Experimental investigation of early-crack behavior of normal and high-strength concretes by using restrained ring test

Abstract

This study concentrates on evaluating early-age cracking behavior of normal-strength concrete (NC) and high-strength concrete (HC) by using a restrained ring test, to provide a prediction of behaviors of each type of concrete for suggesting available construction methods applied to construction works. Two types of concrete include the NC with a strength grade of M350 and the HC with that of M600. Experimental results showed that the shrinkage rate of HC was faster during the first 24 hours and increased more slowly in the following days when compared with the NC. The cracking behavior of hardened concrete can be assessed based on the time of cracking or the rate of tensile stress development over time, independent of the types of concrete. It is concluded that it is feasible to predict the cracking ability in each type of concrete through the restrained ring test so that many suitable construction measures can be given when applying each type of concrete in construction.