Professional Documents
Culture Documents
AC1 224R-9Ö
Control of Cracking
in Concrete Structures
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224R-1
COPYRIGHT American Concrete Institute
Licensed by Information Handling Services
A C 1 224R 90 0662949 00238455
224R-2 MANUAL OF CONCRETE
PRACTICE
Chapter 6 -
Control of cracking in concrete inforced
and prestressedconcretemembershave
layered systems, page 2241.23 been condensed into a single chapter, Chapter 4, on
6.1 - Introduction crack control in flexural members. The resulting pre-
6.2 - Fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) overlays
6.3 - Latex modified concrete (LMC) overlays sentation is more concise and, hopefully, more useful
6.4 - Polymer impregnated concrete (PIC) systems tothestructuraldesigner.Chapter 5, on long-term
Chapter 7 -
Control of cracking in mass com effects,
details
someinteresting
findings
change of crack width with time. Chapters
on the
3, 7, and
.Crete, page 224R.26
7.1 - Introduction 8, which considerdryingshrinkage,massconcrete,
7.2 - Crack resistance andconstructionpractices,respectively,havebeen
7.3 - Determination of temperatures and tensile strains expanded and upd.ated to take into account the most
7.4 - Control of cracking
7.5 - Testing methods and typical data recently developed procedures in these areas. In ad-
7.6 - Artificial cooling by embedded pipe systems dition, new sections have been added to Chapters í'
7.7 - Summary - Basic considerations for constructioncontrols
and specifications and 8 which provide specific guidance for the devel-
opment of crack control programs and specifications.
Chapter 8 -
Control of cracking by correct The committee hopes that this report will serve as
construction practices, page 224R-36 a useful reference to the causes of cracking and as a
8.1 - Introduction key tool in the development of practicalcrackcon-
8.2 - Restraint
8.3 - Shrinkage trol procedures in both the design and the construc-
8.4 - Settlement tion of concrete structures.
8.5 - Construction
8.6 - Specifications to minimize drying shrinkage
8.7 - Conclusion References
1.1. AC1 Committee 224, "Control of Cracking in Con-
Chapter 9 - References, page 224R.42 creteStructures," AC1 JOURNAL, Proceedings V. 69, No.
9.1 - Specified and/or recommended references 12, Dec.1972, pp. 717-753.
9.2 - Cited references 1.2. AC1 Committee 224, "Causes, Mechanism, and Con-
trol of Cracking in Concrete," ACI Bibliography No. 9,
Chapter I - Introduction American Concrete Institute, Detroit, 1971, 92 pp.
Cracks in concretestructures can indicatemajor
structural problems and can mar the appearance of Chapter 2 - Crack mechanisms in concrete'
monolithic construction. They can expose reinforcing 2.1 - Introduction
steeltooxygenandmoistureandmake the steel Beginningwith the work a t Cornell University in
moresusceptibletocorrosion.Whilethespecific theearly 1960s,'" agreat dealhasbeenlearned
causes of cracking are manifold, cracks are normally about the crack mechanisms in concrete, both at the
caused by stresses that develop in concretedueto microscopic and the macroscopic level. Of special in-
the restraint of volumetric change or to loads which terest during the early work was the realization that
are applied tothestructure. Withineach of these the behavior of concrete, under compressive as well
categories there are a number of factors at work. A as tensile loads, was closely related to the formation
successful
crackcontrol
program must
recognize of cracks. Under increasing compressive stress, mi-
these factors and deal with each of them, in turn. croscopic cracks (or microcracks) form at the mortar-
This report presents the principal causes of crack- coarseaggregateboundaryandpropagatethrough
ing andadetaileddiscussion of crackcontrolpro- the surrounding mortar, as shown in Fig. 2.1.
cedures.The body of the reportconsists of seven During the first decade of research, a picture de-
chapters designed to help the engineer and the con- veloped that closelylinked formationandpropaga-
tractor in the development of effective crack control tion of these microcracks to the load-deformation be-
measures. havior of concrete. Prior to load, volume changes in
This report is an update of apreviouscommittee cement paste cause interfacial cracks to form at the
report, issued in 1972.' I Theoriginalreportwas mortar-coarse aggregate boundary.' '.' Under short-
supplemented by an AC1 Bibliography on cracking,' term compressive load, no additional cracks form un-
alsoissued by this committee.Intheupdatingpro- til the load reaches approximately 30 percent of the
cess,manyportions of thereporthaveundergone compressive strength of the concrete.' ' Above this
sizeable revision, and the entire document has been value, additional bond cracks initiate throughout the
subjectedtoadetailededitorialreview.Chapter 2, matrix. Bond cracking increases
until
the load
on crack mechanisms, has been completely rewritten reaches approximately 70 percent of the compressive
to take into account the experimental and analytical strength, at which time microcracks begin to propa-
work that has been done since the completion of the gate through the mortar. Mortar cracking continues
firstcommitteereport.Chapter 6, on crackcontrol at anacceleratedrateuntil the materialultimately
in concretelayeredsystems, is new tothereport fails. For concrete in uniaxialtension,experimental
and dealswithaform of concrete construction that workindicatesthatmajormicrocrackingbeginsat
was in its infancy a t the time the first report was about 60 percent of the ultimate tensile strength.24
drafted.Individualchapters on crackcontrol in re- 'Principal author: David Darwin.
maximum constraint (plane strain) at the tip of the indicate that the test specimen did not satisfy all of
crack. For linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) the minimum size requirements of linear elastic frac-
to be applicable, the value of KI,.must be a material ture mechanics.
constant, independent of the specimen geometry (as The balance of this chapter describes some of t h e
are other material con6tants such as yield strength). more recent studies of crack mechanisms in concrete
Theearliestexperimentalworkutilizednotched andgivesasomewhatdifferentpicturefromthat
tensionandbeamspecimens of mortarand con- presented in the previous committee report.
- ~~ "
2.2- Microcrackiag
Since the early work established the existence of
bond and mortarcracks, it hasbeenpopular to at-
tribute all of the nonlinearity of concrete to the for-
mation of these microscopic cracks.’ ’.’ ’h
However,acauseandeffectrelationshiphasnever
been e~tablished.~-”Recentstudies’ ’ 8 - ’ . 3 2 indicate
that the degree of microcrackingmightbebetter
taken as an indication of the level of damage rather
I
than as the controlling factor in the behavior of con:
” 1000 2W 3000 4000 5ooo 6000 700( Crete.
STRAIN x lo6 While microcracksappeartohaveadominant ef-
fect on the volumechange of concreteunderload,
Fig.2.2 - Envelope stress-strain curves for cement theimportance of microcracking, at least as it has
paste specimens 7 days old (Reference 2.301. beendiscussed in the past,seemstobesomewhat
downgraded.
Experimentalwork by Spooner, e t al.’ 2 8 - 2 in-
dicatesthatthenonlinearbehavior of concrete is
closely tiedtothenonlinearbehavior of cement
paste. Their work shows that cement paste is not an
U
elastic, brittle material as stated in the past,’ 25 but
E
a nonlinear material (Fig. 2.2) with a relatively high
z 30 straincapacity (0.005-0.007). The nonlinearbehavior
of cement paste can be tied to damage sustained by
i 20
VI the paste, even at very low loads.
10 Usinga cyclic loadingprocedure,Spooner, e t al.
have demonstrated that both paste and concrete un-
EO
v, 1000 2000 3000 4000
dergo measurable damage at
strains
which anincrease in microcrackingcannotbede-
(0.0004) a t
STRAIN x lo6 tected. As shown in Fig. 2.3, the level of damage can
be detected at low loads by using an energy method
11 Acoustic Emission
and by the change in the initial modulus of elasticity
for each cycle of load. Acoustic emission provides an-
otherusefultool,but is not quite as sensitive. The
process of damage is continuous up to failure. Spoo-
ner, et al.’-’9~z feel that there is no evidence to sup-
porttheexistence of a“discontinuitystress,” al-
Ultrasonic-Pulse thoughtheconceptmaybeuseful in engineering
Transit / applications. The physical nature of the damage that
occurs in pasteatthe submicroscopiclevelisnot
completely understood but does appear to be related
toatype of cracking,assupportedbyvolumetric
strain measurements.
Studies of the stress-strainbehavior of concrete
under cyclic compressive load’-8,’ indicate that con-
J
J
creteundergoesrapiddeteriorationonce the peak
stress exceeds about 70 percent of the short-term ul-
timate strength of the concrete. Neville and H i r ~ t , ’ . ~ ~
in their study of cyclic creep, found that even when
specimens are cycledbelow this level, heat is given
off. They attribute the heat to sliding at the inter-
facial boundary.Whencombinedwith the work of
Spooner, however, in which he shows that paste un-
o 1000 ZOO0 3000 4000 dergoesdamageatvery
siblethat the heatmeasured
low loads, it maybe pos-
is due to sub- a
STRAIN x lo6 microscopic sliding within the paste.
Severalstudieshaveattemptedtoestablish the
Fig. 2.3 - Comparison ofmethodsfordetecting importance of interfacial bond strength on the be-
damage in concrete specimens (Reference 2.29). havior of concreteunder load. Two tu dies'.^^'
za 3000
1000 I
O
O 400 8M) 1200 16M 2000 2400 2800 3200
MICROSTRAIN
Fig. 2.4 - Stress-strain curves as influenced by coating aggregates (Reference
2.36).
facial strength of the aggregate decreasesthe 111.5 0.0 IL5 -1.0 1.5
Slralrl, 0.001 lrl/lII
initiation stress byabout 20 percent,buthasvery
little effect on the discontinuity stress. They also ob- Fig. 2.5 - Stress-strain curves for concrete model.*
served 8 10 percentreduction in the compressive
+From A. Maher, and D. Darwin, “Microscopic FiniteElement
strength for specimenswith low mortar-aggregate Model of Concrete,”presented at the First International Confer-
bond strength. ence on Mathematical Modeling (St. Louis, Aug.-Sept. 19771.
2.3 -Fracture
Since the publication of the previousreport,a
PASTE0
number of investigationshaveshedadditionallight
on the applicability of fracture mechanicstocon-
v
* o . -
1/4 1/2 3/4
”
1
crete and its constituent materials.
Shah and McGarry utilized flexure specimens sub-
(6.4) (12. 7)(19. U(25.4) jected to three-point l ~ a d i n g . ~Their
- ~ ’ work indicates
NOTCH DEPTH, INCHES ( m m ) that while pasteisnotchsensitive,neithermortar
nor concrete are affected by a notch (Fig. 2.7). Shah
Fig. 2.7 - Effect of notch depth on flexure strength and McGarry also ran a series of tests using notched
(Reference 2.42). tensilespecimensanddeterminedthatpastespeci-
4a
I
1
gregateimproves the toughness of paste. This be-
havior is similar to the behavior found in structural
steels that exhibit a plane strain-plane stress transi-
tion. Because the plane strain-plane stress transition
occursbeyond the limits of LEFM, the analysis is
morecomplex.Tore-establish the applicability of
LEFM,larger test specimensmustbeusedwith
tougher materials such as mortar.
MindessandNadeauinvestigatedtheeffect of -
I
Y
2.19. Evans, A.G.; Clifton, J. R.;and Anderson, E., 2.36. Darwin,David,and Slate, F. O., “Effect of Paste-
“The Fracture Mechanics of Mortars,” Cement and Con- Aggregate Bond Strength onBehavior Concrete,” Jour-
crete Research, V, 6,No.4. July 1976, pp. 535-547. nal of Materials, V. 5, No. 1, Mar. 1970, pp. 86-98.
2.20. Mindess,Sidney,andNadeau, John S., “Effectof 2.37. Perry, C., and Gillott, J. E., “The Influence of Mor-
Notch Width of for Mortar and
Concrete,” Cement tar-Aggregate Bond Strength on the Behavior of Concrete
and Concrete Research, V. 6, No. 4, July 1976, pp. 529-534. in Uniaxial Compression,’’ Cement and Concrete Research,
2.21.Walsh, P. F., “Fracture of Plain Concrete,” Indian V. 7, No. 5, Sept. 1977, pp. 553-564.
ConcreteJournal (Bombay), V. 46,No. 11, Nov.1972,pp. 2.38. Carino, Nicholas J., “Effects of Polymer Impregna-
469-470,476. tionon Mortar-Aggregate Bond Strength,” Cement and
2.22,Walsh, P. F., “Crack Initiation in PlainConcrete,” Concrete Research, V. 7,No. 4, July 1977,pp.439-447.
Magazine of ConcreteResearch (London), V. 28,No.94, 2.39. Buyukozturk,Oral, “Stress-Strain Responseand
Mar.1976,pp.37-41. Fracture of a Model of Concrete in Biaxial Loading,” PhD
Thesis, Cornel1 University, Ithaca, June 1970.
