Shrinkage and temperature reinforcement in concrete liquid-containing structures.
Cracking due to shrinkage is a widespread problem in large concrete members such as walls and slabs. When shrinkage strains are restrained, tensile stresses develop in concrete. Concrete cracks when tensile stresses exceed the tensile strength of concrete. In general, concrete standards and codes of practice recommend a minimum area of reinforcement for shrinkage and temperature effects. In some cases, large structural elements provide significant restraint to a concrete member that the specified minimum area of reinforcement needs to be increased. This research studies the response of reinforced concrete walls to shrinkage strains. In this study, nonlinear finite element analysis is applied to simulate the cracking behaviour of concrete and predict crack pattern and tensile stresses in reinforcement in the vicinity of cracks. This research is looking for the effective shrinkage and temperature reinforcement in liquid-containing structures where cracking of concrete is of major concern.