ‘Relaxation of young concrete’, Report 5-80-08, Delft University of Technology,
(1980).
24. Rostasy, F.S., Gutsch, A. and Laube, M., ‘Creep and relaxation of concrete at early ages’ in ‘Creep and
Shrinkage of Concrete’, Z. Bažant and C. Carol, editors, E & FN Spon, London (1993) 453-458.
25. De Schutter, G. and Taerwe, L., ‘Towards a more fundamental non-linear basic creep model for early
age concrete’, Magazine of Concrete Research, 49 (180) (1997) 195-200.
26. Mazars, J. and Bournazel, J.-P., ‘Global modelling for creep, shrinkage and damage processes of
maturing concrete’ ib ‘Creep and Shrinkage of Concrete’, Z. Bažant and C. Carol, editors, E & FN Spon,
London (1993) 369-380.
27. Lokhorst, S. and Van Breugel, K., ‘From microstructural development towards prediction of macro
stresses in hardening concrete’, in ‘Thermal Cracking in Concrete at Early Ages’, R. Springenschmid,
editor,, Proc. RILEM Symp., E&FN SPON, London, (1994) 71-78.
28. Ghosh, R.S., ‘Creep of portland cement paste at early ages’, Materials and Structures, 5 (26) (1972) 93-
97.
29. Ghosh, R.S. and Timusk, J., ‘Creep of portland cement paste at sub-zero temperature’, Materials and
Structures, 5 (21) (1971) 171-176.
30. Van Breugel, K. and Lokhorst, S., ‘Modeling the deformational behavior and relaxation of cement-
based systems – The role of hollow shell formation’, in Proceedings of United Engineering Conference
on ‘Advances in Cement and Concrete’, J. Marchand and D. Lange, editors, (abstracts), United
Engineering Foundation (August 2000).
31. Ulm, F.-J., ‘Couplages thermochémomécaniques dan les bétons’, Un premier bilan, LCPC, Paris,
(1999).
32. Altoubat, S. and Lange, D.A., ‘The Pickett effect in early age concrete under restrained conditions’, in Proc.
RILEM Int. Conf. on ‘Early Age Cracking in Cementitious Systems’, K. Kovler and A. Bentur, editors, Haifa,
(RILEM 2001)133-144.
33. De Schutter, G., ‘Degree of hydration based Kelvin model for the basic creep of early age concrete’,
Materials and Structures, 32 (1999) 260-265.
34. De Schutter, G., ‘Modelling of early age thermal cracking in hardening concrete, including creep and
softening behavior’, Concrete Science and Engineering, 3 (2001) 146-150.
35. De Schutter, G. and Taerwe, L., ‘Fictitious degree of hydration method for the basic creep of early age
concrete’, Materials and Structures, 33 (2000) 370-380.
36. De Schuttter, G., ‘Influence of ongoing hydration on basic creep of hardening concrete’, in ‘Creep,
shrinkage and durability mechanics of concrete and other quasi-brittle materials’, F.-J. Ulm, Z. Bažant
and Wittmann, editors, Elsevier Science Ltd., (2001) 625-630.
37. Gutsch, A.-W., ‘Visco-elastic behavior of early age concrete’, Improved production of advanced
concrete structures, BRPR-CT-97-0437, Final Report, TU Braunschweig, December 2000.
38. Gutsch, A.W., ‘Creep and relaxation of early-age concrete’, in ‘Creep, shrinkage and durability
mechanics of concrete and other quasi-brittle materials’, F.-J. Ulm, Z. Bažant and F. Wittmann, Editors,
Elsevier Science Ltd. (2001) 619-624.