Early Age Cracking in Cementitious Systems 241

6.5 EARLY AGE CRACKING TESTS

Arnon Bentur
National Building Research Institute
Faculty of Civil Engineering
Technion, Israel Institute of Technology

6.5.1 Introduction

Early age shrinkage and cracking is being re-visited in recent years due to several developments:
greater appreciation to durability issues where cracking can play a detrimental role and the advent
of high quality concretes with low water/binder (w/b) ratios which are more prone to cracking. The
cracking sensitivity of these modern concretes is due to effects associated with the high cement
content and the autogenous shrinkage which are characteristic to the low w/b ratio mixes.

This state of affairs provides new opportunities for the development of special means to deal with
such problems. Products developed in recent years and marketed successfully, such as fibers for
controlling shrinkage cracking and shrinkage reducing admixtures, are clear indication to the
significance of this field.

Early age shrinkage cracking has been mainly evaluated by qualitative means (a variety of
cracking tests) which are useful for comparison of the sensitivity to cracking of different mixes
and additives used to reduce cracking. These testing methods may be adequate for routine
evaluations. However, they are not sufficient for a study of the mechanisms involved, which is an
essential step towards developing new strategies and products to harness early age cracking. For
example, when it comes to mitigation of shrinkage cracking by admixtures, the current working
hypothesis is to develop means to reduce shrinkage, and therefore the major property of interest is
free shrinkage. Although this may be an effective means, it is not necessarily the only one or the
best one.

The extent of shrinkage is indeed the driving force for the early age cracking, but whether cracking
will occur or not is dependent also on the restrain which exists in the structure and the stress
relaxation which may be particularly high in the early age concrete. In view of the variety of
factors which must be taken into consideration, in addition to free shrinkage, one should be
cautious about the significance of the qualitative cracking tests, which may in some instances over
or under estimate the risk for cracking.

The present review is intended to serve as a guide for the study and testing of early age cracking,
both with respect to the test methods which are available, and the new ones which are being
implemented. These new methods provide tools for comprehensive analytical and experimental
evaluation of the variety of processes which should be assessed in the study of early age cracking
and in the development of more sophisticated and cost/effective means to minimize it.
242 RILEM TC 181-EAS: Final Report - July 2002

This review contains also compilation of data of various means studied to reduce and control
cracking. It is presented in conjunction with the different testing and analytical evaluation
methods.

In view of the fact that in high performance/high strength concretes of low w/b ratio, the early age
cracking can be due to two processes occurring simultaneously, autogenous shrinkage and thermal
effects, the review addresses also means to evaluate and resolve between the two. In the
development of new means for minimizing cracking, attention should be given to the special needs
and opportunities in dealing simultaneously with these two effects.

The restrained shrinkage tests can be classified into three categories: ring tests with a restraining
core, panel tests in which the restrain is at the circumference of the panel and longitudinal tests.
The latter can be further classified in terms of the mode of restrain: fixed grips, restrain by external
rigid frame or internal reinforcing bar, or by a mechanism which enables to apply a load on one of
the grips (the other one is fixed) to prevent contraction of the specimen. Each of these methods,
and the interpretation of the data obtained with it will be reviewed here.

6.5.2 Ring Tests

The ring test is perhaps the most common one and it has been used for many years. It is used to
evaluate plastic shrinkage cracking as well as the shrinkage cracking of hardened material. The
principle of this test is quite simple: the concrete ring is cast around a restraining core (usually
steel) and is allowed to shrink against it. Tensile tangential stresses are developed in the concrete
ring, and if sufficiently high they may lead to cracking (Figure 6.5.1). The evaluation of
performance in such tests is based on characterization of the cracks and quantifying them in terms
of maximum width, average width, number of cracks and time of occurrence of cracks.

