Plastic Shrinkage of Concrete

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Overview:

Low tensile strength and low strain at fracture are two demerits of plain concrete, that makes the concrete brittle with micro cracks and flaws in the material and interface of concrete, even before the application of external loadings. These demerits of plain concrete make it more prone to crack in plastic state when using in the making of concrete pavements because of the higher exposure surface area. When the external loading is applied, these micro cracks converts into macro cracks and resulting reduction in durability of concrete.

Application:

Plastic shrinkage testing machine is used to determine the plastic shrinkage of concrete as per the American standard ASTM C1579.