CRACKING IN REINFORCED

CONCRETE.*
B y F. G. THOMAS, B.Sc., B.Sc.(Eng.), Assoc.M.1nst.C.E. (of the Building Research Station).
Ix'1'HOL)rCrrION.

HE problem with cracking in reinforced

concrete is to elimina.te t,he formation of
cracks wherever possible and to distribute the
cracking t,hat does occur so that, t,he individual
cracks are not serious.
The purpose of the present paper is to indica.te generally our present knowledge of crack
formation
and
development.
It em bodies
some of the results that have accrued from a
series of investigationsrelat,ing to shrinkage
and strain cracking which is being carried out
a t t h e Building Research Stationunderthe
supervision of Dr. W. H. Glanville. Parts of
the work are included in the general research
programme of thestation
while othersare
comprised in a scheme of co-operative research
arranged with the Reinforced Concrete Association.

I ~ ( : r l ~ ~A
:~
SD
c lMEAST_-HEJII~:K'r
~:
OF
(XACKS.

TheStrain
From the results of very
Capacity of earlytests of reinforced conConcrete. crete, Considbre(l)' put forward
the hypothesis that the introduction of steel in a concrete member increased
considerably the extension that could be undergone by the concrete before cracking occurred.
This power of extensionwithout cracking is
usually called thestrain-capscity or extensibility of the concrete. I n these tests, Considkre
measured tensile strains in the concret,e up to
two parts in a thousand (2,000 X 10 l ; ) before
any cracks were noticed, whereas in parallel
tests on unreinforced specimens the breaking
strain was only from 0.1 to 0.2 pa.rts in x:
thousand (100 to 200 X 10
These results were not, however, confirmed
by tests carried out by other workers a t about
the same time, e.g. tests carried out for Wayss
and Freytag'Y' in which the strains at the first
crack were not much greater than those given
by Considbre for plain concrete, and in which
the quantityof reinforcement had no important
influence on the strain capacityof the concrete.
Similm results were ohtninetl by Kleinlogel"l',
l;).

--_

__ -- -

...

* Crow)) copyright reserwd.

t These ?lumber8 relate to the liut of
end of

t?lQ

refmwre*vyiven at thp
papcr.

who found that for all quantities o f reinforcement

the
stra.in
that)
occurred I)efore t'he
appearance of a crack was approximately the
same>having LL value of from 148 to 196 X 1 0
As a result of these tests, Considkre repeat'ed
his investigation(4)
with
larger
beams, a,nd
withthese
the observed stra.incapacity of
reinforced concrete was not so great a s he had
previously obta,ined.Typicalstrains
that he
obtained without cracks appearing w r c ? :-Mernbcrs stored Ilndcr damp savks. 220 t o 500
.. . ,, wcitcr,
560 t o 1.070

X
X

10 ti.
10 1;.

The uncracked parts of the beam srlbjecteti

to sllch strains were cut out and test.eti, a,nd
it wa.8 found that the strength was a s great
as that of similar concrete that h a t 1 had no
previous loading.
Bach") found tha,t in air-cured unreinforced
concrete the strain capacity was from 130 to
160 x 10
With reinforced concretethe
strains were in general greater. Ra,ch observed
that the cracks appeared first a t t,he corners of
t,he beam section,tha.t is a t t,hepoint, most
remote from the ba.r, and then developed by
extending up the beam sides and towuds the
centre of the beam soffit. He gives t.he following
resultsfor
a series of beams in which the
distance from the corner t.0 thenewest bar
was comparedwith
the resulting values of
t,he strain just before a crack was observed :-Ii.

Corner Distarwe --mm.

139, 92.

46, 31.

25.

24.

x 10 l;. 138, 139. 171, 202, 247.241.

The
strain
capacity
of an unreinforced
member of similar concrete was 143 x 10
It will be seen, therefore, that the st,rain capacity of reinforced concrete was only increased
beyond the value for phin concret,e when the
corner distance was below a certainlimit.
.4bove t,his limit, no help was given by t,he
reinforcement in resisting crack formation.
In other tests the
percentage of reinforcement
was varied and it.was found that, afterallowing
for the corner distance, t,he percentage of steel
used did
not
materiallp
affect t,he strain
capacity of the concrete.
The effect of wat,erstorage was foundt,o
increase the cracking strain as in Considbe's
tests,andthis
effect Bach attributedtothe
compression stresssetupinthe
concrete
owing to the rest,raint offered by the stmeelto
Strain Capavit,y-

('racking in Ruinforced Concretp.

J u t / . 1936

=-=---

.----

T H E STRUCTURAL ENGINEER

expansion.
The
greatest
strain
capacity
measured was for a water stored member,
reinforced with ;t steel mesh, the value being
about 370 X 10';.
In all of the tests of the strain capacity that
have been considered, the time factor was not
introduced. Although no data are at present
available as to the maximum strain that can
be obtained in tension in a long time loading
test,it is possible thatthisvalue
will be
decidedly greater than the strain capacityin a
short period test.
In
this
connection, it
should be noted thatat early ages when shrinkage movements are comparativelylarge, the
creep of the concrete is also large,thus increasing the strain capacity a.t, A time when i t is
most necessary.
I n tests carried out at the Building Research
Station, the appearance of the first crack has
generally been noticed when the maximum
tensile strain in the concrete due to loading
reaches a value of from 150-250 X 1 0 f;. I n
some cases, however, the strain capacity has
been little more than 100 X IO ".

Crack
Measurement.

Unt,il it known
is definitely
thatthere is a limitingwidth
of crack belowwhichcorrosion
of thc steeldoes not takeplace,
i t is essential that the accuracy of observing
crack formation anddevelopment should be the
best possible. Commenting on the high values
obtained by Considbre for t,he strain capacity
of reinforced concrete, Bach(;') suggested that
the first. crack was not observed until i t had
developed considerably, owing to insufficiently
accurate ohservation.
Bach himselfclaimed
that with a smooth
whitened surface, using a high powered microscope he could detect a crack of width
l,/ZOO mm. (0.0002 in.).
H a t P used a. dye method for indicating the
development of cracks. A 1 per cent. solution
of methyl violet dye in alcohol was spread on
part of the tension surface of the beam under
test ; after cracks had opened, as indicated by
the sudden increase in strainshown by extensometers on the beam surface, further dye was
added in narrow widths for each increment of
1oa.d. Observations of thepenetration of the
dye on the broken sections aftertestdetermined the loads at which cracks developed.
Hatt found that withstrong concrete the
steel elongated when cracks developed, resultingin an immediate formation of eye-visible

Cracking in Reinforced (Toncrete.

299

cracks and a rapid increase in extension. With

weaker concrete, the load necessary to produce
cracks was not sufficient t o cause elongation
of the steel to the extent of eye-visible cracks
in the concrete. In such cases he suggested that
the use of dye would facilitate the detection
of these minut,e cracks.
I n other tests, Hatt used a light oil spread
over the surface of the concrete to develop the
appearance of cracks. In the case of repeated
loading he found that the early minutme cracks
thatappeared even in plain concrete would
open up and then spring ba.ck and close after
removal of the load.
Thesame
phenomenon was observed by
Probst';) who called the opening and closing
of the cracks " breat,hing." He dividedt,he
crackwidths
intotwoparts,
viz. (i) elastic
and (ii) permanent.The
elastic width was
the amount. tha,t the crack recovered, and the
permanent width was t,heremainingwidt,h,
after removal of the load.
The term " elastic " is, however, not very
satisfactory because it implies that therecovery
in width is proportional to t,he load reduction.
Probst, however, does not use it in this sense,
but means the total recovery on reduction in
load from one value t o another. Probst found
that the" elastic " width was a high proportion,
about 70-80 per cent. of the t,otalcrack width.
The method of crack measurement used a t
the Building Research St,ation is by means of
portable microscopes with eye-piece scales
fitted so that the cracks can be measured to
a n accuracy of about f 0.0002 in. The bea.m
faces are whitened before test to help in the
detection and measurement of the cracks when
theyappear.
Various dyesare also used for
showing the development. of cracks(e.g. see
pa,ge 28).
SHRINKAGE CRACKING.

