Properties of drying shrinkage cracking of concrete containing fly ash as partial replacement of fine aggregate

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an experimental study carried out to investigate cracking behaviour due to the long-term drying shrinkage of concrete in which the fine aggregate was partially replaced by fly ash. For the experiment, three kinds of concrete (ordinary Portland cement, FC20 and FS20) were made. The ordinary Portland cement was mixed without any fly ash, FC20 was made with fly ash in place of a portion of the cement, and FS20 was made with fly ash in place of some of the fine aggregate. The uniaxial restrained shrinkage cracking test was carried out to investigate the properties of drying shrinkage cracking, and the mechanical properties of concrete (compressive strength, splitting strength, drying shrinkage and creep) were evaluated. The properties of drying shrinkage cracking of the FS20 and FC20 were almost the same regardless of the fly ash replacement method, and were a little superior to the drying shrinkage cracking of the ordinary Portland cement. © 2010 Thomas Telford Ltd.