Abstract
Shrinkage-reducing agents have been developed to mitigate shrinkage and to control cracks in concrete. This study aims to evaluate the impact of a newly developed shrinkage-reducing agent (N-SRA) on concrete properties and to compare its properties with a conventional shrinkage-reducing agent (C-SRA). The hydration rate, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, shrinkage, occurrence of cracking, and freezing and thawing were investigated. N-SRA showed higher surface tension than C-SRA and reduced shrinkage to the same degree as C-SRA with half the dosage of C-SRA. The addition of N-SRA or C-SRA did not influence the early compressive strength but slightly reduced splitting tensile strength at seven days. Concrete with N-SRA showed higher compressive strength at 28 days than those of concrete with C-SRA or without SRA. Furthermore, concrete with N-SRA extended the period for the occurrence of shrinkage cracking under restrained conditions. It was found that N-SRA provided excellent freezing and thawing resistance because of the formation of good air voids, while C-SRA demonstrated inefficient behaviour in such an environment.
Highlights
Shrinkage is a common problem in concrete, when it is not properly handled
The obtained results for conventional shrinkage-reducing agent (C-shrinkage-reducing agent (SRA)) are consistent with the results reported in the literature [5,9]
The shrinkage reduction in C-SRA can be explained by the reduction in surface tension
Summary
Shrinkage is a common problem in concrete, when it is not properly handled. Accelerates ingress of deleterious ions (chloride, sulphate, etc.), and eventually leads to failure, thereby shortening the service life of concrete structures. A possible way to mitigate shrinkage-induced cracking in concrete is to add a special type of organic chemical admixture called shrinkage-reducing agent (SRA) to the concrete mixture. Conventional SRA is a polyoxyalkylene with or without a hydrophobic group at the end (e.g., a blend of propylene glycol derivatives [2], 2-butoxy ethanol with four ethylene oxide adduct [3]), and forms micelles in aqueous solution due to amphiphilic molecules [4,5]. Various studies have been conducted on the performance of conventional
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