Shrinkage of internal cured high strength engineered cementitious composite with pre-wetted sand-like zeolite

• New internal curing agent for cementitious materials.
• Shrinkage control of high strength engineered cementitious composites.
• Shrinkage performance of high strength engineered cementitious composites with pre-wetted sand-like zeolite particles.

In this paper, shrinkage and internal relative humidity of internal cured with calcinated zeolite particles of high strength engineerined cementitious composite (HSECC) are experimentally investigated, in which the natural sand-like zeolite particles with average particle size of 0.18 mm were used as internal curing agent. Impacting factors, such as calcination, pre-wetting process and amount of internal curing agent, on shrinkage of HSECC were considered in the test program; meanwhile their effects on compressive strength of the composites were included as well. The test results show: 1) Two-stage progressing mode of shrinkage and internal relative humidity of HSECC are observed; 2) Applying the pre-wetted calcined zeolite particles in HSECC, more than 60% of autogenous and/or drying shrinkage at 28 days is reduced while the strength of the composite remains as higher as the reference; 3) Calcination on zeolite particles is necessary for internal curing of high strength cementitious composites.