2.23. Gjorv, O. E.; Sorensen, S. I.; and Arnesen, A., 2.40. Tasuju, M. Ebrahim; Slate, Floyd O.; andNilson,
“Notch Sensitivity and Fracture Toughness of Concrete,” Arthur H., “Stress-Strain Responseand Fracture of Con-
Cement and Concrete Research, V. 7, No. 3, May 1977, pp. crete in BiaxialLoading,” AC1 JOURNAL, Proceedings V.
333-344. 75, NO. 7, July 1978, PP. 306-312.
2.24, Swartz, Stuart E.;Hu,Kuo-Kuang;and Jones, 2.41. Shah, Surendra P., and Chandra, Sushil, “Critical
Gary L., “Compliance Monitoring of Crack Growth in Con- Stress, VolumeChange,andMicrocracking of Concrete,”
crete,” Proceedings, ASCE, V. 104,EM4,Aug.1978,pp. AC1 JOURNAL, Proceedings V. 65,No.9, Sept. 1968,pp.
789-800. . 770-781.
2.25. Shah, Surendra P., and Winter, George, “Inelastic 2.42. Shah, Surendra P., and McGarry, Fred J., “Griffith
Behaviorand Fracture of Concrete,” AC1 JOURNAL, Pro- Fracture Criterion andConcrete,” Proceedings, ASCE, V.
ceedings V. 63,No.9, Sept. 1966, pp. 925-930. 97,EM6,Dec.1971,pp.1663-1676.
2.26.- Testa, Rene B.,and Stubbs, Norris, “Bond Failure 2.43. Hillemeier,B.,andHilsdorf,H. K., “Fracture Me-
and Inelastic Response of Concrete,” Proceedings, ASCE, chanics Studies of Concrete Compounds,” Cemen€ and Con-
V. 103,EM2, Apr.1977,pp.296-310. crete Research, V. 7, No. 5, Sept. 1977, pp. 523-535.
2.27. Darwin, David, Discussion of “Bond Failure and In-
elastic Response of Concrete,” by Rene B. Testa and Nor-
ris Stubbs, Proceedings, ASCE, V. 104,EM2, Apr.1978,
PP. 507-509.
2.28. Spooner, D:C., “The Stress-Strain Rela€ionship for
HardenedCement Pastes inCompression,’’ Magazine of -
Chapter 3 Control of cracking due to drying
Concrete Research (London), V. 24, No. 79, June 1972, pp. shrinkage’
85-92. -
3.1 Introduction
2.29. Spooner, D. C., and Dougill, J. W., “A Quantitative Cracking of concrete due to drying shrinkage is a
Assessment of DamageSustained in ConcreteDuring subject which has received more attention by archi-
CompressiveLoading,” Magazine of ConcreteResearch tects,engineers,andcontractorsthananyother
(London), V. 27,No.92, Sept. 1975,pp.151-160. characteristic or property of concrete. It isone of
2.30, Spooner, D. C.; Pomeroy, C. D.; and Dougill, J. W., themostseriousproblemsencountered in concrete
“Damageand Energy Dissipation-in Cement Pastes in construction. Good designandconstructionpractice
Compression,“ Magazine of ConcreteResearch (London), canminimize the amount of crackingandeliminate
V. 28,No.94,Mar.1976,pp.21-29.
the visible large cracks by the use of adequate re-
2.31. Maher, Ataullah, andDarwin,David, “A Finite
Element Model to Study the Microscopic Behavior of Plain inforcement and contraction joints.
Concrete,’’ CRINC Report-SL-76-02, The University of Although drying shrinkage is one of the principal
Kansas Center for Research, Lawrence, Nov. 1976, 83 pp. causes of cracking,temperaturestresses, chemical
2.32, Maher, Ataullah, andDarwin,David,“Microscopic reactions,frost.action, as well asexcessivetensile
Finite Element Model of Concrete,” Proceedings, First In- stresses duetoloads on thestructure,arefre-
ternational Conference on
MathematicalModeling (St. quentlyresponsibleforcracking of hardened con-
Louis, Aug.-Sept. 19771, University of Missouri-Rolla, 1977, crete.Crackingmayalsodevelop in theconcrete
V. III, PP. 1705-1714.’ prior to hardening due to plastic shrinkage.
2.33. Karsan, I. Demir,and Jirsa, James O., “Behavior Informationpresented in this chapterconcerns
of ConcreteunderCompressiveLoadings,“ Proceedings, only the subjects of cracking of hardenedconcrete
ASCE, V. 95, ST12, Dec. 1969, pp, 2543-2563. due to dryingshrinkage:factorsinfluencingshrink-
2.34. .Neville,A. M., and Hirst, G. A.,“Mechanism of age; control of cracking; and the use of expansive ce-
CyclicCreep of Concrete,” DouglasMcHenry Symposium ments to minimize cracking.
on Concrete and Concrete Structures, SP55,American The subject of construction practices and specifica-
Concrete Institute, Detroit, 1978,pp.83-101. tionsto minimize dryingshrinkage is covered in
2.35. Nepper-Christensen, Palle, andNielsen,Tommy Chapter 8 (Sections 8.3 and 8.6) of this report,
P. H., “Modal Determination of the Effect ofBond Between
Coarse Aggregate and Mortar on the Compressive
Strength of Concrete,” AC1 JOURNAL, Proceedings V. 66,
No. 1, Jan. 1969,pp.69-72. ‘Principal author: Milos Polivka.
-
3.2 Crack formation The magnitude of tensile stress developed during
Why does concrete crack due to shrinkage? If the drying of the concrete is influenced by a combination
shrinkage of concretecaused by drying could take of factors,suchas(a)theamount of shrinkage, (b)
place without any restraint, the concrete wouldnot the degree of restraint, ( c ) the modulus of elasticity
crack.However, in astructuretheconcrete is al- of the concrete, and (dl the creep or relaxation of the
ways subject to some degree of restraint by either concrete. Thus, the amount of shrinkage is only one
the foundation or another part of the structure or by factor governing the cracking. As far as cracking is
the reinforcing steel embedded in the concrete. This concerned,a low modulus of elasticityand high
combination of shrinkage and restraint develops ten- creepcharacteristics of theconcretearedesirable
sile stresses. When this tensilestressreaches the since they reduce the magnitude of tensile stresses.
tensile strength, the concrete will crack. This is illus- Thus, to minimize cracking, the concrete should have
trated in Fig. 3.1. low drying shrinkage characteristics and a high de-
Another type of restraint is developed by the dif- gree of extensibility (low modulus and high creep) as
ference in shrinkage st the surface and in the inte- well as a high tensile strength. However, a large ex-
rior of a concrete member, especially at early ages. tensibility of a concrete member subjected to bend-
Since thedryingshrinkage is alwayslargeratthe ing will cause larger deflections.
exposed surface, the interior portion of the member
restrains the shrinkage of the surface concrete, thus
developingtensilestresses.Thismaycausesurface -
3.3 Drying shrinkage
cracking, which arecracksthatdo not penetrate Whenconcretedries, it contracts or shrinks,and
deepinto the concrete.Thesesurfacecracksmay whenit is wettedagain, it expands.Thesevolume
withtime penetrate deeper into the concretemem- changes,withchanges in moisturecontent,arean
ber .as the interior portion of the concrete is subject inherentcharacteristic of hydraulic cement con-
to additional drying. cretes. It is the change in moisture content of the ce-
ment paste that causes the shrinkage or swelling of
concrete,whiletheaggregateprovidesaninternal
restraint which significantlyreducesthemagnitude
of these volume changes.
When cement is mixedwith water, several chem-
ical reactions take place. These reactions, commonly
ORIGINAL LENGTH called “hydration,” produce a hydration product con-
sisting essentially of some crystalline materials (prin-
cipallycalcium hydroxide)andalargeamount of
hardened calcium silicate gel called “tobermorite
gel.” This rigid gel consists of colloidal size particles
and has an extremely high surface area. In ahard-
-1 ened cement paste, some of the water is in the capil-
I
lary pores of the paste, but a significant amount is in
UNRESTRAINED the tobermorite gel. Shrinkage is due to the loss of
SHRINKAGE adsorbed water from the gel. On drying the first wa-
terlost is that whichoccupies therelativelylarge
size capillaries in the cement paste. This loss of wa-
ter causes very little, if any, shrinkage. It is the loss
of the adsorbedandinter-layerwaterfrom the hy-
drated gel thatcauses the shrinkage of thepaste.
Whenaconcreteisexposedtodryingconditions,
RESTRAINED SHRINKAGE moistureslowlydiffusesfrom the interiormass of
DEVELOPS TENSILESTRESS the concrete to the surface where it is lost by evapo-
ration. On wetting this process is reversed, causing
an expansion of the concrete.
In addition to drying shrinkage, the cement paste
is also subject to carbonation shrinkage. The action
of carbon dioxide, CO2, present in the atmosphere on
the hydration product.s d the cement, principally cal-
IF TENSILE STRESSIS cium hydroxide, Ca(OH),, results in the formation of
GREATER THAN TENSILE calcium carbonate, CaCO,, which is accompanied by
STRENGTH, CONCRETE CRACKS a decrease in volume. Since carbon dioxide does not
penetrate deep into the mass of concrete, shrinkage
Fig. 3.1 - Cracking of concrete duetodrying duetocarbonation is of minorimportance in the
shrinkage. overall shrinkage of a concrete structure. However,
carbonationdoesplayan
important role in t h e -
TABLE 3.1 Effect of type of aggregate on
shrinkage of small laboratory test specimens, partic- shrinkage of c ~ n c r e t e ~ . ~
ularly wh.en subjectedtolong-termexposureto
1-year
drying. Thus, the amount of shrinkage observed on a shrinkage,
Absorption,
Specific
smalllaboratoryspecimen will percent than the
be greaterpercent gravity Aggregate
~ "" _ _
____"~
"" __
shrinkage of the concrete in the structure. The sub- Sandstone 2.47 5.0 0.116
ject of shrinkage due to carbonation is discussed in 1.3 Slate 2.75 0.068
detail by V e r b e ~ k . ~ - l Granite 2.67 0.8 0.047
Limestone 2.74 0.2 0.041
Quartz 2.66 0.3 0.032
-
3.4 Factors influencing drying shrinkage
Themajorfactors.influencingshrinkageinclude
the composition of cement, type of aggregate, water
content,and mix proportións.Therate of moisture
loss or the shrinkage of a given concrete is greatly 3.4.2 Influence of type of aggregate - Coarse and
influenced by the size andshape of the concrete fine aggregates, whichoccupybetween65and 75
member, the environment,andthetime of drying percent of the total concrete volume,haveamajor
exposure. These and other factors influencing magni- influence on shrinkage. Concrete may be considered
tude and rate of shrinkage are herein discussed. toconsist of aframework of cementpastewhose
large potential Shrinkage is being restrained by the
3.4.1 Effect of cement - Results of anextensive aggregate. The drying shrinkage of a concrete will
study made~byBlaine, A r n i , g n d E v a n ~ ,of
" ~the Na- be only a fraction (about 1 / 4 to 1/61 of that of the ce-
tional Bureau of Standards ona largenumber of mentpaste.Thefactorswhichinfluencetheability
portlandcementsindicatethat it is notpossible to of the aggregate particles to restrain shrinkage in-
saythat acement,because it conforms to the re- clude (a) the compressibility of aggregate and the ex-
quirements of one of the standard types o€ cements, tensibility of paste, (b) the bond between paste and
will havegreater or less shrinkagethan a cement aggregate, (c) thedegree of cracking of cement
meetingrequirementsforsomeothertype of ce- paste, and (dl the contraction of the aggregate par-
ment. Their results on neat cement pastes showed a ticles duetodrying. Of theseseveralfactors, com-
widedistribution of shrinkagevaluesespeciallyfor pressibility of theaggregatehas the greatest in-
the Type I cements. The 6 month drying shrinkage fluenceon themagnitude of dryingshrinkage of
strain of the neat pastes ranged from about 0.0015 concrete.
to more than 0.0060 with an average for the 182 ce- The higher the stiffness or modulus of elasticity of
ments tested of about 0.0030. They found that lower an aggregate, the more effective it is in reducing the
shrinkage of pasteswasassociatedwith: 1. lower shrinkage of concrete.Theabsorption of anaggre-
C3A/S0,ratios, 2. lower Na,O and K,O contents, gate, which is a measure of porosity,influences its
and 3. higher C4AF contents of the cement. Tests by modulus or compressibility. A low modulus is usually
Brunauer, Skalny, and Yudenfreund."' show that for associated with high absorption.
shortcuringperiodsType II cementpastesexhib- The large influence of type of aggregate on drying
ited considerably less shrinkage than Type I pastes. shrinkage of concrete was shown by C a r l ~ o n .As ~ . ~an
However, the shrinkage of pastes cured for 28 days examplesome of his shrinkagedataforconcretes
was about the same for the two types of cements. withidenticalcemehtsandidenticalwater-cement
Testsmadeby the CaliforniaDivision of High- ratios are given in Table 3.1.
