Performance of Self-Consolidating Concrete Under Restrained Shrinkage

The study used a standard instrumented ring test method, ASTM C 1581 to quantify the restrained shrinkage behavior of several conventional concrete and self consolidating concrete (SCC) mixtures. The instrument ring method involves the measurement of the strain developed in a steel ring as the concrete shrinks. The measured strain is an indication of the level of stress developed in the concrete. The rate at which the stress develops in the concrete, as well as the time after initiation of drying when the test specimen cracks, can be used to classify the cracking potential of the concrete.