Fh. Alsugair, ANALYSIS OF THE TIME-DEPENDENT VOLUME REDUCTION OF CONCRETE CONTAINING SILICA FUME, Magazine of Concrete Research, 47(170), 1995, pp. 77-81
The use of silica fume (SF) to produce high-performance concretes is g
aining acceptance in the construction industry. Concretes of compressi
ve strength above 70 MPa with improved resistance to aggressive chemic
als have been produced successfully using SF. The time-dependent volum
e reduction of concrete caused by moisture loss, known as drying shrin
kage, is known to have a profound influence on cracking, long-term def
lection and losses in prestressing. It is therefore necessary to have
a clear understanding of these deformations in concrete containing SF
in order to assess its long-term properties. In this Paper, results of
an extensive test programme to evaluate the drying shrinkage of concr
ete containing different amounts of SF are presented and discussed. Th
e results are analysed to help explain the mechanisms of drying shrink
age in concrete containing SF.