To make sound decisions about the remaining life of a structure, the precise calculation of the prestress losses is very important. In post-tensioned structures, the prestress losses due to creep and shrinkage can cause serviceability issues and can reduce flexural capacity. The Varina-Enon Bridge is a cable-stayed, precast, segmental, post-tensioned box girder bridge located in Richmond, Virginia. Observation of flexural cracks in the bridge by inspectors promoted a study regarding long-term prestress losses in the structure. For understanding and sustaining the structure throughout its remaining service life, accurately quantifying prestress losses is important. Two approaches are used to predict long-term prestress losses on the Varina-Enon Bridge. The first approach involves a finite element computer model of the bridge which run a timedependent staged-construction analysis to obtain predicted prestress losses using the CEB-FIP '90 code expressions for creep and shrinkage. The second approach involves the compilation of data from instrumentation mounted in the bridge to back calculate the effective prestress force. The analysis using the computer model predicted the prestress losses as 44.6 ksi in Span 5, 47.9 ksi in Span 6, 45.3 ksi in Span 9, and 45.9 ksi in Span 11. The prestress losses estimated from field data were 50.0 ksi in Span 5, 48.0 ksi in Span 6, 46.7 ksi in Span 9, and 49.1 ksi in Span 11. It can be seen that relative to the results of field data estimations, the finite element analyses underestimated prestress loss, but given the degree of uncertainty in each form of estimation, the results are considered to fit well. / Master of Science / In order to apply a precompression force to concrete structures, post-tensioned concrete employs stressed steel strands. To construct lighter, stiffer structures, this popular building technology can be used. The steel strands undergo a reduction in force known as prestress losses over time. To make good decisions about the remaining life of a structure, the precise calculation of the prestress losses is very important. The Varina-Enon Bridge is a post-tensioned concrete box-girder bridge in Richmond Virginia. In July of 2012, observation of flexural cracks in the bridge by the inspectors promoted a study regarding long-term prestress losses in the structure. Two techniques are used to predict long-term prestress losses for this bridge. A computer model of the bridge is used in the first method to calculate losses using the design code. In order to measure prestress losses, the second technique used data from sensors mounted on the bridge. It was found that the estimation of losses closely matched those predicted at the time of the bridge construction and the computer model results. Based on this the final conclusion is made that the prestress loss in the Varina-Enon Bridge is not significantly more than expected.

Predicting the long-term behavior of steel-concrete composite structures is a very complex systems problem, both because obtaining reliable information on material properties related to creep and shrinkage is not straightforward and because it is not easy to clearly determine the correlation between the effects of creep and shrinkage and the resultant structural response. Slip occurring at the interface between the steel and concrete may also make prediction more complicated. While the short-term deflection of composite beams may be easily predicted from fundamental theories of structural mechanics, calculating the long-term deflection is complicated by creep and shrinkage effects on the concrete deck varying over time. There are as yet no comprehensive ways for engineers to reliably deal with these issues, and the development of a set of justifiable numerical standards and equations for composite structures that goes beyond a simple commentary is well overdue. As the first step towards meeting this objective, this research is designed to identify a simple method for calculating the long-term deformations of steel-concrete composite members based on existing models to predict concrete creep and shrinkage and to estimate the time-varying deflection of steel-composite beams for design purposes. A brief reexamination of four existing models to predict creep and shrinkage was first conducted, after which an analytical approach using the age-adjusted effective modulus method (AEMM) was used to calculate the long-term deflection of a simply-supported steel-concrete composite beam. The ACI 209R-92 and CEB MC90-99 models, which adopt the concept of an ultimate coefficient, formed the basis of the models developed and examples of the application of the two models are included to provide a better understanding of the process involved. For the analytical approach using the AEMM, the entire process of calculating the long-term deflections with respect to both full and partial shear interactions is presented here, and the accuracy of the calculation validated by comparing the model predictions with experimental data. Lastly, the way the time-dependent deflection varies with various combinations of creep coefficient, shrinkage strain, the size of the beam, and the span length, was analyzed in a parametric study. The results indicate that the long-term deflection due to creep and shrinkage is generally 1.5 ~ 2.5 times its short-term deflection, and the effects of shrinkage may contribute much more to the time-dependent deformation than the effect of creep for cases where the sustained live load is quite small. In addition, the composite beam with a partial interaction exhibits a larger mid-span deflection for both the short- and long-term deflections than a beam with a full shear interaction. When it comes to the deflection limitations, it turned out that although the short-term deflections due to immediate design live load satisfy the deflection criteria well, its long-term deflections can exceed the deflection limitations. / Master of Science

