See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/279553881

Shrinkage-reducing admixtures

Article in ACI Concrete International · April 1998

CITATIONS READS
88 9,351

4 authors, including:

Charles Nmai Julie Buffenbarger

Master Builders Solutions Beton Consulting Engineers
28 PUBLICATIONS 671 CITATIONS 9 PUBLICATIONS 106 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Julie Buffenbarger on 09 May 2017.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Shrinkage-Reducing
Admixtures
by Charles K. Nmai, Rokuro Tomita, Fumiaki Hondo, and Julie Buffenbarger

oncrete is and continues to be age have been introduced into the con- The actual mechanisms by which

C the most widely used con-

struction material in the world
because of the ease with
which it can be formed into a variety
of shapes and sizes, its potential dura-
crete industry. These admixtures were
first developed in the Far East, and
subsequently, in the United States and
elsewhere.
In this article, basic information on
drying shrinkage occurs are complex,
but it is generally agreed that they in-
volve the loss of adsorbed water from
the hydrated cement paste.3-5 When
concrete is initially exposed to drying
bility, and relative low cost. Also con- the world’s first shrinkage-reducing conditions — in which there is a differ-
tributing to its popularity as a admixtures (SRAs), currently market- ence between the RH of the environ-
construction material is the ready ed under the tradename Tetraguard, ment and that of the concrete — it first
availability of its most basic compo- are presented. Also presented is an loses free water. This results in little or
nents — portland cement, aggregates, overview of the mechanism and fac- no shrinkage. Continued drying, how-
water, and admixtures. tors that affect drying shrinkage. ever, leads to the loss of adsorbed wa-
The need for adequate workability to ter, a change in the volume of
facilitate placement and consolidation unrestrained cement paste, and an in-
Drying shrinkage of crease in the attraction forces between
of concrete often necessitates the use
of a greater amount of mixing water
concrete the C-S-H hydration product that leads
than is needed for the hydration pro- The loss of moisture from concrete af- to shrinkage. 5 The thickness of the ad-
cess. The loss of some of this excess ter it hardens, and hence, drying sorbed water layer has been reported to
“water of convenience” from a con- shrinkage, is inevitable unless the con- increase with an increase in humidity. 5
crete matrix as it hardens results in a crete is completely submerged in wa- Therefore, it is conceivable that a high-
volume reduction known as shrinkage. ter or is in an environment with 100 er water content would lead to a thicker
If the volume reduction occurs before percent relative humidity (RH). Thus, layer of adsorbed water, and hence, in-
the concrete hardens, it is called plastic drying shrinkage is a phenomenon that creased drying shrinkage.
shrinkage. The volume reduction that routinely occurs and merits careful Concrete drying shrinkage can be de-
occurs primarily due to moisture loss consideration in concrete design and termined in the laboratory by using
after the concrete has hardened is construction. ASTM C 157, “Standard Test Method
known as drying shrinkage.
The major concern with regard to the
shrinkage of concrete is the potential Table 1 — Drying shrinkage data for HRWR treated
for cracking, either in the plastic or concrete
hardened state, and any subsequent ad- Mix 1 Mix 2
verse impact on concrete durability or
serviceability. In most construction Type I cement, kg/m3 (lb/yd 3) 353 (595) 358 (604)
situations, particularly pavement, Water content, kg/m3 (lb/yd3) 193 (325) 132 (223)
bridge deck, and slab applications, the
HRWR, mL/100 kg (fl oz/cwt) — 1170 (18)
likelihood of plastic and drying
shrinkage is often greater than that of Slump, mm (in.) 225 (9) 245 (9.75)
other types of shrinkage, such as ther- Air content, percent 6.4 5.6
mal contraction, autogenous shrink- Age, days Drying shrinkage, * percent (ASTM C 157)
age, and carbonation shrinkage.
28 — —
Fibers have been shown to minimize
35 0.020 0.014
plastic shrinkage,1 and their use in
concrete is increasing. To minimize 42 0.031 0.022
cracking due to drying shrinkage, con- 49 0.035 0.024
struction practices, such as the use of 56 0.036 0.024
expansive cements and timely provi-
84 0.045 0.031
sion of joints, are recommended and
used.2 In recent years, revolutionary *Samples cured in saturated lime water for 28 days and then at 50 percent RH and 23 ±1.7 C (73±3 F). Ambient and
concrete temperatures during mixing were 22 C (72 F).
admixtures that reduce drying shrink-

