Restrained Shrinkage Cracking in Concrete Elements: Role of Substrate Bond on Crack Development
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 23, Issue 6
Abstract
Several specimen geometries have been used to assess restrained shrinkage-cracking behavior of concrete materials. This paper used a series of restrained slab tests to illustrate the importance of specimen geometry on the restrained shrinkage cracking behavior. While restraint was provided along the base of the slab, a portion of the slab was left unbonded to the base in the center of the specimen. The length of this unbonded portion was varied to demonstrate its impact on the age of cracking and crack width that occurred. The age of cracking was measured using visual analysis, image analysis, conductive surface coating, and acoustic emission. Whereas image analysis and conductive paint detect cracks only after they appear on the surface, acoustic emission also provides information on damage development before the cracks were visible. Cracking occurred in a less stable fashion in slabs with a larger unbonded region. The larger unbonded length in a slab caused wider cracks to appear at an earlier age than in a slab with a smaller unbonded region.
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Acknowledgments
This work was conducted in the Pankow Materials Laboratory and the Materials Sensing and Characterization Laboratory at Purdue University. The writers would like to acknowledge the support that has made these laboratories and this research possible. The second and fourth writers were supported by the National Science Foundation under the NEES Program (Grant NSFCMMI-0724022), which is greatly acknowledged. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 23 • Issue 6 • June 2011
Pages: 895 - 902
Copyright
© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 9, 2010
Accepted: Dec 14, 2010
Published online: Dec 16, 2010
Published in print: Jun 1, 2011
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