Prestressed concrete structural members camber upwards or downwards depending upon the location of application of prestress force. Identical members do not camber equally due to variability of the factors influencing it. Differential camber in the beams, if significant, results in excessively tall haunches or girder top flange extending into the bottom of the slab. For adjacent members like deck bulb-tees and box girders that are to be transversely post-tensioned the differential camber causes problems during the fit up process. This variation is undesirable and hinders the smooth progress of construction work if not properly accounted for at the design stage. Various factors influence camber and camber growth in prestressed members. Some of the factors are concrete strength and modulus, concrete creep and shrinkage properties, curing conditions, maturity of concrete at release of prestress force, initial strand stress, climatic conditions in storage and length of time in storage. Combinations of these variables result in variation of camber of otherwise similar beams at the time they are erected. One way to increase the precision of camber estimation is to use Monte Carlo simulation based upon the randomized parameters affecting the camber and camber growth. In this method, the parameters, in the form of a probability distribution function, are combined and passed through a deterministic model resulting in camber and camber growth prediction with narrowed probability bounds as compared to single definite value given by most contemporary methods. This outcome gives the expected range of cambers for a given girder design. After determining the expected range of camber, the ultimate goal is to provide guidelines for using unbonded monostrands for camber adjustment. / Master of Science

Yes / The focus of the construction industry has shifted towards the development of al-ternative, eco-friendly and green construction materials due to the energy-inefficient and carbon-intensive nature of Portland cement (PC) production and aggregate quarrying. Meanwhile, increased number of repetitive re-pair/renovation/maintenance activities and demolition operations for the end-of-life buildings generate significant amounts of construction and demolition waste (CDW). For the purposes of sustainability and upcycling wastes into high-value-added materials with improved greenness, components from CDW streams can be used in producing geopolymer concretes without using PC and natural aggre-gates, given the rich aluminosiliceous nature of CDW components. The focus of current work is therefore on the analysis of durability of aspects (i.e., drying shrinkage and resistance against sulfate attack, cyclic freezing-thawing, and chlo-ride penetration) of geopolymer concretes made entirely of CDW. Different types of bricks, tile, concrete, and glass were used in mixed form as precursors for ge-opolymerization while different-size grains of waste concrete were used as recy-cled aggregates. As alkali activators, sodium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide and sodium silicate were used. In a companion mixture, CDW-based precursors were replaced with slag and class-F fly ash. Results showed that sulfate and cyclic freeze-thaw exposure did not cause any noticeable weight and compressive strength loss in CDW-based geopolymer concretes, while chloride penetration was found comparable to PC-based concrete. While drying shrinkage was found high in entirely CDW-based geopolymer concrete and resulted in surface mi-crocracks, it was possible to lower the drying shrinkage substantially via substi-tution of CDW-based precursors with fly ash and slag. / The authors also wish to thank the support of Scientific and Technical Research Council (TUBITAK) of Turkey provided under projects: 218M102 and 117M447. / This paper is from the fib Symposium 2023, Building for the future: Durable, Sustainable, Resilient. 5-7 Jun, Istanbul, Turkey.

This paper explores different covariance matrix estimators in application to geometric Brownian motion. Particular interest is given to shrinkage estimation methods. In collaboration with Söderberg & Partners risk management team, the goal is to find an estimation that performs well in low-data scenarios and is robust against erroneous model assumptions, particularly the Gaussian assumption of the stock price distribution. Estimations are compared by two criteria: Frobenius norm distance between the estimate and the true covariance matrix, and the condition number of the estimate. By considering four estimates — the sample covariance matrix, Ledoit-Wolf, Tyler M-estimator, and a novel Tyler-Ledoit-Wolf (TLW) estimator — this paper concludes that the TLW estimator performs best when considering the two criteria.