April1998 31
for Length Change of Hardened Hy- effect on drying shrinkage. gate-cement ratio and w/c on drying
draulic Cement Mortar and Con- For example, assume that a concrete shrinkage are illustrated in Fig. 2, 8
crete,”6 and it is usually expressed as a mix has a cement factor of 420 kg/m 3 which clearly shows that, at a given
percent or in millionths (× 10-6). Phys- (708 lb/yd3 ) and a water-cement ratio w/c, drying shrinkage is reduced as the
ically, concrete that experiences a dry- (w/c) of 0.45 — that is, a water content aggregate-cement ratio is increased.
ing shrinkage of about 0.05 percent of about 190 kg/m3 (320 lb/yd 3). Fig. 1 For example, with a w/c of 0.40, a 50
(500 millionths or 500 × 10 -6) will suggests that, on average, this concrete percent reduction in drying shrinkage
shrink approximately 50 mm for every will have a drying shrinkage of about was obtained when the aggregate-ce-
100 m (0.6 in. per 100 ft). In more 0.06 percent and that this shrinkage ment ratio was increased from 3 to 5
graphic terms, that is about 2 in. (50 value can be reduced by 50 percent by (and also from 5 to 7).
mm) for the length of a football field. reducing the water content to 145 Second, drying shrinkage of the ce-
There are several factors that affect kg/m3 (244 lb/yd3 ), which translates ment paste is reduced by coarse aggre-
drying shrinkage. These include the into a w/c of 0.35. Therefore, to mini- gate because of its restraining
characteristics of the concrete mix in- mize the drying shrinkage of concrete, influence. As expected, the amount of
gredients and their proportions, design the total water content must be kept as restraint provided by the coarse aggre-
and construction practices, and envi- low as possible. gate is dependent on the type of aggre-
ronmental influences. Contrary to common belief that gate and its stiffness, the total amount
shrinkage increases with cement con- of the aggregate used, and the top size.
Effects of concrete mix tent, data compiled in Reference 7 for Hard, rigid aggregates, such as dolo-
ingredients concretes with cement contents rang- mite, feldspar, granite, limestone, and
There are conflicting data in the litera- ing from 280 to 445 kg/m3 (472 to 750 quartz, are difficult to compress and
ture on the effects of concrete mix in- lb/yd3) showed that cement content will provide more restraint to the
gredients on drying shrinkage. had little effect on concrete shrinkage. shrinkage of the cement paste. These
However, without question, the com- The total water content for these mixes aggregates should, therefore, be used
ponents of a concrete mix that influ- ranged from 200 to 210 kg/m 3 (337 to to produce concrete with low drying
ence drying shrinkage the most are the 354 lb/yd3 ) and slumps were between shrinkage.
water and the coarse aggregate be- 75 and 100 mm (3 and 4 in.). For prac- The use of sandstone and slate
cause both have a profound effect on tical purposes, the type, composition, should be avoided if low drying
minimizing the paste content. and fineness of cement have also been shrinkage is desired. Also avoid aggre-
Graphical data from Reference 7 are found to have relatively little effect on gates with clay coatings because clay
replotted in Fig. 1 to illustrate the ef- drying shrinkage. will reduce the restraining effect of ag-
fect of total water on drying shrinkage. The effect of coarse aggregate on gregates on shrinkage, in addition to
The data show that the total water con- drying shrinkage is two-fold. First, the its inherent shrinkage and effect on
tent of a concrete mix has a significant use of a high coarse aggregate content water demand.
will minimize the to- Admixtures form an integral part of
tal water and paste concrete mixes produced today. Their
contents of the con- addition to concrete typically increases
crete mix and there- the volume of fine pores in the cement
fore, drying shrinkage. hydration product. As a result, studies
The effects of aggre- have shown increased drying shrink-

Fig. 2 — Effect of aggregate-cement ratio and w/c on drying

Fig. 1 — Effect of total water content on drying shrinkage;7 shrinkage.8 [Data from 125 mm (5 in.) square mortar and
1 kg/m3 = 1.69 lb/yd3. (Shaded area represents data from a concrete specimens exposed to a 21 C ( 70 F), 50 percent RH
large number of mixes of various proportions.) environment for 6 months.)

