Modelling drying and loading effect in structural concrete repair

Drying shrinkage may be a significant cause of deterioration of thin concrete repairs. Shrinkage induced stresses can be partially relieved by tensile creep. Hydration effects and materials properties may have a significant influence on concrete repair behaviour. In this paper, a numerical tool that takes into account these different phenomena is presented. The aim of this numerical model is to obtain an analysis tool to complete experimental tests. Experimental results obtained on small lab specimens permit to calibrate numerical coefficients. Numerical results on larger specimens show a good agreement with experimental data.