Numerical and experimental study of creep and shrinkage in a high-performance concrete

In this study, an experimental investigation on a high-performance concrete used for the construction of a pre-stressed bridge is presented, together with the numerical assessments of the material properties, such as strength, modulus of elasticity, creep, and shrinkage. In this experimental investigation cylindrical specimens were used to measure shrinkage strains under both sealed and drying conditions, with environmental relative humidity of 50% and temperature of 20◦C. In addition, basic and drying creep tests were also conducted under the same aforementioned environmental conditions starting at the age of 2 and 28 days. The rate-type creep model, entitled solidification-microprestress-microplane (SMM) model (Di Luzio and Cusatis, 2013), which amalgamates a microplane model and the solidification-microprestress theory is adopted to simulate the age-dependent response of sealed and unsealed specimens observed in the experimental investigation previously mentioned. Comparison with experimental data shows that the SMM model can explain well the interplay of shrinkage (autogenous and drying), creep, and cracking phenomena.