Affiliation: | a Department of Civil Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Kusong-Dong 373-1, Yusong-Ku, Taejon, 305-701 South Korea b VSL Korea Co., Ltd, 5th Floor Ildong, 968-5 Daechi 3-Dong, Kangnam-Ku, Seoul, South Korea |
Abstract: | In concrete structures exposed to the ambient air at early ages, the moisture content in concrete decreases due to moisture diffusion. In addition, self-desiccation due to hydration of cement causes an additional decrease of moisture content in concrete at early ages, especially for high-strength concrete. In this study, the internal relative humidity in drying concrete specimens was measured at early ages. Furthermore, the variation of relative humidity due to self-desiccation in sealed specimen was measured. The moisture distribution in low-strength concrete with high water/cement ratio was mostly influenced by moisture diffusion due to drying rather than self-desiccation. In high-strength concrete with low water/cement ratio, however, self-desiccation had a considerable influence on moisture distribution. The results obtained from the moisture diffusion theory were in good agreement with experimental results. |