Quartz, limestone, dolomite, granite, feldspar, and
w a y ~ on~ .mortar
~ or paste as a measure of behavior
somebasaltscanbegenerallyclassifiedas low-
in concrete indicate that Type II cements generally
shrinkage producing types of aggregates. High-
producelower shrinkage than Type I cements, and
shrinkageconcretesoftencontainsandstone,slate,
much lower than Type III cements. Tests by L e r ~ h ~ . ~
hornblende and some types of basalts. Since the ri-
showthat the proportion of gypsum in the cement
gidity of certainaggregates,suchasgranite, lime-
hasamajoreffect on shrinkage. Cement producers
stone or dolomite, can vary over a wide range, their
moderate the differences in shrinkage due to cement
effectiveness in restrainingdryingshrinkage will
composition by optimizing its gypsum content.
vary accordingly.
The fineness of a cement can have some influence Althoughthecompressibility is the mostimpor-
on drying shrinkage. Tests by C a r I ~ o nshpwed
~ - ~ that tant single property of aggregate governing concrete
finer cementsgenerallyresult in greaterconcrete shrinkage, the aggregate itself may contract an ap-
shrinkage,but the increase in shrinkagewith in- preciable amount upon drying. This is true for sand-
creasing fineness is not large, His results show that stone and other aggregates of high absorption capac-
the composition of the cement is afactorandthus ity.Thus, in general, aggregate of high modulus of
for some cements an increase in fineness may show elasticityand low absorption will producea low-
little changeand in somecasesevenalower con- shrinkage concrete. However, some structural grade
crete shrinkage. lightweightaggregates,suchasexpandedshales,
It
’
80 90 I00 .F O 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 in
TEMPERATURE OF FRESHCONCRETE W DEPTH BELOW CONCRETE SURFACE
Fig. 3.4 - Effect of temperature of fresh concrete Fig. 3.5 - Rates of drying of concrete exposed to 50
on its water requirement (Reference 3.8). percent relative humidity (Reference 3.9).
3.4.4 Effect of chemical admixtures - Chemical ad- mand as well asthedryingshrinkage of the con-
mixtureS.are used to impart certain desirable prop- crete. Also, it was observed that the use of some of
erties to the concrete.Thosemostcommonlyused these pozzolans increased drying shrinkage although
include
air-entraining
admixtures, water-reducing they had littleeffect on thewatercontent of the
admixtures,set-retardingadmixtures, andaccelera- concrete. Some fly ashes have little effect on drying
tors. shrinkage, while others may increase the shrinkage
It would beexpectedthatwhenusinganair-en- of the concrete. All of these observations are based
training admixture, the increase in the amount of air on results of tests made on laboratorysizespeci-
voids would increase drying shrinkage. However, be- mens.However,asnoted in Section3.4.7andFig.
cause entrainment of air permits a reduction in wa- 3.6, the larger the concrete member, the lower the
tercontentwith no reduction in slump, the shrink- shrinkage. This may explain the negligible difference
age is not appreciably affected by air contents up to in shrinkagecracking of field structures,withand
about 5 p e r ~ e n t . ~Some
. ~ air-entrainingagentsare without pozzolan, despiteclearlygreatershrinkage
strong retarders and contain accelerators which may of the concreteswith pozzolans in laboratorytests
increase drying shrinkage by 5 t o 10 percent. on small size specimens.
Althoughtheuse of water-reducingandset-re- 3.4.6 Effect of duration of moist curing -
tardingadmixtures will permit areduction in the reportedthattheduration of moistcuring of con-
water content of aconcretemix, it will usuallynot cretedoesnothavemucheffect on dryingshrink-
result in a decrease in dryingshrinkage.Actually age. This is substantiated by the test results of the
seme of theseadmixturesmayevenincreasethe California Department of T r a n ~ p o r t a t i o n ~which
.~
shrinkage at early ages of drying, although the later showsubstantiallythesameshrinkage in concrete
age shrinkage of theseconcretes will be about the that was moist cured for 7, 14,and28 days before
same as that of corresponding mixes with no admix- drying was started. As far as the cracking tendency
fures. of the concrete is concerned, prolonged moist curing
The use of caicium chloride, a common accelerator, maynot
necessarily
be beneficial. Although the
will result in a substantial increase in drying shrink- strength increases with age, the modulus of elastic-
age,especially a t the earlyages of drying. Tests ity also increases by almostaslargeapercentage,
made by the California Department of Transporta- and thenetresult isonlyaslightincrease in the
~ - ~ that the 7 day shrinkage of a concrete
t i ~ nshowed tensile strain which the concrete can withstand,
containing 1.0 percent of calcium chloride was about Steamcuringatatmosphericpressure, which is
double that obtained for the control mix without ad- commonly used in the manufacture of precast struc-
mixture.However,after 28 days of drying, the tural elements, will reduce drying shrinkage (AC1
shrinkage of the concrete containing calcium chloride 517). Also, because stream curing will produce a
was only about 40 percent greater than that of the high early-age strength of the concrete, it will re-
control mix. duce its tendency to crack, since the precast mem-
3.4.6 Effect of pozzolans - Fly ash and a number of bers are unrestrained.
natural materials such as opaline cherts and shales, 3.4.7 Ifluence of size of member - The size of a
diatomaceousearth,tuffsandpumicites a r e pozzo- concretemember will influence therateat which
lansused in portlandcementconcrete.Theuse of moisture moves from the concrete and thus in-
somenatural pozzolans canincrease the waterde- fluence the rate of shrinkage, Carlson“.” has shown
t h a t for a concrete exposed toa relative humidity of Crete from contractingfreely, the possibility of
50 percent, drying will penetrate only about 3 in. cracking must be expected unless the ambient rela-
(75 mm) in 1 month and about 2 ft (0.6 m) in 10 tive humidity is kept at 100 percent or the concrete
years. Fig. 3.5 shows his theoretical curves for the surfaces are sealed to prevent loss of moisture. The
drying of slabs. Hansen and Mattock3.'' made an control of cracking consists of reducing the cracking
extensive investigation of the influence of size and tendencytoaminimum,usingadequateandprop-
shape of member onthe shrinkage and creepof con- erlypositioned
reinforcement,andusing
control
crete. They found that both the rate and the final joints. The CEB-FIP Code give quantitative recom-
values of shrinkage and creep decrease as the mem- mendations onthe control of cracking due to shrink-
ber becomes larger. age, listing various coefficients to determine the
This significant effect of size of member on drying shrinkage levels that can be expected. Control of
shrinkage of concrete must be considered when eval- cracking by correct construction practices is covered
uatingthepotentialshrinkage of concrete in struc- in Chapter 8 of this report, which includes specifica-
tures based on the shrinkage of concrete specimens tions to minimize drying shrinkage (Section 8.6).
in the laboratory. The rate and magnitude of shrink- Cracking can also be minimized by the use of ex-
age of asmalllaboratoryspecimen will be much pansive cements to produce shrinkage-compensating
greater than that of the concrete in the structures. concretes. Shrinkage-compensating concretes are dis-
Testresults of severalstudiescarriedout to com- cussed in Section 3.6.
pare the shrinkage of concrete in walls and slabs in 3.5.1 Reduction of crackingtendency - Asmen-
the field with the shrinkage of smalllaboratory tionedpreviously, the crackingtendency is duenot
specimens have shown, as expected, that the shrink- only to the amount of shrinkage, but also to the de-
age of the concrete in a field structure is only a frac- gree of restraint, the modulus of elasticity, and the
tion of thatobtained on thelaboratoryspecimens. creep or relaxation of theconcrete.Somefactors
Even in laboratoryteststhesize of thespecimen which reduce the shrinkageatthesametimede-
used has a significant influence on shrinkage. As an crease the creep or relaxation and increase the mod-
example of the effect of specimen size on shrinkage ulus of elasticity,thusofferinglittle or no help to
is the data presented in Fig. 3.6, giving the results thecrackingtendency.Emphasisshouldbeplaced,
of shrinkagetestsobtained onfourdifferentsize therefore, on modifying those factors which produce
concrete prisms. It will be noted that the shrinkage a net reduction in the cracking tendency.
of the prisms having a cross section of 3 x 3 in. (7.5
Any measurethat can betakentoreducethe
x 7.5 cm)wasmorethan 50 percentgreaterthan
shrinkage of the concrete will also reduce the crack-
that of the concrete prism having a cross section of 5
ingtendency.Dryingshrinkagecanbereduced by
x 6 in. (12.5 x 15 cm).
using less water in the mix and largeraggregate
size. A lower water content can be achieved by us-
3.5 - Control of shrinkage cracking
ing a well-graded aggregate, stiffer consistency, and
Concrete tends to shrink due to drying whenever
lowerinitial temperature of theconcrete.Asdis-
its surfaces are exposed to air of low relative humid-
cussed in Section 3.4.4, however,thereduction of
ity. Since various kinds of restraint prevent the con- watercontentbytheuse of water-reducingadmix-
tures will not usually reduce shrinkage.
Another way to reduce the cracking tendency is to
usea largeraggregate size.Alargeraggregate
sizeallowsanincrease in aggregate volumeanda
reduction in thetotalwaterrequiredtoobtaina
given slump. The larger aggregate also tends to re-
strain the concrete more, and although this may re-
sult in internal microcracking, such internal cracking
is not necessarily harmful.
A third way to reduce the cracking tendency is to
applyasurfacecoatingtotheconcrete, which will
prevent the rapid loss of moisture from within. This
means of controllingcrackinghasnotbeenusedto
its full potential and should be given better consider-
ation.However,manysurfacecoatingssuchas all-
I purposepaints are ineffective,because theypermit
3x3 4x4 4x5 5 in.
the moisture to escape almost as fast as it reaches
AVERAGE ENDAREADIMENSION OF CONCRETE PRISM
(LOG SCALE 1 thesurface.Chlorinatedrubberandwaxy or resin-
ous materialsareeffectivecoatings,butthereare
Fig. 3.6 - Effect of specimen size on drying shrink- probablymany othermaterials which will slow the
age of concrete (Principal author's datal. evaporation enough to be beneficial. Any slowing of
i
of very fine cracks will occur instead of a few wide EXPANSION PUTSSTEEL IN
cracks.Although the use of suchreinforcementto TENSION AND CONCRETEIN
control cracking in a relatively thin concrete section COMPRESSION
is practical, it isnotneeded in massivestructures
such asdamsduetothe
these
mass
concrete
structures.
The
low dryingshrinkage of
minimum
I
amount and spacingof reinforcement to be used in T
"& P"
"
floors, roof slabs, and walls is given in AC1 318.
3.6.3 Joints - The use of joints is the most effective STRESS LOSS DUETO
method of preventing formation of unsightlycrack- SHRINKAGE AND CREEP
ing. If a sizable length or expanse of concrete, such
as walls,slabs or pavements, is notprovidedwith RESIDUAL EXPANSION OR,
SMALL CONTRACTION
4
adequatejointstoaccommodateshrinkage,it will
make its own "joints" by cracking.
Fig. 3.7 - Basic concept of shrinkage-compensating
Contraction joints in walls are made, for example, concretes.
by fasteningto the forms- wood or rubberstrips
which leave narrow vertical grooves in the concrete I ,--
CURING
on the inside and outside of the wall, Cracking of the
wall due to shrinkage shouldoccur a t t h e grooves, 1 4 I I
G- DRYING
I
relieving the stress in the wall and t h u s preventing
formation of unsightly cracks. These grooves should SHRINKAGE-COMPENSATING
CONCRETE, P :0.16%
be sealed on the outside of the wall to prevent pene-
tration of moisture. Sawed joints are commonly used
in pavements, slabs and floors.
