Cracks in Building

Er Gurudev Singh, IDSE

SE
Director (Design)
ADG (D&C) Pune
 INTRODUCTION

• Cracks in building are the common building defects.

• A building component develops cracks whenever
stress in a building component exceeds its strength.
• Cracks
Structural - affects strength
Non-Structural - affects beauty/ appearance
• Thin cracks, even though closely spaced & greater in
number are less damaging to the structure as
compared to fewer Nos. of wide cracks.
 Causes of cracks
(a) Moisture changes
(b) Thermal variations
(c) Elastic deformation
(d) Creep
(e) Chemical reaction
(f) Foundation movement & settlement of soil
(g) Vegetation
(h) Future extention (Horizontal/Vertical)
Flexural tension cracks in wall masonry
Shear crack in masonry wall
Cracking due to expansion of brickwork
 Settlement Crack

Shear Crack

Shrinkage Crack

Cracks in wall
 Measures for controlling cracks
due to shrinkage
(a) Use of bricks after 2-3 weeks on receipt
from kiln
(b) Avoid use of rich cement and very fine sand
(c) Delay plaster; till masonry dries and after curing
(d) Use of precast components
(e) Laying floor in small panels
(f) Use of temp reinforcement in concrete
(a) Moisture changes

Most of the building materials are porous

in their structure. That’s why they expand on
absorbing moisture & shrink on drying. These
reversible movement (cyclic in nature) causes
cracks in building component/material.
(b) Thermal variations

All materials, more or less, expand on heating &

contract on cooling. Magnitude of movement varies for
different materials. When there is some restraint to
movement of a component of a structure, internal
stresses are set up in the component, resulting in cracks
due to tensile or shear stresses.
 Daily changes which are rapid, have much greater
damaging effect on account of movement than seasonal
changes, which are gradual.
Thermal movement depends upon :
(i) Colour, Surface characteristics and Dimensions
(ii) Thermal conductivity/Co-eff. Of expansion and
Temperature variation
(iii) Insulation and protective layer
(iv) Internally generated heat
(v) 1 m wide strip of slab of 100 mm thick heated
through 22 deg C requires force of 500 kN to
restain.
Horizontal crack at the base of brick masonry
parapet supported on a projecting RCC slab
Vertical cracks at corners in the side walls of a
long bldg due to thermal movement
(c) Elastic deformation

(i) Unevenly loaded walls have wide

variation in stress. Excessive shear strain
develops cracks in walls.

(ii) When a beam or slab of large span

undergoes excessive deflection & there
is not much vertical load above the
supports, end of beam/slab curl up
causing cracks in supporting masonry.
(iii) When two materials, having widely
different elastic properties, are built
side by side, under the effect of load ,
shear stress is set up at the interface of
the two materials, resulting in cracks at
the junction.
Diagonal cracks in cross walls of Multi-storied
Load Bearing Structures
Vertical cracks in Multi-storied Load Bearing Structures
having window openings in load bearing wall
Horizontal cracks in a wall at supports due to
excessive deflection of a slab of large span
Horizontal cracks above the RCC slab in top most
storey due to arching and expansion of slab
(d) Creep
Due to creep in concrete, there is substantial increase in
deformation of structural members,which may be 2 to 3 times the initial
elastic deformation. This deformation sometimes results in formation of
crack in brick masonry of framed & load bearing structures.
– Creep increases with increase with increase in
water & cement content, w/c ratio &
temperature.
– Decreases with increase in humidity & age of
bldg
– Use of admixtures & pozzolona increases
creep.
– High surface to volume ratio of concrete
increases creep
Horizontal cracks in brick panels of a framed structure
Vertical cracks in brick panel wall of framed
Structures due to expansion of brickwork
 Cracking of a partition wall supported on RCC
slab/beam. When length to height ratio of partition wall
is large and there is no door opening
 Cracking of a partition wall supported on RCC
slab/beam. When length to height ratio of partition
wall is large and there is central door opening
(e) Chemical reaction
(i) Corrosion of reinforcement in concrete
(ii) Alkali-Aggregate reaction
i.e. Alkali-Silica expansion
(iii) Sulphate attack
Sulphate reacts with C A in presence of moisture
& form products of much bigger 3 volume

(iv) Carbonation
(f) Foundation movement & settlement of
soil

Differential settlement
- unequal bearing pressure
- bearing pressure excess of safe bearing capacity

Cracks that occur due to foundation movement of a

corner on an end of a building are usually diagonal in
shape (wide at top & decreases in width downwards).
(g) Vegetation

(i) Dehydrating action of growing root

which causes soil to shrink & cause
foundation settlement. (crack wide at top
& narrow at bottom).
(ii) Cracks in wall due to expansive action of
root growing under the foundation.

