Received: 3 April 2023 Revised: 5 October 2023 Accepted: 10 October 2023

DOI: 10.1002/suco.202300269

ARTICLE

Shrinkage cracking in restrained FRC members containing

conventional reinforcement

Porsiem Tang 1 | Ali Amin 1 | R. Ian Gilbert 2 | Walter Kaufmann 3

1
School of Civil Engineering, The
University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia Abstract
2
School of Civil and Environmental This paper presents a rational approach for describing the cracking behavior of
Engineering, The University of New South fully- and partially restrained fiber reinforced concrete members co-reinforced
Wales, Sydney, Australia
3
with conventional reinforcement subjected to an axial force imparted by
Institute of Structural Engineering (IBK),
ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
shrinkage. The proposed analytical model extends the approach developed by
Gilbert for fully restrained reinforced concrete members to account for the
Correspondence post-cracking strength offered by the fibers at each of the cracks as the con-
Ali Amin, Senior Lecturer, School of Civil
Engineering, The University of Sydney, crete ages and dries. The effects of partial end-restraint are also studied to gain
Sydney, Australia. a clearer understanding of the mechanism of direct tension cracking caused by
Email: [email protected]
restrained shrinkage and the factors affecting it.
Funding information
KEYWORDS
Australian Research Council,
Grant/Award Number: DP 200102114 cracking, end-restraint, fiber reinforced concrete, serviceability, shrinkage

1 | INTRODUCTION with time at the ends of the slab as it hardens. While the
concrete is young, with under-developed tensile strength,
Cracks develop in reinforced concrete elements wherever the shrinkage induced tensile stress can exceed the tensile
the tensile stress reaches the tensile strength of the con- strength of the concrete, causing the formation of direct
crete. The tensile stress which the concrete is subjected to tension cracks. Furthermore, in a restrained flexural mem-
can be induced by a number of factors. These include the ber, shrinkage of the concrete causes a gradual widening
applied loads on the element or structure, restrained of flexural cracks. Tensile stresses decrease upon forma-
shrinkage, variations in temperature, settlement of sup- tion of a crack, but increase again with growing shrinkage
porting structures, and so on. Direct tension cracks refer strains, and this causes additional cracking in the uncrac-
to those cracks which have developed through axial ten- ked regions along the length of the member.
sion and/or restrained shrinkage. Unlike cracks induced Direct tension cracks can be controlled through a
by flexure, direct tension cracks tend to penetrate number of approaches. These include shrinkage reducing
completely through the depth of the section. For mem- agents within the concrete mixture or the specification of
bers with exposed surfaces, this can lead to damage to movement joints (which typically require regular mainte-
the waterproofing membrane and subsequent moisture nance). The most common approach is to limit the stress
ingress through the member which can promote corro- in the bonded reinforcement to a low level deemed to
sion of the internal reinforcement. ensure that the crack widths do not exceed a maximum
To some extent, direct tension cracks are unavoidable. acceptable value.
Consider a large floor slab connected to rigid core walls at Jędrzejewska et al.1 recently presented a state-of-the-
either end. A tensile restraining force will develop rapidly art review of methods for the control of crack widths in

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided
the original work is properly cited.
© 2023 The Authors. Structural Concrete published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Federation for Structural Concrete.

1006 wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/suco Structural Concrete. 2024;25:1006–1017.