Shrinkage of concrete is probably the most

frequent cause of cracking and also the most
difficult to remedy or prevent. In the case of
unrestrained reinforced concrete members the
stressesset up by shrinkage are compressive
for the steel and tensile for the concrete, so
that even before the application of any load
whatsoever the tensile strength of the concrete
may be reached,withconsequent
cracking.
After formation of the first cracks the concrete
stress will develop from the crack as a result
of steel-concrete bond until the tensile strength
is again reached, and
so the process of Rhrinkage

3CO

S T R UTEC
HN
TEG
U IRNAELE R

cracking becomes continuous

a
one, being
limited only bythe magnitude of the shrinkage.
The effect of creep of the concrete is to reduce
the concrete stresses so that in this connection
creep is helpful in reducing the tendency of the
concrete to crack. P u t in another way, creep
produces an increased extensibility.
The
percentage of reinforcement clearlyhas
an
important influence, the concretestress
increasing with the quantity of steel, so that the
tendency to crack becomesmore pronounced
with high percentages of steel.
I n practice, however,somedegree
of end
restraint is almost always present, particularly
in monolithic frameworks.Theresistance
of
a concrete to cracking under such conditions
can be obtained by two methods :( U ) By
a
study of the shrinkage,creep,
elasticity
and
strength
properties of the
concrete, the combined effects being estimated
mathematically from the results obtained, or
( b ) By using special apparatusto
impose
suitable
conditions
of end
restraint
on a
specimen of the concrete.
Considering first the computation of the
stresses set up in a restrained member, thecase
of a symmetrically reinforced member will be
analysed. Let a reinforced concrete member of
concrete area

A,. and steel area

A,"( r

t:.)

be imperfectly restrained a t its ends. In general

the fixity at the ends willbe such that the
length L of the member is allowed to decrease
by an
amount
proportional
to
the
load
developed in the member. Let the deformation
a t each end per unit load be 6.
Then with the degree of fixity the same a t
both ends, if ds is the normal shrinkage of the
unreinforcedconcretein
an interval of time
dt, dc is the creep per unit stress, f p == concrete
stress (tensile) a t beginning of interval, dfp=
increaseinconcretestressduring
interval,
-drv = increase in compressive stress in steel,
dP = increase in end load :( i ) From the deformations :-,

as in thecase of an unrestrained member.'")

(ii) From the loads :-

= = = = _ - - - = -J u l y ,

and d P
i.e. d P
.S.

dY

dff,.Af. dL<A, . . . . .
2E
-.----*dP.6 , A ,
L
df,.A,.
....

= df(,.A,.
=.

-.

l
2

I + L .E,. A,.8
SOthat from equation ( I ) ,

. .-

i.e. df,. =

- .-

E,.i

......

+ L-

28
From this equation, knowing the shrinkage
creep and elasticproperties of the concrete
used, the shrinkage stresses can be calculated
by successive determinations of the increase
df,.. If the tensile strengthdevelopment
is
also known, a factor of safety against cracking
can be obtainedasafunction
of timeand
comparisons of thisfactor for different reinforced concrete members indicates the relative
resistances against cracking.
Intests
made atthe
BuildingResearch
Station for the ReinforcedConcrete Association it was required to know what effect clay
in the sand had on the crack resistance of a
concrete. A local pitsand was selected containing about 30 per cent. of clay by volume,
equivalent to about 5.8 per cent. by weight,
and a second sample was prepared, bywashing,
in which the clay content was reduced to 6 per
cent. by volume (1.8 per cent. by weight). In
both cases the tests were made on a 1 : 2 : 4
Portland
cement
concrete.
With
the
more
clayey sandthere was about twice as much
shrinkage as with the washed sand, creep was
nearly four times as great and the transverse
strength about six-tenths. Now, for completely
(6) above
restrained
members,
equation
becomesdf,.= &,. (ds - f,.dc) . . . . . . . . ( 7 )
and using this equation, the shrinkage stresses
for the two concretes were calculated, the
following results being obtained :-

Cracking in Reinforced Gomrete.

July, 1936

~ ST H
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ECTU
ER
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301

AGE.

10 days.

Concrete.

-1

30 days.

60 days.

-fl f c
f
fc
f
f
fc
flfc
fc
-flfe
----___-

Ordinary Portland l : 2 : 4 (by weight)

with clayey sand

...

Ditto,
with

washed
sand

...

...

...
...

360
110

110
3.27
5.45

600
300

420

290

640

2.13

440
1.45

390
480

1.13
1.37

660

f" = calculated shrinkagestress in lb. per sq. in.

f = modulus of rupture in lb. per sq. in.

the concrete. Removable plates were fixed in

The pure tensile. strength development was
the mould during casting, and, after taking these
not known but the modulus of rupture is a
out when the concrete had set, the reduced
secgood guide to this so that the resistance t o
tion of concrete at themiddle of the mould was
crackingincreaseswith flfo. It isseenfrom
the table that this ratio isdefinitely lower for
restrained from shrinkage bythe outer portions
of the specimen which were still securely held
the concrete with very clayey sand,indicating
that there will be an increased tendency for
bythe
mould. To increase theanchorage,
such a concretet o crack.
the inside of the mould widened towards the
ends, where threaded bars were also provided,
A similar method of comparing resistances
to cracking has been used(a)to explain the
so that the degree of restraint offered by the
increasedcracking often noticedwith rapid
mould to concrete movement was considerable,
any stressesinduced
inthe concrete being
hardening Portland cement. Calculations from
relieved by steelmovementbyonlyabout
the known creep and shrinkage properties of
the cements showed that theinduced shrinkage
10 per cent., this
relief being taken into account
stresseswith a rapidhardeningcement
inthe
calculations. A photograph of the
rise
to a greater maximum than that reached with apparatus is given inFigure 1.
an ordinary
Portland
cement.
The
tensile
I n Figure 2, the calculated curve for the
strength is somewhatincreased with t$e rapid
development of shrinkage stress in a partially
hardening cement but not to the same
extentasthe
increase inmaximum
shrinkage
stress
; hence increased
shrinkage cracking is likely with this
cement.
Thereis one disadvantage t o the
method of computation outlined above;
the creep of the concrete is assumedt o
be proportional to the stress. Now
although this has been shown to be a
reasonable
assumption
a t working
stresses, it has been found that this
assumption is quite untenablea t loads.
approaching the ultimate in the case
of compression members. I n tension
it is possible that proportionality holds
t o a greater extent, but such evidence
is dificult to obtain. I n view of this
it seemed advisable t o obtain direct
experimental confirmation of the computations.
Concrete members were cast in a
the cross
Of
Figure 1. Apparatus for comparing
resistances cracking
to
of
which
was
nearly three
times
that of
restrained concrete members.

Concrete.
Cracking i n Reinforced

C 2

T H E STRUCTURAL E N G I N E E R

302

restrained member is compared with

the actual
strength of the concrete.
The
calculated
curve shown is based on the measurements of
shrinkage and creep made on specimens cast
at the sametime as the restrained member,
together with tension and compression strength
specimens. The tension specimens were of the
same form as the restrained member. It will
be seen from the figure t h a t a t a n
age of about
five weeks the calculatedstressreached
the
tensile strength of the concrete, and assuming
thatthe theory were correct the restrained
member would be expected to crack at that
age. Actually, the first crack appeared on the
surface of the member a .few days later.
Although the experiment just described
indicates the age a t which aconcrete
will
crack under the conditions of restraint offered
by the steel mould, it does not indicate how
nearly the tensile strength isapproached a t
ages before crackingoccurs. I n view also of
the variability of the tensile strength of concrete it wasfelt that it would be better to
arrange so that the actual shrinkage stresses
setup could be measuredcontinually until
tensilefailure,forvariousconditions
of end
restraint.
A special apparatus was therefore designed
in which concretespecimens,withextensometers attached to the central portion,
were

3
AGE

Figure 2.

July, 1936

maintainedundertensileloadsbymeans
of
springs, and these loads were adjusted periodically so that the shrinkagemovements were
entirelybalancedby
the elasticmovements
and creep produced by them. A photograph of
theapparatusafter
failure of a specimen is
shown in Figure 3.
The tests includedconcreteswithclayey
sand and the results for twospecimens,one
with a high percentage of clay in the sand and
the otherwith
washed sand,are
given in
Figure 4. It will be seen that the shrinkage
stresses were somewhat greater with
the washed
sandbut that the increasedtensilestrength
more than compensated for this, the concrete
with
clayey
sand
being less resistant to
cracking. This is a direct confirmation of the
conclusions obtained
earlier
in
this
paper
from computation based on the shrinkage and
creep properties of the concretes.
The effect of rapidity of hardening is striking.
I n Figures 5-7 the results are given for duplicate
testsonordinaryPortland,rapid
hardening
Portland and High Alumina cement concretes,
a 1 : 2 : 4 mix (by weight) with 60 per cent.
of water being used in each
case.
The
shrinkagestresses are initially little different
forthePortland
cementconcretes,
but as
failure is approached with ordinary Portland
cement the development of stress decreases

- WEEKS.

Cracking of restrained concrete memberu.

Cracking in ReinforcedConcrete.

