Why concrete columns can crack

Creep may be the most common cause

BY RAYMOND A. DIPASQUALE ARCHITECT/STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT

nvestigators of cracking problems in concrete structures have from time to time noticed horizontal and vertical cracks in concrete columns. How does this happen when cracking indicates tension in the concrete whereas columns usually are in compression?

The strength of the concrete. Creep is greatest when the strength of the concrete is low. The duration of the loading period. The age of the concrete at the time of loading; creep is greater when the concrete is loaded at an early age. The characteristics of the aggregates. The quantity of cement paste. Creep is approximately proportional to the amount of paste in the mix. The rate of creep is greater for small members and in concretes with high water-cement ratios, high cement contents, large slumps or those cured in a dry atmosphere. Creep is greatest immediately after load application but decreases rapidly asymptotically as shown in the graph. For concretes cured in air, about one-quarter of the total creep potential takes place during the first 2 weeks of loading, one-half during the first 3 months, and three-quarters during the first year. Concrete loaded after 4 years or more creeps very little and recovers almost completely after being unloaded.

Tension a possibility
Ruling out pure compressive overload, there are three possible explanations. First, the columns may in fact be in tension due to an isolated settlement of the foundation. In this case, the column could be hanging from the floor system above, resulting in tensile cracking. Next, if the column is the end or exterior one in a structural bent or frame, it may have high enough bending to cause tensile forces in the outside face. This condition would produce horizontal cracks which would disappear on the inside face.

Creep behavior
The third and most likely explanation has to do with creep and shrinkage. Both are related phenomena. Under constant compressive stress, concrete continues to deform with time. The rate of this time-dependent deformation (strain), which is called creep, depends on many factors. Here are some of them: The magnitude of the sustained stress; the higher the load, the greater the creep.

Stress redistribution
With this as background, what really happens in a reinforced concrete column is that creep causes the concrete to unload its compressive stress and transfer it to the reinforcing steel. In other words, a redistribution of Creep increases rapidly when load is first applied, then increases more slowly as time goes by, and finally shows little or no change at extended durations of loading. Data adapted from Hardened Concrete: Physical and Mechanical Aspects, by Adam Neville, published by the American Concrete Institute, Detroit, 1971; based on concretes stressed at 1000 psi.

stress takes place which is directly proportional to the amount of reinforcing steel in the columnthe higher the percentage of steel, the more load the steel carries so that with about 8 percent reinforcement, the steel carries almost 100 percent of the load. With about 4 percent steel, the load distribution is approximately 90 percent on the bars and only 10 percent in the concrete. This explains why cracking can occur in the concrete shell. Due to the unloading, there is little compressive stress left in the concrete to compensate for or overcome shrinkage stress or other factors such as temperature which can subject the columns to tension.

the amount of prestress, and in tall buildings differential creep can cause movement and cracking of partitions or other structural effects in beams and slabs, the overall picture is that creep, unlike shrinkage, is beneficial in relieving stress concentrations and has contributed considerably to the success of concrete as a structural material.

Acknowledgement Reprinted with permission from Building Failures Forum, Vol. 1, No. 4, January 1981.

Safety factor remains

It is interesting that in all of this, the factor of safety against ultimate failure of the column remains practically unaltered. Although the effect of creep in prestressed concrete for example can be harmful in that it reduces PUBLICATION #C810737
Copyright 1981, The Aberdeen Group All rights reserved