Figure 6.5.1: Schematic description of the ring test with restraining core

Shah et al. [1] and Kovler et al. [2] presented analytical treatments for calculation of the stresses in
terms of the shrinkage strains, the characteristic properties of the concrete and the geometry of the
ring, as shown schematically in Fig. 1. The results of their analysis are outlined below:

σ θ = (re2 / r 2 + 1) p /(re2 / ri 2 − 1) (1)

 Early Age Cracking in Cementitious Systems 243

σ R = −(re2 / r 2 − 1) p /(re2 / ri 2 − 1) (2)

p = Eε 0 /[(re2 + ri 2 ) /( re2 − ri 2 ) + μ ] (3)

where:
r, θ- radius and angel of the point were stress is calculated
p- internal pressure in the ring (Figure 6.5.1)
σ θ - circumferential stress at a radius r
σr - radial stress at a radius r
re - external radius
ri - internal radius
ε θ - shrinkage strain
E - modulus of elasticity of concrete
μ- Poisson ratio

Kovler et al. [2] have taken into consideration the modulus of elasticity of the restraining internal
ring, in addition to that of the concrete:

σ r / ε sh E = −[ri 2 / re 2 − ri 2 / r 2 )k / 2] (4)
σ θ / ε sh E = −[ri 2 / re 2 + ri 2 / r 2 )k / 2] (5)
where:
k = [e(1 + μ 0 ) + 1 − μ 0 ] /[e(1 + μ 0 ) + (1 − μ o ) (ri / re )]
2 2
(6)
e = {1 + [ E 0 / E1 )(1 − μ1 ) /(1 + μ 0 )]} /{1 − [ E 0 / E1 )(1 − μ1 ) /(1 − μ 0 )]} (7)
where:
r- radius and of the point where stress is calculated
σ θ - circumferential stress at a radius r
σ r - radial stress at a radius r
ri - internal radius
re - external radius
ε sh - shrinkage strain
E o - modulus of elasticity of the concrete
E1 - modulus of elasticity of the core material
μ 0 - Poisson ratio of the concrete
μ1 - Poisson ratio of the core ring material

A comprehensive analysis of various parameters, as predicted from the analytical treatment was
presented by Kovler et al. [2]. The results of this analysis, for the maximum tangential tensile
stress, which occurs at the concrete surface in contact with the restraining ring, is shown in Figure
4.5.2, for two types of concretes (early age concrete assuming for the calculation and "equivalent"
244 RILEM TC 181-EAS: Final Report - July 2002

modulus of elasticity of 2.1GPa, and hardened concrete assuming modulus of elasticity of

210GPa) and two types of cores, steel and perspex. The tensile stress is presented in terms of a
relative value of the calculated stress divided by the product of the free shrinkage strain and the
modulus of elasticity of the concrete. The latter is the upper bound of tensile stress which will
occur, assuming full restrain and no relaxation.

0.9

0.8
Related
tangential
0.7
stress
-σθ /(εshE0)
0.6

0.5

0.4
0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Ring radii ratio a/b
Hardened concrete / Perspex ring Fresh concrete / Perspex ring
Hardened concrete / Steel ring Fresh concrete / Steel ring

Figure 6.5.2: Stresses developed in a ring test with steel and perspex core as a function of the
nature of the concrete (early age and mature concretes), for different ring geometries (after Kovler
et al. [2]).

In view of the non-uniformity of the stress field in such tests, their common use is for comparative
purposes, to evaluate for example the efficiency of different means applied to reduce cracking
sensitivity, such as fiber addition and shrinkage reducing admixture, SRA, [3,4].

Grysbowski and Shah [3] calculated the stresses in hardened concrete expected to develop when it
is tested in a ring apparatus with dimensions of concrete internal and external diameters of 152 and
187mm, respectively, and a steel ring core which is of a tube shape, with external and internal
diameters of 152 and 127mm, respectively. They concluded that the difference between the
tangential radial stress at the inner and outer surface of the concrete ring is 10% and the radial
compressive stress is less than 20% of the tensile tangential stress. Therefore they suggested that a
geometry of this kind practically provides uniform state of stress.

