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The effect of superabsorbent polymers on the mitigation of plastic shrinkage cracking of conventional concrete, results of an inter-laboratory test by RILEM TC 260-RSC

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Abstract

This article presents the results of an inter-laboratory study performed by six international research groups in the framework of RILEM Technical Committee 260 RSC “Recommendations for use of superabsorbent polymers in concrete construction”. Two commercially available superabsorbent polymer (SAP) samples with different chemical compositions were tested in terms of their ability to mitigate plastic shrinkage cracking of concrete. The SAP mixtures showed a clear reduction of plastic shrinkage cracking in conventional concrete. On the contrary, if only additional water is added and no SAP, the area of plastic shrinkage cracks increases. This suggest the ability of SAP to mitigate plastic shrinkage cracking. Upon addition of the predetermined amount of SAP and additional water, the compressive strength decreased on average by 3% for the mixtures with 0.15% SAP (by mass of cement) and by 10% for the mixtures with 0.30% SAP.

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Acknowledgements

V. Mechtcherine gratefully acknowledges the support provided by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), Project Number 424803818 (ME 2938/23-1). As a Postdoctoral Research Fellow of the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen), D. Snoeck would like to thank the foundation for the financial support (12J3620N). The contribution of Pretoria Portland Cement, South Africa, is much appreciated by W. Boshoff.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    William Boshoff

  2. Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany

    Viktor Mechtcherine & Christof Schröfl

  3. Magnel-Vandepitte Laboratory for Structural Engineering and Building Materials, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Didier Snoeck & Nele De Belie

  4. National Laboratory for Civil Engineering, Lisbon, Portugal

    António Bettencourt Ribeiro

  5. National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, Canada

    Daniel Cusson

  6. Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland

    Mateusz Wyrzykowski, Nikolajs Toropovs & Pietro Lura

  7. ETH Zurich, Institute for Building Materials, Zürich, Switzerland

    Pietro Lura

Authors
  1. William Boshoff
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  2. Viktor Mechtcherine
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  3. Didier Snoeck
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Correspondence to William Boshoff.

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The study reported in this paper was performed within the framework of the RILEM TC 260 RSC “Recommendations for Use of Superabsorbent Polymers in Concrete Construction”. The paper was reviewed and approved by all members of the RILEM TC 260-RSC.

TC Membership:

TC Chair: Viktor Mechtcherine

Deputy TC Chair: Mateusz Wyrzykowski

Members: Livia Borba Agostinho, Fernando C.R. Almeida, Alexander Assmann, William P Boshoff, Daniel Cusson, João Custódio, Nele De Belie, Igor De la Varga, Kendra Erk, Vyatcheslav Falikman, Stefan Friedrich, Kazuo Ichimiya, Shin-Ichi Igarashi, Patricia Kara De Maeijer, Kamal H. Khayat, Agnieszka J. Klemm, Pietro Lura, Juhyuk Moon, Michaela Reichardt, Hans W. Reinhardt, António Bettencourt Ribeiro, Christof Schroefl, Didier Snoeck, Nikolajs Toropovs, Chiara Villani.

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Boshoff, W., Mechtcherine, V., Snoeck, D. et al. The effect of superabsorbent polymers on the mitigation of plastic shrinkage cracking of conventional concrete, results of an inter-laboratory test by RILEM TC 260-RSC. Mater Struct 53, 79 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-020-01516-6

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