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TANG ET AL. 1007

reinforced concrete members subjected to end and edge

restraints as recommended by different codes of practice
from Europe,2–4 USA,5 Australia,6,7 and Japan.8 This study
highlighted the vast differences in the proposed methods
and model input parameters—namely in the determina-
(a)
tion of the effective tensile strength of the concrete, quan-
tifying the degree of restraint, and the (positive) effects of
creep with respect to cracking in early- and long-term cal-
culations. For the case of end-restrained members (which
is the primary form of restraint dealt with in this paper),
some codes of practice3,4 assume that stabilized cracking (b)
occurs as soon as the tensile force of imparted on the con-
crete reaches the tensile strength of the concrete, that is,
all cracks develop along the length of the member (spaced
s apart) immediately. The crack width is then evaluated as
the product of the crack spacing and the difference
between the mean strain in the steel and concrete over the (c)
transfer length.1 A key criticism of this approach is that
the reduction of the restraining forces due to cracking and
its effect on crack spacing and crack widths are not ade-
quately captured.9–11
It is well established that the inclusion of short dis- (d)
crete fibers (steel, polypropylene, etc.) in concrete can sig-
nificantly improve the cracking behavior of reinforced F I G U R E 1 First cracking in an end-restrained FRC member.
FRC, fiber reinforced concrete.
concrete.12–14 For similar conventional reinforcement
layouts, reinforced concrete members with fibers typi-
cally present finer and more closely spaced cracks than
the same member not containing the fibers. This has in Figure 1a. The member has a cross-sectional area of
been explained in depth by the authors in previous stud- concrete and steel equal to Ac and As, respectively. The
ies which have examined the tension stiffening effect in fibers are characterized by their stress-crack opening dis-
fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) and reinforced concrete placement relationship σ f(w) at the crack but neglected in
(RC) tension chords and flexural members, and by the uncracked regions. As the concrete shrinks, an axial
others.15–25 tensile restraining force N(t) gradually increases within the
Several analytical models have been proposed in the member as a function of time. When the stress in the con-
literature for shrinkage cracking in restrained RC crete at a particular cross-section reaches its tensile
members.26–30 However, to the author's knowledge, no strength, fct(t) which is also a function of time, direct ten-
models exist for FRC members, with or without conven- sion cracking occurs. Depending on the mechanical prop-
tional reinforcement. In this paper, the mechanism of erties of the FRC, first cracking may occur in the first few
direct tension cracks in FRC members containing con- days after the commencement of drying. At first cracking,
ventional reinforcement is discussed. A derivation of a the restraining force is N(t) = Acfct(t). Immediately after
simple analytical model capable of predicting the crack- first cracking, N(t) = Ncr, the concrete at the crack is
ing behavior of partially and fully restrained FRC mem- stress-free, and the stress within the concrete away from
bers containing conventional reinforcement is presented. the crack is less than fct(t). On either side of the crack, the
The model is an extension of the approach developed by concrete elastically shortens, and the crack opens to a
Gilbert29 and Nejadi and Gilbert.30 width w. For FRC members containing conventional rein-
forcement, at the crack the force Ncr is shared between the
fibers and the steel, with tensile stresses equal to σ f(w) and
2 | A N A L Y T I C A L M O D EL I N G σ s2, respectively. The magnitude of σ f(w) is primarily
F O R CR A C K I N G IN RE S T R A I N E D dependent on the quantity of fibers and their mechanical
FRC MEMBERS and geometrical characteristics. It is noted that only strain
softening FRC (whereby the post-cracking behavior is
Consider a conventionally reinforced FRC member of characterized by the residual tensile strength of the speci-
length L that is fully restrained at either end as illustrated men never reaching the tensile strength of the matrix after
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1008 TANG ET AL.

Further than s0 away from the crack (referred to as

Region 1 in Figure 1), the concrete and steel stresses are
σ c1 and σ s1, respectively. Assuming full restraint by the
end supports, and noting that σ s2 > 0, σ s1 must be nega-
tive (i.e., in compression) as the overall elongation of the
steel must vanish. On the other hand, equilibrium
requires the forces carried by the concrete and steel at
any cross-section to be equal to the restraining force.
Therefore, as the steel in Region 1 is in compression, the
concrete in Region 1 must be stressed in tension with a
force greater than Ncr.

2.1 | First cracking

F I G U R E 2 Typical stress versus crack opening displacement, Reconsider the restrained element illustrated in Figure 1.
σ–w relationship for FRC. FRC, fiber reinforced concrete. Prior to cracking, the total steel and concretes strain at any
cross section along the length of the member are equal to
zero. However, the individual strain components of the con-
it cracks, tending to zero as the crack widens—see crete are nonzero. These components include the shrinkage
Figure 2) is considered in this paper. In the region sur- strain εsh < 0, the elastic strain εe > 0 and the creep strain,
rounding the crack (referred to as Region 2 in Figure 1), εcc > 0. Immediately prior to cracking, εe ¼ f ct =E c , where
the concrete and steel stresses vary significantly. In Region Ec is the elastic modulus at the time of first cracking,
2, the stress in the concrete varies from σ f(w) at the crack hence, noting that εsh þ εe þ εcc ¼ 0, one gets:
to σ c1 at s0 away from the crack. The steel stress varies
from σ s2 at the crack to σ s1 at s0 away from the crack. Fur- f ct
εcc þ εsh ¼ : ð2Þ
thermore, there is a small zone where the bond between Ec
the reinforcement and FRC matrix breaks down. At some
distance s0 away from each side of the crack, concrete and Equation (2) is premised on the assumption that the ends
steel strains coincide (as before cracking). The distance s0 of the member are fully restrained. Where partial
depends on the factors which affect the steel-matrix bond restraint is incurred, we may rewrite Equation (2) as:
characteristics and include the quantity and diameter of
the reinforcement and is thus closely related to the trans- f ct Δu
εcc þ εsh þ ¼ , ð3Þ
fer length required to active the tensile strength of the Ec L
effective concrete section. Various expressions have been
proposed for s0.31 For conventionally reinforced concrete, where Δu is the displacement of the end restraint.
Gilbert29 and Favre et al32 approximated s0 as: Equation (3) can be rewritten as:

db Δu f ct
s0 ¼ , ð1Þ εsh ¼  , ð4Þ
10ρ L Ee

where db is the diameter of the reinforcement and ρ is where E e ¼ E c =ð1 þ φc Þ is the effective modulus and φc ¼
the reinforcement ratio (As/Ac). This expression has been εcc =εe is the creep coefficient of the FRC. It follows that
adopted in References 7,8 For FRC co-reinforced with the first crack occurs when εsh ðt Þ ¼ ΔuLðtÞ  fEcte ððttÞÞ.
conventional reinforcement, s0 could potentially be Immediately after first cracking, the overall elongation
reduced by up to 10%–20% as there is evidence that in the conventional steel reinforcement is equal to the rela-
the inclusion of fibers improves bond behavior.15,16 How- tive displacement of the end restraints Δu. Here we take
ever, the reduction may not be significant for practical the relative displacement of Δu in the direction of the
fiber dosages (0.25%–0.5% by vol.) and is neglected in the length L, such that the final length of the member is L
following analysis, thus yielding slightly conservative + Δu. The total elongation of the steel reinforcement is
crack widths. Adoption of a shorter value for s0 than determined by the elongation of the steel in Region 1 Δs1,
defined in Equation (1) should be supported with the elongation at the transition zone Δst, and the elonga-
experimental data. tion at the crack Δsc with
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TANG ET AL. 1009

σ s1 Substituting Equation (12) in Equation (14) gives:

Δs1 ¼ ðL  2s0  wÞ, ð5Þ
Es


N cr ð1 þ C 1 Þ 3ΔuEs ρ
2s0 σc1 ¼  C1 þ σ f ðw Þ : ð15Þ
Δst ¼ ðσ s2 þ 2σ s1 Þ, ð6Þ Ac 2s0
3E s
Compatibility in Region 1 requires that the concrete
σ s2 w strain, εc1 and the steel strain εs1 to coincide, hence:
Δsc ¼ , ð7Þ
Es
σ c1 σ s1
εcc þ εsh þ ¼ εc1 ¼ εs1 ¼ : ð16Þ
where a parabolic stress distribution over the length s0 Ec Es
has been assumed—see Figure 1c. Parabolic stress dis-
tributions have been adopted in several studies.33–35 Substituting Equations (3), (12), (15) into Equation (16)
The total elongation of the element can thus be and solving for Ncr yields:
expressed as:
nρf ct Ac þ C1 σ f ðwÞAc ð1 þ nρÞ

 N cr ¼
σ s1 L σ s2  σ s1 2s0 C1 þ nρð1 þ
C1 Þ 
Δu ¼ Δs1 þ Δst þ Δsc ¼ þ þw : ð8Þ ΔuEs As 3C1 1
Es Es 3 þ ð1 þ nρÞ  , ð17Þ
C 1 þ nρð1 þ C 1 Þ 2s0 L
Noting that the crack width w is much smaller than s0,
Equation (8) may be rewritten as: where n = Es/Ec is the modular ratio. Equation (17) is
implicit, since the residual tension provided by the fibers
3ΔuE s  2s0 σ s2 σ f ðwÞ immediately after cracking depends on the crack
σ s1 ¼ : ð9Þ
3L  2s0 width. To simplify the iterations required to solve for Ncr,
σ f ðwÞ may be taken as f0.2 (which corresponds to the
Equilibrium requires the total force at the crack to be residual uniaxial tension provided by the fibers at a crack
equal to the restraining force, Ncr: opening displacement equal to 0.20 mm) without intro-
ducing significant error.36 Once Equation (17) is solved,
N cr ¼ As σ s2 þ Ac σ f ðwÞ: ð10Þ the concrete and steel stresses immediately after cracking
can be obtained from Equations (9), (11), and (15).
The stress in the steel at the crack is therefore:

N cr σ f ðwÞ 2.2 | Subsequent cracking

σ s2 ¼  : ð11Þ
As ρ
As shrinkage of the concrete after first cracking pro-
Substituting Equation (11) into Equation (9) gives: gresses, the stress in the uncracked regions of the con-
crete increases until it reaches fct whereby another crack


