Hydration process and crack tendency of concrete based on resistivity and restrained shrinkage crack

Hydration process, crack potential and setting time of concrete grade C30, C40 and C50 were monitored by using a non-contact electrical resistivity apparatus, a novel plastic ring mould and penetration resistance methods, respectively. The results show the highest resistivity of C30 at the early stage until a point when C50 accelerated and overtook the others. It has been experimentally confirmed that the crossing point of C30 and C50 corresponds to the final setting time of C50. From resistivity derivative curve, four different stages were observed upon which the hydration process is classified; these are dissolution, induction, acceleration and deceleration periods. Consequently, restrained shrinkage crack and setting time results demonstrated that C50 set and cracked the earliest. The cracking time of all the samples occurred within a reasonable experimental period thus the novel plastic ring is a convenient method for predicting concrete’s crack potential. The highest inflection time (ti) obtained from resistivity curve and the final setting time (tf) were used with crack time (tc) in coming up with mathematical models for the prediction of concrete’s cracking age for the range of concrete grade considered. Finally, an ANSYS numerical simulation supports the experimental findings in terms of the earliest crack age of C50 and the crack location.