Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
AND
METHODS OF MINIMISING CRACKING POTENTIALS
1.
INTRODUCTION
2.
Fresh Concrete
When concrete has been placed and compacted into a form or mould, the
initial spatial distribution of the various components is established. At this stage,
the components are:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
This complex system of solids, liquids and gas changes from their initial
spatial distribution as the denser solid particles, particularly the coarse
aggregates drift downwards whilst the lighter components, water and air, rise
upwards to the exposed top surface. This behaviour has been described as
bleeding, settlement and segregation. As hydration takes place, the rate of the
movements is rapidly reduced and ending when hardening takes place. The
duration of time, during which gradual stiffening results in hardening, may be
prolonged by the addition of retarders. The initial degree of fluidity of the mix
may also be modified by varying the dosage of plasticiser besides adjustments to
the mix proportions.
2.2
When this occurs, it is difficult to detect and to fill this void after the
concrete has hardened. It is important that revibration of the upper layer of the
concrete is carried out to close both the top cracks and to fill the voids before the
concrete has passed the time for formation of cold joint, i.e. the time to reach a
penetration resistance of 3.5 MPa. Remedial measures after the concrete has
hardened may seal the cracks to protect the reinforcement but the loss of bond
not recovered.
If this is significant structurally, the top layer may have to be
removed to below the bar level and recast.
Similar problems may arise from differential rate of settlement results in
plastic settlement cracks. In the case of waffle slabs, the greater depth of the
ribs may cause a crack to form at the location of change in depth. For columns
with a conical column head, the change in section may lead to arching action of
the concrete flow resulting in a near horizontal crack near the bottom of the
transition. For very large diameter columns with heavy reinforcement near the
surface, the friction near the formwork may cause the concrete to settle at the
different rate from the interior volume. If the cover is small, a horizontal crack
may appear just above the region where the splicing bars from the lower floor are
terminated.
In such cases, changes in the mix design to provide better cohesion by
using higher percentage of fine aggregate or adding condensed silica fume. It is
best to avoid over retardation for the top layer to minimise the potential for plastic
settlement cracking. The method of placing thick sections, e.g. a thick pile cap
or a deep raft foundation, is often by building up in lifts at one or more corners of
the plan area to its full height and then move progressively over the area. With
this approach, the top layer has the same retardation time as the rest of the
concrete, which is needed to prevent formation of cold joints. However, the top
layer does not have similar need and the high retardation provides more time for
the process of settlement before the concrete reaches setting. The alternate
approach of placing the entire area in horizontal layers enables the concrete for
the top layer to be designed with a nominal retardation suitable for the time
transportation from plant to site. The lower layers will have also reached partial
set by the time the top layer is placed. This will also reduce the total plastic
settlement for the whole depth. In the case of very large areas in plan, the total
plan area may be divided into separate cells with partitions making up of special
mesh for end stops, e.g. Hyrib. This is to reduce the retardation time needed if
the whole area is filled to the same height at a time. The planning and
organisation of the logistic for ensuring the supply of mixes with different setretardation times is directed to the appropriate locations are vital to the success
of such an operation. The alternate to this is to introduce revibration of the
finished surface just prior to the time for cold joint (3.5 MPa penetration
resistance), to close any settlement cracks that may have developed.
3
2.3
Shrinkage of concrete is the result of drying out of the moisture within its
mass. This can occur before the concrete has hardened and continue for
months and years. Cracks may appear in an exposed concrete surface very
soon after it has been finished or even, in some cases, before finishing has been
completed. Such cracks are called plastic shrinkage cracks. They are produced
by the rapid drying of the concrete surface whilst the concrete is still in its fresh or
plastic state. They are generally discontinuous and very seldom extend to a free
edge when there is very little restraint to movement. In areas without top
reinforcement, they are typically in a diagonal direction of relatively short length
(up to 300 mm). The pattern may be modified if top reinforcement bars are
present. The slightly smaller thickness of the cover over a bar may align the
crack along part of its length.
