Islamic University – Gaza

Faculty of Engineering
Civil Engineering Department
Design and Rehabilitation of Structures
Design of Special Concrete Structures ENGC 6330

ACI CODE & EUROCODE APPROACHES FOR FLEXURAL

CRACKS CONTROL IN WATER TANKS

Prepared by:
Mohammed Al Telbani 12010/0599

Instructor:
Dr. Mohammed Arafa

2010
1. Introduction.
2. Factors Affecting the Width of Flexural Cracks.
3. Distribution of Flexural Reinforcement in One-way Slabs
and Walls.
• ACI 350-01 Requirements.
• ACI 350-06 Requirements.
• ACI 224-01 Requirements.
• Euro Code Requirements.
4. Distribution of Flexural Reinforcement in Two-way Slabs
and Plates
• ACI 224-01 Requirements
When designing a reinforced concrete structure, three limit
states must be considered:
• Ultimate Limit State.
• Serviceability Limit State. Excessive Crack Width
• Special Limit State.
Cracks in concrete structures can indicate major structural
problems and detract from the appearance of monolithic
construction. There are many specific causes of cracking.

Cracking can be the result of one or a combination of

factors. Some examples include:
• Dr ying Shr inkage. This occurs as water used in the mix design

evaporates.

• Ther mal Contr action/Expansion . Due to temperature changes.

• Subgr ade Settlement (or Expansion). Resulting from poor soil

conditions or changes in soil moisture content.

• Differential Bear ing Capacity. Harder soils under part of the

foundation can cause stresses as the building “settles in.”

• Applied Stresses. Forces such as building load, earth load, or

hydrostatic pressure which is the cause of flexural cracks.

2. FACTORS AFFECTING THE WIDTH OF FLEXURAL CRACKS

The crack width of a flexural crack depends on the following

quantities:
1. The reinforcing steel stress is the most important variable;
2. The thickness of the concrete cover is an important variable but
not the only geometric consideration;
3. The area of concrete surrounding each reinforcing bar is also an
important geometric variable;
4. The bar diameter is not a major variable. Several bars at
moderate spacing are much more effective in controlling
cracking than one or two larger bars of equivalent area.
 3. DISTRIBUTION OF FLEXURAL REINFORCEMENT IN
ONE-WAY SLABS AND WALLS

This section prescribes rules for distribution of flexural reinforcement to

control flexural cracking in one-way slabs, and one-way walls (reinforced
to resist flexural stresses in only one direction) that are not compression
controlled sections.
We will explain the following ACI codes approaches for control of
flexural cracks:
1. ACI 350-01, “Code Requirements for Environmental Engineering
Concrete Structures and Commentary”.
2. ACI 350-06, “Code Requirements for Environmental Engineering
Concrete Structures and Commentary”.
3. ACI 224R-01, “Control of Cracking in Concrete Structures”.
Cross sections of maximum positive and negative moment shall be so
proportioned that the quantity z given by:

z = f s 3 dc A ACI 350R-01 (10-5)

does not exceed:

1. 115 kip/in  normal environmental exposure.
2. 95 kip/in  severe environmental exposure .
where,
• z = quantity limiting distribution of flexural reinforcement, kip/in.
• fs = Calculated flexural stress in reinforcement at service load, (ksi).
fs shall be computed as the service moment divided by the product
of steel area and internal moment arm. In place of such
computations, it is permitted to take fs as 45% of specified yield
strength fy.
• dc = distance between the extreme tension fiber to the centroid of
the closet bar, in.
• A = effective tension area of concrete, which is the area of concrete
symmetric with reinforcing steel divided by number of bars, in2.
See Figure (1).
Figure (1): Stress Diagr am and Effective tension area of concrete.
For liquid retention:

• Normal environmental exposure is defined as exposure

to liquids with a pH greater than 5, or exposure to sulfate

solutions of 1000 ppm or less.