As the world urbanizes, many rural areas are facing continued depopulation. Despite these shrinking trends there remains a growth-paradigm within planning. This warrants investigating how to plan for shrinkage, and the difficult decisions that follow, such as dismantlement or restructuring of services. The aim of this thesis is to investigate experiences of planners working with depopulation, understanding the role of dialogue in rural shrinking municipalities in Sweden. The study researches the implications of rural shrinkage on participatory approaches to planning, and how citizen dialogue for shrinkage can be applied in a rural context.   Interviews were conducted with eight planners in rural Swedish municipalities. These revealed themes of a connected society, the role of citizen engagement and community, importance of clarity and early involvement in dialogues on sensitive issues and objective of information exchange in dialogues, and lastly the complexity of shrinkage characterised by a persisting growth-focus. This thesis suggests that shrinking rural municipalities in Sweden should take a more accepting view on shrinkage. They should aim for continuous, place-based and open citizen dialogues and close cooperation with community groups and networks in planning. The familiar nature of dialogues should be utilized, whilst it should be considered and counteracted that some groups may be excluded in these informal settings. Promoting co-production and shared responsibility of issues, they should aim to facilitate and harness the power and drive of the community whilst navigating complex social relationships.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-07-29T14:52:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tese cristiane.pdf: 805152 bytes, checksum: 17b10ac06483864b2875c174a70c8625 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-06-13 / This research had the objective of evaluating the effects of different statistical approaches for the selection and ranking of genotypes, in the context of maize varieties trials. For that, data from real trials designed in lattice were used, in the Goiás State, Brazil, in the growing seasons of 2002/2003, 2003/2004, 2004/2005 and 2005/2006, as well as data from simulated experiments, aiming to cover situations related to that reality. The study also intended to quantify the effects of the genotype by environment interactions (GxE) from the real trials, aiming for the environmental stratification for the maize cultivation in the State, pointing out the cultivar evaluation and recommendation. Considering those objectives, the study is divided in three scientific articles. In the first one (Chapter 3), the effects of approaches of fixed model (FF), mixed model with random effect of blocks (AF), mixed model with random effect of treatments (FA), random model (AA), and James-Stein s estimator (JS) were evaluated on the selection and ranking of genotypes tested on the maize varieties trials, coordinated by the Agência Goiana de Desenvolvimento Rural e Fundiário (AgenciaRural Goiás). The experiments, in number of 47, were installed in lattice design, with three replications, during the four cited harvest years. In the second article (Chapter 4), the same approaches were evaluated, in terms of accuracy, mean predictive deviation and precision of their estimates/predictions, considering the simulated trials, also in lattice. Forty-eight cases were considered, corresponding to the combinations of different experimental sizes (15, 54, 105, and 450 treatments), genotypic determination coefficients h2' (6%, 15%, 25%, 48%, 63% and 82%), and two probability distributions for the generation of genotypic effects (normal and uniform). One thousand trials were simulated for each case, reaching the total of 48,000 experiments. The third and last article (Chapter 5) refers to the study of the GxE interaction, emphasizing the already mentioned environmental stratification, where the winner genotypes approach in association with the AMMI analysis (additive main effects and multiplicative interaction model) was adopted. Among the results and conclusions achieved through this study, it is possible to point out: i) the adoption of statistical approaches with shrinkage effect on the genotypic means results in the selection of a lower number of genotypes, especially in those trials whose mean of the check cultivars (baseline to the genotypic selection) is higher than the experimental grand mean; this fact reduces the number of genotypes with low yield potential in the next cycles of the selection program; ii) the use of models with fixed effects of treatments leads to a higher percentage of selected