Crack Width Comparison between ACI 318, Eurocode 2 and GB 50010 for Flexural RC Members

Comparative research on different countries’ structural design codes holds great importance and can gain valuable insights: Awareness of Design Levels, Identifying Code Deficiencies and Optimizing Designs. The crack width of concrete structure is an important design aspect of the civil design. The four highly recognized and widely used crack width theories are systematically summarized. Based on the mentioned theories and project practices, American code ACI system, Eurocode 2 1992-1 and Chinese code GB 50010 have different crack width control requirement and calculation methods. The crack width control method based on ACI system code has evolved from the Z-factor method to the steel bar spacing control method which is simple and easy to be adopted for engineering. Meanwhile, the ACI 224.1R also gives a direct crack width calculation method consistent with the steel bar spacing control method. The Eurocode 2 and GB 50010 based on the bond-slip & no-slip theory consider much more affecting factors than ACI for predicting crack width. Taking the crack width calculation of Tunnel 5 intake as an example, the crack widths of the structure are calculated according to ACI system code, Eurocode 2 and GB 50010 respectively, the results show that the crack width results in various codes are not much different. The EN 1992-1 and GB 50010 results are almost the same which are less than the ACI 224.1Rresults.

Crack elongation and its width of large depth reinforced concrete beams

In order to meet the requirement of structural inspection,the crack spacing and crack width at various heights in the tensile zone of six large depth reinforced concrete beams were measured under several loading levels of serviceability state.The effects of the depth of normal section beams on the crack spacing and crack width were analyzed,and the modified model is proposed for calculating the average crack spacing by thinking about the depth of normal section,the reinforcement arrangement and the effective reinforcement ratio.The relationships of crack widths at any position in the tensile zone and at the reinforcement level on the side surface of beam were studied.By theoretical and statistical analysis,a method is proposed to calculate the ratios of crack widths between any position and the reinforcement level on the side surface of large depth reinforced concrete beams.

Shrinkage and Cracking Sensitivity of Cement Mortar Containing Fly Ash, Granulated Blast-furnace Slag and Silica Fume

A laboratory study was undertaken to investigate drying shrinkage and cracking sensitivity subjected to restrained shrinkage of mortar containing fly ash (FA), granulated blast-furnace slag (GBFS) and silica fume (SF). Six mortar mixtures including control Portland cement (PC) and FA, GBFS and SF mortar mixtures were prepared. FA replaced the cement on mass basis at the replacement ratios of 20% and 35%, GBFS replaced the cement at the replacement ratios of 40%, SF replaced the cement at the replacement ratios of 8% and the blended mixtures with 20% FA, 20% GBFS and 8% SF. Water-cementitious materials ratio and sand-cementitious materials ratio were 0.4 and 2.0 for all mixtures, respectively. The mixtures were cured at 65% relative humidity and 20℃. The drying shrinkage value, initial cracking time and cracking width of the mortar samples were measured. The results show that all the mortar mixture containing FA exhibited the decrease of drying shrinkage. Moreover, initial cracking time was markedly delayed, and the crack width of the initial crack was reduced. However, the incorporations of various ratios of GBFS and SF led to an increase of drying shrinkage, initial cracking time and cracking width as compared to control mixture.

Non-steady State Chloride Migration and Binding in Cracked Self-compacting Concrete

We adopted a notch method to study the influence of crack width （macro level） on chloride transport and binding of cracked concrete under a non-steady state migration test. The results show that migration coefficient of cracked concrete increases with increasing crack width up to a critical value （0.43 mm）, for the whole concrete or the area close to crack; the increase of migration coefficient could be independent from crack parameter when a critical crack width is reached. For chloride binding, Langmuir isotherms of cracked concrete samples exhibit the similar decreasing trend as crack width increases from 0.27 to 1.96 mm. The increased current value could be responsible for the trend based on the hypothesis of electric force.

Effect of Reinforcement on Deflection and Cracks in Baked Clay Beams

For low cost houses in Pakistan, Reinforced Baked Clay (RBC) is considered to be a potential construction material as a substitute of Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC). Deflection and cracks are important parameters for design of beams in a building. However, for RBC beams it is still unknown that how the deflection and crack width could be controlled by increasing ratio of reinforcement. This study investigates the effect of ratio of reinforcement on deflection and cracking behaviour of baked clay beams. The results show that by increasing area of reinforcement by 50% in baked clay beams: 1) deflection was decreased to 2.5 times, and 2) crack width was reduced to three times.