32 ConcreteInternational
age when admixtures, such as calcium
chloride, ground granulated blast fur- Table 2 — Effect of SRA-M on slump, air content, and
nace slag, and some pozzolans are compressive strength
used. Compressive strength,
With regard to water-reducing ad- MPa (psi)
mixtures, ACI 212 reports that infor-
SRA-M,
mation on their effects is conflicting, 9
Cement, kg/m 3 kg/m 3 Slump, Air content,
but that long-term shrinkage may be
w/c (lb/yd 3) S/A (lb/yd 3 ) mm (in.) percent 7 days 28 days 91 days
less depending on the degree to which
the water content of the concrete is re- 38.0 48.3 54.8
0 (0) 95 (4) 4.6
(5510) (7000) (7950)
duced. Reduction in drying shrinkage 0.45 371 (626) 0.43
has been obtained in instances where 7.5 (12.7) 105 (4) 4.4
38.0 49.6 55.3
significant reductions in total water (5510) (7190) (8020)
content were realized through the use 30.7 41.7 45.5
0 (0) 90 (3.5) 4.6
of high-range water-reducing (HR- (4450) (6050) (6600)
0.55 300 (506) 0.45
WR) admixtures. 10,11 Similar results 29.9 40.3 45.0
may be obtained with mid-range wa- 7.5 (12.7) 95 (4) 4.9
(4340) (5840) (6530)
ter-reducing (MRWR) admixtures. 23.4 33.2 36.6
Reduced drying shrinkage has been 0 (0) 80 (3) 4.1
(3390) (4814) (5310)
obtained with a naphthalene conden- 0.65 254 (428) 0.47
20.7 30.3 35.0
sate-based HRWR admixture, as 7.5 (12.7) 85 (3) 4.5
(3000) (4390) (5075)
shown in Table 1 for concrete mixes
with a nominal cement factor of 356
kg/m3 (600 lb/yd3) and slump of 225 crease drying shrinkage because of the average, nearly 50 percent of the dry-
mm (9 in.). The data show that at 84 increase in the water content of the ing shrinkage obtained at 20 years oc-
days, a decrease in drying shrinkage of concrete. Prolonged moist curing will curred within the first 2 months of
about 30 percent was obtained with delay the onset of drying shrinkage, drying, and nearly 80 percent within
1170 mL/100 kg (18 fl oz/cwt) of the but, in general, the length of curing is the first year.12
HRWR admixture. The water reduc- reported to have little effect on drying
tion at this dose was approximately 30 shrinkage. 3 Steam curing will, however,
Shrinkage-reducing
percent. Therefore, MRWR and reduce drying shrinkage.
HRWR admixtures can be beneficial if admixtures (SRAs)
they are used to obtain significant re- Effects of environmental factors The world’s first shrinkage-reducing
ductions in total water content. Air-en- and time admixture (SRA) was developed in Ja-
training admixtures have also been As previously mentioned, the loss of pan in 1982 in a partnership between
shown to have little or no effect on moisture from hardened concrete, and Nihon Cement Co., Ltd. and Sanyo
drying shrinkage. hence, drying shrinkage, is inevitable Chemical Industries, Ltd.13,14 On Oct.
unless the concrete is in an environ- 15, 1985, U.S. Patent Number
Effects of design and ment with 100 RH. This scenario, of 4,547,223 was granted to Goto et al. for
construction practice course, is rarely the case unless the the invention, the main component of
Design parameters that most influence concrete is completely submerged in which is polyoxyalkylene alkyl ether, a
drying shrinkage are the amount of re- water. lower alcohol alkyleneoxide adduct.15
inforcment provided and the size, The magnitude of drying shrinkage Since then, interest in this technology
shape, and surface area-to-volume ra- is greatly affected by the RH of the has grown16-20 and on Sept. 17, 1996,
tio of the concrete member. Steel rein- surrounding environment. A lower RH U.S. Patent Number 5,556,460 was
forcement will reduce the drying would lead to a higher amount of dry- granted to Berke et al. for an SRA with
shrinkage of concrete because of the ing shrinkage. The magnitude of dry- a similar base compostion.20
restraint provided by the steel. In the ing shrinkage is, however, not Nihon Cement and Sanyo Chemical
same ambient environment, a small influenced by the rate of drying. The Industries have developed several
concrete member will shrink more rate of drying is, in turn, not affected SRAs. These admixtures are low vis-
than a large member because of its by wind or forced convection except cosity, water-soluble liquids that func-
higher surface area-to-volume ratio. during the early stages of exposure. tion by reducing capillary tension that
The greater the exposed surface area, the This is because of the very low mois- develops within the concrete pores as
greater the rate of moisture loss, and ture conductivity of concrete that al- it dries. They are primarily used as in-
hence, the potential for drying shrink- lows for only a very small rate of tegral admixtures, but can be applied
age. Therefore, it should be noted that evaporation. directly to a concrete surface as a top-
drying shrinkage that would occur in The magnitude of drying shrinkage ical application. Performance data for
actual concrete structures would only is also time dependent. Though the the two application methods are pre-
be a fraction of that obtained in the bulk of drying shrinkage occurs within sented herein. For clarification pur-
laboratory with the ASTM C 157 test the first few months of drying, the pro- poses, the Nihon Cement/Sanyo
method. cess continues for years. Data from a Chemcial Industries shrinkage-reduc-
Improper concreting practices, such comprehensive study spanning a peri- ing admixture referenced in this article
as retempering at the job site, will in- od of nearly 30 years showed that, on is referred to as SRA-M.

