ABSTRACT
Early-age plastic shrinkage cracks can reduce the durability of concrete slabs by creating direct paths for the ingress of aggressive agents and thus accelerating degradation due to environmental attack, in particular, in hot and windy environments. The elimination of such cracks is essential for durable and sustainable concrete structures. This paper parametrically investigates the effect of manufactured steel fibres (MSF) and recycled tyre steel fibres (RTSF) on restraining plastic shrinkage and micro cracks at different dosages (10, 20, and 30 kg/m3). The plastic shrinkage tests were carried out in a specially designed chamber, according to ASTM C1579. Various environmental conditions are examined, and their impact on compressive strength and crack potential is assessed. A digital image analysis technique is used to measure length, width, and the area of the crack on the exposed surface to gain additional insights into crack behaviour. The results show a slight early-age (one-day) increase in compressive strength for the concrete exposed to the various environmental conditions, mostly as a result of higher temperatures. Through the use of the crack reduction ratio (CRR), both RTSF and MSF are shown to be successful in controlling plastic shrinkage and micro cracks, with the RTSF being superior due to the fact that they are better distributed in the concrete volume. The addition of 30 kg/m3 of RTSF was effective in preventing crack development in most environments or restraining cracks in extremely harsh environments. The adoption of these results will lead to more sustainable concrete slabs in the harsher environmental conditions created by climate change.
ABSTRACT
Due to climate change and population expansion, concrete structures are progressively being subjected to more extreme environments. As the environment affects plastic shrinkage directly, there is a need to understand the effect of environmental changes on plastic shrinkage cracking. This paper examines the plastic shrinkage crack development parametrically at low, mid, and high drying environmental conditions, corresponding to different environments in three Saudi cities. The effects of water-cement ratios and quantities of recycled tire steel fibers (RTSF) in concrete are also investigated. The different environmental conditions for the plastic shrinkage tests were simulated in a specially designed chamber as per ASTM C1579, 2006. A digital image processing (DIP) technique was used to monitor crack initiation and development. Through the use of the crack reduction ratio (CRR), it was found that 30 kg/m3 of RTSF can control plastic shrinkage cracks at low and mid conditions. For the more extreme (high) conditions, the use of 40 kg/m3 of RTSF fiber was sufficient to completely eliminate surface plastic shrinkage cracks. This work can help develop more sustainable concrete structures in a wider set of environmental conditions and help mitigate the impact of climate change on concrete infrastructure.