Transition from Multiple Macro-Cracking to Multiple Micro-Cracking in Cementitious Composites

This paper presents an experimental study of the possibility of transition from multiple macro-cracking to multiple micro-cracking in cementitious composites. Conventional polyvinyl alcohol fiber reinforced cementitious composites normally exhibit macroscopic strain-hardening and multiple cracking after the first cracks appear. However, the individual crack width at the saturated stage is normally 60 to 80 μm. In the current study, the effect of fine aggregate size on the cracking performance, especially the individual crack width in the strain-hardening stage was studied by bending tests. The results show that the individual crack widths can be reduced from 60-80 μm to 10-30 μm by modifying the particle size of the fine aggregates used in the composites.

Effect of High-Performance Steel on the Tension Stiffening and Cracking Behavior of Reinforced Concrete (RC) Tension Ties

In construction industry, the application of high-performance reinforcement bar is required strongly. Unfortunately, not nearly enough research has been conducted on high-performance steel in comparison with high strength concrete. This paper describes the effect of high-performance steel as reinforcement steel bar on the tension response and cracking behavior of concrete and fiber-reinforced strain-hardening cement-based composite (SHCC) tension members. High-performance steel is characterized by higher strength in comparison to ASTM A615-06 Grade 60 steel. The tension stiffening effect on high-performance reinforcing bars embedded in cement-based composite prism is investigated experimentally. The variables in the study are types of cement-based composite (conventional concrete, synthetic fiber-reinforced cement composite), yielding strength of steel bars (400MPa and 600MPa), and types of loading (monotonic and repeated tension loading).

Calculation methods of the crack width and deformation for concrete beams with high-strength steel bars

Three groups of concrete beams reinforced with high-strength steel bars were tested,and the crack width and deformation of the specimens were observed and studied.To facilitate the predictions,two simplified formulations according to a theory developed by the first author were proposed.The advantages of the formulations were verified by the test data and compared with several formulas in different codes.

Fracture evolution analysis of soil-rock mixture in contrast with soil by CT scanning under uniaxial compressive conditions

Soil-rock mixture(SRM),as a type of extremely heterogeneous geomaterial,is very common in nature and engineering.The fracture and damage of SRM often induce severe geological disasters.Hence,it is important to analyze the fracture evolution process of this material.In the present research,real-time computed tomography(CT)scanning was conducted on SRM and pure soil samples under uniaxial compressive experiments to investigate the influence of rocks on fracture evolution in SRM.The initiation of cracks,the original values of,and variations in,average density and heterogeneity in the soil matrix,the crack width evolution during loading,and the final failure modes were all studied.Cracks with a width greater than 0.1 mm will not arise until over 90%of ultimate stress is reached.In general,in SRM,areas where the initial average density of the soil matrix is smaller and the initial heterogeneity is greater,are much easier to crack,but the results for pure soil show the opposite effect.According to fracturing conditions shown in CT slices,fracturing and non-fracturing areas in the soil matrix were investigated.The average density of the soil matrix decreases in all areas under loading,except non-fracturing areas in SRM.For the whole sample,the increase in heterogeneity in the soil matrix of SRM is greater than that of pure soil;but for the fracturing areas,this increase in pure soil is greater.Besides,the average and standard deviations of crack width both follow logarithmic distributions with high correlation coefficients.

Flexural behavior of high-strength,steel-reinforced,and prestressed concrete beams

To study the flexural behavior of prestressed concrete beams with high-strength steel reinforcement and high-strength concrete and improve the crack width calculation method for flexural components with such reinforcement and concrete,12 specimens were tested under static loading.The failure modes,flexural strength,ductility,and crack width of the specimens were analyzed.The results show that the failure mode of the test beams was similar to that of the beams with normal reinforced concrete.A brittle failure did not occur in the specimens.To further understand the working mechanism,the results of other experimental studies were collected and discussed.The results show that the normalized reinforcement ratio has a greater effect on the ductility than the concrete strength.The cracking-and peak-moment formulas in the code for the design of concrete(GB 50010-2010)applied to the beams were both found to be acceptable.However,the calculation results of the maximum crack width following GB 50010-2010 and EN 1992-1-1:2004 were considerably conservative.In the context of GB 50010-2010,a revised formula for the crack width is proposed with modifications to two major factors:the average crack spacing and an amplification coefficient of the maximum crack width to the average spacing.The mean value of the ratio of the maximum crack width among the 12 test results and the relative calculation results from the revised formula is 1.017,which is better than the calculation result from GB 50010-2010.Therefore,the new formula calculates the crack width more accurately in high-strength concrete and high-strength steel reinforcement members.Finally,finite element models were established using ADINA software and validated based on the test results.This study provides an important reference for the development of high-strength concrete and highstrength steel reinforcement structures.