Creep and drying shrinkage of concrete blockwork

Blockwork walls and piers constructed from dense aggregate concrete blocks exhibit creep and shrinkage behaviour which is similar to that of concrete with respect to the geometry of the cross-section. Deformations are greater in walls than in piers and they can be quantified by composite modelling of the block and mortar phases of the blockwork. It is important to simulate the rate of moisture diffusion in each phase so that unbedded specimens have the same ratio of volume to exposed surface area as the blockwork. Experimental verification is given for creep, vertical shrinkage and horizontal shrinkage over a period of six months.