Shrinkage of cementitious system is manifested in the reduction of the system’s volume, without the influence of external forces. It can have a major impact on the durability of buildings and civil engineering structures. Therefore, it is essential to measure shrinkage and on the basis of these measurements to develop less-shrinkable materials. However, due to the different compositions of
these materials and different shrinkage types, there are many methods for measuring shrinkage, which may be standardized or in development. The results of these methods often differ and are sometimes even contradictory.
The first part of the thesis focuses on the review of test methods for the determination of shrinkage. It includes their description and mutual comparison. To better understand the process of shrinkage the thesis includes also theoretical background on the shrinkage types and the influence of constituent materials on shrinkage. The second part of the thesis presents the results of experimental work, which was carried out in the company TKK d.o.o. from Srpenica. In this part we measured early shrinkage (up to 24 hours) with non-standardised method “Shrinkage cone” and long term shrinkage (from 24 hours up to 28 days) with the method in accordance with standard EN 12617-4: 2002. The tests were carried out on different compositions of grouts. Based on the results of experimental work we evaluated the two methods. We also estimated the optimal time window to start the measurement of shrinkage.
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