Improving test methods to measure early age autogenous shrinkage in concrete based on air cooling

In this study, we investigate and improve the testing methods for more accurate measurement of the early-age autogenous shrinkage (AS) in concrete. During the first 24 h after casting, the temperature of concrete rises due to hydration heat and causes the simultaneous development of thermal deformation (TD) and AS. Because there is no general agreement on evolution of coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) in the literature, the most commonly adopted approach of subtracting the TD based on an assumed constant value of CTE results in incorrect values of early-age AS. To avoid such errors, we propose improvements in measuring rig and control of hydration-induced temperature, which serves as an aid in achieving isothermal conditions in concrete specimens right after casting. The validity of the proposed improvements is investigated by performing a series of tests under semi-adiabatic (including TD) and artificially controlled isothermal conditions (excluding TD). Results indicate that the AS calculated from semi-adiabatic tests is significantly underestimated at early ages, which is probably due to considering inaccurate values of CTE at early ages. Therefore, we recommend the incorporation of proposed improvements into existing test methods or that an appropriate method of determining the evolution of CTE be considered. © 2010 The Institution of Engineers, Singapore.