Experimental Investigations on crack formation in reinforced concrete due to restraint stress

摘要

In the current Eurocode 2, a crack-force-based approach is used to determine the minimum reinforcement in restrained concrete members. Due to the tightening of the requirement by a change of the German national annex in Eurocode 2, an economic design is no longer possible. One of the reasons for the overdimensioning of the minimum reinforcement is that the design approach is based on incomplete empirical data and conservative assumptions. To investigate the influences on crack initiation and the effects of crack formation on restrained concrete members, precisely defined boundary conditions are necessary. These allow not only the comparability of the experimental investigations but also their reproducibility. The test setup used allows full restraint under constant climatic conditions of the test specimens. By systematic evaluation of selected tests, the crack formation of restrained plates is analyzed, allowing interpretations and the identification of basic phenomena.