Joint location dépends on the particulars of place-
ment.Each job must be studied individually to de-
termine where joints should be placed.*
5 5
-
3.6 Shriukage.compensating concretes O 50 100 150 20c
Shrinkage-compensatingconcretesmadewithex- A G E OF CONCRETE, DAYS
pansivecementscanbeusedtominimize or elimí-
nate shrinkage cracking. The properties and use of Fig. 3.8 - Length change characteristics of shrink-
expansivecementconkretes is published in numer- age-compensatingandportlandcementconcretes
ous papers andreport^.^.^^' 3.12 Of the several types (Relative humidity = 50 percent).
of e x p a n s i v ec e m e n t sp r o d u c e d , the T y p e K concreteminimizes themagnitude of anytensile
shrinkage-compensating expansive cement is most stress that may ultimately develop due to shrinkage,
commonly used in the United States. and thus reduce or eliminate the tendency to crack-
In a reinforced concrete, the expansion of the ce- ing. This basicconcept of the use of expansivece-
ment paste during the first few days of curing will ment to produce a shrinkage-compensating concrete
developa low level of prestress inducing com- is illustrated in Fig. 3.7.
pressive stresses in the concrete and tensile stresses A typicallengthchangehistory of ashrinkage-
in the steel. The level of compressive stresses devel- compensating concrete is compared to that of a port-
oped in the shrinkage-compensating concretes land cement concrete in Fig. 3.8. The amount of re-
rangesfrom 25 to 100 psi (0.2 to 0.7 MPa).When inforcing steel normallyused in reinforcedconcrete
subjected to drying shrinkage, the contraction of the
concrete will result in areduction or elimination of is avail-
"Guidance on joint sealants and control joint location in slabs
its precompression. The initial precompression of the able in AC1 504 a n d i n AC1 302, respectively.
CONTROL-ÖF CRÄGKiNG ~ ~
224R-i7
sometimes O C C U ~ , though
~‘~ generallythe coefficient where
of variation of crack width is about 40 W = mostprobablemaximumcrackwidth, in.
Evidence also exists indicating that this range in d, = thickness of cover from tension
fiber
to
crack width randomness may increase with the size center of bar closest thereto, in.
of t h e member.’,’ Besides limiting the computed
maximum crackwidth to a given value,the designer When the strain, E,, in the steel reinforcement is
should estimate the percentage of cracks above this used instead of stress, f,, Eq. (4.2) becomes
value which can be tolerated. W = 2.2 p E , m à (4.3)
Crack control
equationsrecommended by AC1
Committee 224 and the Comite Euro-International t, = strain in the reinforcement
du Beton (CEB) are presented below. Eq. (4.3) is valid in any system of measurement.
4.2.1 ACI Committee B 4 recommendations - Re- Thecrackingbehavior in thickone-wayslabs is
quirements for crack control in beams and thick one- similar to that in shallow beams. For one-way slabs
way slabs in the AC1 Building Code (AC1 318) are having a clear concrete cover in excess of I in, (25.4
based on t h e s t a t i s t i c a l a n a l y s i ~ ~ .of
~ maximurn mm), Eq. (4.2) can be adequately applied if ß = 1.25
crack width data from a number of sources, Based on to 1.35 is used.
the analysis, the following general conclusions were AC1 318 Section 10.6 usesEq. (4.2) with ß = 1.2 in
reached: the following form
1. The steel stress is the most important variable.
z = f * r n (4.2a)
2. The thickness of the concrete cover is an impor-
tant variable, but not the only geometric considera- Using the specifiéd cover i n AC1 318, maximium
tion. allowable z = 175 kips per in. for interior exposure
3, Thearea of concretesurtoundingeachre- corresponds to a limiting crack width of 0.016 in.
inforcingbar is alsoanimportantgeometricvari- (0.41 mm).
able. The Code allows avalue of z = 145 kips per in.
4. The bar diameter is not a major variable. for exterior exposure based on a crack width value
5. The size- of the bottom crack width is influenced of 0.013 in., (0.33 mm), which may be excessive based
by theamount of straingradientfromthelevel of on Table 4.1. Whileapplication of Eq.(4.2a)[Eq.
the steel to the tension face of the beam. (10.4) of AC1318-771 to beams gives adequate crack
Theequationsthatwereconsideredtobest pr.e- control values, its application to one-way slabs with
dict themostprobablemaximumbottomandside standard Y4 in. (19 m m ) coverandreinforcedwith
crack widths are: steel of 60 ksi (414 MPa) or lower yield strength
( 4 , ~ ~ ) results in large reinforcementspacings.However,
the provisions of Code Section 7.6.5 indirectly limit
the spacing of such reinforcement in one-way slabs.
(4.lb) ACL 340.1Rcontainsdesignaidsfor the applica-
tion of Eq. (4,2a).
E, eR 12 (d,, -k 2c1)
where C, is clearconcretecovermeasured
A characteristic
value of the crack
width,
from the tensile
face of concrete
to the near-
presumablyequivalent
the
to
probable
maximum est
edge of the reinforcingbar in direction
asvalue, is given 1 . 7 ~ ~ . “1”
W = crackwidth a t face of concrete, in., caused
-
4.3 Crack control in two-way slabs and plates by flexural load
Crackcontrolequationsforbeamsunderestimate Subscripts 1 and 2 pertain to the directions of re-
thecrackwidthsdeveloped in two-wayslabsand inforcement.
plate^^.^ and do not tell the designer how to space For simply supported slabs, the value of k should
the reinforcement. The cracking mechanism in two- be multiplied by 1.5. Interpolated k values apply for
way slabsandplates is controlledprimarily by the partial restraint at the boundaries. For zones of flat
steel
stress level
and the
spacing of the
re- plates where transverse steel is not used or when its
inforcement in thetwoperpendiculardirections.In spacing s2 exceeds 12in.,use s2 = 12 in. in the
addition,theclearconcretecover in two-wayslabs equation.
and plates is nearly constant [3/4 in. (19 mm) for inte- If strain is used instead of stress,
Eq. [4.8]
rior exposure], whereas it is a major variable in the becomes
crack control equations for beams.
Analysis of data in the only major work on crack-
ing in two-way slabs and plate^^.^ has provided the (4.9)
’ e,,
followingequationforpredicting the maximum
crack width:
wherevalues of the k , = 29 X 10’ timesthe k
values previously listed.
(4.8) References 4.8 and 340.1R contain design aids for
the application of these recommendations.
wheretheradical r, = d b l s , / e , ,is termedthegrid
index,
and
transformed
can
be into 4.4 - Tolerablecrackwidths
versus
exposure
condi.
tions in reinforced concrete
Table 4.1 is ageneralguide for tolerablecrack
r
‘-1
-
d,, II widthsatthetensileface of reinforcedconcrete
structures for typical conditions and is presented as
anaid tobeusedduringthedesignprocess.The
k = fracture coefficient,havingavalue k = 2.8 x table is based primarily on Reference 4.9. It is h - -
10.’ for uniformly loaded restrained two-way portant to notethat these values of crack width are
-
TABLE 4.1 Tolerable crack widths, prestressed member to account for the differences in
reinforced concrete bond properties.
The difficulty with this approach is the complexity
Tolerable
Exposure condition crack width, in. (mm)
of calculations. The determination of the decompres-
"___ - ~~
can be serious, it is advisable to provide moresteel Causes, Mechanism, andControl of Cracking in Concrete,
than required by this type of analysis. SP-20,American Concrete Institute, Detroit,1968, pp.
Morerecently,designshavebeenbased on 87-117.
crackedsectionanalyses. A designprocedurefor 4.7.Nawy,Edward G., and Blair, Kenneth W.,
“Further Studieson Flexural Crack Control in Structural
post-tensioned members usinga cracked section an- Slab Systems,” Cracking, Deflection, and Ultimate Load of
a l y s i ~ ~ . ’ ~ hfound
a s acceptance with many design- Concrete Slab Systems, SP-30, American Concrete
ers. For pretensioned members, an empirical equa- Institute, Detroit, 1971, pp. 1-41.
tion has proven to be quite 4.8. N a w y , EdwardG.,“CrackControlThrough
Spalling cracks formbetween
anchoragesand Reinforcement Distribution in Two-way Acting Slabs and
propagateparallel to theprestressingforcesand Plates,” AC1 JOURNAL, Proceedings V. 69, No. 4, Apr.
may cause gradual failure, especially when the force 1972, PP. 217-219.
acts near and parallel to a free edge. Since analyses 4.9. Nawy, EdwardG., “Crack Control in Reinforced
show thatthespallingstresses in anuncracked Concrete Structures,” AC1 JOURNAL, Proceedings V. 65,
member are confined to near the end face, it is im- NO. 10, Oct. 1968, PP. 825-836.
4.10. Nilson, Arthur H., Design ofprestressed Concrete,
portantto place the first stirrup near the end sur-
John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1978, 526 pp.
face, andtodistributethestirrupsoveradistance 4.11. Abeles, Paul W., ‘‘Cracks in Prestressed Concrete
equal to at least the depth of the member to fully ac- Beams,” Proceedings, Fifth IABSE Congress(Lisbon,
count for bothspallingandburstingstresses.Pre- 1956), InternationalAssociation forBridge and Structural
cast blocks with helical reinforcement maybeused Engineering, Zurich, 1956, pp. 707-720.
when the prestressing forces are large. 4.12. Bennett, E. W., and Dave, N. J., “Test Perfor-
mances and Design of Concrete Beams with Limited
Prestress,” The Structural Engineer (London),V. 47, No.
12, Dec. 1969, pp. 487-496.
-
4.7 Tension cracking 4.13.Holmberg,Ake,andLindgren,Sten,“Crack
The cracking behavior of reinforced concrete mem- Spacing and Crack Widths Due to Normal Force and
bers in tension is similartothat of flexuralmem- Bending Moment,” Document D2:1970, National Swedish
bers, except that the maximum crack width is larger Council for Building Research, Stockholm, 1970, 57 pp.
thanthatpredicted by theexpressionsforflexural 4.14. Rao,A.S.P.; Gandotra, K.; and Ramaswamy, G.
members.“26* 427 The lack of strain gradient, and S., “Flexural Tests on Beams Prestressed to Different
resultant restraint imposedby the compression zone Degrees of Prestress,” Journal, Institution of Engineers
of flexural members, is probably the reason for the (Calcutta),V. 56, May 1976.
4.15. Bate, StephenC. C.,“Relative Meritsof Plain and
larger tensile crack width. Deformed Wires in Prestressed Concrete BeamsUnder
Data are limited but it appears that the maximum Static andRepeated Loading,” Proceedings, Institution of
tensile crack width may be expressed approximately Civil Engineers (London), V. 10,Aug. 1958, pp. 473-502.
in aformsimilar to that usedforflexuralcrack 4.16. Bennett, E. W., and Chandrasekhar, C. S., “Cal-
width. culation of the Width of Cracks in Class 3 Prestressed
Beams,” Proceedings, Institution of Civil Engineers
(London), V. 49, July 1971, pp. 333-346.
W = O.lOf.~d,A
X 10” (4.10) 4.17. Hutton, S.G., and Loov, R. E., “Flexural Behavior
of Prestressed, Partially Prestressed, and Reinforced
Concrete Beams,” AC1 JOURNAL, Proceedings, V. 63,
References No. 12, Dec. 1966, pp. 1401-1410.
4.1. Leonhardt, Fritz, “Crack Control in Concrete Struc- 4.18. Krishna,Raju N.: Basavarajuiah,B. S.; and
tures,” IABSE Surveys No. S4/77, International Associa- Ahamed Kurty, U. C., “Flexural Behavior of Pretensioned
tion for Bridgeand Structural Engineering,Zurich,1977, Concrete Beams with Limited Prestress,” Building
26 PP. Science, V. 8, No. 2, June 1973, pp. 179-185.
4.2. Yerlici. V. A., “Minimum Wall Thickness of Circular 4.19. Stevens, R. F., “Tests on Prestressed Reinforced
Concrete Tanks.” Publication No. 35-11, International Asso- Concrete Beams,” Concrete (London), V. 3, No. 11, Nov.
ciation for Bridge & Structural Engineering,Zurich,1975, 1969, PP. 457-462.
p. 237. 4.20.Nawy,E. G., and Huang, P. T.,“Crackand
4.3. AC1 Committee224,“Causes,Mechanism, and DeflectionControl of Pretensioned Prestressed Beams,”
Control of Cracking in Concrete,” ACIBibliography No. 9, Journal, Prestressed Concrete Institute, V. 22, No. 3,
American Concrete Institute, Detroit, 1971, 92 pp. May-June 1977, pp. 30-47.
4.4. Nawy, Edward G., and Neuwerth,G. E., “Behavior 4.21. Beeby, A. W., “Corrosion of Reinforcing Steel in
of Concrete Slabs, Plates and Beams with Fiber Glass as Concrete and Its Relation to Cracking,” The Structural
Main Reinforcement,” Proceedings, ASCE, V. 103, ST2, Ehgineer (London), V. 56A, No. 3, Mar. 1978, pp. 77-81.
