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Self-consolidating concrete (SCC) mixes generally have higher binder contents, smaller size aggregate, higher amounts of chemical and pozzolanic admixtures than ordinary concrete. The alteration in the mixes may result in differences in the mechanical properties including tensile cracking, which is one of the most vulnerable properties in concrete and occurs typically at early ages due to hydration heat and drying shrinkage. To predict early age cracking of SCC, we need to find out how its stress - crack opening relationship is varying over time. In this study, the variations of SCCs' stress - crack opening relationships at early ages were investigated in experimental and analytical ways. Wedge-splitting tests were performed with four different SCC mixes at 1, 2, 3, 14, and 28 days. The softening curves representing the relationships were determined from inverse analyses optimally fitting the measured load-CMOD curves. Based on the optimized softening curve, variations of fracture energy over time were first examined, and a model for the variations of the softening curves at early ages was suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]