Continuous Retardation Spectrum for Solidification Theory of Concrete Creep

The basic creep of concrete is the time-dependent strain caused by a sustained stress in absence of moisture movements. It is the strain observed on sealed specimens. Similar to other properties of concrete, it is dependent on the age of concrete, as a consequence of long-time chemical reactions associated with the hydration of cement. This paper formulates the solidification theory with a continuous retardation spectrum, and shows how this spectrum can be readily and unambiguously identified from arbitrary measured creep curves and how it then can be easily converted to a discrete spectrum for numerical purposes. The identification of the continuous spectrum is based on Tschoegl's work on viscoelasticity of polymers. Attention is limited to basic creep.