• Severe environmental exposures are conditions in

which the limits defining normal environmental exposure

are exceeded.
 ACI 350-06 REQUIREMENTS

The calculated stress fs in reinforcement closest to a surface in tension at

service loads shall not exceed that given by Eq. ACI 350-06 (10-4) and
(10-5) and shall not exceed a maximum of 36,000 psi:

• In normal environmental exposure areas:

320
f s ,max = ≥ 20,000 psi ACI 350-06 (10-4)
2
 db 
β s + 4 2 + 
2

 2
 ACI 350-06 REQUIREMENTS

•In Severe environmental exposure areas:

260
f s ,max = ≥ 17,000 psi ACI 350-06 (10-5)
2
 db 
β s 2 + 4 2 + 
 2
 Important Note

The numerical limitations of z (ACI 350-01) and fs,max (ACI 350-06)

for normal environmental exposure and severe environmental

exposure respectively correspond to limiting crack widths of 0.010 in

(0.254 mm) and 0.009 in (0.2286 mm).

The following approach (ACI 224-01) gives a value of crack width

which will be compared with a reasonable crack width values. See

table (1).
 ACI 224-01 REQUIREMENTS

Equation ACI 350-01(10-5) is written in a form emphasizing reinforcing

details rather than crack width. It is based on the (Gergely-Lutz)
expression:

w = 0.076 β f s 3 d c A × 10 −3
where:
• w = most probable maximum crack width, in.
• β = ratio of distance between neutral axis and extreme tension
fiber to distance between neutral axis and the centroid of the main
reinforcing steel.
h−c
β=
d −c
 ACI 224-01 REQUIREMENTS

Nominal limit value of the crack width specified for cases with expected
functional consequences of cracking are stipulated in Table (1).
w < w lim

Table (1): Guide to reasonable* cr ack widths, reinforced concrete under ser vice loads.

Crack Width
Exposure Condition
in. mm

Dry or protective membrane 0.016 0.41

Humidity, moisture air, soil 0.012 0.30

Deicing chemicals 0.007 0.18

Seawater and sweater spray, wetting and drying 0.006 0.15

Water-retaining structures 0.004 0.10

 Eurocode Requirements

The code stipulates that the design crack width be evaluated from the
following expression:

wk = βsrmε sm
where,
wk = design crack width;
srm = average stabilized crack spacing;
ε sm = mean strain under relevant combination of loads and allowing for
the effect such as tension stiffening or shrinkage; and
β = coefficient relating the average crack width to the design value
= 1.7 for load-induced cracking and for restraint cracking in sections
with minimum dimension in excess of 800 mm (32 in.).
 Eurocode Requirements

The strain ε sm in the section is obtained from the following expression:

ε sm = σ s / Es [1 − β1β 2 (σ sr / σ s ) 2 ]
where,
σ s = stress in the tension reinforcement computed on the basis of a
cracked section, MPa;
σ sr = stress in the tension reinforcement computed on the basis of a
cracked section under loading conditions that cause the first crack,
MPa;
β1 = coefficient accounting for bar bond characteristics
= 1.0 for deformed bars and 0.5 for plain bars;
β 2 = coefficient accounting for load duration
= 1.0 for single short-term loading and 0.5 for sustained or cyclic
loading; and
Es = Modulus of elasticity of the reinforcement, MPa.
 Eurocode Requirements

The average stabilized mean crack spacing srm is evaluated from the
following expression:

srm = 50 + 0.25k1k 2 d b / ρ t , mm
where,
db = bar diameter, mm;
ρ t = effective reinforcement ratio = As / Act ; the effective concrete
area in tension Act is generally the concrete area surrounding the
tension reinforcement of depth equal to 2.5 times the distance from
the tensile face of the concrete section to the centroid of the
reinforcement. For slabs where the depth of the tension zone may
be small, the height of the effective area should not be taken greater
than [(c – db)/ 3], where c = clear cover to the reinforcement, mm;
k1 = 0.8 for deformed bars and 1.6 for plain bars; and
k2 = 0.5 for bending and 1.0 for pure tension.
4. DISTRIBUTION OF FLEXURAL REINFORCEMENT IN TWO-
WAY SLABS AND PLATES
ACI 224-01 REQUIREMENTS

