ology and Codes

Non-structural
Cracks in Concrete
Concrete Techno
 Primary Cause
Most Common Secondary Time of
Letter Type of Cracking Subdivision (excluding
Location Causes/Factors Appearance
restraint)

A Over reinforcement Deep sections

Rapid early drying Ten minutes to
B Plastic settlement Arching Top of columns Excess bleeding
conditions three hours
Trough and waffle
C Change of depth
slab
D Diagonal Roads and slabs
Reinforced concrete Rapid early drying
E Random Thirty minutes to six
Plastic shrinkage slabs Low rate of bleeding
hours
Reinforced concrete Ditto plus steel near
F Over reinforcement
slabs surface
Excess heat
G External restraint Thick walls
generation
One day or two or
Early thermal contraction Rapid cooling
Excess temperature three weeks
H Internal restraint Thick slabs
gradients

Thin slabs (and Excessive shrinkage Several weeks or

I Long-term drying shrinkage Inefficient joints
walls) inefficient curing months

"Fair faced" Impermeable One to seven days,

J Against formwork Rich mixes
Crazing concrete formwork sometimes much
K Floated concrete Slabs Over troweling Poor curing later
Columns and
L Natural Lack of cover
beams Poor quality
Corrosion of reinforcement More than two years
Excess calcium concrete
M Calcium chloride Precast concrete
chloride
Reactive aggregate
I
N Alkali-aggregate reaction Damp locations plus high-alkali More than five years
cement
Why does concrete shrink?
Non-structural Cracks
z Fresh
‹ Settlement
‹ Plastic shrinkage

z Hardened
‹ Drying shrinkage
‹ Thermal dilation
Before Hardening
z Early frost damage
z Plastic
‹ Shrinkage
‹ Settlement

z Construction movement
‹ Formwork
‹ Sub-grade
PLASTIC SHRINKAGE CRACKING
Typical Plastic Shrinkage
Cracking
Evaporation of Surface
Moisture from Concrete
Concrete Techno
ology and Codes

Plastic Settlement
Subsidence Cracking
Resistance to subsidence by
top reinforcement
Cracks usually appear along
reinforcement bars…
..but can also form from
differential settlement
Resistance to subsidence by
void tubes in hollow core
After Hardening
z Physical
‹ Shrinkable aggregates
‹ Drying shrinkage

‹ Crazing

z Chemical
‹ Corrosion of rebar
‹ Alkali aggregate reaction

‹ Carbonation
After Hardening
z Thermal
‹ Freeze – thaw cycles
‹ External seasonal temperature variations

‹ Early thermal contraction

ƒ External restraint
ƒ Internal temperature gradients
z Structural
‹ Accidental overload
‹ Creep

‹ Design loads
Concrete Techno
ology and Codes

Cracking
Drying Shrinkage
Why cracks form
Shrinkage and Cracking
Drying Shrinkage Cracks
z Occur: In thin sections (low V/S ratio)
z When: Several weeks after casting
z Causes:
‹ Excess water in mix
‹ High paste content

‹ Inefficient joints

‹ Poor curing

z Remedies:
‹ Reduce water content of mix
‹ Improve curing
Cracking tendency depends
on many factors
Shrinkage is Size Dependent
Theoretical Shrinkage
Stresses
Mitigation of Drying
Shrinkage Cracks
z Aggregate z Curing
‹ Content z Eliminate external
‹ Size restraints by allowing
z Workability joint movement
‹ Ease of placement z P id crackk controll
Provide
‹ Consolidation steel distribution
z Admixtures
‹ Chemical
‹ Mineral
The role of fibers…
z Fibers will:
‹ Reduce plastic shrinkage cracking
‹ Reduce bleeding

z What about other types of cracking?

Fibers can:
‹ Bridge cracks
‹ Distribute stresses and limit crack widths

‹ Volume is critical!
Tensile Deformation
Plain Concrete
Tensile Deformation
Steel Reinforced Concrete
Tensile Deformation
Fiber Reinforced Concrete
Concrete Techno
ology and Codes

Thermal Cracking
Internal Thermal Restraint

HOT CENTER
Temperature Rise and
Cement Type
 ACI 224
Tolerable Crack Widths

Tolerable crack
Exposure condition
width, in.

Dry air or protective membrane 0.016

Humidity, moist air, soil 0.012
Deicing chemicals 0.007
Seawater and seawater spray; 0.006
wetting and drying
Water-retaining structures 0.004
Crack Control
Control of Cracking
z Joints
‹ Isolation
‹ Contraction

‹ Construction

z Reinforcement
‹ Cover
‹ Size of crack

‹ Frequency (numerous tight cracks)

‹ What’s allowable (crack width)

Take an
example…
z Sidewalk set
above pavement
z 500 ft long
pavement strips
p p
z α = 6x10-6 in/in/°F
z Approximately
0.7”/100’/100°F
Result…
z Omission of full
depth isolation
/expansion joint
z Expansion
p of
adjacent
pavement results
in cracking and
buckling of
concrete sidewalk
Mid-Panel Cracking
Crack Repair
z Fix large cracks prior to exposure
Use:
‹ MMA
‹ Epoxy injection

‹ Sealers

‹ Routing and sealing

z Effect of cover
z Importance of curing on cracking
Summary
z Many forms of cracking
z Concrete is weak in tension
z Shrinkage!
z Jointing
Concrete Techno
ology and Codes

Questions?