(iii) Upward thrust on a portion of the

building, when old trees are cut off and the
soil that had been dehydrated earlier by
roots, swells up on getting moisture from
some source, such as rain.

These crack (ii & iii) are wide at the base

& narrow down as they pass upwards.
Cracking of a compound wall due to growing roots under the
foundation
Roots of fast growing tree under the foundation of
compound wall may topple down the wall
Trees growing close to a
building on shrinkable soil
may cause cracks in the walls
Cracking due to expansion of soil, if construction is taken up soon
after removal of trees
(h) Future extension

Horizontal extension
Foundation of a old building undergoes
some settlement as load comes on the
foundation & the new building is constructed
without giving any separation joint.
Vertical extension
In case of framed construction, all frame-
work should be completed before taking up
masonry work of cladding & partitions, which
should be started from top storey downwards.

If we follow this principle, then where is the

scope for vertical extension of building!

But, still it is being catered & done.

Prevention of Cracks
(i) Time lag between removal of brick from kilns &
their use in masonry should be 2 to 3 weeks.
(ii) Avoid using rich cement and very fine sand.
(iii) As far as possible try to use weak mortar for
masonry work. Plaster work should be delayed till
masonry has dried after proper curing & has
undergone most of its initial shrinkage.
(iv) Slip joint should be introduced between slab & its
supporting wall. Ceiling plaster should be made
discontinuous by a groove about 10 mm in width.
(v) Provision of vertical expansion joint, if the block of
building longer than 20 m (in hot & dry regions).
(vi) Provision of horizontal expansion joint of 10 mm
depth between the top of wall panel & soffit of beam.
This gap may be filled with mastic compound,
finished with some sealant or filled with weak mortar.
If structurally necessary, lateral restraint to the panel
at the top should be provided by using telescoping
anchorages.
 Elevation
Schematic sketch of telescopic anchorages for panel walls
Schematic sketch of telescopic anchorages for panel walls
(vii) The subgrade below the entire area of the building
shall preferably be of the same type of the soil.
Wherever this is not possible, a suitably located
separation or crumple section shall be provided.
(viii) Stair halls shall preferably be separated from the
rest of the building by means of separation or crumple
m
sections to eliminate the bracing effect on the floors.
(ix) Temperature reinf. should be increased by 50 to 100
% of the min amount for the member which are
exposed to sun (sun-shades, fins, facia, railings,
canopies, balconies etc.)
(x) Over flat roof slab, a layer of insulating material
along with a high reflectivity finish should be provided
so as to reduce heat load.
 (xi) Try to avoid very fast pace of construction.
Allow a time interval of atleast 2 weeks between
removal of centering & construction of partition
or panel wall over it.
(xii) Removal of centering & imposition of load
should be deferred as much as possible (at least
one month) so that concrete attains sufficient
strength before it bears the load (for cantilever
beam/slab).
(xiii) All frame-work should be completed before
taking up masonry work of cladding & partitions
which should be started from top storey
downwards.
(xiv) Provide upward camber in floor slab/beam so as
to counteract deflection.
(xv) Concrete grade should be of min M25 to match
with the strength of Fe 415.
(xvi) Concreting should be commenced from the point,
loading upon which results max deflection.m
Simply supported/ continuous -center towards end
Cantilever - free end towards fixed end
(xvii) Provision of horizontal extension should be
made , as per fig. shown :-
Structural provision of horizontal extension with an
expansion joint, for RCC framed structure
(xviii) Na 2 O & K 2 O content of cement should be
less than 0.6% & should be less than 3 kg per
cubic metre of concrete. If it is unavoidable then
mix a suitable proportion of pozzolanic material
(especially silica fume) for making concrete.
(xix) Do not let trees grow too close to building.
(xx) If some large trees exist close to a building
(within a distance of the ht. of the tree) & these
are not causing any problem, as far as possible,
do not disturb these trees if soil under the
foundation happen to be shrinkable clay.
(xxi) If, from any site intended for new construction,
vegetation including trees is removed & the soil is
shrinkable clay, do not commence
construction activity on that soil until it has
undergone expansion after absorbing moisture &
has stabilized.
(xxii) Length of return wall should not be less than
the length of 3 bricks.
(xxiii) Use of precast components.
(xxiv) Laying of floor in small panels.
Corrosion of steel

- Use CRS bar, Fusion bonded

epoxy coated bar, TMT bar.
- MCI (Migratory corrosion
inhibitors)
MCI
MCI are vapour phase inhibitors which by virtue of
their very high vapour pressure & their affinity for
steel, penetrate through concrete to the steel. It
provides a monomolecular layer of inhibitor
protection which reduces or stops the corrosion,
electrochemically, thus areas of steel not exposed or
deeply embedded are also provided protection.
Further the MCI systems are effective even in the
presence of high percentage of chlorides within the
concrete.