Tensile Creep Behavior of HPC at Early Ages under Different Curing Temperatures

This paper presents an experimental investigation on tensile basic creep behavior of HPC at early ages by using a uniaxial tensile creep testing apparatus. Concrete specimens of 100×100×400mm with compressive strength class 60MPa was used, sealed and loaded at different curing temperature. The effects of the curing temperature and the age at loading on creep behavior are discussed. The results show that tensile specific creep and creep rate of HPC at early ages were governed by the age at loading. The specific creep, creep coefficient and creep rate were larger at earlier loading ages, and decreased exponentially with age at loading. The tensile specific creep decreased with curing temperature, but the difference in creep due to different curing temperatures decreased with the age at loading, and could be ignored while concrete specimen being loaded after the age of 7 days.