{"title":"Change of crack widths and anatomy of cracks within the cover of reinforced concrete tension members","authors":"Dorian Borosnyoi-Crawley","doi":"10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2025.142192","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The literature hypothesizes the existence of a softening zone due to the formation of internal cracks in concrete around embedded reinforcing bars in tension, however, the magnitude of the effect of this softening on the width of primary structural cracks along the concrete cover is still unknown. This paper analyses experimental observations made on reinforced concrete ties, in which the primary structural cracks have been conserved in loaded condition with epoxy injection. It is experimentally demonstrated that a transition point marks the extent of the zone of concrete softening in the change of the crack width along the concrete cover. The location of the transition point and the crack width at the transition point shows a correlation with the thickness of the concrete cover. A simplified engineering model is proposed in a bilinear form for the crack width development along the concrete cover that is demonstrated to provide good prediction for the crack widths. A detailed assessment completes the analysis with identifying multiple crack geometry parameters in the general anatomy and constrictedness of structural cracks for the development of physical models in the future for crack tortuosity in concrete.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":288,"journal":{"name":"Construction and Building Materials","volume":"489 ","pages":"Article 142192"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Construction and Building Materials","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950061825023438","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CONSTRUCTION & BUILDING TECHNOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The literature hypothesizes the existence of a softening zone due to the formation of internal cracks in concrete around embedded reinforcing bars in tension, however, the magnitude of the effect of this softening on the width of primary structural cracks along the concrete cover is still unknown. This paper analyses experimental observations made on reinforced concrete ties, in which the primary structural cracks have been conserved in loaded condition with epoxy injection. It is experimentally demonstrated that a transition point marks the extent of the zone of concrete softening in the change of the crack width along the concrete cover. The location of the transition point and the crack width at the transition point shows a correlation with the thickness of the concrete cover. A simplified engineering model is proposed in a bilinear form for the crack width development along the concrete cover that is demonstrated to provide good prediction for the crack widths. A detailed assessment completes the analysis with identifying multiple crack geometry parameters in the general anatomy and constrictedness of structural cracks for the development of physical models in the future for crack tortuosity in concrete.
期刊介绍:
Construction and Building Materials offers an international platform for sharing innovative and original research and development in the realm of construction and building materials, along with their practical applications in new projects and repair practices. The journal publishes a diverse array of pioneering research and application papers, detailing laboratory investigations and, to a limited extent, numerical analyses or reports on full-scale projects. Multi-part papers are discouraged.
Additionally, Construction and Building Materials features comprehensive case studies and insightful review articles that contribute to new insights in the field. Our focus is on papers related to construction materials, excluding those on structural engineering, geotechnics, and unbound highway layers. Covered materials and technologies encompass cement, concrete reinforcement, bricks and mortars, additives, corrosion technology, ceramics, timber, steel, polymers, glass fibers, recycled materials, bamboo, rammed earth, non-conventional building materials, bituminous materials, and applications in railway materials.