Autogenous shrinkage and tensile creep of supersulfated cement concrete at early age

Supersulfated cement (SSC) is an environmentally friendly cementitious material known for its low hydration heat, high flexural strength, as well as resistance to sulfate attack. While existing research on SSC concrete mainly focuses on mechanical properties and hydration mechanisms, there exists a gap concerning the optimization of SSC concrete and the exploration of its early-age behavior. Early-age tensile creep of concrete has the potential to alleviate tensile stresses induced by restrained shrinkage. The current research aimed to fill this research gap by investigating the autogenous shrinkage and tensile creep of SSC concrete under different granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) substitution rates (0%, 15%, 30%, and 50%) utilizing the Temperature Stress Test Machine. Experimental findings demonstrated that with a higher GBFS substitution rate, the mechanical properties and autogenous shrinkage decreased, while the tensile creep behavior of SSC concrete increased at early age. Additionally, models for predicting the autogenous shrinkage and tensile creep compliance of SSC concrete were proposed considering the GBFS substitution rate at early age.