3ΔuEs 2s0 N cr σ f ðwÞ forms. At the formation of each new crack, the restrain-
σ s1 ¼  
3L
 2s0 3L
 2s0 As  ρ ing force N(t) drops since the total degree of restraint
3ΔuE s N cr σ f ðwÞ within the specimen decreases. The final crack pattern
¼ C1   , ð12Þ
2s0 As ρ (stabilized cracking) is established once the crack spac-
ings along the entire restrained element are smaller than
where twice the distance to transfer a force corresponding to the
difference f ct  σ f ðwÞ from the steel (at the cracks) to the
2s0 concrete (between the cracks) by bond, such that no new
C1 ¼ : ð13Þ
3L  2s0 cracks can be formed. This is typically established in the
first few months after the onset of shrinkage. Figure 3
Similarly in Region 1, equilibrium requires the total force illustrates a typical stress distribution in the FRC and the
(i.e., the force in the uncracked FRC and steel immedi- steel reinforcement once the final crack pattern is estab-
ately after first cracking) to be equal to Ncr, that is: lished. In Figure 3, there are m cracks spaced s apart. The
average FRC and steel stresses as a result of the imposed
N cr  As σs1 shrinkage are presented in Figure 3b,c. Note that it has
σc1 ¼ : ð14Þ
Ac been assumed that the distance s0 in which the stresses
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1010 TANG ET AL.

(a)

F I G U R E 4 FRC stress history in Region 1. FRC, fiber

(b)
reinforced concrete.

Similar to the expression derived for an element with a

single crack, the stress in the steel at each crack may be
(c) expressed as:
F I G U R E 3 Subsequent cracking in an end-restrained FRC
N ðt Þ σ f ðw Þ
member. FRC, fiber reinforced concrete. σ s2 ðt Þ ¼  : ð23Þ
As ρ

The stress in the concrete in Region 1 varies in time as

vary at either side of the crack is the same as shown in Figure 4. As the concrete shrinks, there is a
Equation (1). gradual build-up of restraint, and hence tension in the
For a member containing m cracks, and provided that concrete. When the first crack forms, there is a sudden
the reinforcement remains elastic, the total elongation of drop in tension from fct(tcr1) to σ c1,cr1(tcr1), where tcr1 is
the steel in Region 1 Δs1*, in the transition zone Δst* the time at first cracking; note that fct also varies with
(assuming a parabolic stress distribution—refer to time. At the time tcri of the formation of crack i, the ten-
Figure 1), and at the crack Δsc*, can be derived as: sile stress in the concrete reduces to a value that is higher
than σ c1,cr1(tcr1), which is obtained from Equation (15),
σ s1 ðt Þ assuming the concrete properties at that time. Hence, the
Δs1 ¼ ðL  mðt Þð2s0 þ wðt ÞÞÞ, ð18Þ
Es average tension σ c1,avg(t) is between fct(t) and σ c1,cr1(t)
and may be approximated by:
2s0
Δst ¼ ðσ s2 ðt Þ þ 2σ s1 ðt ÞÞmðt Þ, ð19Þ
3Es σ c1 ðt Þ þ f ct ðt Þ
σ c1,avg ðtÞ ¼ : ð24Þ
2
σ s2 ðt ÞwðtÞmðt Þ
Δsc ¼ : ð20Þ
Es The creep strain at any time t is a function of the average
stress, the creep coefficient, and the elastic modulus of
Therefore, the overall displacement of the end restraint, the concrete (assuming similar properties for both in ten-
Δu(t) is expressed as: sion and compression):

Δuðt Þ ¼ Δs1 þ Δst þ Δsc


φcc ðt Þσ c1,avg ðtÞ
εcc ðt Þ ¼ : ð25Þ
σ s1 ðt ÞL σ s2 ðt Þ  σ s1 ðt Þ 2s0 E c ðt Þ
¼ þ mðt Þ þ wðtÞ : ð21Þ
Es Es 3
The elastic strain in Region 1 is εe ðt Þ ¼ σ c1,avg ðt Þ=E c ðt Þ,
Again, as w(t) is much smaller than s0, we may simplify and the total concrete strain in Region 1 may thus be
and rearrange Equation (21) as: approximated as:

3Δuðt ÞE s  2s0 σ s2 ðt Þmðt Þ σ c1,avg ðt Þ

σ s1 ðt Þ ¼ : ð22Þ εc1 ðt Þ ¼ þ εsh ðt Þ, ð26Þ
3L  2s0 mðt Þ E e ðt Þ
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TANG ET AL. 1011

Z

where E e ðt Þ ¼ E c ðt Þ=ð1 þ φc ðt ÞÞ. s0
σ f ðwÞ 2σ c1 ðt Þ
Δct ¼ εct ðx, t Þ dx ¼ s0 þ þ εsh ðt Þ :
By compatibility, the steel and concrete strains in 0 3E e ðt Þ 3Ee ðt Þ
Region 1 must be equal, εs1(t) = εc1(t), and hence again ð31Þ
assuming elastic behavior of the steel (prior to yielding):

