The Plastic-Sleeve Test

One test method for autogenous strain, drying shrinkage strain, and total shrinkage strain in cementitious paste, mortar, and concrete, with length measurements possible immediately after casting. The PST can be found in the AASHTO T 426 standard.

Purchase Equipment

The Apparatus

Two measurement frames, each holding three plastic-sleeve specimens with dial indicators mounted above
Total shrinkage strain
Autogenous strain

The Measurement

Time Strain

Method Comparison

This method

AASHTO T 426

Plastic-Sleeve Test

ASTM C1698

Corrugated Tube

AASHTO T 160 / ASTM C157

Shrinkage Prism

Can test paste
✓
✓
✓
Can test mortar
✓
✓
✓
Can test concrete
✓
✓
Can measure autogenous shrinkage strain
✓
✓
Can measure total shrinkage strain
✓
✓
Automated readings
✓
Captures early-age behavior
✓
Less technician burden
✓
Lower reading variability
✓
Not prone to entrapped air
✓
✓
Fill specimens quickly and easily
✓
✓
Uniform drying shrinkage
✓
Strain (µε, microstrain)

Works on: Paste Mortar Concrete

Error bars come from each standard's own Precision and Bias section: ±80 µε for ASTM C1698 (Sec. 11.1, mortar), ±250 µε for AASHTO T 160 / ASTM C157 (Sec. 14.1.1.3, air storage), and ±80 µε for AASHTO T 426, adopted provisionally from ASTM C1698 as a conservative bound, although the automated measurement system has shown appreciably lower single-operator variability in this method's own lab data (a formal Precision and Bias statement for AASHTO T 426 will be developed and added in a future revision).

Method Overview

Autogenous, drying, and total shrinkage strain measurements. One specimen.

A mortar plastic-sleeve specimen sealed at both ends with hose clamps, preventing moisture exchange
Autogenous Specimen
Cutting away the plastic sleeve with a utility knife to expose the specimen to drying
Remove Sleeve
The same plastic-sleeve specimen with the sleeve removed, its surface exposed to drying
Total Shrinkage Specimen The same specimen, now exposed to drying.

Works on paste, mortar, and concrete.

A paste plastic-sleeve specimen sealed at both ends with hose clamps
Paste ~24 mm (1.0 in.)
A mortar plastic-sleeve specimen sealed at both ends with hose clamps
Mortar ~49 mm (1.9 in.)
A concrete plastic-sleeve specimen sealed at both ends with hose clamps
Concrete ~65 mm (2.5 in.)

Testing Procedure

Plastic-sleeve test materials: sleeve, end plugs with gaskets, hose clamps, rubber strips, and hardware
01 Prepare Materials Weigh and prepare the sleeves, end plugs, rubber components, and clamps needed for 6 specimens.
Filling a plastic-sleeve specimen through a funnel while consolidating with a rod
02 Fill and Seal 6 Sleeves
A plastic-sleeve specimen resting on a laboratory scale reading 1344.26 grams
03 Initial Mass and Length Measurements
Two measurement frames, each holding three plastic-sleeve specimens with dial indicators mounted above
04 Place into Automated Measurement Frames
Cutting the plastic sleeve open along its length with a utility knife
05 Cut 3 of the Sleeves At day 7, cut 3 specimens to expose them to drying and return them to the automated measurement frame.
A plastic-sleeve specimen in a manual measurement frame with a dial indicator mounted above
06 Transition to Manual Length Measurements At day 21, remove all specimens from the automated frames and begin manual length measurements. This frees the automated frames for other tests, while still allowing length measurements with less accuracy.

Instructional Videos

Published Research and Presentations

Measurement

Plastic-Sleeve Test Method to Measure Autogenous and Drying Shrinkage in Paste, Mortar, and Concrete: Test Results

Zieliński, A., Schindler, A.K. (2024)

Experimental validation of the PST across paste, mortar, and concrete mixtures.

Read paper →
Materials and Structures

Measurement of Autogenous and Drying Shrinkage in Paste, Mortar, and Concrete with the Plastic-Sleeve Test Method

Zieliński, A., Schindler, A.K. (2025)

Full description of the test method, apparatus, and calculation procedures.

Read paper →
ACI Spring 2026 Convention, Research in Progress

Evaluation of a Novel Test Method for Autogenous and Total Strain of Cementitious Materials

Freeman, S., Folliard, K., Drimalas, T., Schindler, A.K., Zieliński, A., Wieckowski, K., Kim, J., Osibodu, S.

First-place presentation in the Research in Progress session.

Download presentation →
More on the way

More Publications Coming Soon

Additional peer-reviewed papers on the PST will be added here as they are published.

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to common procedural questions, drawn directly from the standard, will be added here.

Coming soon

Data Templates

Both files will be standard Excel workbooks with no add-ins or macros. Yellow cells will indicate data-entry fields; all other cells will contain formulas.

XLSX

Autogenous Shrinkage Only

Specimen identification, raw gauge readings, mass, and circularity are entered directly. Length and autogenous strain are calculated automatically using Equations 1 through 4 of the standard.

Coming soon
XLSX

Autogenous, Drying, and Total Shrinkage

The same entry sheets, plus total shrinkage and drying shrinkage strain, calculated automatically using Equations 1 through 6 of the standard once a specimen has been exposed to drying.

Coming soon
Overview

Equipment List

AASHTO T 426 (the PST) is built from off-the-shelf parts alongside a small number of custom-machined pieces, with the option to 3D-print some components. No single supplier currently sells the complete setup as a package, so this list is meant to make sourcing it yourself as straightforward as possible. The specific products listed are not required. They are simply what the developers used and found to work; any product meeting the stated requirement is an acceptable substitute.

Progress is saved on this device only.

Item
Requirement
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