Internal Relative Humidity and Drying Shrinkage of Lightweight Aggregate Concrete

Abstract

In this paper, the influence of water cement ratio, prewetting degree of lightweight aggregate, flyash content and air content on the internal relative humidity (IRH) and drying shrinkage of lightweight aggregate concrete (LAC) were studied using a relative humidity sensor and drying shrinkage apparatus. Results showed that the IRH of concrete decreased rapidly at early age and slowed down at late age, and prewetting lightweight aggregate could compensate the loss of IRH. The effect of compensation could be enhanced with the increasing of prewetting degree of lightweight aggregate, and the addition of flyash retarded the decrease of IRH at early age. The drying shrinkage of LAC increased quickly at early stage and it slowed down to the even after 60 days or longer age. Furthermore, the drying shrinkage of LAC increased with increasing of water cement ratio. The effect of air content on the drying shrinkage of LAC was limited at early stage. However, at the late stage it grew at different level with increasing of air content. By raising the prewetting degree of lightweight aggregate, mixing with proper dosage of flyash, the shrinkage rate of LAC can be reduced markedly. Key words: lightweight aggregate concrete, internal relative humidity, drying shrinkage, prewetting degree, flyash.