σ s1 ðt Þ σ c1,avg ðtÞ It is noted that two transition regions exist for every
εs1 ðt Þ ¼ ¼ þ εsh ðt Þ: ð27Þ
Es E e ðt Þ defined Region 2, and there exist m(t) Regions 2 along
the entire length of the member (as shown in Figure 3).
Combining Equations (22) and (27) and substituting into Noting that w(t)  L, the total elongation of the FRC in
Equation (23) gives: Region 1 can be expressed as:

3As Δuðt ÞE s Δ1 ¼ εc1 ðt ÞðL  2s0 mðt Þ  wðt ÞÞ

N ðt Þ ¼ σf ðwÞAc þ

2s0 mðt Þ σ c1 ðt Þ ð32Þ
ð3L  2s0 mðt ÞÞne ðt ÞAs   ≈ ðL  2s0 mðt ÞÞ þ εsh ðt Þ :
 σ c1,avg ðt Þ þ εsh ðtÞE e ðt Þ , E e ðt Þ
2s0 mðt Þ
ð28Þ
The total elongation of the member is equal to the dis-
where ne ðt Þ is the effective modular ratio ¼ E s =E e ðt Þ. placement of the end restraint, Δu:
Finally, the stress in the concrete in Region 1 follows by


equilibrium: 2σ c1 ðt Þ σ f ðwÞ
Δu ¼ 2s0 mðt Þ þ þ εsh ðt Þ

3E e ðt Þ 3E e ðt Þ
N ðt Þ  As σ s1 ðt Þ σ c1 ðt Þ
σ c1 ðt Þ ¼ : ð29Þ þ þ εsh ðt Þ ðL  2s0 mðt ÞÞ þ mðt Þwðt Þ: ð33Þ
Ac E e ðt Þ

Using Equations (22), (23), (28), and (29), the number of Rearranging Equation (33) provides an expression for the
cracks at any time t, m(t) can be determined as the smal- crack width at any time t:
lest integer value that gives σ c1 ðt Þ ≤ f ct ðt Þ. The average
0 1
crack spacing is evaluated as sðt Þ ≤ L=mðt Þ.

σ ð t Þ 2s 2σ ð wÞs s ð t ÞΔu
wðt Þ ¼ @ A:
c1 0 f 0
sðt Þ  þ þ εsh ðt Þsðt Þ
E e ðt Þ 3 3E e ðt Þ L

2.3 | Average crack width at time, t ð34Þ

Using the assumption of a parabolic distribution of stress A time step analysis may now be carried out to determine
in the fiber-concrete matrix, with the stress at the crack the crack width at any time t. It is noted that as the con-
equal to σ f ðwÞ and σ c1 ðt Þ at a distance s0 away from the crete may develop relatively high tensile strength with
crack, we can express the stress at any point x between time soon after casting, Equation (34) may thus yield a
the crack and s0 from the crack as: lower number of cracks at later time steps. The relative
increment in shrinkage and creep strains may also con-
σ c1 ðt Þ  σ f ðwÞ 2 2ðσ c1 ðt Þ  σ f ðwÞÞ tribute to this. However, this is unrealistic as the develop-
σ ct ðx, t Þ ¼ σ f ðwÞ  x þ x: ð29Þ
s20 s0 ment of cracks is irreversible and hence no cracks will
disappear. Accordingly, the number of cracks at a partic-
The total strain of the FRC in this transition region can ular time step cannot be less than that calculated in a
be expressed as: preceding time step. Furthermore, Equation (34) and the
solution process can be simplified by assuming
σ c ðx,t Þ σ f ðwÞ ¼ f 0:2 , which is a reasonable assumption for typical
εct ðx,t Þ ¼ þ εsh ðt Þ
E e ðt Þ fiber dosages that do not soften too heavily at the mate-
ð30Þ
σ f ðwÞ σ c1 ðt Þ  σ f ðwÞ 2 2ðσ c1 ðt Þ  σ f ðwÞÞ rial constitutive level.36
¼  x þ x þ εsh ðt Þ:
E e ðt Þ E e ðt Þs0
2 E e ðt Þs0

The total elongation of the FRC in this transition 3 | S A M P L E C A L C U L A T IO N S

region can be obtained by integrating the strain from
the face of the crack (x = 0) to s0 away from the To highlight the ease of use of the proposed model, typi-
crack: cal calculations are provided below. It is noted that to the
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1012 TANG ET AL.

TABLE 1 Design properties for restrained FRC slab strip for Case 1 and Case 2.