April1998 33
 Fig. 4— Effect of SRA-M on outdoor exposure drying
Fig. 3 — Effect of SRA-M on drying shrinkage of concrete. shrinkage of concrete.

Fig. 5(a) — Effect of SRAs on drying shrinkage through 16 Fig. 5(b) — Effect of SRAs on drying shrinkage through 19
weeks. months.

other changes are required when SRA-

Table 3 — Mix data: comparative SRA evaluation M is added to a concrete mix.
Untreated mix SRA-M mix SRA-G mix Effect of SRA-M on plastic
3 3
Type I cement, kg/m (lb/yd ) 355 (599) 366 (617) 366 (617) properties of concrete
w/c 0.49 0.46 0.45
SRA-M has little effect on slump and
air content, as shown by the data in Ta-
SRA dosage, percent of cement — 2 2 ble 2. Laboratory evaluations also indi-
Slump, mm (in.) 100 (4.0) 85 (3.25) 95 (3.75) cate that SRA-M has negligible effect
Air content, percent 1.5 2.1 2.0 on slump and air loss. However, times
Initial set: h:min 4:42 4:45 4:36
of set may be delayed. In proctor pene-
tration tests for 0.44 w/c, 20 C (68 F)
Compressive strength, MPa (psi) concretes with a nominal slump of 75
3-day 27.7 (4020) 27.3 (3960) 28.2 (4090) mm (3 in.) initial and final set times
7-day 37.9 (5500) 34.0 (4930) 35.7 (5180) were delayed by about 1 hr at an ambi-
ent temperature of 10 C (50 F); slightly
28-day 42.8 (6200) 42.6 (6180) 41.7 (6050)
over 2 hours at 20 C; and, by approxi-
mately 1 hr and 20 min at 30 C (86 F).
This admixture can be introduced into Bleeding tests on nominal 75 and 175
Integral application of SRA-M the concrete mix either during initial mm (3 and 7 in.) slump concretes indi-
The dosage range for SRA-M when batching or as a delayed addition. To cate that SRA-M treated concretes may
used integrally is 6.0 to 10.0 kg/m 3 (1.2 maintain consistency, the mix water bleed slightly longer and approximate-
to 2.0 gal/yd3 ) of concrete. However, content is reduced by the amount of ly 10 percent more than companion un-
for most applications, the recommend- SRA-M used. With the exception of the treated concrete. In all these evaluations,
ed dosage is 7.5 kg/m 3 (1.5 gal/yd3). adjustment in mix water content, no SRA-M was used at 7.5 kg/m3.

