Self-desiccation is one common phenomenon of high-performance cementitious materials, which are
characterized by low water/binder (w/b) ratio and high mineral admixture incorporation. As a
consequence, large magnitude of self-desiccation shrinkage, a key factor which influences the
cracking behavior of concrete, develops rapidly in the cement matrix due to the internal relative
humidity (RH) decrease and capillary pressure induced by self-desiccation.
The objective of this study is to evaluate the behavior of self-desiccation and self-desiccation
shrinkage in silica fume (SF) blended cement pasts with low w/b ratio of 0.25. The self-desiccation
process was revealed by the measurement of internal RH of the sealed cement pastes with
conventional method of hygrometer. The shrinkage of the sealed cement pastes was measured by the
corrugated tube method, permitting measurements to start at early age.
Experimental results revealed that SF blending leads to a higher internal RH, indicating slower
self-desiccation process, compared with pure cement paste. Consequently, less self-desiccation
shrinkage was observed in SF blended cement pastes than that in pure cement paste