Time, t [days] εsh (106) [] φc [] fc [MPa] Ec [GPa] fct [MPa] f0.2 [MPa]
1 200 0.62 7.3 13.7 1.13 0.43
3 300 0.75 19.3 22.2 2.16 0.60
7 380 0.87 28.5 27.0 2.80 0.68
14 440 1.03 37.3 30.9 3.35 0.73
28 500 1.27 44.0 33.5 3.74 0.78
90 610 1.62 57.0 38.2 4.44 0.80

Abbreviation: FRC, fiber reinforced concrete.

authors knowledge no experimental data exists on Assuming the properties of the FRC at the time of
the performance of large scale restrained FRC elements cracking correspond with the entries for Day 1 in
co-reinforced with conventional reinforcement. Table 1, the modular ratio at cracking is n = Es/Ec
= 200/13.7 = 14.6. From Equations (1) and (13) we get

3.1 | Case 1: Infinitely restrained s0 ¼

db
¼
16
¼ 198:95 mm,
10ρ 10  0:008042
Consider a 5 m long, 1 m wide by 200 mm thick FRC
slab strip reinforced with 4N16 bars at the top and bot- 2s0 2  198:95
C1 ¼ ¼ ¼ 0:0272:
tom of the section (Ac = 200,000 mm2, ρ = 0.008042, 3L  2s0 3  5000  2  198:95
Es = 200 GPa). The cover to the reinforcement is
30 mm. In this example, infinitely stiff end restraints By the formation of the first crack, the degree of
are assumed (Δu = 0) and the slab is free to dry imme- restraint is reduced as the slab is free at the cracked
diately after casting. The properties of the FRC end. Hence, the restraining force is reduced to Ncr
from 1 to 90 days are presented in Table 1, which (Equation (17)):

14:6  0:008042  1:13  200, 000 þ 0:0272  0:43  200, 000ð1 þ 14:6  0:008042Þ
N cr ¼ ¼ 197:2 kN:
0:0272 þ 14:6  0:008042ð1 þ 0:0272Þ

includes the residual tensile strength provided by the At first cracking, the stress in the steel at the crack, σ s2,
fibers, f0.2 . can be determined from Equation (11) to satisfy equilib-
rium at the crack:

3.1.1 | Age and resultant stresses 197000 0:43

σ s2 ¼ 2 ¼ 69:1 MPa:
at first cracking 8  π  8 0:008042

First cracking occurs when εsh ðt Þ ¼ ΔuLðtÞ  Ef cte ððttÞÞ. At Day 1

the effective modulus is E e ¼ E c =ð1 þ φc Þ = 13.7/ In Region 1, the stresses in the steel, σ s1 and concrete,
(1 + 0.62) = 8.46 GPa, and the right hand side of the σ c1, can be obtained from Equations (9) and (15),
expression above is evaluated as 50000
 8460
1:13
¼ 134  106 respectively:
which exceeds the induced shrinkage on the specimen
(200  106 ). Therefore, cracking of the specimen is 2  198:95  69:1
σ s1 ¼ ¼ 1:88 MPa,
expected within the first 24 h after the onset of shrinkage. 3  5000  2  198:95
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TANG ET AL. 1013

197, 200ð1 þ 0:0272Þ determined as σ s2 ðt Þ ¼ 36:7  14:7 ¼ 539:7 MPa. Not-

σ c1 ¼  0:0272  0:43 ¼ 1:00 MPa:
200, 000 withstanding that this stress is greater than the yield
stress of the steel, we shall continue with the calculations
noting that they are strictly not valid since the restraint
3.1.2 | Average crack width at stabilized would be much more at initial cracking. The total
cracking restraining
 force can  be determined as N ðt Þ ¼
1608:5 σ s2 ðt Þ þ 0:008042 ¼ 954:0 kN. Through equilibrium
0:43

Once the age of first cracking is established, it is possible of forces in Region 1, the stress in the concrete follows
to determine the average crack width at subsequent from Equation (29):
times. For illustration, the average crack width at stabi-
lized cracking is determined. At Day 1, the effective mod- 954, 000  1608:5  14:7
σ c1 ðt Þ ¼ ¼ 4:89 MPa:
ular ratio is determined as ne ¼ E s =E e ¼ 200=8:46 ¼ 23:64. 200, 000
As illustrated in Figure 4, the stresses in the concrete
are between its tensile strength and the tensile stress in It is worth noting again that σ s2 ðtÞ > f sy and this condi-
the concrete immediately after first cracking. In this case, tion must be checked, otherwise the assumptions made
Ncr = 197.2 kN and σ c1,cr1(t = 1) = 1.00 MPa. in Section 2 would be violated. Noting that
Hence, the average tension resisted by the concrete in σ c1 ðt ¼ 1Þ ≥ f ct ðt ¼ 1Þ, more than m = 1 cracks exist.
Region 1 can be obtained through Equation (24): Repeating the process above by successively increment-
ing m by one, yields the results presented in Table 2.
1:00 þ 1:13 This demonstrates that there exist seven cracks at
σ c1,avg ðt Þ ¼ ¼ 1:07 MPa:
2 crack stabilization after the commencement of drying
implying that the crack spacing at this time s = L/m
The number of cracks m required to determine the crack = 714 mm. Through Equation (34), the average crack
spacing corresponds to the smallest integer value width is evaluated as:
m satisfying σ c1 ≤ f ct , where σ c1 is determined from
Equation (29).