genotypes, mainly in the experiments whose check varieties mean overcomes the experimental grand mean; iii) among the shrinkage statistic approaches evaluated, the AA model must be preferred for the selection of genotypes, due to its capacity for better predicting the parametric genotypic effects (higher accuracy and lower mean predictive deviation), no matter if these effects are normally or uniformly distributed; iv) on the other hand, the FF model shows the worst relative performance, except for the situations where the variability among the genetic treatments is high (h2 ®1,0); v) considering low values for h2 (6%), the FA model shows efficiency similar to the AA model; vi) two established environmental strata showed to be consistent throughout the years, even when the tested genotypes were altered from one harvest season to the other: Ipameri, Inhumas and Senador Canêdo (stable to four years), and Porangatu and Orizona (stable along three years); vii) considering the obtained clustering, it is possible to reduce, at least 16%, the number of test locations currently used, and/or substitute the redundant locations by test places which better represent the recommended target region, aiming to increase the evaluation efficiency of the GxE interaction, in the scope of the genetic plant breeding program; viii) the ALBandeirante variety presents high yield potential and adaptability to the maize cultivation conditions in the Goiás State. / This research had the objective of evaluating the effects of different statistical approaches for the selection and ranking of genotypes, in the context of maize varieties trials. For that, data from real trials designed in lattice were used, in the Goiás State, Brazil, in the growing seasons of 2002/2003, 2003/2004, 2004/2005 and 2005/2006, as well as data from simulated experiments, aiming to cover situations related to that reality. The study also intended to quantify the effects of the genotype by environment interactions (GxE) from the real trials, aiming for the environmental stratification for the maize cultivation in the State, pointing out the cultivar evaluation and recommendation. Considering those objectives, the study is divided in three scientific articles. In the first one (Chapter 3), the effects of approaches of fixed model (FF), mixed model with random effect of blocks (AF), mixed model with random effect of treatments (FA), random model (AA), and James-Stein s estimator (JS) were evaluated on the selection and ranking of genotypes tested on the maize varieties trials, coordinated by the Agência Goiana de Desenvolvimento Rural e Fundiário (AgenciaRural Goiás). The experiments, in number of 47, were installed in lattice design, with three replications, during the four cited harvest years. In the second article (Chapter 4), the same approaches were evaluated, in terms of accuracy, mean predictive deviation and precision of their estimates/predictions, considering the simulated trials, also in lattice. Forty-eight cases were considered, corresponding to the combinations of different experimental sizes (15, 54, 105, and 450 treatments), genotypic determination coefficients h2' (6%, 15%, 25%, 48%, 63% and 82%), and two probability distributions for the generation of genotypic effects (normal and uniform). One thousand trials were simulated for each case, reaching the total of 48,000 experiments. The third and last article (Chapter 5) refers to the study of the GxE interaction, emphasizing the already mentioned environmental stratification, where the winner genotypes approach in association with the AMMI analysis (additive main effects and multiplicative interaction model) was adopted. Among the results and conclusions achieved through this study, it is possible to point out: i) the adoption of statistical approaches with shrinkage effect on the genotypic means results in the selection of a lower number of genotypes, especially in those trials whose mean of the check cultivars (baseline to the genotypic selection) is higher than the experimental grand mean; this fact reduces the number of genotypes with low yield potential in the next cycles of the selection program; ii) the use of models with fixed effects of treatments leads to a higher percentage of selected genotypes, mainly in the experiments whose check varieties mean overcomes the experimental grand mean; iii) among the shrinkage statistic approaches evaluated, the AA model must be preferred for the selection of genotypes, due to its capacity for better predicting the parametric genotypic effects (higher accuracy and lower mean predictive deviation), no matter if these effects are normally or uniformly distributed; iv) on the other hand, the FF model