July, 1936

ES N
TR
GU
I NCET E
URR
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A LE

303

considerably, presumably as the result of large

creep movements. This effect is not so great
with rapidhardeningPortlandcement,
the
stress
increasing
steadily
until cracking
occurred. WiththeHigh
Aluminacement
concrete there isarapidincrease
in stress,
thefactor of safety againstcracking being
negligible shortly after the commencement of
the test.
Other tests have indicated that an increase
of water content is not necessarily followed by
agreatertendency
to crack ; and that the
resistance to cracking is markedly affected by
the type of aggregate used. Sufficient data are
not, however, available to justify any general
conclusions.
It is realised thatin
practice complete
restraint will not usually be imposed. It is
possible that therelative resistancest o cracking
of the variousconcretesmaybesomewhat
altered with the degree of fixity. For example,
with a reduced degree of fixity it is possible
that a rapid hardening Portland cement concrete will crack aftersome months, but that an
ordinary Portland cement concretewill remain
uncracked.Furthertestsare
being madein
which the fixity is not complete.
STRAIN CRACKING.

In this section w
l
l
ibe considered only the
conditionwhere the tensile forces producing
cracking are the outcome of directly applied
loading, as in the case of tests in bending or
tension. Since, also, we are primarilyconcerned with theeffects likely to be met with in
practice, consideration need be given only to
such members as beams, in which cracks may
be produced a t working loads.

Previous
Work on

Many testshave been carried

out to determine the behaviour
Strain
of reinforced concrete
beams
Cracking. under
load,
particularly
in
Germany and America, and it
is clear from these t h a t a t design loads some
cracking of the concrete is almostalways
presentalthough
considerable help isoften
givenbythe
concreteon the tensionside,
particularly in thecase of slabs or beams where
the percentage of steel is low.
The earliest recorded work on the problem
of cracking is that carried out by Consid&re(9)
a t the endof the lastcentury. Considbre tested
small columns 6 cm. (2.36 in.)squareand
90 cm. (35.3 in.) long, with the axes vertical,

Cracking i n Reinforced Concrete.

Fiyure 3. Measurement of shrinkagestresses

restrained concrete mem6er.s.

in

applying uniform bending moments throughout

their length by means of cantilevered loads a t
the tops of the columns, the feet being fixed.
By observation of the cracks occurring when
the number of reinforcing bars was increased,
though keeping the total cross-sectional area
of the steel thesamethroughout,hefound
that greater slip took place when the larger
bars were used.
At the beginning of this century, Bach and
Graf(l0)published a great deal
of information
on the behaviour of reinforced concrete under
load. With particular reference to crack formation they testedbeams with two-point loading,
their results being concerned chiefly with the

T H E STRUCTURAL ENGINEER

304

effects in the middleportions of the beams,

where the bending moment was constant. As
in the tests of Considere then, the effects of
shear on the cracking were eliminated except
for the shear effects of the weight of the beam
itself. The beams were testedona
2 or 3
metre (79 or 118 in.)spanandthe
smallest
cross section adopted was approximately
20 cm. X 30 cm. (7.9 in. X 11.8 in.).The
ma,in results can be summarised as follows :(i)When the sectional area of the .tensile
reinforcement was kept constant, the number
of cracks increased with increase in number of
bars used.
(ii) Tests to determine the effect of the steel
surface showed that the cracking was greater
when smooth reinforcing bars were used than
when the bars were coveredwith mill scale.
For example, in a particular case the sum of the
crack widths for the same load were 4.7 mm.
for the smooth.bar reinforwment and 1.2 mm.

July, 1936

in the case of the beam in which the reinforcement was covered with mill scale.
(iii) Except at high loads near failure of the
beam and at low loads when there was little
cracking a t all, there was a rough proportionality between the width of acrack and the
averagedistanceaway
of the neighbouring
cracks. At high loads certain cracksdeveloped
more rapidly whilst neighbouring cracks sometimes even decreased in width, and the simple
relationship between crack width and distance
between cracks no longer held.
(iv) It was found thatthe
tensionload
carried by the concretereachedamaximum
value a t the same timeasthe
firstcrack
appeared and then decreased to a practically
constantvalueasthe
bendingmoment wa.s
further increased.
(v) Repetition of loading. caused an increase
in the number and lengths of cracks, although

p801

240

5 mol-

d
OO
Figure 4 .

70
12
A G E -DAYS
Effect of the resistance toshrinkagecracking
of clay in thesand
Portland cement concrete.

/4

16

18

20

of completely restruined rapid hardening

Cracking in Reinforced Concrete.

J u l y , 1936

T H E STRUCTURAL E N G I N E E R -

equilibrium was reachedafteronlyafew

repetitions a t design loads.
Berry), H o m a m P a n d Probst) all carried
out tests to determine the efEect of repeated
loading andtheir results confirmed those of
Bach, the crack widths and lengths increasing
at a decreasing rate with the number of load
repetitions.

General

Factors
Influencing
Crack
Formation.

It appears
from
the
above
that
the
widths of cracks
formed as a result of bending
or puretension in a reinforced
concretemember will depend
upon the following mainfac-

tors :(a) Bar diameter = d .

(b) Limitingbondstress
= sbnZ.
( c ) Ratio of steel to concrete area = T .
( d ) Steel atress = t .
(e) Concrete tensilestrength or extensibility.
The analysis of the stress distribution along
the reinforcement in
a
cracked beam is
extremely complicated and cowideration will
begivenfirst
to the stresses and crackformation in a symmetrically reinforced member
in which both concrete and steel are wholly
in tension.
Let the number of bars = n.
Area of steel = -ET-d2 = A ,
4

Cracking i n Reinforced Concrete.

305

Area of concrete = A ,
Distance between consecutive cracks = L
Then the steel stress will have a maximum
value of t, a t the crack,decreasingwith
distance from the crack ; whilst the concrete
stress will increase from zero at the crack to a
maximum value of t, midway between cracks.
The exact developmentof stress will depend on
the way the bond stress changes alongthe bar.
The only experimental evidenceas to thebond
stressdistributionis
that obtained a t the
Building Research Station with a special tube
extensometer. It was found thatin general
the bondstresswasapproximatelyconstant
over the length in which it was acting, though
foraPortlandcementconcretethere
was a
tendency for the bond stress to decrease with
the distance from the crack. No serious error
should be involved by assuming the relations, = s,,,~ ( I

$)

. . . . . . . . (8)

That is, the bond stress follows a parabolic

law in its relationship to x , the distance from
the crack. This equation of course holds only
from x = 0 to x = L/2.
Then a t a distance x from the crack, the
load developed by bondwill be,,,$,,,,(l

- ~ ) d x = n ~ d s , ,( x

-g:-)

--- T H E

3 06

andthe
corresponding steel.and
stresses will be

STRUCTURAL

ENGINEER

July,

1936

concrete

where m = EJE,.
i.e., t, = t,,,, -

(9)

and t, =

n x d S,, (x

--

Themaximumconcretestress
by-

t,., is given

4x3
--2)
3L

d
Since the steeland
concretestrains
tyre
unequal there will be slip between the concrete
and the steel, the slip E per unit length being
given by :-

where E, and E,
concrete.

= elastic

moduli of steel and

The width W of the crack at the steel is the

summation of the slip between cracks
and therefore-

ACE - D A M

Figure 7. Resbtance to cracking of completely

restrained high aluminous cement concrete.

Cracking

in Reinforced Concrete.

T H E ESN
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J u l y , 1936

- 47-8,

47-

position of the stress-crack widthcurve is,

however, most readily given by the point of
intersection of the curve and the
stress axis.
The value of the extrapolated steel stress for
zero crack width is given by-

3d
3t
so t h a t L = -LE!-- d

307

...........

(13)
r

( ~ + m r )

.....

