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The 23rd Biennial Conference of the Concrete Institute of Australia

Long-Term Creep Characteristics of Concrete


Radhe Khatri , Swee Mak and Greg Forster Boral Resources (NSW) Pty. Ltd., P.O. Box 400, Winston Hills, NSW 2153 2 CSIRO-MMT, P.O. Box 56, Highett, VIC 3190 3 Roads and Traffic Authority NSW, P.O. Box 3035, Parramatta, NSW 2124
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Synopsis : Concrete creep and shrinkage strains are time-dependent and can build up over time to values which can affect the serviceability of structures such as long span bridges or tall buildings. Ideally creep and shrinkage should be measured after long time periods with these values used when designing structures. However this is impractical as the designer cannot wait for results of long-term testing. Thus there is a strong desire to extrapolate long-term creep characteristics from short-term data. This desire is further exacerbated due to two reasons: firstly there are many sources of shortterm creep data available in literature as it is easy to evaluate short-term creep characteristics and secondly it is more practical when obtaining design data for the concrete structure to do this in as short a time as possible. It is critical to structure performance that any extrapolations are accurate and it is essential to establish the validity of these extrapolation techniques. This can only be done by comparing the results of the extrapolation techniques used from short-term test results with actual long-term experimentally measured creep data. However long-term creep data is scarce and it is therefore usually difficult to establish the accuracy or validity of these techniques. In this study creep and shrinkage strains were measured after up to 10.9 years of uninterrupted loading. This data was used to assess the validity of various extrapolation techniques for concrete creep. Most structures are designed based on the basic creep factor (ratio of ultimate creep strain to instantaneous strain) and basic creep factors determined experimental measurements are also presented. Basic creep factors calculated from short-term data (1 year and 3 years) were compared to basic creep factors calculated from data obtained after up to 10.9 years of continuous loading to establish the reliability of extrapolation techniques to extend from experimentally determined shortterm basic creep factors predictions of long-term concrete creep performance.

Keywords: long-term creep, shrinkage, extrapolation, predictive models, basic creep factor

Importance of Long-term Creep Data


Concrete structures are expected to last for a very long time. Creep and shrinkage strains are initially small but they will generally increase with time and may become large and could jeopardise the integrity of the structure. Creep and shrinkage strains should be measured on concrete samples after prolonged loading and these measured values used when designing concrete structures. However this is impractical as the designer cannot wait for the results of long-term testing. Thus there is a strong need to evaluate long-term creep and shrinkage characteristics from short-term experimentally measured data. In the first instance it is important to develop predictive models and secondly to establish the validity of these predictive models. Researchers have proposed various predictive models but their effectiveness in prediction has not been determined. It is essential to establish the validity and accuracy of these extrapolation techniques by comparing predicted concrete behaviour using such techniques to measured long-term performance. However long-term data is scarce and even medium-term data is in short-supply and thus it is difficult to assess the validity of the various predictive models. This paper uses the results of testing of up to 3981 days (10.9 years) under continuous loading to examine the extrapolation from short -term measured creep values to predict long-term creep characteristics, and to assess the validity of commonly used predictive models for concrete creep. Most structures are designed using basic creep factors (ratio of ultimate creep strain to instantaneous strain) contained in concrete design codes. To aid the design of structures where short-term creep testing data is available, this study compares experimentally measured basic creep factors from long-

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term testing with basic creep factors calculated from medium-term creep test data from the same test specimens.

Definitions
Creep strain: Strain due to shortening under sustained load less drying shrinkage strain (microstrain). Drying shrinkage of control stress-free concrete specimens is measured at the same time as the loaded test specimens. Short-term creep data: Creep strain data measured up to a period of two to twelve months. Medium-term creep data: Creep strain data measured up to a period of three to five years. Long-term creep data: Creep strain data measured up to a period of more than ten years. Note: These time periods of twelve months, five years and ten years are arbitrary, however these values are used to define and categorize the various creep data. Specific creep: Ratio of creep strain and stress (microstrain/MPa). Creep factor: The ratio of creep strain and elastic strain (dimensionless). Basic creep factor or basic creep coefficient : Long-term creep factor, taken as being at 30 years in AS 3600-2001.

Predictive Models
Creep of plain and structural concrete has been comprehensively discussed by Neville et al. (1). Three models namely logarithmic, power and hyperbolic expressions have been used to predict the long-term creep behaviour of concrete. These models have been closely examined whilst undertaking the work described in this paper.

