Effect of Cement Type, Silica Fume, Water-cement Ratio, Age and Moderate Shift in Temperature on Self-desiccation in Concrete.

This article outlines an experimental and numerical study on the effect of cement type, silica fume, w/c, age and moderate shift of temperature on self-desiccation and strength of concrete. For this purpose 81 sealed cylinders made of 9 concretes with w/c varying between 0.32 and 0.50, based on two types of Portland Cement, were manufactured. Five per cent silica fume was used in one third of the concretes as calculated on the basis of the cement content. Self-desiccation was studied after sealed curing at three different temperatures. The measurement was done at 1 and 6 months’ age at three temperatures. The results indicated high influence of w/c, age and cement type on self-desiccation. The influence of a moderate variation in temperature or of silica fume was insignificant. The study was performed at Lund Institute of Technology 1997-1998.