Long term behavior of self-compacting concrete: comparison between experimental results and predicting models

In the present paper, the results of an experimental campaign concerning the long-term behavior of hardened self-compacting concrete are presented. Five mixes of self-compacting concrete and one mix of conventional vibrated concrete have been employed, with different compressive strength. Strength levels have been selected to cover the range of application from cast-in-place to prestressed structures. For each mix, shrinkage and creep tests at two different ages at loading (7 and 28 days) have been performed for a period of about one year. Finally, experimental data both in terms of shrinkage and creep are compared with international code provisions. An apparent underestimation has been observed in all cases but MC2010 in predicting SCC creep behavior, where an over-prediction has been obtained. In general, the introduction inside models of the dependency from specific mix parameters seems to be advisable when considering SCCs.