In the application of this test for routine evaluation, attention was given by several investigators to
accelerate the test so that the tendency for cracking will be enhanced, to be able to assess
differences more readily. For example, in the case of hardened concrete evaluation, the time to
cracking may exceed a week, which is obviously a disadvantage for a routine testing method. With
this in mind, several modifications to the ring test have been suggested, to accelerate the formation
of cracks, and they are outlined below.
 Early Age Cracking in Cementitious Systems 245

Kovler et al. [2] developed an approach in which the core of the ring is an "active" material which
expands and induces additional tensile stress, on top of the one induced by the drying of the
concrete ring. This was achieved by having perspex as the core material, and heating it up by
10oC, from 20 to 30oC. Calculations for hardened concrete showed that by this means the tensile
stress generated in the concrete could be 5 to 10 times higher than that generated in rings with steel
core, for concrete ring geometries with internal to external diameter ratios of 0.5 to 0.95,
respectively. Tests to evaluate this concept showed that for a "conventional" ring test with steel
core and concrete ring diameter ratio of 0.77 (ri/re), no cracks appeared during one week of drying,
whereas for the heated perspex core of similar dimensions cracks occurred within less than 30
minutes. Thus the test could easily provide comparative data for PP fiber reinforcement in a short
time of few days and less. Relevant information could be obtained for a configuration where the
diameter ratio (ri/re) was 0.53: cracking time of 120min., 1 day and 3 days for 0.1% PP, 0.3% PP
and 0.3% steel fiber reinforcement by volume, respectively. At higher diameter ratio, the stresses
generated were apparently too large, and all the specimens were cracked within less than one hour.
This implies that the method must be adopted in terms of the geometry to match the materials
which are evaluated. Obviously, this approach can provide only a comparative qualitative
evaluation but not an absolute one.

In Norway, special testing rig was developed by Dahl (reported in references 5 and 6) to be used
for plastic shrinkage cracking evaluation. In this test the concrete was kept continuously between
two steel rings, with the external one having flat ribs which act as stress raiser (Figure 6.5.3). This
rig was fit with special attachment to allow drying under a stream of hot air, simulating dry wind.
The quantification of the cracking in this test is based on determining the total crack length
developed in the concrete.

Figure 6.5.3: Schematic description of the restraining ring developed by Dahl (from ref. 5).

6.5.3 Plate Tests

The plate test was developed in several laboratories, with the intent of using it to evaluate the
performance of low volume content polymer fibers, to reduce plastic shrinkage cracking (e.g.
references [7,8,9]). The test is shown schematically in Figure 6.5.4. It is based on casting concrete
in a slab mold with dimensions of about 1m by 1m, or somewhat smaller, with restrain being
246 RILEM TC 181-EAS: Final Report - July 2002

achieved by reinforcement at the edges of the plate. The surface is exposed to drying which is
usually achieved by a fan blowing hot air, simulating windy conditions.

The performance of the concrete is quantified in a variety of ways to estimate the extent of
cracking: maximum crack width, average crack width, total crack length, total crack area (crack
width multiplied by its length) and number of cracks per unit area (e.g. ref. 10).

Figure 6.5.4: Schematic description of plate test used by Yokoyama et al. [9]

6.5.4 Longitudinal Tests

The tests in this category can be divided into three:

(i) The longitudinal geometry is used as a restrain to measure cracking only (referred to as
longitudinal-qualitative)

(ii) The rig is partially instrumented to determine also the restraining forces and stresses. The test
is passive in nature, since the restrain is achieved by longitudinal bars on which strain gauges are
mounted (referred to as longitudinal-passive)
(iii) Instrumented test, in which the position of the grip is adjusted to keep the specimen at zero
deformation or close to it, while measuring the load in the grip. This test may be viewed as an
active one, since there is a continuous need for external intervention to keep the specimen at zero
strain (referred to as longitudinal-active).

(iv) Fully instrumented test in which a close loop computer controlled system is operating to adjust
the grip position and fix it to zero strain while recording continuously the load and deformations in
restrained and free companion specimen (referred to as longitudinal-closed loop instrumented).

6.5.4.1 Longitudinal-qualitative

Berke and Dallaire [11] evaluated plastic shrinkage cracking in a pre-notched specimen, 22in long,
14.5in wide and 4in thick (Figure 6.5.5). A metal strip was placed at the bottom of the mold prior to
 Early Age Cracking in Cementitious Systems 247

casting in order to create the notch which acted as a stress raiser. End restrain was provided by risers at
each end of the mold. A special environmental chamber was developed, in which the restrained
specimen was exposed to flowing air which provided the drying environment for a period of 24 hours.
Thereafter cracking was determined. For this purpose the specimen was gridded into 2x2in. squares and
the surface was inspected for cracks. The cracks were traced and their width was determined. The
length of the crack and its average width within each grid was determined and the total crack area was
calculated. Test results were provided in terms of relative crack area of the specimen in question (fiber
reinforced) relative to control without fibers.