Substitutingfor
L inside the bracket of
equation (12), we have-

L { t m - ?..l ( l + m r ) } . (14)
E8
8r
Equations (13) and (14) give the distribution
and widths of the cracks in a symmetrically
reinforced member wholly in tension.There
aretwo
effects not included intheabove
analysis :First, the concretestress
is not uniform
across any section and the greatest stress, a t
the steel, w
l
l
i be a times the averagestress
used above. The effect of this is to replace r
in equations (13) and (14) by ar. Thevalue
of a is indeterminate but Emperger(13) states
that for concrete strengths (pri8m) greater
than 225 kg. per sq. cm. (3,150 lb. per sq. in.),
the exposure a t the steel is equal to the outside
It follows therefore that for
crackwidth.
most concretes used in practice the value of a
is not far removed from unity, so that this
does not appreciably affect the accuracy of the
above equations.
Second, the effective elasticityof the concrete
varies with the distance from the crack, the
effective modular ratio m increasing asthe
of m
concrete stress increases. The
value
in
equation
(14) is
therefore
the average
value andmay
be taken approximately as
40,000 dividedby the cube strength of the
concrete. Thevalue midway between cracks
may be 20 or 30 per cent.'above the average
value. However, the term inwhich the modular
retio enters in equation
(14) is usually small
compared with the steelstress t,,,, andany
error inthe value of m willbe
relatively
unimportant.
The form of equation (14) shows that the
crack width is proportional to the increase in
maximum steel stress beyond a certain value.
This value, which is the extrapolatedsteel
stress for zero crack width, is not the stress
a t which cracking commences, since acrack
will on formation have a definite width which
may be considerable, particularly in the case
of beams with low percentages of steel.The
= -

Cracking in ReinforcedConcrete.

where ecm is the maximum tensile strainin

the concrete between cracks. It appears
therefore that the extrapolated steel stress for
zero crack width may be considered as partly
dependent
on
the
tensile strength of the
concrete and partly on the extensibility. For
low percentages of steel the strength becomes
the more important factor, but for high percentages the extensibility is the deciding
factor.
I n a reinforced concrete beam the problem
is complicated by two main issues, (i) theeffect
of varying tensile stresses across a section and
(ii)the influence of shear. Considering first
the effect of the varying tensile forces, no
analysisis possible untilthe distribution of
tensile stress is known for all sections bet,ween
cracks. It seems reasonable to assume that for
the part of a member under constant bending
moment the cracking at the level of the steel
will be similar to that in a member under pure
tension except that thepercentage of reinforcement should be based on the area of concrete in
tension, and a correction made for theincreased ratio a of the maximum to the mean
concrete stress for any section. In thecase of a
rectangular beam with a steel percentage p in
which the ratio of the depth of the neutral axis
to the effective depth of the beam is n, the
equivalent ratio of steel to concrete area may
be taken as-

For a T-beam of flange breadth 6, and rib

breadth 6,. the ratio isr = 0.01~
x -b 2 . . . . . . . (17 4
l - nl
6,.
The cracking of a reinforced concrete beam
under
constant
bending moment can be
given roughly as~

E
ST
NR
GU
IN
CE
TE
UR
TH
AL
E

308

where r is given by equation(17)or (17a)above.

The value of a cannot becalculatedexactly
with our present knowledge of the subject, but
a rough estimate indicatesthat it will normally
lie between about 1.3 and 1.8. With regard to
the effect of shear,no analysis willbe put
forward a t present. It seems reasonable to
suppose that
the
increased bond stresses
will lead to increased
resultingfromshear
crackwidths.
In the case of a simply supported
beam
under
uniform loading this
effect will tend tomake the widths of the cracks
morenearlyequalthroughoutthelength
of
the beam since the shear is a maximum when
the bendingmomentis
a minimum and vice
versa.

I n view of the complicated nature of the

problem the use of equations (18) and (19)
quantitatively will lead t o a rough approximation only of the cracking in a reinforced concrete beam under constant bending moment.
However, the equationsindicatethewayin
which the various factors influence the crack
width. Combining equations (18) and (19)
we have-

W a5
Sb,,,

. d-- . (t,,,, - itsrn) . . . . . (20)

r

It is seen that if the percentage of steel is

keptconstant,thecrackwidthsare
directly
proportional to the diameter of the bars used.
This isin agreementwith thetestsalready
mentioned.
The effect of increased bond obtained with
certain bar surface conditions is to reduce the
crack width, the distance between cracks being
less.
The effect of increasing the percentage of
steelis to distribute the cracking along the
beam,individualcracks
being finer. At the
sametimetheextrapolatedsteelstress
for
zero crackwidth is reduced. It is seen from
equation (17a) that the effect of using a Tshaped beam instead of a rectangular beam is
to lead to earlier cracking, but the increase of
crack width with steel stress is
smaller. This
appears to be a definite advantageobtained
by this type of beam.
It is interesting t o expand equation (20) a
littlefurther.
Wehave,substituting
for r ,
if the effective depth of a rectangular beam is
h-

July, 1936

But if C is thecurvature
section, then-

C =

28,

EA1 - n1)h

a t the cracked

. . . . . . . . . . (22)

so t h a t

Equation (23) indicates that although curvature does affect the cracking it is notso important as the steel stress. It is seen also that it
is an inverse effect, i.e., increased curvature for
a particularsteelstresstends
to distribute
the cracking ratherthan
widen individual
cracks.

Building
Research
Station
Tests.

Although the appearance and

development of cracks
have
been carefully observed in
manytests on reinforced concretemade
atthe
Building
Research Station,
these
observations
were
usuallysubsidiary
tothe
determination of
other factors such as stress and deformation,
and until 1933 very few measurements were
made of crackwidths.
I n alltestsonreinforced concrete members now being made,
however, the widths of cracks are measured
and itis hoped that at a later date a complete
analysis of thesemeasurements will provide
considerable informationon
strain cracking.
Certaingeneralresultsarealreadyavailable
and a few of the tests inwhich crack measurements have been made are described below.
I n one test,the beam was rectangular ip
section, 4 in. wide and S& in. deep, and 7 f t .
long. Thetensile reinforcement consisted of
two mild steelbars of 8 in.diameter a t a n
effective depth of 7 in., and suitable stirrup
reinforcement was provided to resistshear.
The beam was loaded a t third points on a
6 f t . span, the arrangement a t the loading
points being such that no resistance was offered
to rotation or longitudinalmovement of the
beam a t these points.
The side surfaces of the beam were whitened
before test inorder to facilitate the inspection of
cracks. The appearance and progress of cracks
up theside of the beam were carefully observed
by eye, andthe widths of eachcracknear
the bottom of the beam and at the level of
the steel were measured for every increment of

Cracking in Reinforced Concrete.

July, 1936

T H E STRUCTURAL E N Q I N E E R

309

?a25

0.25

r"

TOTAL CRACU WIDTH.

Figure 8.

Recovery of cracks.

load by means of portable microscopes with

which an accuracy of about f 0.0002 could be
obtained. The widths of the cracks measured
near thebottom of the beam were usually
0.0003 in.onfirst
being observedalthough
cracks about 0.0001 in. wide could be detected
by eye. The widths of all crackswere measured
in order that an idea might be obtained of the
general development of cracking for the beam
as a whole.
The load was first increased steadily to the
calculatedworkingload
andthis
load was
maintainedfor
21 hours. After this period
the load was gradually removed. The results
of the crack
measurements
are
shown in
Figure 8. It will be seen from this figure that
thetotal crackwidth(i.e.,
the sum of the
widths of all cracks) increases to some exfent
during the periodundersustainedload,
and
that on removal of the load, there is a partial
recovery in crack width. It is rather interesting
that onreducing the loadslightlyfrom
the
working value, the total crack width increased
somewhat, and one or twocracksincreased
slightly in length.
The recovery in crack width on removal of
the loadis whatProbst
calls the " elastic

Cracking in Reinforced Concrete.

width " of the crack. In the present test the

" elastic width " was on the average just over
one-half of the actual widthof crack. However,
the term " elastic " must be used with caution
for it is seen from Figure 8 that the recovery
does nottake placeuniformlyonreduction
of the load, but the
crack width remains practically constant during the early stages of unloading. It isclear that before recoverycan
take place the slipmechanism at the steel
has to be reversed and tbis reversal requires a
substantial load
change.
The
action
is
of
course'verysimilar
tothe
movements of
mechanisms in which frictionalresistance is
bigh, when the direction of motion is altered
by an external force.
The beam was leftwithoutloadonlyfor
sufficient timeto measure the crackwidths,
and was then steadilyloaded to avalue of
l+ times the working load.Thisload
was
sustained for 44 hours,during which period
very little increase of cracking occurred. The
load waB then increased until failure of the
beam resulted from yield of the steel.
I n Figure 9, the maximum crack width a t
the level of the steel has been compared with
the steelstress,computedfrom
the usual

T H E XTRUCTURAL E N G I N E E R

310

-0

-002
rcMYlMUM

Figure 9.

-001

'906

-008

CRACK WfDTH AT LEVEL

-010

W STEEL

-012

-014

- INCHES

Dependence of maximum crack width on

steel stress.

sfraight line-no tension theory. I n this figure

the effectsonremoving
the loadhave not,
however, been included. It will be seen that
there is arough linear relationship between
the
crack width and the steel stress, and that the
crackwidthisinappreciableon&stloading
until a stress of about 12,000 lb. per sq.in.
The relationship is of the same form as that
indicated by equation (20).
The yield of the steel is shown in Figure 9
bythe verysharp bend inthe curve a t a
stress of 47,000 lb. per sq. in. The deflection
of the beam also increased rapidlya t this load,
butin cases where more than onelayer of
fer sile reinforcement is used it has been found

July, 1936

that the crack widths are a much better guide

to the yield point of the steel than the deflection. This point
was shown up well in some
recent tests at the Building Research Station
ontwo-spancontinuousbeams.Theresults
for one test are shown in Pigure 10. From the
crack width diagrams it is seen that the yield
point loads a t both the central support and in
the span are quiteclearly defined, but there is
no definiteindication of the value of these
loadsfrom the deflection curve. It is seen
therefore that in such tests the measurement
of the crack widths will help materially in the
analysis of the test.
The effect of the percentage of the steel on
the crackwidth
when the bar size is kept
constant was investigated in some tests on a
high tensile steel. Ten beams
were tested, all
of length 9 ft. 6 in. and overall depth 103 in.
Five different widths were used varying from
63 in. to 144 in., two beamsof each width being
tested.Thetensionreinforcementconsisted
of
in all cases of twocompoundbarseach
which was made up of two 4 in. diameter
roundbars
tw5sted togetherhelically ; the
percentage of steel varied therefore fromabout
0.6 to 1.4.
Thebeams were testedbyloading
a t two
pointssymmetrically 2 f t . 6 in.aparton
a
span of 9 f t . The results of the measurements
of the crack widths in the parts of the beams

Figure 10. Maximum crack width as guide to steel yield.

