Investigation of early drying shrinkage of ultrahigh-performance concrete under windy conditions

• Published in: Journal of Building Engineering Vol. 57; p. 104852
• Main Authors: Du, Yang, Zhang, Lifeng, Ruan, Shaoqin, Qian, Xiaoqian, Qian, Kuangliang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2022
• Subjects: Critical pore; Early shrinkage; Hydration degree; UHPC; Wind speed; Early shrinkage; UHPC; Critical pore; Wind speed; Hydration degree
• ISSN: 2352-7102; 2352-7102
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jobe.2022.104852

Environmental factors (e.g., wind) may deteriorate the volume stability of ultrahigh-performance concrete (UHPC), which undermines structural safety. Therefore, in this study, the effects of wind speeds (WSs) on the early shrinkage (e.g., autogenous/drying shrinkage) of UHPC were investigated, and the shrinkage behaviors were further explained from the evaporation and pore structure distributions of UHPC. The results highlighted the effects of silica fume (SF) on the early shrinkage of UHPC under windy conditions, however, water evaporation should be combined with pore size distributions to obtain critical pores of UHPC. At the same time, based on the critical pore diameter, different early drying shrinkage developments were observed in UHPC under normal drying conditions and at a WS of 0.25 m/s. Further, in some cases, drying shrinkage may play a more important role that governs the early total shrinkage of UHPC than autogenous shrinkage, which complements current theories of shrinkage. •Effects of wind speed on the early shrinkage of the UHPC were investigated.•Evaporation and pore structures should be combined to identify early shrinkage.•The critical pore diameter determines early drying shrinkage behaviors.•Drying shrinkage could dominate early total shrinkage in some cases.