1:07 2  198:95
Assuming m = 1, the total displacement of the end wðt Þ ¼  714 
8460 3
restraint is the sum of the total steel elongation in Region !
1, in the transition region, and at the crack. For infinitely 2  0:43  198:95
þ þ 200  106  714
stiff ends the following relationship can be determined: 3  8460
¼ 0:062 mm:
σ s2 ðt Þ ≈  36:7σ s1 ðt Þ:

At the crack, the fibers transmit a tension equivalent to Figure 5 illustrates the evolution of the crack width and
σ f(w). To ensure equilibrium at the crack, the sum of the stress in the steel until 90 days for this case. To illustrate
force carried by the steel and FRC matrix must be equal the influence of s0 on these results, the results of the
to the total restraining force. Hence, σ s2(t) can be deter- model taking s0 ¼ 0:9db =10ρ are also presented in
mined from Equation (23) as: Figure 5. It is noted that a 10% reduction in s0, results
in approximately a 10% reduction in crack width.
N ðt Þ 0:43
σ s2 ðt Þ ¼  :
1608:5 0:008042
3.2 | Case 2: Partially restrained
In Region 1, compatibility requires the strain of the steel
and concrete to be equal. Through Equation (27) we can Consider the same slab specimen as in Case 1, however
determine this strain as: with movement of the end restraints defined by the fol-
lowing function Δu(t) = 0.125 ln(t) – 0.65.
1:07
εs1 ðt Þ ¼ εc1 ðt Þ ¼  200  106 ¼ 73:52  106 :
8460
3.2.1 | Age and resultant stresses at first
For unelastic steel, the stress in Region 1 can be obtained cracking.
where
σ s1 ðtÞ ¼ E s εs1 ðt Þ ¼ 200, 000  73:52  106 ¼ 14:7 MPa. First cracking occurs when εsh ðt Þ ¼ ΔuLðtÞ  fEcte ððttÞÞ. At Day 1,
Therefore, the stress in the steel in Region 2 is the right hand side of this expression equals 0:65 5000  8460 ¼
1:13
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1014 TANG ET AL.

TABLE 2 Case 1—determination

m(t) N(t) [kN] σ s1(t) [MPa] σ s2(t) [MPa] σ c1(t) [MPa]
of m.
1 954 14.7 524 4.89 > fct
2 509 14.7 263 2.66 > fct
3 360 14.7 171 1.92 > fct
4 286 14.7 124 1.55 > fct
5 241 14.7 96 1.32 > fct
6 211 14.7 78 1.17 > fct
7 190 14.7 65 1.07 < fct

F I G U R E 5 Results of time
analysis of sample calculation
Case 1: (a) crack width; (b) steel
stress.

(a) (b)

TABLE 3 Case 2—age at first cracking.

Δuðt Þ f ct ðt Þ
Time [days] Ee(t) [MPa] εsh (106) [] L  E e ðt Þ

1 8460 200 264 < εsh

3 12,690 300 327 < εsh
6 14,100 360 362 < εsh
7 14,400 380 372 > εsh

264  106 which is less than the induced shrinkage on

the specimen (200  106 ). Hence, unlike Case 1, no
cracks will develop at this time. This process is repeated
until the above condition is satisfied. Through linear
interpolation of the given data, it can be determined that
cracking occurs between 6 and 7 days (see Table 3).
To approximate the stress immediately after first
cracking at Day 7, a similar process to that provided in
the calculations for Case 1 may be undertaken, however
with Δu = 0.89 mm. Using Equation (17), the restrain-
ing force Ncr can be calculated as 364 kN. The stresses as FIGURE 6 Concrete stress history for Case 2.
calculated using Equations (9), (11), and (15) give
σ s1 = 40.6 MPa, σ s2 = 142 MPa, and σ c1 = 2.15 MPa, 3.2.2 | Concrete stress history
respectively. Using Equations (22), (23), and (29) for σ s1,
σ s2, and σ c1, respectively will yield the same result where With one crack, either Equation (17) or (28) can be used to
N(t) = Ncr. determine the restraining force. Equation (17) assumes that
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TANG ET AL. 1015