shows the worst relative performance, except for the situations where the variability among the genetic treatments is high (h2 ®1,0); v) considering low values for h2 (6%), the FA model shows efficiency similar to the AA model; vi) two established environmental strata showed to be consistent throughout the years, even when the tested genotypes were altered from one harvest season to the other: Ipameri, Inhumas and Senador Canêdo (stable to four years), and Porangatu and Orizona (stable along three years); vii) considering the obtained clustering, it is possible to reduce, at least 16%, the number of test locations currently used, and/or substitute the redundant locations by test places which better represent the recommended target region, aiming to increase the evaluation efficiency of the GxE interaction, in the scope of the genetic plant breeding program; viii) the ALBandeirante variety presents high yield potential and adaptability to the maize cultivation conditions in the Goiás State. / O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar diferentes abordagens estatísticas em relação à seleção e ordenação de genótipos, no contexto de ensaios varietais de milho. Para isso, utilizaram-se dados reais de ensaios delineados em látice, conduzidos no Estado de Goiás, nas safras 2002/2003, 2003/2004, 2004/2005 e 2005/2006, bem como dados de experimentos simulados, nos quais se buscaram cobrir situações similares a essa realidade. O estudo propôs-se, ainda, a quantificar os efeitos da interação de genótipos com ambientes (GxE), a partir dos ensaios reais, visando-se à estratificação ambiental para a cultura do milho no Estado, com ênfase na avaliação e recomendação de cultivares. A partir desses objetivos, o trabalho apresenta-se estruturado na forma de três artigos científicos. No primeiro deles (Capítulo 3), avaliaram-se os efeitos das abordagens de modelo fixo (FF), modelo misto com efeito aleatório de blocos (AF), modelo misto com efeito aleatório de tratamentos (FA), modelo aleatório (AA) e do estimador de James-Stein (JS), na seleção e ordenação de genótipos testados na rede dos ensaios de variedades de milho, coordenada pela Agência Goiana de Desenvolvimento Rural e Fundiário (AgenciaRural Goiás). Os experimentos, em número de 47, foram instalados em látice, com três repetições, tendo sido conduzidos durante os quatro anos agrícolas citados. No segundo artigo (Capítulo 4), as mesmas abordagens foram avaliadas em termos de acurácia, desvio preditivo médio e precisão de suas estimativas/predições, considerando-se os experimentos simulados, também em látice. Foram considerados 48 casos, correspondentes às combinações de diferentes tamanhos experimentais (15, 54, 105 e 450 tratamentos), coeficientes de determinação genotípica h2' (6%, 15%, 25%, 48%, 63% e 82%) e duas distribuições de probabilidade para a geração dos efeitos genotípicos (normal e uniforme). Foram gerados 1.000 ensaios para cada caso, totalizando 48.000 experimentos. O terceiro e último artigo (Capítulo 5) refere-se ao estudo da interação GxE, com ênfase na referida estratificação ambiental, para o qual se adotou a abordagem de genótipos vencedores, associada à análise AMMI (modelo de efeitos principais aditivos e interação multiplicativa). Entre os resultados e conclusões obtidos, destacam-se: i) a adoção de abordagens estatísticas que promovem shrinkage das médias genotípicas resultam na seleção de menor número de genótipos, especialmente quando à média das cultivares testemunhas (referência para a seleção genotípica), que é superior à média experimental, reduzindo o número de genótipos pouco produtivos nos ciclos seguintes do programa de seleção; ii) o uso de modelos com efeitos fixos de tratamentos leva a um maior percentual de seleção de genótipos, sobretudo nos experimentos cuja média das testemunhas supera a média experimental; iii) entre as abordagens estatísticas shrinkage avaliadas, o modelo AA deve ser preferido para a seleção de genótipos, em razão de sua melhor capacidade de predição dos efeitos genotípicos paramétricos (maior acurácia e menor desvio preditivo médio), independentemente de esses efeitos terem distribuição normal ou uniforme; iv) contrariamente, o modelo FF demonstra o pior desempenho relativo, excetuando-se as situações em que a variabilidade entre os tratamentos genéticos é elevada (h2 ®1,0); v) sob baixos valores de h2 (6%), o modelo FA apresenta eficiência similar ao modelo AA; vi) dois estratos ambientais estabelecidos mostraram-se consistentes, ao longo dos anos, mesmo alterando-se os genótipos testados de uma safra agrícola para a outra: Ipameri, Inhumas e Senador Canêdo, (estável em quatro anos), e Porangatu e Orizona (estável em três