Analysis of data on cracking in two-way slabs and plates (Nawy and Blair
1971) has provided the following equation for predicting the maximum
crack width:

w = kβ f s I

where the terms inside the radical are collectively termed the grid index:

d b1 s2  s1 s2 d c 8 
I= = − 
ρ t1  d b1 π
4. DISTRIBUTION OF FLEXURAL REINFORCEMENT IN TWO-
WAY SLABS AND PLATES
ACI 224-01 REQUIREMENTS

where,
• k = fracture coefficient with a value k = 2.8 x 10-5 for uniformly
loaded restrained two-way action square slabs and plates. For
concentrated loads or reactions or when the ratio of short to long span
is less than 0.75 but larger than 0.5, a value of k = 2.1 x 10-5 is
applicable. For span aspect ratios less than 0.5, k = 1.6 x 10-5;
• β = 1.25 (chosen to simplify calculations, although it varies between
1.20 and 1.35);
• fs = actual average service-load stress level or 40% of the specified
yield strength fy, ksi;
4. DISTRIBUTION OF FLEXURAL REINFORCEMENT IN TWO-
WAY SLABS AND PLATES
ACI 224-01 REQUIREMENTS

where,
• db1 = diameter of the reinforcement in Direction 1 closest to the
concrete outer fibers, in.;
• s1 = spacing of the reinforcement in Direction 1, in.;
• s2 = spacing of the reinforcement in perpendicular Direction 2, in.;
• ρt1 = active steel ratio, that is, the area of steel As per ft width/ [12db1 +
2c1], where c1 is clear concrete cover measured from the tensile face
of concrete to the nearest edge of the reinforcing bar in Direction 1;
and
• w = crack width at face of concrete caused by flexure, in.
 Example

We have a water tank with:

• Wall thickness = 50.0 cm = 19.685 in
• Service Moment Ms = 9.0 ton.m = 781.165 kip.in
• Take 100 cm of the wall = 39.37 in
• Concrete cover = 5.0 cm = 1.968 in
• Concrete Compressive Stress f c' = 300 kg / cm 2 = 4.267 ksi
Reinf. Yield Stress f y = 4200 kg / cm = 59.738 ksi
2
•
 Example

1- Compute the area of flexural reinforcement:

d = 50.0 – 5.0 – 1.4/2 = 44.3 cm

0.85(300)  2.61(10) 5 (9.0) 

ρ= 1 − 1 − 2  = 0.0012 < ρ min
4200  100(44.3) (300) 

As = 0.0033 × 100 × 44.3 = 14.62 cm 2 / m

Use 1 Φ 14 @ 10 cm
 Example

2- Check for crack width:

h−c
w = 0.076 β f s 3 d c A × 10 −3 β=
d −c

d =h – cover – 0.5 db = 19.685 – 1.968 – 0.5(0.551)= 17.44 in

a As f y
c= a=
β1 0.85 f c'b

0.05( f c' − 280) 0.05(300 − 280)

β1 = 0.85 − = 0.85 − = 0.836
70 70

Number of bars = 100/10 = 10 bars

As = 10 × π (0.551 / 2) 2 = 2.384 in 2
 Example

2.384 × 59.738
a= = 0.997 in
0.85 × 4.267 × 39.37

0.997
c= = 1.193 in
0.836

19.685 − 1.193
β= = 1.138
17.440 − 1.193

M 781.165
fs = = = 19.34 kip/in 2
 a  0.997 
As ×  d −  2.384 × 17.44 − 
 2   2 
 Example

d c = 1.968 + (0.551 / 2) = 2.244 in

Ac = 2d c s = 2 × 2.244 × 3.937 = 17.665 in 2

w = 0.076 × 1.138 × 19.34 3 2.244 × 17.665 × 10 −3 = 0.0057 in

w = 0.0057 × 25.4 = 0.145 mm > 0.10 mm  NOT O.K.

3- Repeat the previous steps using 1 Φ 14 @ 7.5 cm

w = 0.0999 mm  O.K.
 REFERENCES

1. ACI Committee 224 (ACI 224R-01), "Control of Cracking in

Concrete Structures", American Concrete Institute, Detroit,
Michigan.
2. ACI Committee 350 (ACI 350-01), "Code Requirements for
Environmental Engineering Concrete Structures and Commentary",
American Concrete Institute, Detroit, Michigan.
3. ACI Committee 350 (ACI 350-06), "Code Requirements for
Environmental Engineering Concrete Structures and Commentary",
American Concrete Institute, Detroit, Michigan.
4. "Cracking in Concrete Walls", Concrete Foundations Association of
North America.