Define the concept of Creep of Concrete

Creep of concrete is another important characteristic. It represents progressive strains in concrete which occur at constant value of stresses. It depends on the level of stress in the concrete, age at loading and the duration of loading in addition to those factors which affect the shrinkage of concrete. As long as the stress in concrete does not exceed one-third of characteristic strength of concrete, creep may be assumed to be proportional to stress. The ultimate creep strain may be estimated from the following values of creep coefficient (which is defined as the ratio of ultimate creep strain and elastic strain at the age of loading). The ultimate creep strain does not include the elastic strain.