Crack width Measurement

in Beams

CRACK WIDTH MEASUREMENT IN BEAMS

The inherent deficiency of the concrete is to resist tension.
In concrete the crack appears as soon as the principal stress
increases the tensile strength of concrete.
The weakening of member starts after the development of the
first crack.
The inherent weakness of tension can be reduced to some extent
by mixing the steel fibres in concrete.

Cracking of concrete should not adversely affect the

appearance or durability of the structure; the acceptable limits
of cracking would vary with the type of the structure and
environment.
The allowable crack width in reinforced concrete members
for buildings are given in table below:-

Exposure Condition

IS 456

BS 8110

1. Normal (in mm)

0.3

0.3

2. Aggressive (mm)

0.1

0.1

Table 1 : Allowable crack width for buildings

Cracks can be produced also by shrinkage and temperature

variations.
Extra reinforcements to reduce such cracks are always
necessary in reinforced concrete.

FACTORS AFFECTING CRACK WIDTH IN BEAMS

1. Distance of the point from the surface of the nearest main

reinforcing bar acr
2. Spacing of the main reinforcement (s)

3. Cover to steel (c) .(Greater the cover the larger the crack width.
Under normal condition, crack width is said to be 0.004 times the
nominal cover).
X in the steel and hence the tensile
X strain in concrete
4. Stress level

(c) and in steel (s)

a cr

cr

Figure 1 : Factors affecting crack width in beams

Cmin

MECHANISM OF FLEXURAL
On
gradual loading of a beam, first cracks are formed when the tensile
CRACKING
strain in concrete reaches the limiting value.
We assume that the reinforcement and the concrete are bonded together
and these cracks are formed at a regular spacing which will release the
tensile strength in concrete on both sides of the cracks as shown below:
P

Mean spacing of cracks, Sm

Figure 2: Crack spacing in Beams (P, primary: S, secondary cracks)
Further loading increases the width of the cracks.
With bars having good bond characteristics, there will be no slip between
the bar and the concrete. Hence subsequent secondary cracks are formed
to release the strain on further loading. The width of these cracks will be

CRACK WIDTH AT DIFFERENT

POSITIONS
1. Crack
width at the surface of the steel is zero as a cr =0
2. Crack width at the neutral axis is zero as c =0
3. Along the bottom of the beam, where c is constant, crack
will be the widest and acr is the largest at the point midway
from the steel.
4. Cracks at the corners fig 2, acr is large and so cracks will
also be large.
5. It has been found that the widest crack occurs at about
one-third the distance from the neutral axis and the level
of reinforcement.

If the spacing is too large, large cracks can occur between them.
Smaller diameter bars at closer spacing is better than larger
diameter further apart.
As a thumb rule cracks in concrete beams are assumed to be in
the form of diamond shape as shown below:A

Figure 3:-Theoretical shape of crack in beams

CRACK WIDTH CALCULATION(As per IS

The
practical objective of calculating crack width is to give guidance to
456:2000)
designer in making appropriate structural arrangements and in avoiding
gross errors in design, which might result in concentration and excessive
width of flexural crack.
From Annexure F, provided that the stress in the tension steel is limited
to 0.8fy the design surface crack width, which should not exceed the
value given in table. May be calculated from:Where acr = distance from the point considered to the surface of the
nearest

longitudinal bar,
cmin = minimum cover to the longitudinal bar,

m = average steel strain at the level considered,

h = overall depth of the member,
x = depth of the neutral axis

The average steel strain m may be calculated on the basis of

the following assumptions:The concrete and steel are both considered to be fully elastic in
tension and compression.
The elastic modulus of the steel may be taken as 200kN/mm2
and the elastic modulus of concrete is derived from E=5000
fs/Ec

fc

h
As

fs/Es

fs

STRAIN

STRES
S

For a rectangular beam

m = 1 -

b(h-x)(a-x)
3ESAS(d-x)