Cracking in Reinforced Concrete:.

- THE STRUCTURAL ENGINEER

J u l y , 1936

311

tensile steel, higher steel stresses

are allowed
leading to decreased percentages, the cracking
will be increased as a resultof both the increased
stress and the decreased percentage if the bar
It should be remembered
size isunaltered.
at the same time that the percentage increase
of cracking
is
decidedly
greater
thanthe
percentageincreasein
working stress in the
steel.
It will be seen that the results of these tests
are in general agreement with those expected
from the use of equations (18) and (19).

AGE AT 7F.T

00

-010
CRACK WIDrn

- 14 DAn.
e

- wcn

020

Figure 11. Effect of steel percentage on crack widths.

underconstantbendingmoment(noshear)
are shown in Figure 11. Theexperimental
pointshave
been omittedforthesake
of
clearness.
The
following points
should
be
noted :(i) The relationship between steel stress and
crack width is not wholly linear. The probable
reason for this is that the slope of the stressstrain curve for the steel is' not, constant for
the high tensile steel tested but decreases a t
high stresses.
(ii) I n general, the extrapolatedstressfor
zero crack width increases asthe percentage of
steeldecreases.Thevaluesfor
this stress
were :Percentageof
Steel
1.38 1.190.980.780.59
SteelStressforZero
Crack Widthlb. per sq. in. ... 5,900 4,600 8,900 10,oOO 13,500

This effect tends tokeep the cracks small a t

working stresses for low percentages of steel.
(iii) The rate of increase of crack width with
stress is greater for
low percentages of steeI.
The increases in crack width between 18,000
and 40,000 lb. per sq. in.were :Percentage of Steel
Increase in Crack
Width-in. X 10-3

1.381.190.98
3.9

5.2

0.78 0.59

6.4

7.3

8.1

This effect tends to make the cracks bigger

for low percentages of steel, particularly when
the stressesareincreased.beyond
the values
now used in design. If, therefore,forhigh

Cracking i n ReinforcedConcrete.

Effect of
An increasewithtime of the
Prolonged widths of cracks mayresult
Loading on fromtwo
effects ; first, the
Cracking. increase in steel stress due t o a
continuousbreakdpwn of the
concrete in tension and to the
creep of the
concrete ; and second, a creep in bond causing
increased slip of the concrete along the steel
away from the crack. The magnitude of this
second effect is unknown, but ithas been shown
by Shank(14)and also by Davis(15)
that creep in
bondexists.Shankcarried
outdirecttests
to measure such creep, but the movement on
a gauge length of 20 in. was only about 200 x
in.afterayear's
sustainedloading.
On
the other hand Davis measured continuous slip
near the ends of loaded reinforced concrete
columnsamountingon
gauge
a
length
of
10 in. to nearly 8,000 X 10 in.inayear
in
the case of a weak concrete used with a high
percentage of steel.
Measurements have been made a t the Building
Research
Station of the increase of
cracking in reinforced concrete beams, and the
resultsforone
series of testsare givenin
Figure 12. High tensile steel was used for two
of the beams (19N and 24N) andordinary
mild steel used in the others. A t an age of
12-13 days the beams were loaded so that
the theoretical
maximum
steel
stress
was
20,000 lb.per sq. in.for the plainbars and
27,000 lb.per
sq. in.forthe
high tensile
bars.Theload
was maintainedfor 6 weeks,
and was then altered so that the theoretical
steelstresses were increasedby 50 per cent.
This load was sustained for a further period of
six weeks before the beams were tested to
destruction. It will be seen from Figure 12
thatthe
crackwidthsincreasedby
about
50 per cent. during the early stages of the test
when the cracks were extending up the sides

312

T H E STRUCTURAL E N G I N E E R

of the beams and the concrete creep was comparativelylarge ; andthatat

alater
age,
even a t ahighersteelstress,
the change in
crack width with time was small.
PRETENSIONING OF THE REINFORCEMENT
AS A PREVENTATIVE OFCRACKING.

It has been noticedin aprevious sectionthat

the strain capacityisgreaterinwater-cured
concrete than in air-cured concrete. The reason
for this is clearly that the expansion of the
concrete in water lead? to tension stresses in
the steelreinforcement,
which restrictsthe
concrete movement,and balancing compression
stresses in theconcrete. This compression must
therefore be destroyed before the concrete on
the tension side is actually stressed in tension,
and the strain capacityis evidently the sum of
the strain due to the initial
compression and
the normal extensibility of a similar concrete
without initial internal stress.
It isapparentthatthe
higher theinitial
compressive stress in the concrete, the greater
will be the applied bending moment necessary
to produce sufficient tension to cause cracking.
The possibility, therefore, of preventing cracking a t working loads by artificially obtaining

July, 1936

an initial concrete compression has frequently

been advocated, notably by Freyssinet.(ls)
Themethodhas
been applied in the commercialproduction of precastconcrete floor
slabs. The tensionreinforcementisstressed
by means of springs or levers before the concreteiscast.Thepretensioningapparatusis
left inposition until theconcrete has sufficiently
hardened totakethe
stressesinducedin
it
when the forces in the reinforcing barsare
allowed to be taken up by adhesion between
concrete and steel.Theobject
of this pretensioning is to reduce the normalcracking
and deflection of the slabs without necessarily
increasing the failing strength,andwithout
increasing theamount of reinforcement and
concrete required to withstand a given load.
Since the practical usefulness of a slab is
often determined by its resistance to deflection
ratherthan its ultimatestrength, it follows
that successful pretensioning is of importance.
There
are,
however,
certain
difficulties.
Immediately the steel load is transferred from
the pretensioning apparatustothe
concrete
section, there isa compressive strain in the
concrete resulting in a release of tensile load

Cracking i n ReinforcedConcrete.

July, 1936

ST H
RU
ECTU
ER
NA
GLI N E E R

in the steel.At the sametimethere willbe

slip a t the ends of the bars over the distance
required to develop the maximum steel stress,
and it would be wise therefore to delay the
removal of the pretensioning device until the
bond
strength
is
sufficient to reduce
this
distance to a fraction of the whole length of
the slab.However,
inthecwe
of simply
supported slabs, it is sufficient to ensure that
the initialstressesincreasefrom
the end a t
sucha rate that at nopointis the ratio of
initial stress to the stress due to the applied
working load less than that decided upon for
the centre of the span.
Between the time of removing the pretensioning apparatus andapplying the working
load, the concretecontinues to deformas a
result of the creep of the concrete under the
action of the internal load, and also through
the normalshrinkage of the concrete. Since
shrinkage tends to decrease the strain capacity
of all air cured concrete, this factor does not
enterintoacomparison
between members
with and
without
pretensioning,
but
in
calculating the pretension necessary to prevent
cracking under a 'given bending moment the
effect of shrinkage must certainly be considered. It should be noticed that since moist
curingconditionsreduces
the creep of the
concrete* and at the same time increases the
extensibility, this method of curing will tend
to give the bestresultswithpretensioned
beams since the decrease in the initial internal
stresses will be a minimum.
In connection withsome tests on a particular
lightweightaggregate,four
beams have been
tested to determine the effect of pretensioning
the tensionreinforcement.The
beams were
6 ft. long and of rectangularsection, 4$ in.
wide by 64 in. deep, with two 2 in. diameter
high tensile steel bars as tension reinforcement
and two 4 in.diameter
mild steelbars
as
compression reinforcement.
The
concretes
used were :Beams PT1and
PT2. Rapid
hardening
Portlandcement
concrete, 1 : 1i : 1% by
volume, 1 : 0.55 : 0.54 byweight,water/
cement ratio 0.53 by weight, with foamed slag
aggregate of maximum size & in.
-

* Thia does not apply to Hlgh Alumina cement concretes, in which, however, the creep is m U in any m e .
See Building Research Technical Paper No. 12, '' The
Creep 07 Plow of Concreteunder
Load," by W . H .
Cflanville.
Cracking i n Reinforced Concrete.

