Betrachtungen zur rechnerischen Rissbreite bei frühem und spätem Zwang und bei geometrischen Schwachstellen

Considerations of the Crack Width Resulting from Early and from Late Restraints and in Constrained Concrete Members with Locally Reduced Cross Sections

This paper compares the theoretical crack widths resulting from restraints of concrete members occurring early and restraints occurring later. In particular the special case of early restraint cracking due to cooling after hydration followed by later restraints due to shrinkage or ambient temperature changes is considered. It is shown that the cracks that have formed early must widen before new cracks can form at a later stage when the concrete tensile strength has increased to a higher value. The cracks thus become wider than those forming only at the later stage. A simple model is presented for the calculation of crack widths in such situations. Further, the paper discusses the concentration of restraint cracks in portions of concrete members that possess a reduced cross sectional area as in slabs with large openings. It is shown how the crack width control can be effectively achieved in such situations.