Creep and creep recovery properties of polystyrene aggregate concrete

• Long term creep of structural-grade Polystyrene Aggregate Concrete (PAC) is studied.
• Creep and creep rates of PAC increased with the increase of PA content in the mix.
• Curing and storage conditions showed remarkable influences on creep of PAC.
• Polystyrene aggregate may act as a moisture sink that influences on concrete creep.
• Creep prediction results were compared against ACI and CEB-FIP prediction models.

The present study aims to characterize the creep behaviour of Polystyrene Aggregate Concrete (PAC). The creep and creep recovery of PAC were determined experimentally and compared with normal weight concrete. The parameters studied include polystyrene aggregate (PA) content, curing and storage conditions. The ultimate creep strains for the polystyrene aggregate concrete were estimated using a hyperbolic expression and compared to the other common prediction models for normal weight concrete. The experimental results showed that creep of polystyrene aggregate concrete increased with the increase of PA content in the mix. The ratios of creep recovery to creep strains decreased slightly with an increase in PA content. The curing and storage conditions showed remarkable influences on the creep of PAC, but not for its creep recovery. Besides, the creep prediction results were compared against the prediction models given by ACI and CEB-FIP.