Figure 6.5.5: Schematic description of longitudinal restraining rig with a notch as a stress raiser and end
restrains for evaluating plastic shrinkage cracking (after Berke and Dallaire [11]).

Banthia et al [12,13] developed a rig based on restrain generated by the end grips (Figure 6.5.6).
The 40x40x500mm specimen is cast into a mold with triple bar anchors at its ends. These anchors
are rigidly attached to a 50mm thick base plate through vertical posts. The mold itself is mounted
on two frictionless rollers that are free to slide in the longitudinal direction. Concrete specimens
are mounted on this assembly after demolding, and the whole assembly is placed in an
environmental chamber at 50°C/50%RH. Cracking is observed by means of a microscope
traveling above the specimen, and the number and width of cracks is recorded. Total crack width
and total crack length are calculated and used as parameters to characterize cracking behavior.

Figure 6.5.6: Longitudinal restraining rig developed by Banthia et al. [12, 13].

A test method where the longitudinal restrain is not at the end grips but rather along the substrate,
underneath the specimen, was described by Banthia et al. [14], and is shown schematically in Figure
6.5.7. The restraining substrate is a 40mm concrete cast into the bottom part of the mold (1010mm long,
100mm wide). Its surface was roughened by manually placing 20mm aggregates on the fresh concrete
248 RILEM TC 181-EAS: Final Report - July 2002

and thereafter curing in hot water at 50°C for 3 days. An overlay of 100mm deep concrete was cast on
this substrate and placed in an environmental chamber in which hot air was blown over the specimen.
The environment in the chamber was 38°C/5%RH. The drying test started 2.5 hours after casting the
overlay. Crack monitoring was similar to that described in references 12 and 13.

Figure 6.5.7: Schematic description and dimensions (mm) of a rig for determining cracking of a
fresh concrete overlay placed on hardened and roughened surface (after Banthia et al. [14]).

6.5.4.2 Longitudinal-Passive

Longitudinal-passive restraining rigs were developed at the Technical University of Munich to

study the thermal stresses which develop in concretes cured in adiabatic conditions and under
restrain. The concept of this rig can be readily modified for restrained shrinkage testing by running
the test in isothermal conditions. The test was described in several references (e.g. 15, 16) and it
was recently adopted by RILEM as a recommended test method [17]. A scheme of the rig is
presented in Figure 6.5.8. The grip is of a tapered geometry, to eliminate stress concentrations that
may lead to premature cracking, and the restrain is achieved by two massive longitudinal bars of
100mm diameter.

Figure 6.5.8: Cracking frame for restrained testing recommended by RILEM for evaluation of
thermal cracking [17].
 Early Age Cracking in Cementitious Systems 249

In this arrangement the deformation is not completely eliminated, and the small strain which
occurs is measured by the strain gauges mounted on the steel bars. Restraining stress is calculated
from the strain data and the steel and the concrete cross-section areas. This rig is intended to
accommodate compressive restraining stresses which occur as the temperature increases
immediately after casting, as well as restraining tensile stresses which occur on cooling later on.
The bars are made of steel with low coefficient of thermal expansion, so that the strain in it will
not be affected by the temperature build up which occurs in the near by concrete.

To ensure adiabatic conditions, the formwork is made of thermally insulating material (polystyrene
with thickness of 50mm). In between the formwork and the concrete, a 0.2mm thick copper plate
is placed, to assure uniformity of thermal changes. In addition, water at different temperatures can
be circulated trough a pipe system in the formwork for further adjustment of the thermal
conditions. The mold is horizontal and measurements can be initiated immediately after casting of
the concretes.
In the thermal tests the parameters obtained are the stress development curves, the zero stress
temperature (the temperature at which the compressive stress induced early on during heating is
reduced back to zero) and the cracking temperature (the temperature in the cooling range at which
cracking occurs). In many instances cracking did not occur spontaneously, and the system was
cooled artificially, at a predetermined rate, until cracking occurred. This is recorded as the
cracking temperature. Lower cracking temperature reflects a concrete which is less sensitive to
cracking.

