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Article

Revisiting Cracking in Reinforced Concrete Beams: An Updated Analysis

by
Adelino V. Lopes
1 and
Sergio M. R. Lopes
2,*
1
INESC Coimbra, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal
2
Centre for Mechanical Engineering, Materials and Processes, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(6), 3926; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13063926
Submission received: 5 March 2023 / Revised: 14 March 2023 / Accepted: 16 March 2023 / Published: 20 March 2023

Featured Application

The study’s findings have implications for the design of reinforced concrete structures, as they reveal new insights into the location and prediction of cracks in beams subjected to bending. Based on these findings, the authors recommend that design rules for predicting crack widths should be updated to incorporate the sag-to-free-span ratio as a key factor.

Abstract

As materials and structural optimization continue to be important in design, structural safety checks for service limit states have become increasingly important. One key aspect of these checks is the controlling of cracks to prevent them from affecting the structure’s function or appearance. However, the authors have found that current regulations do not accurately reflect the reality of crack behavior. This is the case of the crack spacing. To address this issue, the authors conducted experiments on 27 reinforced concrete beams to investigate crack location, cracking moment, corresponding deflection, and crack width values as sag increases. Their main finding was that cracks tend to appear at the stirrup locations, and that crack width increases linearly with the sag-to-free-span ratio up to the yielding point. They also concluded that increasing the amount of tensile reinforcement is an effective way to reduce crack width for the same sag.
Keywords: cracking; RC beams; Crack position; crack spacing; crack width; Moment of cracking; cracking deflection; experimental work cracking; RC beams; Crack position; crack spacing; crack width; Moment of cracking; cracking deflection; experimental work

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MDPI and ACS Style

Lopes, A.V.; Lopes, S.M.R. Revisiting Cracking in Reinforced Concrete Beams: An Updated Analysis. Appl. Sci. 2023, 13, 3926. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13063926

AMA Style

Lopes AV, Lopes SMR. Revisiting Cracking in Reinforced Concrete Beams: An Updated Analysis. Applied Sciences. 2023; 13(6):3926. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13063926

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lopes, Adelino V., and Sergio M. R. Lopes. 2023. "Revisiting Cracking in Reinforced Concrete Beams: An Updated Analysis" Applied Sciences 13, no. 6: 3926. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13063926

APA Style

Lopes, A. V., & Lopes, S. M. R. (2023). Revisiting Cracking in Reinforced Concrete Beams: An Updated Analysis. Applied Sciences, 13(6), 3926. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13063926

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