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TECHNICAL PAPER
by R. lan Gilbert
This paper considers the problem of cracking in fully restrained
members subjected to direct tension caused by dry shrinkage. The
mechanism of direct tension cracking is discussed, and some popular
misconceptions concerning the behavior of restrained members are
exposed. Paper presents a rational approach for the determination of
the number and spacing of cracks and the average crack width in a
member, which is fully restrained and subjected only to an axial restraining force caused by shrinkage. The approach is based on the
principles of mechanics and is illustrated by worked examples. Predictions agree well with observed cracking in restrained members. The
procedure is used to calculate the quantities of steel required for crack
control in a number of practical situations. Finally, the results of the
investigation are compared with the provisions for shrinkage and
temperature reinforcement in the ACI Building Code (ACI 318-89)
and AS 3600-1988.
Keywords: cracking (fracturing); crack width and spacing; creep; deformation;
reinforced concrete; serviceability; shrinkage; slabs; structural members.
141
Consider a reinforced concrete direct tension member that is prevented from shortening by its supports or
by adjacent parts of the structure. As the concrete
shrinks, an axial tensile restraining force N(t) develops
with time. When the concrete stress caused by N(t) at a
A 5 = area of reinforcing steel
(
N(t)-
= area of concrete
~t===~t=;}_'~======!~
N(t)
=~f,
1--------L-------1
(b) Just after first cracking.
Region I
Region 2
Region I
particular cross section first reaches the direct (uniaxial) tensile strength of concrete j,, full-depth direct tension cracking occurs. First cracking may occur less than
1 week ater the commencement of drying. The magnitude of N(t) after cracking and the crack width depend
primarily on the amount of bonded reinforcement
crossing the crack. If the member contains no longitudinal steel, cracking causes the restraining force N(t) to
drop to zero and a wide, unsightly crack results. If the
member contains only small quantities of reinforcement (p = A/bh is less than about 0.003 for ,[y = 400
MPa), the steel at the crack yields (either immed~ately
or after additional shrinkage), the crack opens widely,
and the restraining force drops to a value of AJy,
which may be only a small fraction of its value prior to
cracking. If the member contains relatively large quantities of reinforcement (p greater than about 0.01 for /y
= 400 MPa), the steel at each crack does not yield, the
crack width remains small, and because the loss of
member stiffness at cracking is not great, the restraining force remains high. Members containing large
quanities of steel are therefore likely eventually to suffer many cracks, but each will be fine and well controlled. For intermediate steel quanities (0.003 < P <
0.01 when JY = 400 MPa), cracking causes a loss of
stiffness, a reduction of N(t), and a crack width that
may or may not be acceptable.
In addition to the quantity of steel, the width of a
crack in a restrained member depends on the quality of
bond between the concrete and the steel, the size and
distribution of the individual reinforcement bars, the
concrete quality, and whether or not the axial restraining force is accompanied by bending. Direct tension
cracks are more parallel-sided than flexural cracks, and
hence the observed crack width is less dependent on the
amount of concrete cover.
FIRST CRACKING
Description and notation
where
2 S0
cl
= 3 L - 2 So
(6)
(1)
-L
E,
CTs2 -
CT5 1
E,
(2-s3 + w) = 0
o
S0 ,
sl -
3 L - 2 S0
(8)
(2)
-2S0
CT
(3)
CT
s2
(4)
By substituting Eq. (4) into Eq. (3), the steel stress
away from the crack is expressed in terms of the unknown restraining force
CTsl
= 3L
2 S0
Ncr
- 2 S 0 A,. =
C Ncr
I A,
(5)
Substituting Eq. (5), (7), and (9) into Eq. (11) and
solving for Ncr gives
(12)
where p
~-------4-----L------------~
0,
. L + m . E . (2Jso +
(Jsl
E
(c) Steel stress after all shrinkage cracking.
144
(Js2
lis!
(13)
since w is very much less than S Dividing both the numerator and the denominator on the right-hand side of
Eq. (14) by m and letting the crack spacings = Lim,
gives
0
(15)
where
(16)
At each crack
,
(Js2
N(oo)
=
~
s
(17)
The magnitude of the final creep coefficient cJ>' is usually between 2 and 4, depending on the age at the commencement of drying and the quality of the concrete.
e;h is the final shrinkage strain and depends on the relative humidity, the size and shape of the member, and
the characteristics of the concrete mix. Numerical estimates of cJ>' and e;h can be obtained from ACI 2091i and
elsewhere. A number of the more well-known methods
for predicting both q, and e;h have been presented and
compared previously by the author.
Eq. (20) may be expressed as
(21)
where E; is final effective modulus for concrete and is
given by
E'=~
e
cJ>'
(22)
Uav
E'
'
(24)
+ e.h
Substituting Eq. (15) and (17) into Eq. (24) and rearranging gives
(20)
Us!
N(oo)
n'A.(Uav
-~
'E')
e
fsh
(25)
where n* = E/E;.