Feb. 1977, pp. 421-440. 4.22.Gergely,Peter,“AnchorageSystemsinPre-
4.5. Clark, Arthur P., “Cracking in Reinforced stressed Concrete Pressure Vessels; Anchorage Zone
Concrete Flexural Members,” AC1 JOURNAL, Proceedings Problems,” ORNL-TM-2378, Oak Ridge National
V. 52, No. 8 , Apr. 1956, pp. 851-862. Laboratory, U S . Atomic Energy Commission, Oak Ridge,
4.6. Gergely, Peter,and Lutz, Leroy A., “Maximum Tenn., 1969, pp. 1-49.
Crack Width in Reinforced Concrete Flexural Members,” 4 . 2 3 . Z i e l i n s k i , J . L.,andRowe,R.E.,“An
Investigation of the StressDistribution in theAnchorage tion tothisoccursat low loads ’or inbeamswith
Zones of Post-Tensioned Concrete Members,” Technical high percentages of reinforcement, in which case the
Report No. 9, Cement andConcrete Association, London, totalnumberandwidth -of ..cracks- iner-ease sub-
Sept. 1960, 32 pp. stantiallyafter the loadinghas b e g ~ n . ~ - ’ - ~The .~.~.~
4.24. Gergely, P., and Sozen, M. A., “Design of Anchor- largestpercentageincrease in crackwidth is then
age Zone Reinforcement in Prestressed Concrete Beams,”
Journal, Prestressed Concrete Institu€e, V. 12, No. 2,
expected in flexuralmemberssubjectto low levels
Mar.-Apr. 1967, pp. 63-76. of load, since the cracks take more time to develop.
4.25. Marshall, W. T., and Mattock, A. H., “Control of For both prestressed and reinforced concrete flex-
Horizontal Crackingin the Ends of Pretensioned Concrete ural members, long-term loading and repetitive load-
Girders,” Jozunal, Prestressed Concrete Instituee, V. 7, ing seem to give about the same crack widths and
NO, 5, Aug.-Oct. 1962, PP. 56-74. s p a ~ i n g . The
~ . ~ rate of crack development, however,
4.26. Broms, Bengt B., “Crack Width and Crack is considerably faster under repetitive l~ading.~.~.~.~
Spacing in Reinforced Concrete Members,’’ AC1 JOURNAL, 5.10
Proceedings, V. 62, No. 10, Oct. 1965, pp. 1237-1256. As discussed in Chapter 4, crack width isafunc-
4.27. Broms, Ben& B., and Lutz, Leroy A., “Effects of tion of cover. For short-term static and fatigue load-
Arrangement of Reinforcement on Crack Width and ing, surfacecrackwidth is approximatelypropor-
Spacing of Reinforced Concrete Members,” AC1 JOURNAL,
Proceedings V. 62, No. 11, Nov. 1965, pp. 1395-1419. tional to the steel train.^.^.^.^^^"^ Cracksgrow in
width under sustained loading at a decreasing rate.
However, the rate of growth is faster than the aver-
age observed surface strain at the level of the steel.
-
Chapter 5 Lon&term effects on cracking’ For long term loading, crack width is proportional to
5.1- Introduction the steel strain (including the effects of creep), plus
Cracking in concrete isaffectedby the long-term thestraininduced in theconcreteduetoshrink-
conditions to which theconcreteelementissub- age.5.7
jected. In most cases, long-term exposure and long-
term loading extend the magnitude of cracks in both Underinitialloads,cracksadjacenttore-
reinforced and plain concrete. The discussion in this inforcement are restricted by the bond between the
chapter summarizes themajor long-term factors steel and the c ~ n c r e t e , ~ -and ~ ~thus
~ - the
~ ‘width of
whichaffect thecrackcontrolperformance of con- surface cracks do not provide a good indication of
crete. theexposure of t h e reinforcingsteeltocorrosive
conditions.Overaperiod of time, however, the ad-
-
5.2 Effects of long-term loading hesion
dergoes
bond between
breakdown,
the
After
steel
about
and the concrete
2 years, the
un-
crack
Asdiscussed in C.hapter 2, bothsustainedand
cyclic loading increase the amount of microcracking width a t the reinforcement is approximately equal to
in concrete.Thetotalamount of microcrackingap- the crackwidthatthe s ~ r f a c e . ~ . ~ Athis
t stage,
pearstobeafunction of thetotalstrain and is cracks in flexural members a r e triangular in shape
largelyindependent of themethodby which the increasing in width from the neutral axis to the sof-
strainisinduced.Microcrackingduetolong-term fit, and are approximately uniform across the width
loadingmaywellbeaneffect, rather than amajor of the beam. Therefore, after a few years, the width
cause, of creep,andmicrocracksformedatservice of a surfacecrackprovidesa good estimate of the
load levels do not seem to have a great affect on the crack width at the level of the reinforcing steel,
strength or serviceability of concrete. Many questions remain as to the importance of
Theeffect of sustained or repetitive loadingon crack width on t h e serviceability of reinforced and
macroscopic cracking, however, may be an important prestressed concrete members.5-12~5-13~5-‘4 Added
consideration in the serviceability of reinforced con- cover is generally acknowledged as a method of im-
cretemembers,especially in terms of corrosion of proving the
corrosion protection for reinforcing
reinforcing steel and appearance. steel. Sinceadditionalcoveralsoresults in added
Theincrease in crackwidthduetolong-term or surface crack width, and since this surface crack
repetitive loading can vary between 10 percent and widthappearstoprovidea good estimate of the
1,000 percentoverthespan of several year^.^"-^.^ crack width a t the level of the steel, the entire ques-
While there isa large scatter in the data, informa- tion of the importance of crack width on corrosion
tion obtained from sustained loading tests of up to 2 protection remains open. It does seemclearthat
years5-7.5.8andfatigue tests withuptoone million crack widths predicted on the basis of shortterm
~y~l~~5.4.5.5.5.8.5.9indicatethat adoubling of crack static tests do not provide a precise guide to crack
width with time can be expected. Under most condi- widths in structures actually in service.
tions, the spacing of cracksdoesnotchangewith
timeconstant
at levels of excep-
n A -
5.3 Environmental effects
Thelong-termeffects of an adverse environment
in bothproducingandinenlargingconcrete
‘PrincipaI authors: David Darwin and Ernest K. Schrader. CraCkS5.15.5.16 can be damaging to both concrete and
use. Overaperiod of severalyearsmanypartially The basic crack theory is applicable to both glass
bondedFRCoverlayshaveshownnoticeable andmetallicfibers,butthetwotypesdoexhibit
amounts of reflective cracking and edge curling. The somedifference in physicalcrackbehavior. Tests6.*
curled edgesaretypical in thinoverlays[lessthan have shown that glass FRC has less ability to store
about 3 in. (76 mm)] and can result in cracks if sub- energyafteritsfailure in flexurethan steel FRC.
jected to long-term dynamic loading. Also, microcracking in the general vicinity of a ma-
If the base slab is relativelycrackfree, or if the jor-crack is typically more prominent with steel than
overlay is of sufficient thickness and strength to re- glass. The failure (crack) zone for glass is more local-
sisttheextension of cracks in the originalslab, a ized.
bonded layerwithmatchedjoints is generally the 6.2.4 Fibers in open cracks - There has been con-
best approach. If the FRC layer is of sufficient thick- siderablediscussionabouttheconditionand effec-
ness,atotallyunbondedoverlayisgenerallybest tiveness of steel fibers that bridge over or through a
where severe cracking is present or may develop in crack, At the time of cracking, the fibers lose their
thebaseslab.Essentiallyunbondedsystemshave bond to the concrete but continue to provide a “me-
been constructed satisfactorily where FRC is placed chanical resistancetopullout.”Thispost-cracking
over an asphalt layer. The asphalt itself will act as a strength is one of the most important characteristics
debondinglayer if it has a reasonablysmoothsur- of FRC. The “obvious” problem is that after cracking,
face without potholes.
This type of construction steelfibers will oxidizeandprovidenolong-term
lends itself particularly well to deteriorated airfield benefit. However,the
majority of invest.igations
slabs which have been resurfaced with asphaltic con- 6.3.6.5.6.6
haveshown,that if the cracksaretight
crete but require additional rigid pavement to take fO.001 - 0.003 in. (0.03-0.08 mm’)], the fibers will not
..I- increasedloadsimposedbyheavyaircraft. Another oxidize, even after several years of exposure. Long-
technique, which has been used when the base mate- term evaluations are currently ~ n d e r w a y . ~ - ~
rial to be overlaid is reasonably smooth, consists of 6.2.5 Mix Proportion Conditions - AC1 544.3R
placing the FRC over a layer of polyethylene sheet. provides detailed information on suitable mixture
On irregular, spalled, or potholed surfaces a thin lev- proportions for steel fiber reinforced concrete. The
eling and debonding layer of sand or asphalt is desir- water requirement for fibrous concretes is higher
able. than that of normal concretedue to the high surface
6.2.2 Fiber size and volume - The crack arresting
area of the fibers. The high water content provides
mechanismonwhich the basictheory of FRC is the basic ingredient for shrinkage cracks. Through
founded deper,ds on fiberspacing.6-sAlthoughfiber the use of water reducingadmixtures, the mix water
size and volume have little effect on the formation of can be held to reasonable level^.^.^^ ‘.lo If possible,
thefirstcracktheyaremajorfactorsinfluencing these admixtures should be used t o adjust the mix
subsequent crack development. As fiber diameter in- proportioning for a bonded overlay so that the wa-
creases for any given volume percentage, the num- tedcement ratio and cement factor approach the
ber of fibers decreases and the spacing between fi- same values as used in the underlying material. If
bers
increases.
Also,
as the volume percentage possible, the overlayshouldhave aggregates of
decreases, the spacing increases. If the fiber spacing
similar physical properties unless the original ag-
becomes relatively large [more than about 5 mm (0.2 gregates are unsuitable.
in.)], thecrackarrestingmechanism is limited.Re- 6.2.6 overlays Different
methods of joint
gardless of the reason,asthefiberspacing in- overlayinghavebeentried;mosthavebeenunsuc-
creases,thenumber of smallcracksdecreases,but ce~~fu1.6.’ As with conventional concrete overlays, if
the number and width of larger cracks increase. For joints in a base slab are overlayed with FRC without
concretewith 20 mm ( V 4 in.) aggregate,about 0.9 takingspecialdesignprecautionstopreventreflec-
percentfibers by totalvolume will providesub- tivecracking,theoverlay will crack a t joint loca-
stantialcrackresistance.Forconcretewith 10 mm tions.
(3/8 in.) aggregate about 1.2 percent is normal, and
for mortar, 1.4 to 1.8 percent is adequate. If fiber -
6.3 Latex modified concrete (LMC) overlays
contents much greater than these are used, or if ag- Latex modified mortar and concrete bonded over-
gregate gradations are not suitable, high cement and lays [% to 1 % in. (20 to 40 mm)] have been used in
water requirements result and the FRC layer is sus- therenovation of deterioratedbridgedecksand in
ceptible to shrinkage cracks. new two-course construction to effectively resist the
penetrationofchlorideionsfromdeicingsaltsand
6.2.3 Fiber type and shape - Because of their in- prevent the subsequent corrosion of the reinforcing
creasedresistancetopullout,deformedsteelfibers steeland the spalling of theconcretedeck.6.11.6.1z
have an advantage over smooth ones with regard to Someofthesedeckshavebeen in useforover 10
both pre-andpost-crackingbehavior.However,the years.
advantage is notalwaysworth the additionalex- Inspections of a largenumber of bridgedecks
pense. overlaidwithLMC6-’haveindicatedthatthere is a
Slab Repaired by Fibrous Concrete Overlay,” Proceedings, recently, thermal insulation has been used to protect
ASCE, V. 102, COI,Mar.1976,pp.179-196. exposed surfaces. The degree of temperature control
6.4. Gray, B. H.; Williamson,G.R.; and Batson, G. B., necessarytopreventcrackingvariesgreatlywith
“Fibrous Concrete - Construction Material for the Seven- such factors as the location, the height and thickness
ties,” ConferenceProceedings “28, U.S. ArmyConstruc- of the structure, the character of the aggregate, the
tion EngineeringResearchLaboratory,Champaign, May properties of the concrete and the externalre-
1972,238 pp.
6.5. Hefner, S., “Fibrous Concrete
McCarran Inter- straints.Althoughalargeamount of the data for
national Airport,” Las Vegas, Nevada, Dec. 1974. this ch~apter has been obtained by experience gained
6.6.Rice, J o h n L., “FibrousConcretePavementDesign from the use of massconcrete in dams, it applies
Summary,’’ TechnicalReport No.“134,U.S.Army Con- equallywell in massconcreteused in otherstruc-
struction EngineeringResearchLaboratory,Champaign, turessuchassteampowerplants,powerhouses,
June 1975,13 pp. bridgeandbuildingfoundations,navigation locks,
6.7. Gray, B. H., and Rice, John L., “FibrousConcrete etc. Tremie concrete, a specialized type of mass con-
for Pavement Applications,” Report No.“13, US. Army crete, has been amply covered in Chapter 8 of AC1
Construction Engineering
Research
Laboratory, 304 and will not be discussed in this report.
