Prediction of autogenous shrinkage of cement pastes as poro-visco-elastic deformation

Precise and robust predictions of autogenous shrinkage of high performance concrete are essential to limit self-induced stresses and cracking in modern concrete structures. This paper presents predictions of autogenous shrinkage for three cement pastes of different compositions by considering first only the poro-elastic deformation and then including also the poro-visco-elastic response. This study used experimentally-determined parameters for the material properties of both the elastic and the visco-elastic components, which ensured the reliability of the calculations. The prediction of the poro-visco-elastic response of the material to the internal stress was performed using a generalized Kelvin-Voigt model that also considered aging. It is found that, while the poro-elastic calculations systematically underestimates the measured shrinkage, predictions with the inclusion of the viscous response overestimates the shrinkage.