Abstract:A precise method for measuring concrete shrinkage and crack development was proposed based on Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry (OFDR) technology, utilizing distributed optical fibers. Laboratory tests were conducted to investigate the effects of single and combined additions of 30% fly ash (FA) replacing cement, 0.2% (by volume) polypropylene fibers (PPF), and 1% (by volume) steel fibers (SF) on the shrinkage behavior and crack morphology of concrete. The results demonstrate that the proposed method can accurately identify, locate, track, and quantify the evolution of shrinkage and crack formation through strain fields generated by shrinkage and crack propagation. On the basis of 30% FA replacement for cement, the addition of 1% SF reduced the drying shrinkage strain of self-compacting concrete (SCC) from 725 με to 314 με, while the combined addition of 1% SF and 0.2% PPF reduced the SCC crack width from 2.1 mm to 0.07 mm.