Champaign, Apr. 1972, 9 pp. The location of the structure affects the degree of
6.8. Shah, S. P., and Naaman, A. E., “MechanicalProp-
erties of Glass and Steel FiberReinforced Mortar,” De- temperaturecontrol which will berequired.Gener-
partment of Materials Engineering,University of Illinois, ally at high altitudes the daily variations in temper-
Chicago,Aug.1975. aturearegreaterthanat low altitudes.Oftenat
6.9.“Utilization of ‘Wirand’Concrete in BridgeDecks,” high altitudes, the ambienttemperaturevariation
Report by General Analytics, Monroeville, Pa., for Battelle alone may be sufficienttocausecrackstoformat
Memorial Institute, May 1971. exposedsurfaces.Thesesurfacecrackscontinuein-
6.10. Walker, A. J., and Lankard, D. R., “Bridge Deck ward with only approximately half the stress which
Rehabilitationwith Steel Fibrous Concrete,” Presented at is necessarytocauseinternalcracking.Asimilar
the Third International Exposition on ConcreteConstruc- condition is likely to be found when a structure is lo-
tion(New Orleans, Jan. 19771, Battelle ColumbusLabora- cated at a high latitude; only in this case the temper-
tories, 1977. ature variations are seasonal, rather than daily.
6.11. Bishara, A. G., and Tantayanondkul, P., “Use of
Latex in ConcreteBridgesDecks,” Report No. EES 435 In the case of a dam, the height affects the need
(ODOT-12-74) Ohio Department of Transportation, The for crack control. If the dam is very high, the design
Ohio State University, 1974. stresses will be high and more cement must be used
6.12. Clear, K. C., “TimetoCorrosion of Reinforcing to
providethe stipulated
factor of safety.
This
Steel in Concrete Slabs,” Transportation Research Record, makesformoreheatgenerationandaconsequent
No.500, Transportation Research Board,1974,pp.16-24. tendency toward higher internal temperatures. Also,
6.13. Schrader,Ernest K.; Fowler, DavidW.;Kaden, thehigherdam will have greater horizontaldimen-
Richard A., and Stebbins, Rodney J., “Polymer Impregna- sions which cause greater restraint and the need for
tion Used in Concrete Repairs on Cavitation/Erosion Dam- still closer temperature control.
age,” Polymers in Concrete, SP-58, American Concrete In- The properties of the concrete affect the problem
stitute, Detroit, 1978, pp. 225-248. of crack control.Concretes
differ
widely in the
6.14. Depuy, G. W., “Recent Developments in Concrete-
amount of tensilestrainthey can withstandbefore
Polymer Materials,” Second International Symposium on
Concrete Technology (Monterrey, Mexico, Mar. 19751, US. cracking. Forstrain which is appliedrapidly,the
Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, 1975. two factors which govern the strain capacity are the
6.15.Smoak, W. G., “PolymerImpregnation of New modulus of elasticityand the tensilestrength. For
Concrete Bridge Deck Surfaces,” InterimReport No. strain which is appliedslowly, thecreep (or re-
FHWA-RD-75-72, U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation,
Denver, laxation) of the concrete is important. The factors af-
Prepared for FederalHighwayAdministration,Washing- fecting strain capacity and creep rate are discussed
ton, D.C., June 1975. more fully in Section 7.2.
Anotherimportantproperty of concrete is the
coefficient of thermalexpansion.Theamount of
Chapter 7 - Control of cracking in mass strain which atemperaturechange will produce is
concrete * directly proportional to the coefficient of thermal ex-
-
7.1 Introduction pansion of theconcrete.Theaveragecoefficient of
Temperature inducedcracking in alargemass of thermalexpansion of massconcrete is about 9 mil-
concrete canbe prevented if propermeasuresare lionths per deg C (5 millionths/F), but with some ag-
taken to reduce the amount and rate of temperature gregates,the coefficientmaybe as high as 15 mil-
change. Measures commonly used include precooling, lionths or as low as 7 millionths (4to 8 millionths/F).
post-cooling or acombination of thetwo,andmore Thus, in the extreme case, where a concrete has a
low tensile strength, a high modulus of elasticity,a
high coefficient of thermal expansion, and is fully re-
*Principal authors: Donald L. Houghtonand Roy W. Carlson. strained, it may crack when there is a quick drop in
agent, and by placing the concrete at a low temper- face of the forms. Temporary anchors embedded in
ature. the newly placed lift of concrete retain the insulation
Precooling the concrete during its production and on the concrete surface when the forms are lifted.
post-cooling it with embedded pipe systems after it Theinsulationiseasilyremovedfrom the surface
is placed are especiallyeffectivemeasures,Details when desired. Roll-on insulation is particularly appli-
on pipe cooling are given in Section 7.6. cable for use on horizontal lift joints. It is easy to in-
stallandremoveand can bereusedmanytimes.
One measure which offers promise is that of plac- Spray-on insulation can be used on either horizontal
ing crack resistant concrete at boundaries (sides and or vertical surfaces. This type of insulation is partic-
top of lifts). Even though the more crack resistant ularlyusefulfor increasing the thickness and effec-
concretemaybetoocostly tobeusedthroughout tiveness of insulationalready in placeandfor in-
the structure, it canbeused to this limited extent sulating forms. Experience has shown that insulation
without serious effect on economy. But thin layers of which permits transmission of light rays should not
concrete next to the forms cannot be placedeasily be used because a temperature rise occurs between
with present-day construction methods, which make the insulation and the concrete when the insulation
use of verylargebuckets.Therefore,itappears is subjected to direct sunlight. Spray-on insulation of
morepromising touseprecastconcrete panelsfor timedlongevityforfrostprotection of agricultural
forms and to leave these panels as a permanent part plants and trees, also, appears to have potential for
of €hestructure,Thesepanels shouldbe of good the insulation of concrete lift joints during the active
quality for' durability, and preferably lightweight so constructionseason.Thisinsulationcanbeformu-
astoprovide good thermaIinsulation.Sincemost lated todisintegrateat a giventimeafter appli-
cracks originate at boundaries, this partial measure cation. Thus, it can be timed to remain effective on
may make the whole structure crack free. More in- the lift joints for approximately the period of time
formation onthe use of precast panelsfor protection betweensuccessiveplacementsandbeeasilyre-
of mass concrete can be found in AGI 347.1R. moved by afinal washing prior to placement of the
Thermalinsulation on exposedsurfacesduring new lift. Precastpanelsmade of low conductance
cold weather canprotectconcretefromcracking, if lightweight concrete or regular weight concrete cast
enough insulation is used and it is left in place long with
laminated or sandwich layers of low con-
enough. If the insulationissufficientto allow slow ductancecellularconcretealso areacceptableas a
cooling, thetensilestrain needneverexceed the means of insulating the interior concrete. The panels
dangerpoint.Theconcretecanrelaxasrapidlyas would then serve as both forms and face concrete.
thetensilestresstendstodevelop, untilfinally,
stabletemperaturesarereached.However, if the
concretehas a very slowrelaxation rate (or creep
rate) the amount of insulation and the long protection
7.5 - Testing methods and typical data
time required may make this measure impractical,
7.6.1 Adiabatic temperature rise - The temperature
rise which would occur if there were no heat loss is
In extreme environments, where large amounts of defined as adiabatic temperature rise. The reader is
insulation will be required during severely cold referred €o AC1 207.1R for methodsof test. That re-
months,itmaybenecessary to removethe in- port gives data on adiabatic temperature ofrise con-
sulation in stages as the warmer months approach. cretes having a single cement content but having
Temperatures within the concrete just below the in- different types of portland cement. Fig. 7.1 gives
sulationshouldbeallowed to slowlyapproachthe typical adiabatic curvesfor Type II cement and var-
environmentaltemperature,This is topreventthe ious quantities of cement and pozzolan. Curves A
occurrence of thermal shock which could induce and B inFig. 7.1 represent data from mixes contain-
cracking atthesurfacewith possible, subsequent, ing equal volumes of cementitious materials (ce-
deeper propagation into the mass. Precautions must ment plus pozzolan) thereby showing the effect of
be taken against using too much insulation or leav- pozzolan replacement of cement on temperature
ing it in place toolong, which could result in stop- reduction.
ping the desired cooling of the interior mass, and, in 7.6.2 Thermal properties of concrete - Thermal dif-
some cases, cause the interior temperature to begin fusivity and thermal expansion are important in the
to increase again. control of cracking due to temperature change, and
Insulation, as currently used for concre€e, can be their determination is detailed in References AC1
obtained in a variety of forms and materials having 207.1R and 7.8 through 7.10. The approximate
practical installed conductances ranging from 3.6 to range of thermal properties is shown in Table 7.1.
0.5 kg cal/m2/hr/C (0.75 to 0.10 BTU/hr/sq ft/F). It 7.6.3 Creep of concrete - Creep may be defined as
can be obtained in semirigid board type panels, roll- thecontinueddeformation of concreteundersus-
on flexible rubber type material, and foamed spray- tained stress. A standard test for creep of concrete
on material whichbecomessemirigid in place. The in compression is detailed in ASTMC 512-76.7-15
semirigidpanels are usuallyinstalled on the inside Creep of concrete in tension is difficult to measure:
50 -
A
B
40 "
C
LL
ln
30" D
8
a3
.-ln
CK
W
L
3
20 "
c
z
W
LEGEND
E Curve A - Portland Cement 306Ib/cu yd(181 kg/d);Fbzzolan-None
Curve B - PortlandCement . 214Ib/cuyd (127 kg/m3);Pozzokn-74Ib/cuyd(~kg/m)
10 "
Type II Cement
0 1 1 I I
1
I ,~ , , , , , 1 ' , , , , I I , , , I I ' ,' ,' ,) I" ,' I, I, II II I I
O 4 8 12 16 20 24 28
Age , Days
Fig. 7.1 - Typical adiabatic temperature curves for mass concrete (Reference 7.7)
TABLE 7.1 -
Illustrative range of thermal and elastic
properties of mass concrete
~ ~~
Coefficient of linear
exoansion. millionths
. ~.
. ~~~ ".
Diffusivity
~~
1 -
Specific heat
~ _ _ ~
1
I
4 7.2
to
8 1?5
I
. "" ~- -~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ___
.
28 days
~-
~.~
90 days
psi kglcm' psi kglcrn' Poisson's
X X X X Ratio
-~ -
10 10 '~-
10-6 10 '
0.15
be considered as reasonable when the stress is low. 6 '1.481t0.0547 U& (1.11 -I Bay
E .Q521+0.0700LI& (I*I) - 3 h p
E =0384*0.0579LOGe (Ir1 1 -7Doy,
When the stress exceeds about 60 percent of the ul- E .0231+O.G500 L% ( I t 1 I ---28Cbyt
2.0 E :O.íO3+0.0294 U)Ge (111 1 -9ooOp
timateandmicrocrackingoccurs,not only does the
instantaneous deformation increase, but the rate of
creepincreases,also.However,sincethemeasured
strain in a beam which is gradually loaded from the 12y
age of 1 month, to failuregat about 3 months, is only
about 10 percentmorethanthatcomputedusing
creep data as obtained from similar concrete in com-
pression, it appears pekmissible to
apply
com-
pression creep. data to concrete stressed in tension
in cases where approximate results will suffice.
Creep of concrete is measured on carefully sealed
specimensstoredataconstanttemperatureand
loaded to a constant stress. The measurement is usu-
ally made by means of embedded strain meters, al-
though any reliable method of measuring strain can
be employed. Butyl rubber is satisfactory for sealing
thespecimens,butneopreneshouldbeavoidedbe-
cause it allows some moisture to escape. Specimens
shouldbeloadedatthesameagesasspecified for
themodulus of elasticitytests, but loading at the Tima,(l+l) Days
early age of 1 day is not always practical. Again, the Spacific CmapOnly
O
1
3
7
III Sustainedmodulus of elasticity tE.1 values are based on data given in
Fig. 7.2
E. = _ _ _1 _ - _ _- ~
~ _
~
". ~ ~ ~~~~ -~
unit elastic strainlpsi + 'h specific creep for time of loading
"
. . ~~~~ ~. . - ~~~
B. Tensile
~~~~~ .
stress coefficients for condition of full restraint
~ _ _ _and
___decreasing
_ _ ~ _ _ _ _temperature
Age of concrete at time of loading
_ _ _ ~ _ _ _ ~ -
-1-
" ""
~~~~~
Ib/in.'/F kg/cm'/C
14 3.00
1.70 14 2.60
12 1.50 18 2.31
1 ...
