Moisture influence on the failure of self-compacting concrete under compression

The paper presents the results of investigations into the failure of four self-compacting concretes under compression. When tested, the concretes were damp to different degrees. The failure processes were investigated by acoustic methods. The levels of cracking initiating stress sigma(i) and critical stress sigma(cr), delimiting the stages in the failure process, were determined. Dependence between the moisture content in concrete and the levels of the above stresses has been established. The experimental results were used to calculate the fatigue strength of the tested self-compacting concretes and on this basis the suitability of the latter for erecting structures subject to repeated dynamic loads was assessed.