Drying shrinkage strains: experimental versus codes

Abstract

The experimental evaluation of drying shrinkage strains is compared to that based on ACI and Euro-International Committee of Concrete (CEB) recommendations. A 0.16-m 3 concrete block, instrumented with the aid of vibrating wire extensometers, was subjected to 3 years of drying followed by 6 months of wetting. Strains in the concrete, along with the interval temperature in the block and temperature and relative humidities of the ambient medium, were recorded. The experimental shrinkage data were computed using ACI and CEB recommendations. The results show that the shrinkage strains calculated according to CEB recommendations agree well with experimental results.