anos); vii) com os agrupamentos obtidos é possível reduzir, pelo menos 16%, o número de locais de teste atualmente utilizados e, ou, efetuar a substituição de locais redundantes por outros pontos de teste que melhor representem a região alvo da recomendação, de modo a aumentar a eficiência da avaliação da interação GxE, no âmbito do programa de melhoramento; viii) a variedade ALBandeirante apresenta alto potencial produtivo e grande adaptabilidade às condições de cultivo do milho no Estado de Goiás. / O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar diferentes abordagens estatísticas em relação à seleção e ordenação de genótipos, no contexto de ensaios varietais de milho. Para isso, utilizaram-se dados reais de ensaios delineados em látice, conduzidos no Estado de Goiás, nas safras 2002/2003, 2003/2004, 2004/2005 e 2005/2006, bem como dados de experimentos simulados, nos quais se buscaram cobrir situações similares a essa realidade. O estudo propôs-se, ainda, a quantificar os efeitos da interação de genótipos com ambientes (GxE), a partir dos ensaios reais, visando-se à estratificação ambiental para a cultura do milho no Estado, com ênfase na avaliação e recomendação de cultivares. A partir desses objetivos, o trabalho apresenta-se estruturado na forma de três artigos científicos. No primeiro deles (Capítulo 3), avaliaram-se os efeitos das abordagens de modelo fixo (FF), modelo misto com efeito aleatório de blocos (AF), modelo misto com efeito aleatório de tratamentos (FA), modelo aleatório (AA) e do estimador de James-Stein (JS), na seleção e ordenação de genótipos testados na rede dos ensaios de variedades de milho, coordenada pela Agência Goiana de Desenvolvimento Rural e Fundiário (AgenciaRural Goiás). Os experimentos, em número de 47, foram instalados em látice, com três repetições, tendo sido conduzidos durante os quatro anos agrícolas citados. No segundo artigo (Capítulo 4), as mesmas abordagens foram avaliadas em termos de acurácia, desvio preditivo médio e precisão de suas estimativas/predições, considerando-se os experimentos simulados, também em látice. Foram considerados 48 casos, correspondentes às combinações de diferentes tamanhos experimentais (15, 54, 105 e 450 tratamentos), coeficientes de determinação genotípica h2' (6%, 15%, 25%, 48%, 63% e 82%) e duas distribuições de probabilidade para a geração dos efeitos genotípicos (normal e uniforme). Foram gerados 1.000 ensaios para cada caso, totalizando 48.000 experimentos. O terceiro e último artigo (Capítulo 5) refere-se ao estudo da interação GxE, com ênfase na referida estratificação ambiental, para o qual se adotou a abordagem de genótipos vencedores, associada à análise AMMI (modelo de efeitos principais aditivos e interação multiplicativa). Entre os resultados e conclusões obtidos, destacam-se: i) a adoção de abordagens estatísticas que promovem shrinkage das médias genotípicas resultam na seleção de menor número de genótipos, especialmente quando à média das cultivares testemunhas (referência para a seleção genotípica), que é superior à média experimental, reduzindo o número de genótipos pouco produtivos nos ciclos seguintes do programa de seleção; ii) o uso de modelos com efeitos fixos de tratamentos leva a um maior percentual de seleção de genótipos, sobretudo nos experimentos cuja média das testemunhas supera a média experimental; iii) entre as abordagens estatísticas shrinkage avaliadas, o modelo AA deve ser preferido para a seleção de genótipos, em razão de sua melhor capacidade de predição dos efeitos genotípicos paramétricos (maior acurácia e menor desvio preditivo médio), independentemente de esses efeitos terem distribuição normal ou uniforme; iv) contrariamente, o modelo FF demonstra o pior desempenho relativo, excetuando-se as situações em que a variabilidade entre os tratamentos genéticos é elevada (h2 ®1,0); v) sob baixos valores de h2 (6%), o modelo FA apresenta eficiência similar ao modelo AA; vi) dois estratos ambientais estabelecidos mostraram-se consistentes, ao longo dos anos, mesmo alterando-se os genótipos testados de uma safra agrícola para a outra: Ipameri, Inhumas e Senador Canêdo, (estável em quatro anos), e Porangatu e Orizona (estável em três anos); vii) com os agrupamentos obtidos é possível reduzir, pelo menos 16%, o número de locais de teste atualmente utilizados e, ou, efetuar a substituição de locais redundantes por outros pontos de teste que melhor representem a região alvo da recomendação, de modo a aumentar a eficiência da avaliação da interação GxE, no âmbito do programa de melhoramento; viii) a variedade ALBandeirante apresenta alto potencial produtivo e grande adaptabilidade às condições de cultivo do milho no Estado de Goiás.