(a)

Logarithmic Model

A logarithmic creep expression was first developed by the US Bureau of Reclamation (2) in 1956. The equation for the logarithmic model is:

(t t o ) = a + b log (t t o )
where

(t t 0 ) is creep strain at time t after time t o (in days), and a and b are constants. The

model has been demonstrated in Figure 1 for two mixes. It is clear from the Figure that the measured creep values were very similar to the predicted creep values for the mix shown on left of the Figure (Mix 35). However for the mix on the right side of the Figure (Mix 40), the logarithmic model does not appear to be a very good match. This model is simple and easy to use, but in some cases the match is not very good.

Figure 1 - Examples of the Logarithmic model applied to data from 2 different mixes

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(b)

Power Model

The Power model was first suggested by Straub (3) in 1930 and later by Shank (4) in 1935 as follows:

(t t o ) = a + b (t t o ) c
where

(t t 0 ) is again creep strain at time t after time t o (in days), and a , b and c are

constants. Similarly to Logarithmic model, measured creep data from the previous study are compared to the predicted values. The advantage of this model is that it can follow the line of the logarithmic model, but can also match the data where the Logarithmic model fails to do so. As can be seen from Figure 2, the Power model matches the data well for both mixes; note that the mix on the right side of the Figure ( Mix 40) is the same mix which the Logarithmic model could not match in Figure 1.

Figure 2 - Examples of the Power model applied to data from 2 different mixes

(c)

Power-Hyperbola Model

The hyperbolic relationship between creep and time was proposed by Ross (5) in 1937 and Lorman (6) in 1940 The equation used by ACI Committee 209 (7), as part of a general theoretical procedure for determining creep and shrinkage in concrete is:

(t t o ) =
Where

a (t t o ) b c + (t t o ) b

(t t 0 ) is again creep strain at time t after time t o (in days), and a , b and c are

constants. This model produces a very versatile curve, which fits very well to all the medium-term data. However, the drawback of this model is that the short-term data is not sufficient to scale the curve appropriately as seen in Figure 3. The constants a, b and c are calculated by trial and error and are the constants which give the minimum error between the predicted and measured creep values.

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Figure 3 - Examples of the Power-Hyperbola model applied to data from 2 different mixes

Comparison of Various Models


In order to establish which model would give the most accurate prediction of medium-term results from short-term data, 2-months of creep strain readings were extrapolated to 4-years using each of the above models. These predicted results were then compared to experimentally measured data (8). The following conclusions were made about the various models. The Power-Hyperbola model is not accurate and tends to underestimate the medium-term creep strain significantly. The Power model has a reasonable accuracy for the mixes considered, but with a tendency to overestimate the creep strain. The Logarithmic model is the most accurate for the mixes studied and tends to consistently underestimate the creep strain. Based on this analysis, the Power model would be the most suitable for predicting the long-term creep strain from short-term data, because it has a reasonable accuracy. Furthermore, it consistently overestimates creep strain and hence provides more conservative results for design. The Logarithmic model gave on average the best accuracy. However, it tends to underestimate the long-term creep strain and could be unconservative for design purposes. From the designers perspective, overestimation is preferred as designing the structure for higher creep strain is usually the safer option.

Basic Creep Factor


In Australia, when designing reinforced and prestressed concrete structures, strain due to creep is usually estimated using a basic creep factor. The basic creep factor can be obtained in a number of ways including tests carried out in accordance with AS 1012.16. More often the basic creep factor is taken from a range of basic creep factors given in Table 6.1.8.1 of AS 3600-2001. There have been two practical problems associated with the use of Table 6.1.8.1. Firstly, the basic creep factors for Strength Grade 40 MPa and 50 MPa concrete tend to be lower than those actually found typical for Australian concretes. Secondly, no basic creep factor is provided beyond Grade 50 MPa. Extrapolation of existing values would result in unrealistically low limits. Consequently, basic creep factor specifications for construction based on design code factors cannot be met, causing undue problems for concrete suppliers.

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With the current revision of AS 3600, there is a great opportunity for more realistic basic creep factors to be adopted for the standard. Basic creep factors have been calculated from experimentally measured medium-term creep data (9) for a range of concretes and these values have been previously proposed for adoption. Basic creep factors predicted from long-term (creep strains measured after 11 years of loading) data (10) are shown as data points in Figure 4. Figure 4 also shows the basic creep factors specified in AS 3600-2001 and those proposed for the revision of the 2006 draft of AS 3600 using medium-term data (9). The basic creep factors proposed for the higher grade concretes are higher than the values specified in AS 3600-2001, whereas the basic creep factors specified in the 2006 draft of AS 3600 appear to be somewhat less than the long-term measured basic creep factors. The upper five longterm basic creep factor data points in Figure 4 were measured on concrete specimens that contained iron blast furnace slag aggregates, these concretes are not normally being found at most Australian locations.