313
Beams PT3 and PT4. As above,except
thatthe
proportions were 1 : 24 : 34 by
volume, 1 : 1.10 : 1.09 by weight, water/cement
ratio 0.80 by weight.
The tension bars of beams PT1 and PT4only
were stressed to an initial tension of 40,000 lb.
per sq. in. before placing the concrete, and the
pretensioning apparatus wasleftinposition
until an age of 14days. All specimens were
storedunderdamp
sacks for4daysand
subsequently in air a t 64" F. and 64 per cent.
relativehumidity.
At an age of 14 days the
pretensioning device was removed from the
two beams so that thesteel loadwas transferred
to the concrete. All beams were tested a t a n
age of 28 days by loading a t third points on a
5 f t . span. A very high tensile steel was used,
the failing strength being 120,000 lb. per sq. in.
(based on original area) ; there was no clearly
defined yield point but the stress corresponding
to a permanent deformation of 0.2 per cent.
was 100,000 lb. per sq. in.
In the case of the first pair of beams, the
yield load of the steel was not reached owing
to premature bond failure of the tension bars,
but for the second pair additional anchorage
was provided at theends of the beam fo prevent
this. The failing loadswere :Beam PT3 (without pretension)
Beam PT4 (with pretension)

...
...

2.25 tom
2.33 tone

equivalent to theoretical
steel
stresses
of
104,000 and 108,000 lb.per sq. in.Thepretensioning had thus no effect on the failing
strength of the beam.Thisis
in agreement
with the resultsof previous tests at theBuilding
Research Station on pretensioned beams.
The results of the deflection and crack width
measurements for the second pair of beams are
givenin Figures 13and 14. It willbe seen
that thepretensioning of the steel in beam PT4
markedlyaffected
the deformations of the
beam. Similar results were obtained for beams
PT1andPT2
except that steelfailure
in
tension was not reached. The main results for
allbeams are given in Table 1. At a steel
stress of 25,000 lb. per sq.in.,calculated
according tothe
usual
no-tension
theory,
there were no cracks in thepretensioned beams
but those intheother
beams hadreached
widths of 0.003 and 0.005 in.The deflection
a t this stress was reduced as a result of the
pretension to 6 and $ of the deflection of the
beams without pretension. I n order to obtain
the same deflection and crack widths as those

314

-S TTRHUEC T U R A L

Z-

ENGINEER -

July, 1936

2-16

S"k

g
h4

0
0

I
100

300
400
DEFLECTION AT MID-SPAN.

200

Figure 13.

500

- INCH

X-X

~r4.

Q-Q

PT3

600

700

800

x IOe3

Effect of pretensioning on deflection.

CRA CK

WID

m -/ N c H

Figure 14. Efect of pre:ensioning on crackvac.

Cracking in Reinforced Concrete.

T H E STRUCTURAL E N G I N E E R

July, 1936

THE POSSIBILITY OF CORROSION OF THE

REINFORCEMENT AS A RESULT OF CRACKING.

that were inthe beamswithoutpretension

a t a steel stFess of 25,000 lb. per sq. in.,
the
pretensioned beams had to be loaded to about
twice- this value.
It is clear thereforethat pretensioning of the
reinforcement is extremely useful in reducing
deflection and cracking. It will benoticed,
however, that the increase in stress to give the
aameconditions
asinthe
beams without
pretension was about; 25,000 lb.persq.in.,
and not 40,000 lb. per sq. in.
which was the
originalpretensionapplied to the steel. Less
than two thirds of the nominal pretension was
effective a t thetime of loading.Thereason
for this is that the initial strain in the steel is
reduced as a result of concrete.deformation
when the loadistransferredfrom
the pretensioning apparatus to the concrete and by
subsequentcreep of the concrete.Theconcrete strengths (see Table I) were high compared with those usually obtained with light
weightaggregates so thatthe reduction in
pretension resulting from concrete deformation
must be seriously considered when estimating
the efficiency of pretensioning when such
aggregates are to be used. It is interesting to
note that quite strong concrete was obtained
in these tests withareduction
in concrete
weight of over 20 per cent.below that normally
obtained in reinforced
concrete
work (see

It is evident that cracking will be present to

some extent in most reinforced concrete members subjected to bending andthe question
in any
arises as to whether such cracking is
way
harmful.
Some cracking
may
be so
developed asto
be unsightly and for this
reason alone cannot be tolerated, but what of
the smaller cracks which can be seen only on
close inspection of the member or even those
which can be discoveredonlywithamicroscope ?
I n a report by Faber on the effectiveness of
various steels for road slab reinforcement(17), he
stated that there is a limiting width of crack
belowwhich attack of the reinforcementis
prevented, and although evidence was not a t
the time given, it certainly seems reasontlble
to suggest that manyvery fine cracks that
occur in reinforced concrete arein no way
harmful.
It is of importance to limit thesize of cracks,
and from an earlier section of this note it is
clear that this can to some extent be effected
by :(i) Increasing the surfacearea of the reinforcement, or
(ii) Increasing the bondresistancebetween
concrete and steel.

Table I).
TABLE I.-EFFECT

315

OF PRETENSIONING REINFORCEMENT OF FOAMED SLAG CONCRETEBEAMS.

BEAM NO.
PT1*

PT2

PT4*

PT3

0.003

0.005

lb./sq. in.

35,000

17,000

35,000

14,000

Steel stress in pretensioned beam to give same crack widths as in

beamwithoutpretension at 25,000lb. per sq. in..
lb./sq. in.

55,000

Crack width at steel stress, due to external load, of 25,000 lb. per
inch
sq. in. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Steel stress at whichcracking started

.........

..

Deflection at mid span at steel stress of 25,000lb. per sq. in.

inch

Steel stress in pretensioned

beam to give same
deflection as in
beam
... lb./sq. in.
without pretension at 25,000 lb. per sq. in.
Weight of concrete cubic
per

. . . . . . . . . . . . lb. -i
. . . . . . . . . . . . Ib./sq. in.

foot

Concrete strength (4 in. cube)

0.019

0.054

48,000

I!

1I

115

4,900 330
14 days
Averagebondstrengthobtained
with a t in.high tensile steel bar
embedded in concrete cylinder, 3 in. diameter, 6 in. long
28 days 320
lb.!sq. in. ;
~_-I
- _~
* With tension steel pretensioned to 40,000 lb. per sq. in. (nominal).

Cracking in Reinforced Concrete.

52,000
0.018

0.080

47,-

ll0

3,800
310

350

316

T H E STRUCTURAL E N Q I N E E R

That is to say, the use of rough bars of small

cracking
section will tendtodistributethe
throughout the member, the individual cracks
being finer. The exact extentto which cracking
may bepermittedwithoutdetriment
to the
structure is, however, unknown at the present
moment and can
only be determined as the
result of further investigation.
The uae of deformed bars may insome cases
help byproviding an increased bond resistance,
but in the case of several types of deformed
bars the local increases in stress intensity a t
sharp bends or corners tend to produce cracks
a t these points, thereby increasing
the cracking
and at the
same time reducing
the bond between
bar and concrete.
A type of reinforcement which has met with
favour on the Continent consists of two mild
steel bars twisted together. It is claimed that
thistreatment
increases the yieldpoint
of
the steel,andthe
bond strength when embedded in concrete, and distributes the
cracking
along the member, so that theindividual crack
widthsaresmaller than thoseobtainedwith
ordinary
bar
reinforcement.
Tests
at
the
Building Research Station on this steel have
shown,however,
that althoughthereisa
marked increase in yield stress, the difference
between the cracking obtained with this steel
and that obtainedwithordinary
mild steel
for the samesteelstressisnotpronounced
until the ultimate stress is approached.
It has been suggested that with this steel,
the fine cracks (0.002 to 0.003 in.) that occur
a t 27,000 lb. per sq. in. do not penetrate to the
steel. I n order to test this idea, two bars were
specially
tested
atthe
Building
Research
Station. Each bar was embedded in concrete,
using a cover equal to the diameter of the bar
(4 in.andin.).The
embeddedbars
were
loaded to astress of 27,000 lb. persq. in.
and a containerwas
then fixed roundthe
centre of the specimen and a green dye (naphthol green)poured in. Thisdye was allowed
to penetrate the cracks in the concrete for a
period of about 30 minutesand
was then
removed. The specimen wasleft for90 minutes
to allow the dye to dry and theload was then
continued until yield of the steel. On the
removal of the specimenfrom
the testing
machine and breaking the concrete away from
the bar, it was found that the dye had penetratedthe cracks inthe
concrete andhad
reached the steel,actuallyleavingagreen
stain on the bar. The assumption that the dye

