Early-Age Cracking Review: Mechanisms, Material Properties, and Mitigation Strategies

Published

November 2, 2009

Author(s)

Dale P. Bentz

Abstract

For the long term performance of concrete to be acceptable and predictable, in general, early-age cracking should be avoided. Improper design practices can contribute to early-age cracking, but for this review, it will be assumed that a correct design has been performed. Additionally, many field practices including concrete placement, finishing, and curing can contribute to early-age cracking issues, but it will also be assumed that these steps are performed in a proper and controlled manner. The focus of this summary will thus be on the inherent properties of hardening concrete that contribute to the occurrence of early-age cracking, and mixture proportioning and other mitigation strategies that can be employed to reduce the probability of such cracking. Many of these issues are addressed in further detail in the recent state-of-the-art report produced by the American Concrete Institute (ACI) committee 231 Properties of Concrete at Early Ages (ACI 231 2008).

Citation

Current Understanding of the Parameters that Influence Hydraulic and Leaching Properties and Uncertainty Analysis of Cementitious Barriers

Volume

CBP-TR-2009-002-C3

Publisher Info

Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC

Pub Type

Book Chapters

Download Paper

Local Download

Keywords

cement, concrete, autogeneous shrinkage, cracking, early-age, review

Citation

Bentz, D. (2009), Early-Age Cracking Review: Mechanisms, Material Properties, and Mitigation Strategies, Current Understanding of the Parameters that Influence Hydraulic and Leaching Properties and Uncertainty Analysis of Cementitious Barriers, Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=901945 (Accessed March 24, 2025)