Moisture Impact on Static and Dynamic Modulus of Elasticity in Structural Normal-Weight Concretes

In the case of concrete built into a structure, the static secant modulus of elasticity (E) is often estimated based on its dynamic value (E) measured by the ultrasonic pulse velocity method instead of direct tests carried out on drilled cores. Meanwhile, the prevailing equations applied to estimate E often overlook the impact of concrete moisture. This study aimed to elucidate the moisture impact across two normal-weight structural concretes differing in compressive strength (51.6 and 71.4 MPa). The impact of moisture content was notably more evident only for the weaker concrete, according to dynamic modulus measurements. In other cases, contrary to the literature reports and expectations, this effect turned out to be insignificant. These observations may be explained by two factors: the relatively dense and homogeneous structure of tested concretes and reduced sensitivity of E measurements to concrete moisture condition compared to E measurements obtained using the ultrasonic method. Additionally, established formulas to estimate E were verified. The obtained modulus results tested under different moisture conditions of normal-weight concretes were also compared with those of lightweight aggregate concretes of identical volume compositions previously obtained in a separate study.