34 ConcreteInternational
Effect of SRA-M on hardened Table 4 — Selected SRA-M projects
properties of concrete
Concrete, volume
Also shown by the data in Table 2 is that
SRA-M has a minimal effect on com- Project Start date/period m3 yd3
pressive strength. The data also show 1 Sanyo Chemical Industries (various projects) 4/83 to 3/91 1800 2350
strength development characteristics
2 Gunze Distribution Center 1/85 600 790
similar to that for untreated concrete.
The effect of SRA-M on drying 3 Green-Cross Corp. (various projects) 9/86 to 10/90 1530 2000
shrinkage for a concrete mix with a 4 Ohsui Sangyo Building 12/89 500 650
nominal cement content of 300 kg/m 3 5 Meishin Highway Expansion (various projects) 5/92 to 2/95 3770 4930
(506 lb/yd3 ) and a w/c of 0.53 is shown
6 Sumida Riverside Building 8/92 1200 1570
in Fig. 3. SRA-M was used at dosage
7 Tomei Highway Expansion (various projects) 9/94 to 2/95 1100 1440
levels of 7.5 and 10.0 kg/m3 (1.5 and
2.0 gal/yd3 ). The data show a reduction 8 Tokyo Expressway, Yohama Line Bridge 6/94 100 130
in drying shrinkage of about 50 to 60 9 Terumo Distribution Center 8/94 1000 1310
percent at 28 days, and 40 to 50 percent
10 Abo Tunnel, Nagano Zone 2/95 4400 5760
after 12 weeks for the SRA-M treated
concretes. Similar reductions in drying 11 Gararry Copa 7/95 200 260
shrinkage have been obtained in long- 12 Osaka Institute of Technology 10/95 12,000 15,700
term outdoor exposure tests, as shown 13 Saikawa Filtration Plant 11/95 2000 2620
by the data in Fig. 4, and in studies per-
14 Linear Motor Car Pilot Line 7/96 500 650
formed on other SRAs. 21
Comparative evaluations show that 15 Tomei Highway, Kikkawa Interchange 7/96 350 460
the shrinkage-reducing characteristics 16 Tokyo Expressway #4 9/96 200 260
of a commercially available SRA 17 Tomei Highway, Hayakawa Bridge 1/97 70 90
(SRA-G) that was introduced into the
18 Imai River Bank Protection 1/97 200 260
U.S. marketplace in late 1995 is identi-
19 Futennoko-ku Reservoir Expansion 5/97 500 650
cal to that of SRA-M (Fig. 5). Other
pertinent information for the concrete 20 Shonai Filtration Plant 7/97 5000 6540
mixes tested in this comparative evalua- TOTAL: 37,020 48,410
tion are given in Table 3.

Topical application of SRA-M and 50 and 100 mm (2 and 4 in.) thick in Japan, since 1983. Applications in-
(impregnation method) specimens that were allowed to dry clude slabs, pavements, bridges, guide
SRA-M will absorb into concrete and from both sides were evaluated. The walls, reservoirs, and filtration plants.
reduce drying shrinkage. As such, it designation used in the legend in Fig. Information on various projects, in-
can also be applied topically to con- 6 denotes the w/c and the specimen cluding the volumes of concrete treat-
crete surfaces. In such applications, re- thickness; therefore, “0.45-50” repre- ed with SRA-M, are presented in
ferred to as the impregnation method, sents a 50 mm thick specimen for con- Table 4.
SRA-M is either brushed onto the sur- crete with a w/c of 0.45. The data,
face or spray-applied at rates between obtained after 4 weeks of exposure, Impact of drying shrinkage
100 and 300 mL/m2 (0.03 to 0.09 show that the impregnation method ef- As stated earlier, the major concern
gal/ft2 ). fectively reduced drying shrinkage, with regard to the shrinkage of con-
Better performance is typically ob- especially at the higher w/c of 0.65. As crete is the potential for cracking. Oth-
tained with higher application rates of expected, slightly better performance er potential issues are curling of slabs,
SRA-M. Performance is also affected was obtained at the higher SRA-M ap- dimensional stability of concrete
by factors such as time of application, plication rate of 300 mL/m 2 (0.09 members, and loss of prestress in pre-
member thickness, w/c, and the gal/yd3). stressing applications. Dimensional
amount of SRA-M absorbed, which in For comparison purposes, data for stability and loss of prestress are typi-
turn, is influenced by the drying condi- untreated concrete and concrete with cally taken into consideration during
tions of the concrete surface, surface SRA-M admixed at a dosage of 7.5 design, and unless the actual shrinkage
finish, and concrete density. kg/m3 are also presented. The data far exceeds the design value, there
Topical application of SRA-M can show that mixing the SRA-M integral- shouldn’t be any problems.
commence any time after bleeding ly is more effective than the impregna- Cracking due to shrinkage occurs
stops and at early concrete ages. How- tion method. Relative to the untreated mainly because of restraint. The re-
ever, if the impregnation method is concrete, the data also show that dry- straint can be externally applied, as
used prior to final set, surface harden- ing shrinkage was reduced by about 50 with a bonded overlay or due to inter-
ing may be retarded slightly. to 60 percent when a 7.5 kg/m 3 dosage nal factors, such as reinforcment or
Performance data for the impregna- of SRA-M was added integrally. non-uniform shrinkage within the
tion method are presented in Fig. 6 for thickness of the concrete member.
SRA-M application rates of 200 and SRA-M projects Concrete that is unrestrained — for ex-
300 mL/m2 (0.06 and 0.09 gal/ft2). SRA-M has been used in a wide range ample a 100 x 200 mm (4 x 8 in.) cyl-
Concretes with w/c of 0.45 and 0.65 of projects in the Far East, particularly inder — will not crack due to