T A B L E 4 Case 2—restraining force

m(t) N(t) [kN] σ s1(t) [MPa] σ s2(t) [MPa] σ c1(t) [MPa]
at t = 7 days, m = 1.
1 432 41.6 184 2.5 < fct

T A B L E 5 Case 2—restraining force

m(t) N(t) [kN] σ s1(t) [MPa] σ s2(t) [MPa] σ c1(t) [MPa]
at t = 7 days, using Equation (17).
1 364 40.6 142 2.15 < fct

TABLE 6 Case 2—summary of

t [days] m(t) N(t) [kN] σ s1(t) [MPa] σ s2(t) [MPa] σ c1(t) [MPa] w [mm]
results.
1 0 118 8.64 0 0.59 0
3 0 362 16.29 0 1.81 0
7 1 364 40.57 142 2.15 0.276
14 2 382 49.76 149 2.33 0.241
28 2 485 56.50 204 2.88 0.249
90 2 719 70.69 348 4.16 0.235

F I G U R E 7 Evolution of
crack width and steel stress at
the crack for Case 2.

the shrinkage and creep strain of the concrete in Region Numerically, adopting Equation (17) for N(t) gives a
1 remain the same as when it first cracked. On the other crack width equal to 0.28 mm, while using Equation (28)
hand, Equation (28) is more general and uses Equation (24) gives 0.16 mm. To reduce this error, Equation (17) is to
to approximate the average concrete stress, and hence, the be used for the first time step immediately after cracking.
average strain in the concrete. However, the error in using Note that Equation (17) is not valid in subsequent time
Equation (24) as an approximation of the average stress is steps where the assumption that the creep and shrinkage
higher at early ages where the concrete tensile strength still stress remain the same immediately before first cracking
varies considerably (see Figure 4). For instance, immedi- no longer applies. The resulting concrete stress history
ately after first cracking at t = 7 days, where the creep and for this case is illustrated in Figure 6.
shrinkage strains of the concrete remain the same as imme-
diately before cracking, combining Equations (3) and (16)
σ c1
gives εc1 ¼ Δu f ct 0:89
L  E c þ E c ¼ 5000  27, 000 þ 27, 000 ¼ 202  10 .
2:80 2:15 6
3.2.3 | Time-dependent average crack width
On the other hand, using Equation (27) and the average
stress as approximated by Equation (24) σ c1,avg ðt Þ ¼ To determine the number of cracks contained within the
σ c1 ðt Þþf ct σ ðt Þ
2 ¼ 2:15þ2:80
2 ¼ 2:47 MPa, gives εc1 ðt Þ ¼ c1,avgEe ðt Þ þ εsh ðt Þ member, Equation (28) needs to be used to calculate
6 6
¼ 14,400  380  10 ¼ 208  10 . Although this strain
2:47
the restraining force for all cases including the time-step
only gives an error of 3%, it leads to an error of 16% when immediately after first cracking. This is because
determining σ c1. In addition, with only one crack present, Equation (17) will always yield a stress in the concrete below
the spacing is much larger than 2s0 =3. Hence the crack fct(t) due to the assumption that it corresponds to the con-
width is highly dependent on the stress in the concrete crete stress immediately after first cracking, which does not
σ c1—see Equation (34). facilitate an accurate estimation of the number of cracks.
 17517648, 2024, 2, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/suco.202300269 by Cochrane Peru, Wiley Online Library on [28/10/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
1016 TANG ET AL.

The restraining force and resulting stresses deter- F U N D I N G IN F O R M A T I O N

mined at t = 7 days are summarized in Table 4, where This work was funded by the Australian Research Coun-
Equation (28) is used to calculate N(t), and the stresses cil Discovery Grant (grant ID: DP 200102114) awarded to
σ s1, σ s2, and σ c1 are obtained from Equations (22), (23), the second and third authors.
and (29), respectively. As σ c1 is less than fct(t = 7)
= 2.8 MPa with m = 1, only one crack is seen. C O N F L I C T O F I N T E R E S T S T A TE M E N T
Although Equation (28) was used to determine N(t) The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
when evaluating the number of cracks, since only one crack
is obtained, and this is the first time step where the crack is DA TA AVAI LA BI LI TY S T ATE ME NT
formed, Equation (17) is used in the calculation of the crack Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new
width to reduce the approximation of error in Equation (28) data were created or analyzed in this study.
as previously discussed. The resultant restraining force and
stresses can be determined as shown in Table 5. ORCID
With only one crack, the crack spacing, s = L Ali Amin https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9088-8634
= 5000 mm and the average crack width can be evalu- Walter Kaufmann https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8415-
ated using Equation (34): 4896


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