M&S highlight: Bažant and Baweja (1995), Creep and shrinkage prediction model for analysis and design of concrete structures—model B3

Reliable predictions of shrinkage and creep are of utmost importance for designing durable and safe concrete structures.Hence, these phenomena have always been among the top interests of the RILEM Community, with 6 Technical Committees devoted to them until now (TCs 069, 107, 114, 179, 242, and 261).An important period in RILEM's activities on creep and shrinkage occurred in the years 1995-1996, when a series of papers was published stemming from the works of the TC 107 ''Guidelines for the formulation of creep and shrinkage prediction models'' chaired by Prof. Z. P. Baz ˇant.Among these, two papers have gained the most attention and have had an immense impact in the field.The first was ''Creep and shrinkage prediction model for analysis and design of concrete structures-model B3'' [1], a RILEM recommendation prepared by Baz ˇant and Baweja in collaboration with RILEM TC 107 (Subcommittee 1) and ACI Committee 209 (Subcommittee 2).The paper has been cited over 440 times (Web of Science Core Collection, July 2021).This means that it has been cited in about 10% of papers devoted to the topics of ''creep'' and ''concrete'' since then (overall of 4767 papers, Web of Science Core Collection, July 2021).The second, affiliated paper, was published in the same issue of Materials and Structures: ''Justification and refinements of model B3 for concrete creep and shrinkage 1. statistics and sensitivity'' authored by Baz ˇant and Baweja [2], and it has been cited over 120 times.The two papers are notable in particular because they address two extremely relevant aspects: (i) the need for a model that is practical as a design code recommendation, yet is based on the most advanced understanding of the underlying processes; and (ii) the calibration of the model based on a broad and (as much as possible) unbiased dataset, in fact most probably the largest dataset available at that time.In this short introduction I will briefly address both points.At the time when the papers [1, 2] were published, the knowledge about the mechanisms causing shrinkage was already quite advanced, but no consensus had been reached with regard to creep of concrete (in fact, despite notable scientific advancements, it is still a This commentary is part of our celebration of 75 years of RILEM, highlighting Materials and Structures most highly influential and cited publications.