0.94 11 1.38
" I 16 j 2.08
12) Coefficient of lineal thermal expansion of concrete assumed to be 5.5 mil.
IionthslF (9.9 millionths/C)
I 2 3 4 5 2 "-
-
/6
7 8 IO
&
II / 12 13
7
6 6
that holes can be reamed and dry packed when con.’ essary
control
prior
to
preparation of construction
nections are removed. controls
and
specificationscannot
be
over-
Forms should be designed and constructed so that emphasized.
shutdown of cooling activities is not necessary when 7.7.1 Safety
forms are raised. 7.7.1.1 Safety against crushing<oncrete strength. A
strength shouldbespecifiedwhich will providean
Wiretiedownsembeddedatthetop of the con- adequate factor of safety against crushing of the con-
crete lift at about 10 ft (3 ml spacingsatisfactorily crete.The“nominal”factor of safety is merelythe
secure the pipe during concrete placing. compressive strengthdivided by themaximum
Coils mustbepressuretestedforleaksat the stress to be expected in the structure. However, nei-
maximum pressure they will receivefromthe cool- ther the strength nor the maximum stress can be ac-
ing system prior to placing concrete. Pressure must curately determined. The strength is usually derived
also be maintained during concrete placement to pre- from tests oncylindricalspecimens which arenot
vent crushing and permit early detection of damage, completely representative of the structure. The max-
should it occur. imum stress is usually takenasthedesignstress
After cooling is completedandthe pipe is no which is based upon assumedconcreteproperties.
longer needed, it should be thoroughly flushed with Forsuchreasons,it is considered good practiceto
water at a high enough pressure to remove foreign use a safety factor as high as three or four, meaning
matter andgrouted full withagroutmixture com- that the strength should be three or four times the
pensatedforplasticshrinkage or settlement.The expected maximum stress. The 90-day strength is of-
grout should remain under pressure until final set is ten used and is derived from tests of job cylinders.
attained. Since the cylinders are made from wet screened con-
crete, the measured strength is corrected to a mass-
Fig. 7.5 showstheschematiclayout of atypical concrete equivalent by applying a reduction factor of
pipe cooling system. about 0.80 for typical conditions. For specific data on
Sight flow indicators should be installed at the end appropriate reduction factors, the reader should re-
of eachembeddedpipe coil topermitreadyobser- fer tothe U S . Bureau of Reclamation, Concrete Man-
vance of cooling water flow. Inaddition toregular ual, 8th E d i t i ~ n . ~ . ’ ~
observance of flows, watertemperatures andpres- The “factor of safety,” as defined above, is subject
sures and concrete temperatures should be observed toanumber of additionalfactorswhich,more or
and recordedatleastoncedailywhile the lift is less, balanceoneanother.Sincetheaverage
being cooled. strength of thejobcylinders is used, half of the
Therefrigerationplantfor cooling water maybe tests will be weaker. The strength at 90 days is not
centrallylocated, or severalsmallercompletepor- the ultimate strength. There can be a large gain af-
tableplantsmaybeusedtopermitmovingthere- ter 90 daysdependinguponthecomposition of the
frigerationsystemasthedamprogressesupward. cement. However, even a “factor of safety” of three
Sufficient standbycomponents,equal in capacityto is farmorethanenoughtocoverany likelydiffer-
thelargest individualrefrigeration units shouldbe ences between plus and minus corrections.
provided. Forinteriorconcrete,thelowestpractical
strength shouldbespecified so as to reduce the ce-
ment content. This, in turn, will reduce the heat of
- -
7.7 Summary Basic considerations for eonstrue- hydration and the consequent thermal stresses, thus
tion controls and specifications increasing the crack resistance of the concrete. More
Theconstructioncontrols andspecificationsfor than the necessary amount of cement is detrimental
mass concrete must be such that the structures will rather than advantageous.
be safe, economical, durable, and pleasing in appear-
ance. Each of these requirements in turn affects the 7.7.1.2 Safety against sliding. Sound, uncracked con-
crackresistance.Safety will beassured if the con- crete provides a very large factor of safety against
crete has sufficient strength and continuity (absence sliding. However, hardened horizontal lift joints may
of cracks). Economy will depend uponsuch features impair the safety.
Therefore,the
specifications
asthebest choice of aggregates,adequatebut not should require care in the preparation of lift surfaces
excessivetemperaturecontrol, low cementcontent, and in the placementandcompaction of concrete
etc.Durability will depend upon thequality of the thereon.Also, the lift surfacesshouldslopeslightly
concrete,
exposureconditions,and
freedomfrom upward toward the downstream edge (in the case of
chemical reactions of adeterioratingnature.Pleas- adam)suchthatthedownstreamedge is higher
ing appearance will comefrom good workmanship, than the upstream edge. It is not necessary to use a
freedom from cracks and stains, absence of leakage mortar layer on lift surfaces prior to the placement
andleaching,etc.Theimportance of com-
a of the next lift.
prehensivematerialstestprogramtoestablish nec- 7.7.2Economy - Many factors whichaffect the
7.9. “Method of Test for Coefficient of Linear Thermal early age but whichmightbesustainedatgreater
Expansion of Concrete,” (CRD-C 39-55), Handbook for maturity.Preferably,concreteshouldhavea high
Concrete and Cement, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, tensilestrain-to-failurecapacity. This is influenced
Vicksburg, 1939, 2 pp. greatlybytheaggregate,anda low modulus of
7.10. “Method of Test for Coefficient of Linear Thermal elasticity in tension is desirable.
Expansion of Coarse Aggregate, Strain Gage Method,”
(CRD-C 125-631,Handbook forConcrete and Cement,U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, June 1963, 5 pp.
-
8.2 Restraint
7.11. Symposium on Creep of Concrete, SP-9, American Restraint exists in many circumstances under
Concrete Institute, Detroit, 1964, 160 pp. which the structure and its concrete elements must
7.12.McCoy, E. E., Jr.; Thorton, H. T.; and Allgood, perform.Typicalexamples will illustrate how re-
J . K., “Concrete Laboratory Studies, Dworshak (Bruce’s straint will causecracking, if the concrete is not
Eddy) Dam, North Fork Clearwater River Near Orofino, strong enough to withstand the tensile stresses de-
Idaho: Creek Tests,” Miscellaneous Paper No. 6-613, veloped.
Report 2, U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment 8.2.1 - A wall or parapet anchored along its base to
Station, Vicksburg,Dec.1964. the foundation or to lower- structural elements less
7.13. Houk, Ivan E., Jr.; Borge, Orville E.; and subject or responsive to volume change, will be re-
Houghton, Donald, “Studies of Autogenous Volume strainedfromshrinkingwhenitsupperportions
Change in Concrete for Dworshak Dam,” AC1 JOURNAL,
Proceedings V. 66, No. 7, July 1969, pp. 560-568. shorten due to drying or cooling. Cracking is usually
7.14.McDonald, J. E.; Bombich,A.A.; and Sullivan, inevitableunless
contractionjoints (or atleast
B. R., “Ultimate Strain Capacity and Temperature Rise grooves of adepth notless than 10% of the wall
Studies, Trumbull Pond Dam,” MiscellaneousPaper thickness on both sides, in which the cracks will oc-
C-72-20, U S . Army Engineer Waterways Experiment cur and be hidden) are provided at intervals ranging
Station, Vicksburg, Aug. 1972. fromone(forhigh walls) tothree (for low walls)
7.15. Liu, Tony C., and McDonald, James E., times the height of the wall.
“Prediction of Tensile Strain Capacity of Mass Concrete,”
AC1 JOURNAL, Proceedings V. 75, No. 5, May 1978, pp. 8.2.2 - Exteriorandinteriorconcrete,particularly
192-197. in heavier sections, will change temperature or mois-
7.16. Concrete Manual, 8th Edition, U.S. Bureau of ture content at different rates and todifferentde-
Reclamation, Denver, 1975, 627 pp. grees.Whenthishappens, the interiorconcrete re-
strains the exteriorconcretefromshrinking,and
tensile strains develop which may cause the exterior
tocrack.Thisoccurswhenthesurface cools, while
the interior is still warm from the heat of hydration,
-
Chapter 8 Control of cracking by correct or when thesurfaceconcretedriesfasterthan the
construction practices* interior concrete. Asnoted earlier, it is oftenfea-
-
8.1 Introduction sible to protect the surface for a time
so that such stress-inducing differentials
a t early ages
cannot de-
Construction practices, as used in this chapter, in-
clude designs, specifications, materials, and mix con- velop before the concrete is strong enough to with-
siderations, as well as on-the-job construction perfor- stand the strain without cracking.
mance.Before discussing
control of construction 8.2.3 - Acting similarly to the interior concrete in
practices whichaffectcracking, it is worthwhileto theforegoingexample,temperaturereinforcement
mention the basiccause of cracking. It is restraint. can restrain the shrinkage of surfaceconcrete,but
If all parts of the concrete in aconcretestructure more and narrower cracks may result.
are free to move as concrete expands or contracts, 8.2.4 - Restraint will occur at sharp changes in sec-
particularly the latter, there will be no cracking due tion,
since the
effect of temperaturechange or
to volume change. dryingshrinkage will bedifferent in thetwosec-
Obviously, however, all parts of concretestruc- tions. If feasible,acontractionjointcanbeused to
tures are not free, and inherently, cannot be free to relieve the restraint.
respond to the same degree to volume changes. Con-
sequently,differentialstrainsdevelopandtensile 8.2.5 - Restraint of flatworkresults from anchor-
stressesareinduced.Whenthesedifferentialre- age of slab reinforcement in perimeter slabs or foot-
sponsesexceedthecapability of the concreteto ings. When a slab is free to shrink from all sides to-
withstandthem at thattime, crackingoccurs.This warditscenter,there is aminimum of cracking.
points to the importance of protecting new concrete Contraction joints and perimeter supports should be
for as long as practicable from the loss of moisture designed accordingly (see Section 3.5.3).
or a drop in temperature. These considerations may 8.2.6 - Wall, slabs, and tunnel linings placed against
result in stressescapable of causingcracks atan theirregularsurface of arockexcavationarere-
strainedfrommovingwhenthesurfaceexpands or
*Principal author: Lewis H. Tuthill. contracts in response to changes in temperature or
moisturecontent.
Asdiscussed in Section 8.2.1, not cement content. Moreover, the reduction of the
closely spacedcontractionjoints or deepgrooves amount of fineaggregatetocompensate for the
mustbeprovidedtoprevent or hide the cracks added cement, in accordance with correct principles
which oftendisfiguresuchsurfaces. h tunnel lin- of concrete proportioning, will offset any tendency to
ings, the shrinkage in the first few weeks is primar- increase the water requirement.
ily thermal,andtheuse of cold concrete (50 F or 8.3.2 Surface dryhg - Surfacedrying will ulti-
10 C) has reduced cracking materially. By the time mately occur except when the surface is submerged
drying is significant, t h e concreteliningismuch or backfilled. It will cause shrinkage strains of up to
stronger and better able to resist shrinkage crack- 600 millionths or more.Theamount of shrinkage
ing. However,circumferentialcracks in tunnel lin- cracking depends on 1. how dry the surface concrete
ingsandothercast-in-placeconcreteconduitsand becomes, 2. how much mixing water was in the con-
pipe linescanbegreatlyreduced in numberand crete, 3. thecharacteranddegree of restraint in-
width. As shown in the Bureau of Reclamation Con- volved, and 4. the extensibility of the concrete. The
crete Manual,*-'thiscanbedone if abulkheadis extensibility represents how much the concrete can
used topreventairmovementthroughthetunnel, be strained (stretched), without exceeding its tensile
and shallow ponds of water are placed in the invert strength and is the sum of creep plus elastic strain
as soon aspossibleafterlining,andleftuntilthe capacity. The latter is largely related to the composi-
tunnel goes into service. If the tunnel carries water, tion of theaggregateandmayvarywidely.Typi-
there will be no further drying shrinkage. If it does cally, someconcretes of highlyquartziticgravels
not, the concrete will have become much stronger in havea low straincapacityanda high modulus of
the humid. environment and will be better able to re- elasticity,
while
some concretes of granitic and
sist shrinkage-induced tensile stresses. gneissic aggregate have a high strain capacity and a
8.2.7 - The typical
examples presented above low modulus of elasticity.Concreteshavinga low
clearly indicate that many crack control procedures strain capacity are much more sensitive to shrinkage
must be considered by the engineer during design. due to drying (and to drop in temperature) and will
While proper construction performance can contrib- be subject to a greater amount of cracking.
