EFFICIENCY OF LIGHTWEIGHT AGGREGATES FOR INTERNAL CURING OF HIGH STRENGTH CONCRETE TO ELIMINATE AUTOGENOUS SHRINKAGE

摘要

High Strength Concretes (HSC) with extremely low water to binder (w/b) ratios are characterized by high cracking sensitivity which is a consequence of increased autogenous shrinkage. The major reason for autogenous shrinkage - self-desiccation - cannot be eliminated by traditional curing methods. The application of the concept of internal curing by means of saturated lightweight aggregate was applied and shown to be effective in eliminating autogenous shrinkage. The present paper describes an approach to optimize the size and porosity of the lightweight aggregate to obtain effective internal curing with a minimum content of such aggregate.