July, 1936

had dried out before the load was increased

was justified by the fact that when the concrete was broken, the dye was absolutely dry
and the time
of loadingfrom 27,000 lb. per
sq. in was only a few minutes. The dye
was
not absorbed bythe concrete and only appeared.
along the sides of a crack. Similar results were
later obtained from tests on plain bars
at a
stress of 20,000 lb. per sq. in., for crack widths
of about 0.002 in. evenwhen the time of drying
is direct
out was increased to 4 days.This
evidence that cracks a t working loads in
reinforced
concrete
penetrate
right
tothe
steel ; that is, there is some slip a t thebar
surface.
Kriiger(lR)reports the results of exposure
testson
some reinforcedconcreteT-beams
left in the open for over 10 years. The beams
were 20 cm. deep with flange and rib widths of
16 and 8 cm. respectively.Thebeams
were
supported on a span of 160 cm. a t a n age of
3 days and a t 28 days were loaded to twioe
the design load giving a theoretical steel stress
of 28,000 lb. per sq. in. Two arrangements of
reinforcement were used : in one type, one
bar of 1 cm. diameter was used with a vertical
and horizontal cover of 3.5 cm. and in the other
type two bars of 0.7 cm. diameter wereused
with only 1 cm. cover. I n all cases rusting of
the steel was apparent after a few years, but
even after tenyears when the reinforcement was
exposed the rusting'had clearly had no appreciable
weakening
effect on the steel.
The
rusting was about the same for the two types
of reinforcement. However, it is possible that
the effect of using smaller bars in the second
type was counterbalancedby
the decreased
cover. The load was applied a t the centre of
the span and this is adefinite disadvantage in
a'itest on cracking since the reduction in stress
from midspan outwards is too rapid, particularly when, as in thiscase, the ratio of span to
beam depth is low, the number of cracks being
less than would be obtained with two point or
uniform loading. The greatest disappointment
with regard t o the tests, however, is that no
measurements of the widths of the cracks were
apparently made, so that there is no direct
guide as to the safe limit of cracking.
I n a n accelerated corrosion test, Rengers(lY)
measured the widths of cracks remaining in a
hollow pile aftertesting it transversely. He
submitted the pile to repeated immersion in a
1 per cent.brinesolutionwith
intermittent
periods of dry storage.After
five months'

Cracking in ReinforcedConcrete.

July, 1936

T H E STRUCTURAL ENGINEER

317

treatment in this way the pile was examined.

spreadoverthereinforcementand
was not
It was found that rusting did not occur in the
confined to the lines of the cracks. It is uncase of three cracks less than about 0.004 in.
fortunate that here, asinKriigerstests,
no
wide, thatthere
was definiteindication of widths
crack
are given.
J
corrosion in the case of onecrack of width
It is felt that theonly satisfactory methodof
varying from 0.012 to 0.04 in. although there
obtaining the limiting crack widthbelow which
was no corrosion with another crack of width
the possibility of corrosion can be ignored is
0.02 in., and that rustingwas pronounced with
by actual exposure tests on reinforced concrete
a large crack of width 0.04-0.08 in.
members in which the widthe of all cracks are
measuredperiodically. A series of such teats
Probst(20)also carried out accelerated tests,
hasalready
been started atthe
Building
using rectangular beams which were loaded in
Research
Station
but
useful
results
arenot
a special apparatus in which corrosive gases
likely to become available forsome considerable
could be passed over the beams. During the
time.
day-timethe beams were submitted to the
HEALING OF CRACKS.
combined action of steam, oxygen and carbon
dioxide and the beams were removed a t night
We have seenin anearlier sectionthat it has
and left with the
cracks exposed to the air.
been stated that cracking, due to direct stress,
After some days of this treatment, the steel
is to some extent elastic, i.e., the cracks recover
was exposed and carefullyexamined. Probst
when the load is removed, or, as Probst says,
found that up togiven
a
load, correspondingto
the cracksbreathe.Tests
atthe
Building
a steel stress of about 35,000 lb. per sq. in.,
Research Station haveshown however that this
idea of elasticity of crackingmust
be
the corrosive substances used in the tests had
treated with caution.
no effect on the steel. A rusting effect was
I n practice it has been noticed that cracks
obtained
only
when the failing
load
was
do in some cases tend to heal with time.
For
approached. The rusting
was sometimes conexample, if concretespecimens aretested to
centratedalongthelines
where the cracks
failure but not to absolute collapse and aftercrossed the steel ; in other cases therust

Cracking in ReinforcedConcrete.

:3 l 8

THE STRUCTURAL E N G I N E E R

-wardsallowed to remain underno load for some

time and then retested, the specimen may be
found to have a strength even greater than its
original strength. Some striking figures in this
.connection were put forwardby
Professor
Duff AbramsC2l)a few years ago. Hehad
-tested number
a
of concrete
cylinders
to
failure,andretestedthemafter
aperiod of
only took as much
'sdmeyears ; theynot
loadastheyhad
originally taken, but gave
values from 167-379 per cent. of the original
28-daystrength.
Abrams'opinion was that
-the small cracks which opened up at the time
of the original test were actually welded together
by the subsequentdepositing of the soluble
materials from the cement and
aggregate. It
-was actuallya healingprocess, and theconcrete
-gained in strength much as it would if it had
not been subjected to its originalload.
Tests carried out at the Building Research
,Station have confirmed the results of Abrams
.citedabove. The tests were on 8 in. X 4 in.
-cylinders whichwere retested a t quiteshort
periods of eitherwater,dampsandorair
istorage after loading to failure. The cylinders
were testedin a hydraulicteetingmachine
and were not
shattered
under
test.
The
results of a few of thetests which may be
-regarded astypicalaregivenin
Figure 15.
I n this figure which relates to
Portland
*cement concretes of various consistencies, the
strengths obtainedonfirsttestingare
com-pared with the strengths on retesting after
a
period of 7 days and againat 28 days from the
initialtest.Fromthis
figure it will beseen
.that thehealing is greater for concrete initially
.crushed a t early ages than for older concrete.
I n most cases a periodof only 7 days is sufficient
for the concrete to heal sufficiently to bear a t
least the load that causedfailureoriginally
and that only in the case of concrete initially
-tested a t 90 days is the period of 28 days
insufficient, andeven here the difference in
.ultimate strengths is not very much.
Similarresults were obtainedwithseveral
batches of cement including aluminous cement.
I n general, it was found that : ( a ) the
leaner andmore permeable the mix, the greater
the amount of healing, and ( 6 ) the wetter the
mix, the greater the amount
of healing.
I n tests carried out some years ago on the
.effect of impact on small reinforced concrete
members i t was found thatthe
shrinkage
stresses setupin
a member were reduced
In almost
,considerably
by
impact
loads.

- July, 1936

all cases, the shrinkagestress

was actually
reduced to zero aftera few hundred blows,
applied longitudinallyor transversely.
Although the steelgradually increased in
length to its naturalvalue, there was, however,
norelativemovement
between the concrete
and steel a tt h e ends of the member. It
followed therefore that the stress release had
occurred by movement or slip in the length,
probably in allcases, and definitely in some, a t
cracks. Such cracks are a common occurrence
when impact loads are applied to reinforced
concrete
members
in which the shrinkage
stresses are high. It isinteresting to note,
however, that if fine cracks occur a t a n early
age as a result of impactthey will tend to
heal with time provided that the loading conditions
are
subsequently
less severe, For
example, in a reinforced concrete pile, fine
cracksalmostalwaysappearduringdriving,
but these are in
general not serious, as they
will gradually
heal
under
the
subsequent
conditions of practically static loading.
Certain tests have been made at the Station
to investigatethismatter.Small
piles were
cracked in a testing machine before subjecting
to severe sea-water conditions. After a period
of four years no sign of corrosion a t the cracks
has appeared and except for the location marks
applied at the beginning of the test it would
be impossible to locate them.
SUMMARY.

Incidence
The straincapacity of conand
Crete, i.e., the extension that
Measurements can occur without the formaof Cracks. tion of cracks, has been determined by many investigators
with widely different results.
The
lack
of
agreement is probably
due
to two
main
reasons : (i)variationin
the initialstress
conditions inthe members before test,and
(ii) variation in the accuracy of observing the
appearance of cracks.
It appears thatthe effect of reinforcing
steel is normallyt o increase the strain capacity
of the concrete by only a smallamount ; when
reinforced concrete members are stored in air,
tensile stresses are set up in the concrete as a
result of shrinkage, withan adverse effect on the
subsequent strain capacity when the member
is loaded. On the otherhand,the
presence
of the reinforcement may leadto a considerable
increase of the effective strain capacity under
conditions of moist curing.
Cracking in Reinforced Concrete.

