Relationship between Autogenous Shrinkage and Tensile Strength of Cement Paste with SCM

Abstract

Fly ash (FA), silica fume (SF), and ground blast furnace slag (GBFS) were used as the supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) in cement paste. The autogenous shrinkage (AS) and the shrinkage cracks of cement paste with SCMs were experimentally investigated in this study, and the relationship of AS, tensile strength, and crack area of cement paste were analyzed. The test results show that FA decreases the AS of cement paste and SF increases the AS. Both the AS and the crack area of cement paste decrease with the increase of the water-binder (W/B) ratio. When W/B ratios of different cement pastes are kept the same, the tensile strength of cement paste is not influenced by the AS if the specimens can shrink freely. Equations are established to describe the relationship among AS, tensile strength, and crack area of the cement paste with SCMs.