April1998 35
 Fig. 7 — Tunnel lining segment showing effectiveness of
SRA-M in reducing drying shrinkage cracking —
impregnation method of application (untreated: right side;
SRA-M treated: left side).

Fig. 6 — Effect of SRA-M application rate on drying shrinkage

— impregnation method. ing shrinkage. Both range of concreting applications since
methods of applica- 1983 [see Table 4 for a partial listing —
tion, integral and total volume of concrete treated ex-
shrinkage. The modulus of elasticity impregnation, have been investigated ceeds 37,000 m3 (48,400 yd3)].
and creep characteristics of concrete in these evaluations. Periodic visual
also affect cracking tendency. observations of the test units show that References
The mechanism by which cracking SRA-M is effective in reducing drying 1. Report No. 1, Fibermesh Co., Chattanooga,
Tenn., 1993, 4 pp.
occurs is quite simple. In a given envi- shrinkage cracking, as indicated by the
2. ACI 223-93, “Standard Practice for the Use
ronment, concrete that is unrestrained tunnel lining segment in Fig. 7. of Shrinkage-Compensating Concrete,” Ameri-
has the potential to shrink a given can Concrete Institute, Detroit, Mich., 1993.
amount. If all or a portion of that Summary and conclusions 3. Neville, A. M., Properties of Concrete , 3rd
edition, Pitman Publishing, Inc., Mass., 1981,
shrinkage is restrained, tensile stresses Shrinkage of concrete, in particular 779 pp.
will develop. When the induced tensile drying shrinkage, is inevitable; and be- 4. Metha, P. K., Concrete — Structure, Proper-
stresses exceed the tensile strength of cause of restraint, cracking can occur. ties, and Materials, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Engle-
the concrete, cracking occurs. Cracks However, with good concreting and
wood Cliffs, NJ, 1986, 450 pp.
5. Mindess, S., and Young, F. J., Concrete,
provide easy access for oxygen, mois- construction practices, shrinkage and Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1981,
ture, chlorides, and other aggressive subsequent cracking can be mini- 671 pp.
chemicals into the matrix, and can mized. 6. ASTM C 157, “Standard Test Method for
therefore impact the long-term dura- To minimize drying shrinkage, the Length Change of Hardened Hydraulic Cement
bility of concrete. In this regard, the Mortar and Concrete,” Annual Book of ASTM
total water content of the concrete mix Standards, V. 04.02, ASTM, West Conshohocken,
width and orientation of the crack be- must be kept as low as possible for the Pa., 1997.
come important factors. intended application. This can be 7. Kosmatka, S. H., and Panarese, W. C., De-
Curling is the uplifting of a slab at its sign and Control of Concrete Mixtures, 13th edi-
achieved by using a high content of tion, Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill.,
edges caused by differential shrinkage hard, rigid aggregates that are free of 1988, 205 pp.
between the top surface and the bottom clay coatings, and by using MRWR or 8. Lea, F. M., Chemistry of Cement and Con-
of the slab due to moisture and temper- HRWR admixtures. In addition, con- crete, First American edition, Chemical Publish-
ature changes. In addition to being un- ing Co., Inc., New York, 1971, 727 pp.
crete should not be retempered with
9. ACI 212.3R-91, “Chemical Admixtures for
sightly, the potential for cracking due additional water at the job site. The ap- Concrete,” American Concrete Institute, Detroit,
to traffic loads, and in some instances plication of a good surface sealer after Mich., 1991.
the self-mass of the slab, is created. curing or stripping of the forms can 10. Perenchio, W. F.; Whiting, D. A.; and
Curling can be reduced or eliminated Kantro, D. L., “Water Reduction, Slump Loss,
also be beneficial.
and Entrained Air-Void Systems as Influenced by
by minimizing moisture and tempera- In this article, information on an in- Superplasticizers,” Superplasticizers in Con-
ture-related volume change differen- novative shrinkage-reducing admix- crete, SP-62, American Concrete Institute, De-
tials within a slab. Therefore, among ture that has been in use since 1983, troit, Mich., 1979, pp. 137-155.
other things, techniques that lead to a SRA-M, has been presented. The data 11. Lane R. O., and Best, J. F., “Laboratory
Studies on the Effects of Superplasticizers on the
reduction of drying shrinkage are de- show that this shrinkage-reducing ad- Engineering Properties of Plain and Fly Ash
sirable. mixture, used integrally or as a topical Concrete,” Superplasticizers in Concrete, SP-62,
Several evaluations, laboratory tests, application, will effectively reduce dry- American Concrete Institute, Detroit, Mich.,
and outdoor exposures have been per- 1979, pp. 193-207.
ing shrinkage of concrete and, subse-
12. Troxell, G. E.; Raphael, J. M.; and Davis,
formed to demonstrate the ability of quently, cracking. Because of its R. E., “Long-Term Creep and Shrinkage Tests of
SRA-M to reduce cracking due to dry- effectiveness, it has been used in a wide Plain and Reinforced Concrete,” Proceedings of