The loss of moisture is most commonly due to evaporation of water from
the surface, but a dry sub-base or formwork materials may suck water from the
concrete and directly lead to cracking or aggravate the effects of surface
evaporation. Thus plastic shrinkage cracking is most common with large
horizontal surface in the case of slabs and pavement. Drying out of the concrete
surface begins when the rate of evaporation exceeds that of bleeding. Thus
plastic shrinkage increases with the cement content of the mix and with lowering
of the water/cement ratio. Hence, there is a complex relationship between
bleeding and plastic shrinkage. A higher bleeding capacity leads to more
shrinkage, but on the other hand it slows down the rate of drying out for a given
rate of evaporation and so reduces potential plastic shrinkage cracking. The rate
of evaporation from the concrete surface depends on the combined influence of
wind velocity, relative humidity of the air, the temperature of the air and the
temperature of the concrete. If the rate of evaporation exceeds 0.5kg/m2/h
(0.1Ib/ft2/h), loss of moisture may exceed the rate of bleeding. Potential plastic
shrinkage cracking is high when the rate exceeds 1kg/m2/h (0.2lb/ft2/h). A chart
is often used to estimate the rate of evaporation under given environmental
conditions and the temperature of the concrete.
Potential plastic shrinkage cracking may be minimised by reducing the
wind velocity with windbreakers, by reducing the temperature of the concrete and
by avoiding excessive delay in setting of the concrete. The best approach is to
ensure that concrete surface is kept wet until the surface has been finished and
curing to begin as soon as finishing is complete. Site control to achieve this is
most important particularly when specification calls for a dry shake hardener
finish is to be applied. The introduction of the hardener with added cement when
bleeding is ending together with the mechanical trowel finishing leads to a very
try finished surface. Any delay in curing is likely to result in plastic shrinkage
cracking. Experience has shown that it is vital that the curing process follows
immediately after the completion of this type of surface finish to avoid potential
plastic shrinkage cracking.
Cracks may exist in hardened concrete even before it has been subject to
any physical loading. Such cracks are usually the result of environmental loading
combined with the heterogeneity of concrete.
3.1
Composition of Concrete
Anhydrous
cement
Hardened
Cement paste
Natural
aggregates
7 to 8
0.25(?)
1 to 4
0.25
2,000 to
20,000
200 to
1,000
1.7 to 2.2
2,000
to
3,000
5 to 10
0.10 to 0.25
10,000 to
50,000
200 to
2,000
2.5 to 2.7
Negligible
(with a few
exceptions)
Negligible
(with a few
exceptions)
Elastic modulus
(psi x 106)*
Poisson's ratio
Ultimate compressive
strength (psi)*
Ultimate tensile
strength (psi)*
Specific gravity
Drying shrinkage
(microstrain)
Negligible (?)
Specific creep
(microstrain/psi)*
Negligible (?)
1 to 3
6 to 12
10 to 20
Thermal coefficient
(microstrain/C)
50,000(?)
2,000(?)
3.1 to 3.2
6 to 12
3.2
The range of both the daily and seasonal temperatures is small within the
tropics, generally within 10C. A variation of 5C produces a strain of the order
of 50 microstrain. Since concrete is not a good conductor of heat, the interior of
the mass is subject to a much less change in temperature and thermal strain
induced cracking is unlikely. Thus this factor is not significant in the design of
structural elements. On the other hand, in the tropics an exposed concrete roof
slab is heated to a high temperature in the afternoon. Temperatures up to 50C
have been recorded. A heavy downpour of tropical rain occurs frequently and
the sudden thermal sock of a fully restraint slab, particularly when no top
reinforcement is provided at mid-span, may lead to differential thermal cracking.
Another similar situation is during fire fighting when water is sprayed onto the hot
concrete. In general, it is not only the space rate of temperature difference
(physical gradient) but also the time rate of temperature change (creep relief)
combined together that determines the potential thermal cracking.
The case of casting of thick sections with a high cementitious content is
covered in a later section under potential early thermal cracking.
4.
This involves the reaction between the soluble alkalis (Na2O and K2O) in
cement and the reactive silica in certain types of aggregates. The resultant gel
formed by the reaction has a high capacity of imbibing water and swell. The
expansion of the gel gives rise to forces sufficient to cause spalling of the
concrete.
The best means to prevent such occurrence is to either avoid the use of
aggregates that are known to be reactive, or by selecting cements that have an
Na2O equivalent (%Na2O + 0.658%K2O) content below 0.6% or 3.0 kg/m3. In
general, if the service environment is dry, (below 75% RH), there is insufficient
water to enable the gel to produce enough swelling to cause spalling.
4.1.2
Sulphate attack
5.
5.1
(a)
Below about 30% of the short-term strength, the degree of preexisting bond cracking is small and the cracks are stable with little
tendency to propagate. In addition, there is some new crack
initiation at localised regions of stress concentration accounting for
the slight deviation from linearity at this low stress level.