This doctoral thesis deals with the volume changes of structural concrete caused by its shrinkage. Great importance is given to the evaluation of concrete resistance against shrinkage cracking, too. A lot of physical and numerical experiments were carried out before results and conclusion of observed phenomena was publicized. The amount of physical tests and utilization rate of the experiments can be enlarged and intensified due to the usage of materials made of micro-concrete. Consequently, the design of concrete mixtures with the ordinary size of aggregate particle reflected the large knowledge obtained by micro-concrete. In this work, the effect of different fibres and its different amount was also researched. Finally, the optimized fibre concrete mixture was designed. During the testing, the unique method referred to as “Complex experiment” was developed. Obtained data from the Complex experiment allows predicting when the shrinkage cracks may occur. The final comparison between all tested materials made of concrete was performed by means of unique parameter referred to as “Critical degree of restraint”. It was proofed that the resistance of optimized fibre concrete against to shrinkage cracking is twice of ordinary concrete. Moreover, the shrinkage cracks did not occur in the developed fibre concrete during the observed period. Based on the obtained results the new scaling factors for the rheological model B4 were derived. Due to the new scaling factors, the model B4 describes the real behavior of special composite materials very well.

This diploma thesis deals with the analysis of volume changes of selected silicate based composites. The first part introduces the issue of volume changes of concrete, especially the shrinkage process, two selected models for shrinkage prediction, describes configuration and course of performed tests, as well as the processing of measured experimental data. The second part contains input data modified by the program GTDiPS and another calculated parameters. The result of the work is the evaluation of the influence of thermal dilation on the development of shrinkage of young concrete. Another output is the comparison of accuracy of the two selected prediction models to capture the course of measured shrinkage.

Hoy en día con el aumento exponencial de las industrias a nivel mundial situadas sobre grandes extensiones de terreno, requieren construcciones con un alto grado de desempeño que optimicen al máximo los tiempos de ejecución y, sobre todo, costos mínimos de manteniendo, mediante el presente estudio se propone una solución para las losas industriales, las cuales son de concreto sin juntas de retracción (cortes), con incorporación de fibras de acero y aditivo de retracción compensada, minimizando considerablemente los problemas que se puedan presentar, como es el caso del fenómeno de la retracción en una losa industrial el cual causa agrietamiento y/o despostillamiento de esta, generando pérdidas económicas a largo plazo. Al conocer este problema, se requerirá de materiales y sistemas constructivos que minimicen los efectos de la retracción en las losas industriales sin juntas, como por ejemplo un aditivo de retracción compensada que utilizaría químicos dilatadores en conjunto con aditivos que ayuden a frenar de forma paulatina el fraguado que expande la composición durante, al menos, los primeros días de existencia del elemento. Esa expansión debe asemejarse a la retracción calculada para finalmente alcanzar un cambio de volumen muy cercano a cero. / Nowadays, the exponential growth of the worldwide industries established on large land areas requires constructions with a high-performance level that maximizes the execution times and, especially, minimal operational costs. Through the present study, we propose a solution for industrial slabs, which are made of concrete without retraction joints (cuts), with the inclusion of steel fibers and additives of compensated retraction, substantially minimizing the problems that may arise, such as the case of the retraction phenomenon on industrial slabs, that causes cracking and spalling of it, generating long-term economic losses.    Due to this problem, material and constructive systems that minimize the effects of retraction on industrial slabs without joints will be required; for example, an additive of compensated retraction that would use dilating chemicals ensembled with additives that gradually helps to restrain the curing that expands the compositions during, at least, the first days of existence of the element. This expansion must resemble the estimated retraction to finally achieve a change of volume very close to zero. / Tesis