Fractal and Multifractal Analysis of Crack Patterns in Prestressed Concrete Girders
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 24, Issue 7
Abstract
This study investigated the fractal and multifractal characteristics of crack patterns observed in prestressed concrete girders. In particular, it focused on cracks that form in the end regions of prestressed girders during the fabrication phase and attributed to prestress transfer operations (i.e., end-region cracks), and shear cracks that form due to subsequent structural (i.e., mechanical) loading. Synthetic crack patterns and experimental data collected during the fabrication and bending test of two large-scale girder specimens were used in this study. The results supported one of the key contributions of the study, which is using fractal analysis to quantify the extent of cracking that develops in prestressed concrete members. Another contribution of the study is that both fractal and multifractal analyses can be used to identify the development of different cracking mechanisms.
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Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the support of the Texas Department of Transportation (Grant 0-6919). Gratitude is also expressed to Dr. Hossein Yousefpour and Alessandro Musumeci, as well as the students and staff of Ferguson Structural Engineering Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin for assisting with the acquisition of the experimental data used in this study.
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Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 24 • Issue 7 • July 2019
Copyright
© 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 7, 2018
Accepted: Jan 18, 2019
Published online: Apr 30, 2019
Published in print: Jul 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Sep 30, 2019
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