(b)
(c)
(d)
Creep Fracture
10
6.
6.1
TSC
T1
Te
R
Gravel
70
Granite
80
Limestone
90
Sintered pfa
110
11
6.2
The coefficient of thermal expansion for the aggregate type in the above
table are shown below:
Aggregate
Coefficient of thermal
expansion 10-6/C
6.3
Gravel
Granite
Limestone
Sintered pfa
12.0
10.0
8.0
7.0
Restraint Factor
Pour configuration
Thin wall cast on to massive concrete base
Massive pour cast into binding
Massive pour cast on to existing mass concrete
Suspended slabs
Infill bays, i.e. rigid restraint
6.4
Aggregate
Type
Gravel
Granite
Limestone
Sintered pfa
The tabulated values show that in the case of a raft foundation, the
probability of differential thermal cracking is very low, even at the base where the
restraint is higher. On the other hand, for the case of a thin wall cast on to
massive concrete base, the probability of cracking is very high due to the high
restraint factor of 0.8 at the base.
7.
7.1
Setting Temperature
Curing Temperature
13
14
8.1
Temperature Control
The are two stages in temperature control. The first is the initial concrete
temperature and the second is the peak temperature that the hardened concrete
may reach.
8.1.1
Initial temperature
The factors influencing the initial temperature are the temperature of the
constituents and the mix proportions. The temperature of the aggregates, which
occupy the biggest proportion of the mix, will have the largest influence. This is the
reason why shielding of the mix constituents from direct solar radiation in the tropics
is beneficial in preventing mix temperature becoming much higher than ambient
temperature. However, the easiest approach to lower mix temperature is to use
mixing water which is chilled or replaced by ice. ACI Committee 305 has provided
an estimate of the various effects.
The temperature of a freshly mixed concrete can be estimated based on the
proportions and the specific heat for the various constituents of a mix (ACI
Committee 305) and may include the use of ice to partially or completely replace
the mixing water. This controls the initial temperature of fresh concrete. Allowance
must also be made for the rise in temperature due to the heat capacity of the mixer
drum (and transport truck drum) as well as the gain in heat from the environment
and the agitation during transport, and pumping. In general, the mix temperature
can be lowered by 6 to 11C either by chilled water or ice. Further lowering can
only be achieved by liquid nitrogen injection into the freshly mixed concrete. It has
been estimated that this method may reduce initial concrete temperature to about
10C when the concrete near the injection nozzle becomes frozen. The use liquid
nitrogen to cool the fine aggregate before its batching has also been reported by
Japanese researchers Kurita et al. This has a better efficiency than injection into
fresh concrete from the discharge port of a mixer truck.
As an indication, the resultant temperature of a mix is given by:
T1 =
where
M = mass in kg
T = temperature in C
H = specific heat of ingredient, in kJ/kg
F1 = latent heat of fusion for ice = 335 kJ/kg
and the subscripts c, w, fa, ca represent cement, water, fine aggregate, and coarse
aggregate respectively.
15
In the case of ready-mixed concrete where the cement is kept in silos, the
cement temperature is generally much above the other ingredients. In the tropics,
the cement temperature is likely to be above 40C and at times above 60C. It can
be seen that from the equation given above, the change in cement temperature
alone may be estimated for a typical mix of the following proportions:
Cement
Water
Total aggregates
= 350 kg/m3
= 175 kg/m3
= 1,875 kg/m3
Taking the approximate specific heat for the solids, Hs (cement and
aggregates) as 0.92 kJ/kg/C and for water, Hw as 4.2 kJ/kg/C, the change in the
initial concrete temperature of 1C may be caused by a change in the temperature
of either the cement, water or aggregates approximately as shown below:
Cement temperature
Water temperature
Aggregate temperature
= 8.6C, or
= 3.8C, or
= 1.6C
Peak Temperature
In order to minimise the rise in temperature, the total heat of hydration of the
mix may be reduced by suitable choice of the chemical composition of the cement.
Special low heat cement and partial replacement of Portland cement with
supplementary cementitious materials such as pfa and ggbs are available for such
purposes. The use of plasticizers to reduce cement content for a given
water/cement ratio offers another means to reduce the total heat of hydration of a
mix. Currently available high range water-reducing admixtures (super-plasticizers)
can provide a mix equivalent in workability and strength with a reduction of up to
20-30% in both the water and cement contents.