36 ConcreteInternational
 ASTM , V. 58, 1958, pp. 1101-1120.
ACI member Fumiaki Hondo is
13. Sato, T.; Goto, T.; and Sakai, K., “Mecha-
nism for Reducing Drying Shrinkage of Hardened Charles K. Nmai is unit chief of con-
Cement by Organic Additives,” Cement Associa- senior technical struction systems &
tion of Japan (CAJ) Review, 1983, pp. 52-54. manager in the Mar- materials intracor-
14. Tomita, R.; Takeda, K.; and Kidokoro, T., keting Department poration of Sanyo
“Drying Shrinkage of Concrete Using Cement at Master Builders, Chemical Indus-
Shrinkage Reducing Agent,” Cement Association Inc., Cleveland, tries, Ltd., Japan.
of Japan (CAJ) Review, 1983, pp. 198-199. Ohio. He has a PhD He has a Master’s
15. United States Patent Number 4,547,223, in civil engineering from Purdue Uni- degree of engineering from
Goto et al., Oct. 15, 1985. Yamaguchi University, and he is a
versity. He is a member of ACI Com-
16. EP 0 359 068 A2, Okuno et al., Mar. 21, member of the Japan Concrete Insti-
mittees E 701, Materials for
1990. tute. His research interests include
Concrete Construction; 201, Durabil-
17. United States Patent Number 5,326,396, organic admixtures for concrete.
Abdelrazig et al., July 5, 1994.
ity; 222, Corrosion; and 363, High-
Strength Concrete.
18. United States Patent Number 5,389,143,
Abdelrazig et al., Feb. 14, 1995.
Rokuro Tomita is Julie Buffenbarger
19. United States Patent Number 5,498,665,
Schulze et al., Mar. 12, 1996.
deputy general is a product manag-
manager of the er/scientist at Mas-
20. United States Patent Number 5,556,460,
Berke et al., Sept. 17, 1996.
business develop- ter Builders. She
21. Berke, N. S.; Dallaire, M. P.; Hicks, M. C.; ment department of has an MSc degree
and Kerkar, A., “New Developments in Shrink- Nihon Cement Co., in organic synthesis
age-Reducing Admixtures,” Superplasticizers Ltd., Japan. He re- from Bowling Green
and Other Chemical Admixtures in Concrete, SP- ceived his degree of State University,
173, American Concrete Institute, Farmington engineering from Tokyo Institute of Ohio, and 5 years industrial experi-
Hills, Mich., 1997, pp. 971-998. Technology in 1971; in 1994 he re- ence in analytical chemistry and ce-
ceived his doctor of engineering. He ramic technology. She is a member
is a member of the Japan Society of of the American Chemical Society.
Selected for reader interest by the editors. Civil Engineering and the Japan
Concrete Institute.

April1998 37
View publication stats