A longitudinal passive rig with internal restraining bar is recommended by the Japan Concrete
Institute for testing for cracking which is induced by autogenous shrinkage as well as combined
autogenous shrinkage and thermal dilation (Figure 6.5.9) [18]. The bar is bonded to the concrete at
its ends and the middle 300mm portion is lathed. Length measurements of the bar ensure accuracy
of 1x10-6 strain.

Figure 6.5.9: Restrained shrinkage test rig recommended by the Japan Concrete Institute to
determine stresses induced by autogenous shrinkage [18].
250 RILEM TC 181-EAS: Final Report - July 2002

6.5.4.3 Longitudinal-Active

The stresses developed in the passive rigs are also a function of the ratio between the rigidity of
the concrete and the restraining frame, and therefore the data obtained is not sufficiently
fundamental. Thus, longitudinal active restraining rigs were developed with the object of
achieving a "full restrain" which is independent of the restraining rigidity of the testing rig.

In the "active" modified rigs, one grip is fixed and the other is free to move. It is returned to its
original position periodically, after some shrinkage has occurred. This is achieved by a special
arrangements at the moving grip, which are manual or automated, whereby a screw or hydraulic
mechanism is activated to bring the grip back to its "zero" position. The load induced is measured
by means of a load cell.

The active rigs can be classified into two, depending on the mounting of the specimen: vertical and
horizontal. The horizontal rigs enable measurement immediately after casting, whereas the vertical
ones are adequate for hardened concrete only, and measurements commence usually at 1 day or
later.

(a) Horizontal rigs

Horizontal active rigs were reported by Springenschmid et al. [16] and Bloom and Bentur [19]. In
these tests the cycles for the length adjustments are such that the deformation between the cycles
of loading are relatively small, so that the concrete can be assumed to be under "full restrain"; they
are smaller than 1 to 5μm for 1000mm long specimens.

Springenschmid et al. [16] developed their instrumentation for evaluation of thermal stresses and
cracking and referred to their rig as Temperature Stress Testing Machine (TSTM). In this case the
controlled loading was added as a feature on their longitudinal passive testing machine described
in the previous section (this passive rig is the recommended RILEM test method [17]).

These testing techniques were used by Bloom and Bentur [19] to study cracking due to autogenous
shrinkage of high strength concretes with or without fibers. Springenschmid et al. [16] used the
TSTM instrumentation to evaluate the cracking sensitivity of concretes and the stresses developed
in adiabatic conditions, while van Breugel [20] used this rig to determine the behavior of concretes
under isothermal conditions, which provided the data of autogenous shrinkage which is of
significance in high strength concretes. This is a demonstration of the dual use of the TSTM
testing rig, which is of considerable practical and scientific interest, since in practice stresses due
to thermal effects and autogenous shrinkage occur at the same time.

(b) Vertical Rigs

Paillere et al. [21] developed a test method in which a swallow-tailed specimen was tested in the
vertical position. The lower grip was fixed while the upper one was free to move and was
connected to air pressure testing equipment. Changes in length could be measured with an
accuracy of 1μm and the gauge length was kept constant by adjusting the position of the grip. The
load induced in the grip was recorded.
Similar concepts were reported later in studies at Grace Construction Products [22] (Figure 6.5.10)
and Brooks and Jiang [23]. The latter is a modification of a tensile creep rig [24]. In these testing
schemes hardened concretes are tested, usually after one day of curing in restrain free conditions.
The specimen used in ref. 21 is a rectangular one, with gripping achieved by studs within the
concrete prism whose length is 990mm. Adjustments for load was made when the average strain
 Early Age Cracking in Cementitious Systems 251

measured by 4 gauges was 0.01%. They used a tapered geometry with a length of 178mm between
the tapered ends. In their test manual adjustment was carried for 10μm increments (i.e. strain of
0.006%).