The crack spacing s (=Lim) must be first determined to calculate C2 [as defined in Eq. (16)]. Knowing
that u;1 must be less than the tensile strength of concrete j, and making use of Eq. (15) and (17), Eq. (23)
becomes
(26)
Substituting Eq. (16) and (25) into Eq. (26) gives
s ~
2 S 0 (1
3~
~}
(27)
where
(28)
(23)
ACI Structural Journal I March-April1992
145
sumed in Region 2, the following expression for the average crack width w is obtained by integrating the concrete strain over the length of the member
(30)
The preceding analysis may be used to determine the
number and width of shrinkage cracks, provided the
assumption of linear-elastic behavior in the steel is
valid. However, if the area of steel As is small, yielding
may occur at each crack and the value of N( oo ), calculated from Eq. (12), will not be correct. In such a case,
oo; is equal to the yield stress of the reinforcement ,[y
and N( oo) is equal to ,[y As. From Eq. (23), the stress in
the concrete away from the crack in Region 1 is now
u'
~ (L - w)
Es
f' JY
Es
u' 2
51 -
S0
+ w
(32)
= As
A = 0.005
c
(31)
After the steel at the first crack yields, the tensile
concrete stress <Tc~ increases only slightly as the compressive steel stress <Ts1 increases with time and the first
crack opens. Since the restraining force is constant at
all times after yielding of the steel at the first crack (and
equal to ,[yAs), the tensile stress in the concrete never
again approaches the tensile strength of concrete, and
subsequent cracking does not occur. The width of the
initial crack is usually unacceptably large as the steel at
the crack deforms plastically. The crack width w may
be found by insuring that the overall elongation of the
steel is zero. That is
So =
10
12
0.005
240 mm
25,000
Ee = 1 2 = 7143 MPa
+ .5
and the corresponding effective modular ratio is n*
E/E; = 28. Eq. (6) gives
cl =
2 x 240
3 X 5000 - 2 X 240
= o.o331
Ncr
=
=
<Tc1
= 161,300(1 + 0.0331) =
Since the tensile stress in the uncracked concrete does
not change significantly with time, it is reasonable to
assume that the average concrete stress <Tav is given by
Eq. (31) and the final steel stress in Region 1 may be
obtained by substituting Eq. (31) into Eq. (21) and
simplifying
150,000
<Tel
1.1 1 MPa
1.56 MPa
~
NUMERICAL EXAMPLES
Case (a)
""'
240 (1 + 0.236)
- 839 mm
3 X 0.236
-
c2 =
2 x 240
= 0.238
3 X 833 - 2 X 240
N(oo)
= - 280.238
X 750 (1 56 - 0 0006
.
.
=
7143)
0.0025
200,000
= -86.0 MPa
and the tensil stress in the concrete away from the crack
is given by Eq. (31)
a;t =
= 321 MPa;
u;1 =
28
240,900 N/m
u;
a;t =
1.22 MPa
u;1 =
1.99 MPa
W=
- 86.0(3
5000 - 2 X 480) + 2
3 X 200,000
480
400
= 1.37 mm
W
1.99 ( 833 - 3
2 X 240) - 0.0006
= - [ 7143
833 ]
= 0.31 mm
Case (b)
Consider the slab of Case (a), with one-half the
quantity of reinforcement, i.e., A, = 375 mm2/m. The
number and final average width of the restrained
shrinkage cracks are to be calcualted. All material
properties are as for Case (a).
= 28.
From Eq. (6), C 1 = 0.0684 and Eq. (12) gives
Nc, = 66,840 N/m. The concrete stress in Region 1 after first cracking is calculated from Eq. (9) to be
ucl = 0.476 MPa and, using Eq. (19), u = 1.24. Eq.
(28) gives ~ = 0.119 and, from Eq. (27), s ~ 3002
mm. The number of cracks is therefore m = 2 since
Lis ~ 1.67. Therefore s = Lim = 2500 mm. From
Eq. (16), C 2 = 0.147 and Eq. (25) gives N(oo) =
217,900 N. The steel stress at each crack calculated using Eq. (17) is ut = 581 MPa, which is greater than the
ACI Structural Journal I March-April 1992
147
r
previously uncracked regions. However, in the orthogonal direction, which is virtually a direct tension situation, shrinkage generally causes a few widely spaced
cracks that penetrate completely through the slab. Frequently, more reinforcement is required in the orthogonal direction to control these direct tension cracks
than is required for bending in the span direction. As
far as cracking is concerned, it is not unreasonable to
say that shrinkage is a greater problem when it is not
accompanied by flexure.
If the amount of reinforcement crossing a direct tension crack is too small, yielding of the steel will occur
and a wide unserviceable crack will result. To avoid this
eventuality, Campbell-Allen and Hughes 7 proposed the
following expression for the minimum steel ratio Pmin
Pmin
(Ast)
bd min
= 1.2ft
Jsy
(35)
JY
Ncr
Pmin
This would apply, for example, in the case of an interior slab in which visible cracking could be tolerated or
in the case of an interior slab that was later to be covered by a floor covering and/or a false ceiling. Eq. (37)
corresponds to a reinforcement ratio of 0.0035 for a
reinforced slab with 400-MPa steel.
Analyzing the same slab just considered, except that
p = 0.0035, gives
0. 76 MPa,
Usz
207 MPa
u;
In a sheltered environment, this size crack may be reasonable provided visible cracking can be tolerated.
Where the ends of a slab are unrestrained and the
slab is free to expand or contract, the minimum reinforcement ratio is
(36)
Pmin =
(37)
= J;,
0.7
.{y
(38)
This steel area is recommended, for example, in slabson-ground with control joints at regular centers and is
similar to the minimum provisions in ACI 318M-89.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
A simple procedure is presented for the determinaACI Structural Journal I March-April 1992
0.039 in.
145 psi
5.71lbf/in.
REFERENCES
1. "Australian Standard for Concrete Structures," (AS 36001988), Standards Association of Australia, Sydney, 1988, 106 pp.
2. ACI Committee 318, "Building Code Requirements for Rein-
149