Where
As= area of the reinforcement,
b = width of the section
1= strain at the level considered
a = distance from the compression face to the point at
which the
crack is being calculated,
d = effective depth

EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM MATERIALS

The materials used were Portland cement, Natural river sand
and crushed stone.
The concrete mix proportions is given below:CONSTITUENTS

QUANTITY(kg/m3)

Cement (OPC Grade 43)

300

Sand( Natural River Sand)

750

Crushed Stone(Max. size 12mm) 1150

Water

165

TEST SPECIMEN
Table shows the details of the test specimens for the study.
In beams deformed high strength steel bars of dia.20mm were
used as longitudinal tension reinforcement and of dia.10mm as
shear reinforcement respectively.

The sectional details of the beam specimen is shown

below:-

10
20

b=200

d=305

h=350

10 @ 250

TEST SETUP
Bending test on full scale beams in order to investigate the cracking
behaviour of steel concrete flexural members having longitudinal
reinforcement.
A total of 4 beams were cast and tested.
The concrete compressive strength, shear reinforcement and
longitudinal tension reinforcement were kept constant for all beams.
1750
P/2present in
Shear reinforcement was
the areaP/2
between supports and
point load to prevent shear failure.

(Dimensions in mm)
3250
3600

TEST PROCEDURE
The full scale beams are simply supported with 3250mm span
and subjected to a two point load. The distance between the
two loads is 1750mm.
The beams were loaded in 16 increments up to failure. At each
load increment ,the following variables were measured while
the loads were kept constant .

Deflection

Horizontal strain distribution across the depth of the beam

between the two loads.

The width of the cracks situated between the two point loads
was measured at both sides of the beam at a distance of 2 cm
from the bottom of the beam.
The accuracy of the crack measurement device was 0.02mm.

TEST RESULTS
The given figure shows the crack pattern of the different beams

Figure 4:-Crack Pattern

At the serviceability limit state, which corresponds to the bending moment
in the area between loads of about 48kNm

Questionnaire:
Q. State the various practical applications of a rebar
locator.
Ans:- Acceptance inspection of cover after formwork is removed
Locates rebars that need to be avoided when drilling holes
Provides essential data (location, cover, diameter of rebars) for
strength calculations of reinforced concrete structures
Measuring concrete cover depth
Quality assurance in mass production of prefabricated concrete
elements

Q. Write down the accuracy limits for a rebar locator as per

BS:1881
Ans:- Accuracy required by BS 1881: Part 204: 2 mm
Q. Mention the crack width limits for members of a building as
Exposure
IS 456
BS 8110
per IS:456Condition
Ans:- 1. Normal (in mm)
0.3
0.3
2. Aggressive
(mm)

0.1

0.1

Q. What are the factors on which the crack width of a beam

depends?
Ans:-

Distance of the point from the surface of the reinforcing bar acr

Spacing of the main reinforcement (s)

Q. Define primary and secondary cracks in beams.

Ans:- When the tensile strain in concrete reaches the limiting value the
initial cracks formed are known as Primary Cracks.
Further loading increases the width of the cracks, and the cracks thus
formed are secondary cracks in beams.
Q. Draw the figure showing the theoretical shape of crack in
beams
Ans:N

Figure 3:-Theoretical shape of crack in beams

Q. Write down the expression for calculating crack width in

rectangular beams as per IS:456
Ans:-

Q. IS 456 suggests some assumption for calculating the average

steel strain for crack width determination. What are those
assumptions?
Ans:-The concrete and steel are both considered to be fully elastic in
tension and compression.
The elastic modulus of the steel may be taken as 200kN/mm2
and the elastic modulus of concrete is derived from E=5000
Q. Suggest any advanced technique to reduce cracks in beams?
Ans:- The inherent weakness of concrete to resist tension can be reduced
to some extent by mixing the steel fibres in concrete.

THANK YOU