Figure 6.5.10: Active vertical rig developed at Grace Construction Products [22]

6.5.4.4 Longitudinal-closed loop instrumented

A fully automated instrumented testing rig, which is a closed loop computer controlled, was
developed at the Technion by Kovler [25] (Figure 6.5.11). The restraining rig in this system and its
operation principle are based on the concept of Bloom and Bentur [19], but the closed loop
instrumentation provides a much more sensitive and accurate measurement. An analytical method
was developed by Kovler to analyze the data and calculate the viscoelastic response in addition to
the simple determination of stresses.
252 RILEM TC 181-EAS: Final Report - July 2002

Free End
PC Fixed End
Shrinkage
Free
Specimen

Amplifier

LVDT
Gripped End
Shaft
Controller

Motor Universal Shrinkage

Load Cell Joint

Figure 6.5.11: Schematic description of the closed loop instrumented restraining system developed
by Kovler [25].

At the "heart" of this instrumentation is a compensation cycle which consists of adjustment of the
grip position and increase of the load once a 5μm deformation has occurred due to shrinkage. The
cycle is repeated at increments of 5μm, as shown schematically in Figure 6.5.12. Each cycle
consists of an elastic response, which is the one obtained at the increase in load (to bring back the
specimen to its original length, i.e. inducing an elastic deformation of 5μm, which is a strain of
5x10-6 for the 1000mm long specimen.). This is the elastic strain component of each cycle, ε el .
The deformation (strain) between two applications of load consists of two components: one is the
result of additional shrinkage strain, ε sh which is essentially the increment of free shrinkage
during the cycle (it is measured independently in a companion free specimen), and the other is a
consequence of some relaxation taking place under load, which can be quantified in terms of a
creep strain, ε cr .
The nature of the cycle is such that the following relation applies, for the increment of each cycle:

Δε (t ) = Δε el (t ) + Δε sh (t ) + Δε cr (t ) = 0 (8)

Based on this relation it can be stated that the sum of elastic strains up to any time (t) is equal to
that of the (shrinkage + creep), in absolute value. Thus, the stiffness of the experimental device
can be neglected. The sum of the shrinkage and creep strain up to a given time t k may be
calculated as half of the negative sum of the absolute values of all the preceding increments of
deformation measured on the restrained specimen:
ε sh (t k ) + ε cr (t k ) = −1 / 2∑ ε (t i ) − ε (t i −1 ) (9)
where:
ε (t i ) is the strain measured at time t i , intermediate between 0 and t k , with the previous
measurement being at time t i −1 .

Thus the curve of (shrinkage + creep) can be calculated from the above equation, and the
difference between it and the free shrinkage curve is the creep strain (Figure 8.5.12).
 Early Age Cracking in Cementitious Systems 253

The computer controlled compensation cycle in this rig can be used to carry out additional tests
such as creep and relaxation, by programming the system to follow a different pattern: A
predetermined strain is induced and than maintained constant while recording the changes in the
load (relaxation test), or keeping the load constant by adjusting the position of the grip and
recording the movement required (creep test).

The system developed by Kovler, including the analytical interpretation of its results served as a
basis for several studies of fiber reinforced concretes and high strength concretes [26,27,28]. This
testing concept was later used by other groups who developed similar testing rigs [29,30,31].

shrinkage + creep
Time
compensation cycles

incremental elastic strain

Shrinkage + Creep
(Cumulative Curve)

Creep

Free Shrinkage
Strain

Figure 6.5.12: Schematic description of the compensating cycles controlling the operation of the
instrumented shrinkage testing system and the free shrinkage and creep curve which can be
calculated from the data (after Kovler [24]).

6.5.5 Conclusions

The present review identifies new analytical and testing means for a comprehensive evaluation of
early age cracking, to resolve the influence of the shrinkage which is the driving force for
cracking, as well as restrain and relaxation which will determine whether the shrinkage will lead to
cracking.
Attention is drawn here to the need for a comprehensive evaluation of the influences of
viscoelastic effects which can assume a major role in mitigating the stresses which are generated
by shrinkage.
There is growing significance to simultaneous assessment of the consequences of thermal and
autogenous shrinkage effects which occur during the first few days after casting of high
quality/high strength concretes of low w/b ratios.
254 RILEM TC 181-EAS: Final Report - July 2002

