The Use of Superabsorbent Polymers in High Performance Concrete to Mitigate Autogenous Shrinkage in a Large-Scale Demonstrator

Laurence De Meyst, Judy Kheir, José Roberto Tenório Filho, Kim Van Tittelboom and Nele De Belie
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Laurence De Meyst: Magnel-Vandepitte Laboratory for Structural Engineering and Building Materials, Ghent University, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde 60, B-9052 Ghent, Belgium
Judy Kheir: Magnel-Vandepitte Laboratory for Structural Engineering and Building Materials, Ghent University, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde 60, B-9052 Ghent, Belgium
José Roberto Tenório Filho: Magnel-Vandepitte Laboratory for Structural Engineering and Building Materials, Ghent University, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde 60, B-9052 Ghent, Belgium
Kim Van Tittelboom: Magnel-Vandepitte Laboratory for Structural Engineering and Building Materials, Ghent University, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde 60, B-9052 Ghent, Belgium
Nele De Belie: Magnel-Vandepitte Laboratory for Structural Engineering and Building Materials, Ghent University, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde 60, B-9052 Ghent, Belgium

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 11, 1-24

Abstract: High performance concrete (HPC) is a high strength concrete that undergoes a lot of early-age autogenous shrinkage (AS). If shrinkage is restrained, then micro-cracks arise and threaten the durability of the structure. Superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) can reduce/mitigate the autogenous shrinkage, due to their promising application as internal curing agents. In this paper, large-scale demonstrators were built to investigate the efficiency of SAPs to mitigate autogenous shrinkage in HPC. For this purpose, different measurement techniques were used like embedded fiber optic sensors and demountable mechanical strain gauges, complemented by AS measurements in corrugated tubes and restrained ring tests. The SAP wall showed an AS reduction of 22%, 54%, and 60% at the bottom, middle, and top, respectively, as recorded by the sensors (in comparison with the reference wall (REF)). In the corrugated tubes, mitigation of AS was shown in the SAP mixture, and under restrained conditions, in the ring test, the reference mixture cracked after two days, while the SAP mixture had not cracked at the end of the measurement period (20 days). Cracks were shown on REF wall after one day, while the SAP wall was crack-free. Water flow tests performed on the main crack of the REF wall confirmed that the flow rate is related to the third power of the crack width. All tests showed that SAPs could highly reduce AS in HPC and avoid cracking.

Keywords: high performance concrete; internal curing; superabsorbent polymers; autogenous shrinkage; large-scale testing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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