Crack Control End restraint

Control of cracking due to end restraint

Input parameters Symbol Unit Value
The risk of cracking may be estimated using the calculation for edge restraint (PAGE 2) with an appropriate value for the restraint R . If cracking is predicted then, under
conditions of end restraint, the magnitude of the restrained strain will determine the number of cracks which occur but not the individual crack widths, which are
determined by the stress transferred to the steel from the concrete. The tensile strength of the concrete at the time of cracking is therefore a principal determinant of the
potential crack width. Unless the restrained strain is reduced to the extent that cracking is avoided, reducing the magnitude of restrained strain will only be effective in
reducing the number of cracks, but not the crack widths.
Section details
Section thickness h mm 200
Bar diameter φ mm 16
Bar spacing S mm 150
As 2
Area of steel per face per m mm 1340
Cover c mm 40
Strength class f ck / f ck,cube MPa C40/50
Properties of reinforcement
Characteristic yield strength f yk MPa 500 500 MPa (EN1992-1-1)
Elastic modulus of reinforcement Es GPa 200
Crack spacing
Surface zone defining the effective area of concrete in
h e,ef mm 100 h e,ef = 2.5(c + φ/2) used in calculating crack spacing
tension A c,eff
Steel ratio for calculating crack spacing ρ p,eff 0.01340 ρ p,eff = A s / A c,eff = A s / (h e,ef x 1000)
EN1992-1-1 recommends k 1 = 0.8 but provides a factor of 0.7 where
Coefficient for bond characteristics k1 1.14
good bond cannot be guaranteed. Hence k 1 = 0.8/0.7 = 1.14
Crack spacing S r,max mm 714 S r,max = 3.4 c + 0.425 k 1 φ / ρ p,eff
Early-age crack width
Age at cracking tc days 3 Use 3 days unless more reliable information is available
Tensile strength of concrete f ctm (t c ) MPa 2.10 Mean value of tensile strength f ctm (t)
k = 1.0 for h ≤ 300mm; k = 0.75 for h ≥ 800mm; intermediate values
Coefficient k 1.00
are interpolated
Coefficient kc 1 For pure tension k c = 1

CIRIA C660 PAGE 3 / 6