6.5.6 References
1. Shah, S.P. Ouyang, C. Marikunte, S. Yang, W. and Becq-Giraution, E.A ‘Method to predict shrinkage
cracking of concrete’, ACI Mat. J. 94 (4) (1998) 339-346.
2. Kovler, K. Sikuler, J. and Bentur, A., ‘Restrained shrinkage tests of fibre reinforced concrete ring
specimens: effect of core thermal expansion’, Materials and Structures, 26 (1993) 23 1 - 237.
3. Grysbowski, M. and Shah, S.P., ‘Shrinkage cracking of fiber reinforced concrete’, ACI Mat. J., 87 (2)
(1990) 395-404.
4. Shah, S.P. WeissW.J. and Yang, W. ‘Shrinkage cracking-can it be prevented?’, Conc. Int. 20 (4) (1998)
51-55.
5. Sellevold, E., Bjøntegaard, Ø., Justnes, H. and Dahl, P.A., ‘High performance concrete: early volume
change and cracking tendency’, Proc. Thermal Cracking in Concrete at Early Ages, R. Springenschmid,
editor, E&FN SPON, (1994) 229-236.
6. Bjøntegaard, Ø., Hammer, T.A. and Sellevold, E.J., ‘Cracking in high performance concrete before
setting’, Paper presented at the High Strength Concrete Symp., Sherbrooke, (1998).
7. Kraii, P.P., ‘Proposed test to determine the cracking potential due to drying shrinkage of concrete’,
Concrete Construction, 30 (1985) 775-778.
8. Shales, Ch.A. and Hover, K.C., ‘Influence of mix proportions and construction operations on plastic
shrinkage cracking in thin slabs’, ACI materials Journal, 85 (6) (1998) 495- 504.
9. Yokoyama, K. Hiraishi, S. Kasai, Y. and Kishitani, K., ‘Shrinkage and cracking of high strength
concrete and flowing concrete at early ages’ in Proc. 4th CANMET/ACI International Conference on
Superplasticizers and other Chemical Admixtures in Concrete, V.M.Malhotra, editor, ACI SP- 148,
American Concrete Institute, (1994) 243-258.
10. Soroushian, P. Mirza, F. and Alhozaimy, A., ‘Plastic shrinkage cracking of PP fiber reinforced
concrete’, Amer. Conc. lnst. Mat. J., 92 (5) (1995) 553-560.
11. Berke, N.S. and Dallaire, M.P., ‘The effect of low addition rates of Polypropylene fibers on plastic
shrinkage cracking and mechanical properties of concrete’, in ‘Fiber Reinforced Concrete:
Developments and Innovations’, J.I.Danile and S.P.Shah, editors, ACI SP- 142, American Concrete
Institute (1994)19-42.
12. Banthia, N. Azzabi, M. and Pigeon, M., ‘Restrained shrinkage tests on fiber reinforced cementitious
composites’ in ‘Testing of Fiber Reinforced Concrete’, D.Stevens, N.Banthia, V.S.Gopalaratnam and
P.C.Tatnall, editors, ACI- SP 155-7, American Concrete Institute (1995) 137-151.
13. Banthia, N. Azzabi, M. and Pigeon, M., ‘Restrained shrinkage cracking in fibre-reinforced cementitious
composites’, Materials and Structures, 26 (1993) 405-413.
14. Banthia, N. Yan, C. and Mindess, S., ‘Restrained shrinkage cracking in fiber reinforced concrete: a
novel technique’, Cem. Con. Res. 26 (1) (1996) 9-14.
15. Breitenbucher, R., ‘Investigation of thermal cracking with the cracking frame’, Materials and Structures,
23 (1990) 172-177.
16. Springenschmid, R. Breitenbucher, R. and Mangold, 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.
17. RILEM TC 119-TCE: Avoidance of thermal cracking in concrete at early ages- recommendations,
Materials and Structures, 30 (1997) 451-461.
18. JCI Committee Report: Technical Committee on Autogenous Shrinkage of Concrete, Japan Concrete
Institute, AUTOSHRINK'98, Proc. Int. Workshop on Autogenous Shrinkage of Concrete, E.Tazawa,
editor, Japan Concrete Institute, (1998) 5-66.
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