July, 1936

--

S T REUNCTG
THIUENREAELR

It islikely thattheapparent
increase in
strain
capacity
due
fo the reinforcement
observed bysome workers was partly the result
of insufficientlyaccurateobservation
of the
appearance of the first crack. I n tests at the
BuildingResearch
Station, withsmooth
a
whitenedsurface it has been found possible
to detectcracks 0.0001 in.inwidthbyeye,
though normally the cracks are a little wider
when theyfirstappear.
Crack widthsare
measured in alltestsonreinforcedconcrete
members, using portable microscopes with eyepiece scales.
Shrinkage
A method
has
been develCracking. oped
whereby
the shrinkage
stresses in restrained concrete
members
can
be
measured
until cracking
occurs. It has been shown that there is a
tendencyfor
the resistance to cracking to
decrease as the rapidity of hardening of the
cement used increases. The type of aggregate
used has an important influence on the likelihood of cracking ; butvariations
of the
cement or watercontentswithinpractical
limitsforreinforcedconcrete
work do not
appear to affect shrinkage cracking appreciably.
Strain
Cracking.

Early
tests
on reinforced
concrete
members
indicated
that reduction of the size of
individualcracks could be effected by using
smaller bars with a high bond resistance. This
isshown to beinagreementwithasimple
theory of crackinggiven in the paper.This
theoryindicated
that, foraparticularbar
size, the crackwidths
would increasewith
steel stress more rapidly for low percentages of
steel andthishas been verified bytestson
beams with high tensile steel reinforcement.
Theincreaseincrackwidth
that would
result from an increase in the working stresses
inthe tensionsteel may proportionately be
considerably
greater
thanthe
increase in
stress, particularly as the percentages of steel
normally used would tend to be reduced. The
adverse effect of the reduced percentage can,
however, be nullified bythe use of smaller
bars.
The
suggestion
put forward by several
investigators that cracksare to some extent
" elastic "-that
is, they recoversomewhat
when the load is removed-has been confirmed,
but it is clear that the term " elastic " is not
very satisfactory. The cracks do recover when

Cracking i n Reinforced Concrete.

3 19
the load is completely
removed but therecovery
is not proportional to the reduction in load.
I n fact, areduction of one half .of the load may
cause no change a t all in the crackwidths,
owing to the hysteresis due to the change in
direction of the slip mechanism at the steelconcrete interface.
It has been found that there is a considerable
development of cracking in beams submitted
to sustained loading, though a state of equili-,
brium is reached aftera few weeksfrom loading.
Thisdevelopmentisprobably
the combined
effect of the increase in steel stress resulting
from creepof the concrete, and of creep in bond.

PreThe
possibility
of preventing
tensioning. cracking a t working loadsby
pretensioning the reinforcement has frequently been advocated, notably
byFreyssinet.Testsmade
a t the Building
Research Station,in which an initial pretension
of 40,000 lb.persq.in.
was applied to the
tension steel of beams, have shown that the
effect of the elastic and inelastic movementsof
the concrete may reduce
appreciably
the
effectiveness of pretensioning. I n the particular
testscited,thepretensioningapparatus
was
removed a t a n age of 14 days, and the beams
were loaded at anage of 28 days. The effective
pretension had during the intervening period
been reduced by concrete deformation to only
abouttwo-thirds of its originalvalue.This
reduction must be seriously considered when
using pretensioning as a means of preventing
cracking.
Corrosion.
It has been suggested that
there is alimitingwidth
of
crack below which corrosion of the reinforcement will not take place. Although this seems
reasonable, satisfactory evidence on this point
has yet to be obtained. It is felt that the best
way to do this is by actual exposure tests on
loaded reinforced concretebeams, and such
tests have been started at the Building Research Station, measurements being made of
the progressive cracking of the beams. The
usefulness of exposure tests by certain other
investigators has been severely restrictedowing
to the lack of data with regard to the widths
of the cracks.
Healing of
The
autogenous
healing
of
Cracks.
cracks
has
been investigated
by several writers, and a series
of testshas been made a t the BuildingRe-

ES N
TR
GU
I NCETE
URR
TA
HLE

320

search Station which indicated that fine cracks

in concretemembersoftenhealcompletely
with time. The healing process takes place to
some extent in air, but is
morecomplete in
moistcuringconditions.
It seems likely that
fine cracks formed at an early age as a result
of impact (e.g., in reinforcedconcretepiles)
are not ingeneral serious,as theywill gradually
heal underthe subsequent conditionsof practically static loading. Cracks formed in piles at
the Building ResearchStation before subjecting
them to severesea-waterconditions
had no
adverse effect on the piles and after four years
could not be detected.
REFERENCES.
1. Considdre, A . Influence of metallic reinforcements on the properties of mortarsand concretes : GBnie Civil, 1898-9,34 (14), 213-6
; (15)

229-33; (16)

260-3.
2. Tests for Ways8 und Freytag, A . G. See Morsch,
E., DerEisenbetonbau.
6th edition, 1923, 1,
(l), 109.
3. Kkinlogel, A . Extensibility of plain and rein-

4.

5.

6.

7.
8.

July, 1936

9. C o d k r e , A . Crack development. Handbuch fiir

Eisenbetonbau, 3rd edition, 1921, I , 104-5.
@raj,
0. Crack development.
10. Bach, C. and
Handbuch fiir Eisenbetonbau, 3rd edition, 1921,
I , 105-111.
11. Berry, H . C . Some tests of reinforced concrete

beams underoft-repeated
loading. Am. Soc.
T. M. Proc., 1908,8, 454-68.
12. Homann. Experimentson a reinforced concrete
beam. ArmierterBeton,
1909, 2 (4), 153-60:

(5),202-8.
13. Emperger, F. V .

Die
Rissfrage bei hohen
Stahlspannungen und die zulhsige Blosslegung
des Stahlea. Mitt.uber Versuche ausgefuhrt
vom Osterreichischen Eisenbeton Ausschuss.

14. Shank, J . R . Flow of concrete under sustained

loads. Am.Conc. Inst. J., 1931, 2 (Proc., 27),
(lo),1286-1293.
15. Davis, R . E., Davis, H . E., and Hamilton, J . S .
Plastic
Flow of Concrete underSustained
Stress. Am. Soc. T. M. Proc., 1934, 34 (2),

244-7
; (17)

forced concrete due to bending stresses. Beton

und Eisen, 1904,3 (2),
89-98,
or Forscherarbeiten
aus dem Gebiet des Eisenbetons, 1904 (1).
C&dre,
A . Extensibility of reinforced concrete. Beton und Eisen, 1905, 4 (3),58-9.
Bach, C. Mitt. uber Forschungsarbeiten, 1907
(pp. 39, 45-7),
and see Stuttgarter Versuche
uberdie
Dehnungsfiihigkeit des Betons, in
Morsch, E., DerEisenbetonbau,
6th edition,
1923, 1 (l), 111.
H&, W . K . Extensibility of Concrete. Am.
Conc. Inst. Proc. 1926,22, 364-85.
Probet, E . The Influence of Rapidly Alternating
Loading on Concrete and Reinforced Concrete.
Struct. Eng., 1931, 9, (12), 410-32.
Qlanville, W . H . Creep of Concrete under
Load. Struct..Eng., 1933, 11, (2), 65-8.

354-386.
16. Freyssinet, E . See BritishPatent Specificationa
Nos. 338,864, 338,934, 364,621, 393,576and
433,059. Also A Revolution in the Technique
of the Utilisation of Concrete. Struct. Eng.,
1936, 14 (5),242-259.
Mild Steel versusHigh
Tensile
Steel.
Concrete and Constructional Engineering, 1927, 22, (5), 342-4.

17. Faber, 0. See

18. Kriiger, L.

Versuche a n Eisenbetonhohlkirrpern
und-balken zur Festatellung der Neigung zur
Riss-und
Rostbildung.Deutscher
Auschuss
fur Eisenbeton. Heft 71. 1933.

19. Rengers, N . J .

The Influence of Crack Width

on Corrosive Attack. BetonundEisen 1935,

34, (lo), 161-2.

20. Probst, E . Grundlagen desBetonundEisen1935,p. 131.
betonbaues.Berlin,
21. Abrams, D . A . Queston Box. Am. Conc.
Inst. Proc., 1926, 22, 636-9.

MNEMONIC
NOTATION
FOR
ENGINEERING
The above report, which was drawn up in
1918 by theScience Committee of the Concrete
Institute, has now been withdrawn from the
list of publications of theInstitution.
In
BritishStandard Specification No. 560/1934
the standard symbols to be used in structural

16, 1935.

FORMULFE.

25, 26 and
engineering areprintedonpages
27. The few cases where this
Institution
uses symbols or abbreviations which vary
from those contained in the British Standard
Specification, are set out in a note a t the foot
of page 27 of the Specification.
Cracking in Reinforced Concrete.