ute a great deal (as will be discussed below), the con-
tractorcannotbeexpectedtoutilizethebestpro- Accordingly, a s mentioned in connection with tun-
cedures, unless these procedures are included in t h e nelliningsandconduits,aprimeobjective of crack
designsandspecificationsonwhich the bid price is . controlprocedures is tokeeptheconcretewetas
based. long as feasible, so that it will have time to develop
more strength to resist cracking forces. The impor-
-
8.3 shrinkage
tance of this will varywiththeweatherandthe
time of year. Cold concréte (below 50 F, 10 C) dries
The following sections discuss the major causes of
very slowly, provided the relative humidity is above
shrinkage, which isa key contributor tö the forma-
40 percent. A t some depth, concrete loses moisture
tion of cracks in concrete.
slowly, as shown in Fig. 3.5. Where surface drying
8.3.1 Effmt of water content - The greater the wa-
may be rapid, more care must be devoted to uninter-
tercontent of concrete,themoreit will shrink on
rupted curing to get good surface strength. Cracking
drying. Such a hypothesis is clearly indicated in Fig.
stresses will be further reduced by creep, if the sur-
3.2, as well as in Reference 8.1. The use of the low-
face is prevented from drying quickly at the end of
estpracticalslumpisimportant. Of major impor-
the curing period. To accomplish this, the wet curing
tance is the selection of mix proportions that require
cover can be allowed to remain several days without
the least amount of water per cubic yard for the de-
wetting after the specified curing period (preferably
siredconcretestrength.Thismeansavoidingover-
7 to 10 days), until t h e cover and the concrete under
sandedmixes(thericher the concrete,thecoarser
the sand should be and the less there should be of it it appear to be dry. If job conditions are likely to be
in the mix);usingthelargestmaximumaggregate such that these measures will beworthwhile,they
size practical; using aggregate with the most favor- should be required in the specifications for the work.
ableshapeandgradingconducivetobestwork- 8.3.3 Plastic shrinkage - Plasticshrinkagecracks
ability; and using well-graded sand with a minimum occur most commonly, and objectionably, in the sur-
of fines passing the 100-mesh and free of clay, such faces of floors and slabs when the ambient job condi-
that its sand equivalent value is n o t less than 80 tions are so arid that moisture is removed from the
percent AASHTO T176. concrete surface faster than i t is replacedbybleed
Contrary to common belief, increasing the cement Water from below, These cracks occur prior to final
content of concrete,perse,doesnotnecessarily finishingandcommencement of the curing process.
causeanincrease in shrinkage. This is because the Asthemoistureisremoved,thesurfaceconcrete
waterrequirement of concretedoesnotchange contracts, resulting in tensile stresses in the essen-
much with change
a in cementcontent.Drying tially strengthless,stiffeningplasticconcrete,that
shrinkage is proportional to water content (Fig. 3.21, causeshortrandomcracks or openings in the sur-
f-
coarse aggregates have to be clean and free ofun- ated that it starts setting before settlement takes
necessary fine material, particularly clays. The sand place. Another iscomposed of organicgellingcom-
should have a sand equivalent value in excess of 80 pounds of soluble cellulose which increase in viscosity
percent, and this should be verified frequently so that the solid particles remain in suspension. Still
(AASHTO T176). The sand should have sufficient another contains a form of carbon with a very large
time in storage forthe moisture content to stabilize surfacearea.Inthedryform,itcontainsalarge
at a level of less than 7 percent onan oven-dry basis. amount of adsorbed air, which is released gradually
8.5.2 Expansive cement - Expansive cement can be into the mix producing an expansion.
used todelayshrinkageduringthesetting of con-
Gas forming agents and air releasing agents pro-
crete in restrained elements reinforced with the min-
duce the same net effect, althoughall grouts, mortars
imum shrinkage steel required by AC1 318. The andconcretesemployingtheseagentshave no ex-
principal property of these cements is that the pansiveproperties
after
hardening, and
have
a
expansion inducedin the concrete while setting and
dryingshrinkageatleastequalto similarplain
hardening is designed to offset the normal drying
grouts, mortars and concretes not employing them,
shrinkage. With correct usage (particularly with
Grouts which expand (if unconfined) after hardening
early and ample water curing on which maximum
canfunctionasnonshrinkgrouts,asopposedto
expansion depends), the distance between joints can
grouts that expand only in the plastic state and later
sometimes be tripled without increasing the level of
suffer drying shrinkage.
shrinkage cracking. Details on the types and correct
usage of shrinkage compensating cements are given Among€hecommercialadmixtures,there isone
in ACI 223-83. containing a metallic aggregate which, in addition to
8.5.3 “Non-shrink”grout, mortar, or concrete - Or- opposingsettlementduringhardening,providesa
dinarily,thesolids in grout,mortar,andconcrete modest expansion after hardening. This acts to hold
mixtures will settle before hardening, and water will the grout tightly up under base plates, etc., and also
rise, some of it to the top surface. This settlement tends to offset the effect of drying shrinkage.
canbe objectionable if aspace is to be filled up Where feasible, the problem of settlement can be
tightly without leaving a void at the top, such as un- solved by t h e use of dry tamped mortar, instead of
der machine bases. Measures taken to prevent such a fluid grout or mortar. Grout mixed in a colloid mill
subsidencehaveproducedwhat is known in the will not readily settle.
tradeas“Non-shrink”grout,mortar, or concrete. It should be noted that prepackaged “Non-shrink”
Some of thematerialsmerelypreventsettlement; grouts,likeanyportlandcementgroutsandmor-
others in addition, provide a slight expansion as the tars, are subject to shrinkage if exposed to drying
mixture hardens. andmay deteriorate andloseserviceability if ex-
posed toanaggressiveenvironment(weathering,
The most widely used materials contain unpolished salt spray, etc.).
aluminum powder. These should contain no stearates,
palmitates, or fatty acids. In an alkaline solution, such 8.5.4 Handling and batching - Should be done with
as exists in portland cement mixtures, the aluminum all practical care to avoidcontamination,overlap of
reactsto formaluminumoxideandhydrogen.The sizes,
segregation, and
breakage, so that
extra
hydrogen gas tends to expand the mixture and thus amounts of fines are not needed in the mixes to ac-
prevents subsidence and may even cause expansion. count for variations in grading without a serious loss
The amount of aluminum powder used varies widely of workability. This is best done by finish screening
with conditions, but is usually in the neighborhood of and rinsingasacombination of coarseaggregate
0.005 to 0.01 percent by weight of the cement. It is sizesgoes tothebatchplantbins.Everyeffort
not possible to specify an exact percentage because should be made to uniformly batch and mix the con-
theamounttobeusedvarieswithsuchfactorsas crete so thatthere willbe aminimum of trouble-
temperature, alkalicontent of thecement,andthe somevariation in slumpandworkability.These, in-
richness of the mix. Therefore, itis advisable to make variably,lead todemands for agreatermargin of
trialmixeswithvariouspercentages of aluminum workability, with more sand and more water in the
powder to findwhich percentagegivesthedesired concrete.
(slight)expansionundertheprevailingconditions. 8.5.5Excessiveworkability - Whetheritis
The amount of aluminum powder used is so small that achievedwithunneededhigherslump,oversanding,
it is advisable to dilute it by blending with 50 parts small aggregate, or evenhigheraircontent(which
of sand or fly ash. This diluted mixture will have may reduce strength), is alwayspopularand in de-
enough bulk so that it can be easily measuredand mand on the job. It must be discouraged if the best
properly dispersed in the mix. concrete for the work (having adequate workability
Among the admixtures that merely prevent settle- with proper handling and vibration, and having min-
ment, a number of different mechanisms are in op- imum shrinkage factors) is to be obtained,
eration. One commercial grout is so highlyacceler- -
8.5.6 Cold concrete Cold concrete, when com-
8.6.2 Concrete mixes - For least shrinkage, the mix avoided. Providing time for adjustment and gradual,
proportioningshouldincorporatethosefactorsthat slow elongation will minimize cracking.
contribute to the lowest water content. This means: Watercuringshoulduseawetcover in contact
1. Thelargest practicalmaximumsize of aggre- with theconcretesurfaces.Attheend of the wet
gate (MSA). curing period, preferably at least 7 days, the cover
2. The lowest practical sand content. should be left in place until it and the concrete sur-
3. The lowest practical slump. face appear to be dry, especially in arid weather.
4. The lowest practical temperature.
5. Less than half the smoothgrading
curve In less arid areas and for interiors, the forms will
amount of smallcoarseaggregate, No. 4 to 3/8 or provide adequate curing if exposed surfaces are pro-
3/4 in, (4.75 mm to 9.5 or 19 mm), especially if it is tected from drying and provided they can be left in
crushed material. contact with the concrete for at least 7 days. There-
after, the forms should be left on with loosened bolts
8.6.3 Concrete handling and placing - Equipment long enoughto allow theconcretesurfacestodry
(chutes,
belts,
conveyors,
pumps, hoppers,
and gradually.
bucket openings) should be capable of working effec-
tively with lower slump, larger MSA concrete wher- Ponding is not a desirable method of curing in an
ever it is appropriate and feasible €o use. (It is cau- arid climate because of the quick drying that occurs
tioned that too often, in order to expedite pumping, when it is discontinued.
the actionstaken arethose which increasedrying Because drying is slow and prolonged, a properly
shrinkageandresultantcracking:moresand,more applied sealingcompoundprovides good curing for
fines, morewater,moreslump,smalleraggregate. flatwork placed on a well-wetted subgrade and pro-
When pumping is to be permitted and freedom from videsadequatecuring for massivesections.In an
shrinkagecrackingisimportant,specialemphasis arid climate, sealing compounds are not adequate for
must beplacedon obtainingeffectivelocationsand thinnerstructuralsections.Whenused on formed
an adequate number of contraction joints. Moreover, surfaces, they shouldbeappliedwhenthethor-
the use of pumpingequipmentcapable of handling oughly wettedsurface is stilldampbut no longer
mixesfavorable toleastcrackingshouldbe re- wet.
quired,)
Vibrators should be the largest and most powerful
8.7 -Conclusion
As noted early in this chapter, it is the responsi-
that can be operated in the placement. bility of the engineer to developeffective designs and
Upperlifts of formed
concrete
should
be re- clearandspecificspecifications.Toassureboththe
vibratedaslateas the runningvibrator will pene- owner’s and the engineer’s satisfaction with the re-
trate under its own weight. sults, the engineershould have the owner arrangefor
inspectionbyeithertheowner’spersonnel,theen-
8.6.4 Finishing - Finishing should follow the gineer,or a reliableprofessionalinspectionservice
recommendations of AC1 302.1R to minimize or who will insure that the constructionis performed on
avoid all forms o f surface cracking. the same basis as i t was bid. Without the fulland
It isparticularlyimportantthatflatworkjoint firm intent to confirm the specified character and de-
grooveshave a depth of at least 1/5 of slabthick- gree of performance, there is a serious chance that
ness, but not less than 1 in. (25.4 mm) deep. undesirable results will be obtained. Without firm in-
spectionandcontrols,andaclearunderstanding of
8.6.5Forms - Forms should have ample strength to
the job requirements by the contractor, it islikely
sustain strong vibration of low slump concretes.
that concrete will contain more water than it should,
Exposure of warm concrete surfaces to fast drying
finishing operations will be expedited with the water
conditions or to low temperaturespriortocuring,
brush (or hose), and curing will be interrupted or ab-
shouldbeavoided during formremoval, if drying
breviated(nottomentionother less obviousitems
and thermal ihrinkage cracking is to be prevented.
whichinfluence thelaterappearance of unsightly
8.6.6 Coatractioo joints - Plansshould include an cracks). When properly applied, the procedures dis-
adequate system of contraction joints to provide for cussed in this chapter can be used to produce a high
shrinkage. Formed grooves should be constructed in quality concrete with the least probable amount of
both sides of parapet, retaining, and other walls at cracking.
the depth and s,,acings indicated in Sec. 8.2.1,
8.6;7 Curing md protection - Theseprocedures
References
should insure the presence of adequate moisture to 8.1. Concrete Manual, 8th Edition, U S . Bureau of
sustainhydrationandstrengthdevelopment in the Reclamation, Denver, 1975, 627 pp.
surface concrete. Rapid drying of the surfaces at the 8.2. Dakhil, Fadh H.; Cady, Philip D.; andCarrier,
conclusion of the specifiedcuringperiod should be Roger, E., “Cracking in Fresh Concrete as Related to