Possibilities and limitations of shrinkage reducing admixtures

“Concrete is a cracking good construction method” would be a saying that every civil engineer and concrete specialist could take to heart. Obviously, continuous efforts are being poured into technical advances to minimise crack formation. Shrinkage is often one of the main issues. Shrinkage is one cause for crack formation in concrete according to SIA 262 (section 4.4.2). However, shrinkage is mostly overstated and frequently misused in designing concrete. The following comments are intended to address this topic in a targeted and practical manner.

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