Basic Creep Factor

5 Long-Term Data 4
Draft AS 3600

3 2 AS3600 1 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Characteristic Strength (MPa)


Figure 4 - Basic creep factors calculated from long-term data compared to those of AS 3600-2001 and the 2006 draft of AS 3600

The previous study (9) has indicated that the basic creep factors obtained from medium-term measurements are similar to those of AS 3600-2001 for Strength Grades 20 MPa and 25 MPa, but gradually exceed the AS 3600-2001 values for the higher strength grades. For example, Strength Grade 50 MPa has a higher basic creep factor of 2.7 compared to the value of 2.0 specified in AS 3600-2001. Using the basic creep factors in Figure 4 and the previous study, proposed basic creep factors for various concrete strength grades are given in Table 1 as recommended from the previous study in a report to Standards Australia Committee BD2. It is clear that the recommended values from that report exceed the values in AS 3600-2001. However, they generally agree well with factors suggested by Gilbert (1998) (11).

Table 1 - Recommended Basic Creep Factors Characteristic strength (fc), MPa Recommendations from this study and a previous 3-year study (9,10) Gilbert (1998) AS 3600-2001 20 5.0 5.2 5.2 25 4.3 4.2 4.2 32 3.7 3.4 3.4 40 3.2 2.8 2.5 50 2.7 2.5 2.0 65 2.3 2.1 80 2.0 1.9 100 1.8 1.7 -

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Prediction from Medium-Term and Long-Term Creep Data


Long-term creep data is scarce and even medium-term data is only available occasionally. Thus it is important to compare predictions made using medium-term data to measurements obtained from longterm tests to establish if there is any change in trends and also to establish the differences between the extrapolations and the measurements. This enables more accurate predictions to be made of basic creep factors. In the study (10) from which this paper is derived, creep measurements were carried out on test specimens continuously loaded for almost 11 years. Figure 5 compares the specific creep data from the same test specimens after a loading period of 3 years with data after a loading period of 11 years.
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Agg. 1
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Specific Creep (s/MPa)

Specific Creep (s/MPa)

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BC-Std. GP-HAC MC-HAC

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Time after loading (days)

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Data up to almost 11 years

Data up to 3 years

Figure 5 - Comparison of data from test loadings up to almost 11-year with 3-year test loading data

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It can be seen that mostly the trends remain the same with the exception of concrete prepared with Marine Cement (MC) subjected to heat accelerated curing (HAC). This test specimen tended to deviate towards a higher value of specific creep. Hence, for this test specimen, the specific creep extrapolated from 3-year data would be lower than that measured at 11 years. Basic creep factors calculated from the 3-year data were compared to the basic creep factors calculated from the 11-year data, with this comparison given in Table 2. Also Table 3 gives the 28-day strength of various mixes. It can be seen that the basic creep factors calculated from the 3-year data are lower than those calculated from the 11-year data with the exception of standard moist cured (Std) concrete containing GP cement and slag aggregate (Agg. 2). Generally predictions using 3 -year data would tend to underestimate the basic creep factors predicted using 11-year data. The variances in the estimations are significant, ranging from -1.9% to 42.9%, suggesting that the basic creep factors recommended in Table 1 should be revisited in the light of the long-term creep data.

Table 2 - Comparison of Basic Creep Factors Calculated Using 3-year and 11-year Data Type of Binder 3-year data Curing Std Type of Aggregate Agg. 1 Agg. 2 Agg. 3 Agg. 1 HAC Agg. 2 Agg. 3 Key: Std HAC GP BC MC GGBFS Agg. 1 Agg. 2 Agg. 3 GP 2.06 3.74 2.14 1.74 1.99 1.65 BC 2.07 3.45 2.44 1.65 2.38 1.71 MC 2.18 2.46 2.07 1.70 2.28 1.96 GP 2.25 3.67 2.29 1.85 2.16 1.77 11-year data BC 2.40 3.61 2.73 1.99 2.72 2.07 MC 2.55 2.94 2.43 2.43 2.89 2.65

