Influence of environmental conditions on the creep behavior of large‐scale concrete specimens

Abstract

In this article, a testing campaign on large-scale concrete specimens to study the influence of environmental conditions on their creep behavior for different member sizes is presented. This testing campaign is unique due to its specimen dimensions (cross-sectional areas of up to 1 m²) and the continuous deformation measurements for over 6 years. To quantify the influence of the environmental conditions on the creep behavior, two types of test specimens were produced, consisting of the same concrete mixture but having different production dates (summer of 2017 and winter of 2018). The large-scale specimens were stored outside and therefore exposed to real environmental conditions. The measurement data collected over more than 6 years show that the environmental conditions during the first year have a tremendous impact on the creep behavior of the large-scale specimens. Furthermore, the experimentally determined creep compliance of the specimens produced in winter exceeded that of the specimens produced in summer.