In actual construction of thick sections, the situation is not one of truly
adiabatic condition but that there will always be some loss of heat from the concrete
to the environment. Under this partially adiabatic condition, the delay in hydration
by the introduction of pfa or ggbfs will result in not only a lower peak temperature
but also for it to occur at a later age of the concrete. Thus the cracking resistance
to the mix is higher by the time when the peak temperature is reached. The
differential temperature is often reduced in the process as observed by Mani et al.
16
SIGNIFICANCE OF CRACKING
Level 1 Cracks
All cracks are unsightly and invoke human reactions to the safety of the
structure. The prestige of the structure also determines the tolerance of cracks
which do not impair durability, serviceability or structural integrity. CampbellAllen proposed a set of prestige numbers and the acceptable viewing distance from
which cracks of a given width may be noticed:
Prestige
Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Description
Little used and scarcely seen storage areas
Parking stations and garages
Factory and commercial buildings
Viewing distance - m
for crack width (mm) of
0.1
0.2
0.3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
Domestic buildings
3
3
6
8
8
>8
17
9.2
Level 2 Cracks
Level 3 Cracks
There is no agreed opinion on the importance of crack width (up to 0.5 mm)
and its effect on durability. Generally, crack width is limited to a range of 0.1 to 0.4
depending on the service environment. Some studies (Beeby) show that there is
no unique correlation between crack width and corrosion of steel bars. In
particular, cracks perpendicular to the bars do not lead to significant corrosion beat
those parallel to bars are critical. However, there is a danger that deep pitting
corrosion may occur when the anode area is small. If funds permit, It is desirable to
seal all cracks even if the seal is only partially penetrating the full depth of a crack.
This is to increase its durability life even though it may be marginal in effectiveness.
9.4
Level 4 Cracks
These cracks are usually wide and are caused by structural action. They
indicate possible overloading in flexure or shear (depending on the nature of the
cracks) or settlement of supports. Before they are grouted or repaired by
replacement of the spalled concrete, their cause(s) should be established and
prevented from re-occurring.
9.5
18
REFERENCES
ACI Committee 305 (1991), Hot weather concreting, Manual of Concrete
Practice, Part 3, 1991, American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hill, Michigan,
1991.
Ackroyd, LW and Rodes, FG, An investigation of the crushing strengths of
concrete made with three different cements in Nigeria, Journal, ICE, London,
February 1964
Bamforth, PB, In-situ measurements of the effect of partial Portland cement
replacement using either flyash or ground granulated blastfurnace slag on the
performance of mass concrete, Proc. lnstn. Civ. Engrs. (Part 2), September
1980, Vol. 69, pp 777-800.
British Standards Institution, Methods of specifying concrete, BS 5328:Part 1:
1997, London, BSI, 1997.
British Standards Institution, Structural use of concrete, Part 2, Code of Practice
for special circumstances, British Standard BS 8110:Part 2:1985, London, BSI,
1985
Fitzgibbon, ME, Large pours for reinforced concrete structures, Concrete, Vol.
10, No. 3, March 1976, pp 41, Concrete Society, London.
Fitzgibbon, ME, Large pours - 2: Heat generation and control, Concrete, Vol. 10,
No. 12, December 1976, pp 33-35, Concrete Society, London.
Fitzgibbon, ME, Large pours - 3: Continuous casting, Concrete, Vol. 11, No. 2,
February 1977, pp 35-36, Concrete Society, London.
Harrison, TA, Early age thermal crack control in concrete, Construction Industry
Research and Information Association Report 91, London, CIRIA, 1981.
Klieger, K, Effect of mixing and curing temperature on concrete strength, ACI
Journal, Vol. 54, No. 6, June 1958, pp 1063-1081, American Concrete Institute,
Farmington Hill, Michigan, 1958.
Kurita, M, Goto, S, Minegishi, K, Negami, Y and Kuwahara, T, Precooling
concrete using frozen sand, Concrete International, Vol. 12, No. 6, June 1990, pp
60-65, American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hill, Michigan, 1990.
Lee, SL, Tam, CT, Swaddiwudhipong, S and Mani, AC, Temperature distribution
and thermal stresses in thick concrete pours, Proc. 3rd Intn. Conf. On Struct. Fail.,
Singapore, April 1991, pp 17-33, Singapore Concrete Institute, Singapore, 1991
19
20