Standard moist curing to AS 1012.8.1 Heat Accelerated Curing General Purpose cement to AS 3972 Builders Cement (35% GGBFS; 65% GP) Marine Cement (65% GGBFS, 35% GP) Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag cement Quarried basalt Iron blast furnace slag River gravel

Table 3 Standard and heat accelerated cured 28-day compressive strength (MPa) of various mixes Type of Binder Curing Std. Type of Aggregate Agg. 1 Agg. 2 Agg. 3 HAC Agg. 1 Agg. 2 Agg. 3 GP 63.5 56.5 59.5 60.0 55.5 55.0 BC 67.0 62.5 62.5 61.5 54.5 52.5 MC 64.5 60.5 61.5 50.5 55.0 46.5

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Conclusions
Of the three predictive models studied, the Power model was found to be the most suitable for predicting long-term creep strains from short-term data for design purposes. It consistently overestimates creep strain and hence in most cases provides more conservative results. The Logarithmic model gives on average the best accuracy, but tends to underestimate long-term creep strains and thus could be unconservative for design purposes. The Power-Hyperbola model is a versatile model and fits the medium-term data well, but is not good for modeling short-term data. Measured basic creep factors obtained from test data were found to be similar to those specified in AS 3600-2001 for lower strength grade concretes, however for higher strength grade concretes, the basic creep factor obtained from test measurements were higher than those specified in AS 3600-2001. Basic creep factors based on medium-term tests have previously been proposed for concrete of Strength Grades 20 MPa to 100 MPa for inclusion in revisions to the draft of AS 3600. Basic creep factors calculated from 3-year test data were compared to those calculated from 11-year test data and it was found that using the 3-year test data alone would result in underestimation of the basic creep factors and that the basic creep factors recommended previously for the revision of the current draft of AS 3600 should be revisited.

Acknowledgements
Radhe Khatri would like to acknowledge and thank CSIRO , RTA NSW and ASA for their support of 2 this work and RTA NSW for its permission to publish the data. Significant contributions from Vute 4 5 Sirivivatnanon and John Turton of CCAA (APMCA ) are also acknowledged. The long-term creep 6 testing was carried out by David Ritchie of CSIRO-MMT , Highett and was part of the work carried out 6 by CSIRO-MMT for RTA NSW.
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Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation; Roads and Traffic Authority NSW; 4 5 Australasian Slag (Iron & Steel) Association; Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia; Australian 6 Pre-Mixed Concrete Association; CSIRO Manufacturing & Materials Technology.

References
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Neville, A.M., Kilger, W.H. and Brooks, J.J., Creep of plain and structural concrete, Construction Press, London and New York, 1983. US Bureau of Reclamation, Creep of concrete under high intensity loading, Concrete Laboratory Report No. C-820, Denver, Colorado, April 1956, 6 pp. Straub, L.G., Plastic flow in concrete arches, Proc. Am. Soc. of Civil Engineers, 56, Jan. 1930, pp. 49-114. Shank, J.R., The plastic flow of concrete, Bulletin No. 91, Ohio State University of Engineering Experimental Station, Sept. 1935, 62 pp. Ross, A.D., Concrete creep data, The Structural Engineer, 15, No. 8, 1937, pp. 314-26. Lorman, W.R., The theory of concrete creep, Proc. ASTM, 40, 1940, pp. 1082-1102. ACI Committee 209, Prediction of creep, shrinkage, and temperature effects in concrete structures, Designing for Effects of Creep, Shrinkage, Temperature in Concrete Structures, American Concrete Institute Special Publication No. 27, 1971, pp. 51-93. Khatri, R.P., and Sirivivatnanon, V., Long-term behavior of concrete: Creep and Shrinkage, Serviceability and Collapse, CIA Seminar, Sydney, 4 October, 2006. Mak, S.L., Ritchie, D., Creep and Shrinkage of Heat Cured Slag Cement Concrete for Bridge Structures, Confidential DBCE Doc.99/062 prepared for Roads and Traffic Authority NSW, CSIRO Building, Construction and Engineering, Draft, 1999.

8. 9.

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10. Khatri, R., Ritchie, D., Sirivivatnanon, V., Long-Term Creep Characteristics of Concrete prepared with various Binders and Aggregates, Report Bin 298 prepared in confidence to Roads and Traffic Authority NSW and Australian Slag Association, CSIRO Cement and Concrete Technology, North Ryde, June 2006. 11. Gilbert, R.I., Serviceability Considerations and Requirements for High Performance Reinforced Concrete Slabs, Proceedings International Conference on HPHSC, Perth, Australia, 1998. pp 425-439.

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