Section Design For Crack Width
Section Design For Crack Width
The Section Design for Crack width can be used to design reinforced concrete sections to
meet specific crack requirements. Both beam and slab sections can be designed for the
combined effects of axial tension, bending moment and temperature.
Design scope
The program can determine reinforcement layouts to contain cracks. Both rectangular beam
and slab sections can be designed to resist the effects of axial tension, bending moment and
temperature and the combination thereof. Temperature effects are also included to evaluate
early cracking and long-term thermal cracking.
Shrinkage
Concrete shrinkage due to hydration is accounted for by a combination of the thermal
expansion coefficient and the restraint factor. The design method employed by the codes is
ideally suited for non-temperate regions like Europe.
Reinforcement type
Concrete cracking has traditionally been correlated with the prevailing tensile steel stress.
Eurocode 2 - 1984 also takes account of the type of reinforcement, i.e. bond between concrete
and reinforcement.
Codes of practice
Design calculations are done according to BS 8007 - 1987 and Eurocode 2 - 1992.
Units of measurement
Both Metric and Imperial units of measurement are supported.
List of symbols
The design code symbols are used as far as possible:
Section dimensions
bt : Width of the section (mm or in).
h : Overall height of the section (mm or in).
he : Effective surface zone depth (mm or in).
Material properties
fcu : Concrete cube strength (MPa or psi).
Applied loads
R : Restraint factor.
T1 : Hydration temperature difference (°C).
T2 : Seasonal temperature variation (°C).
: Thermal expansion coefficient of concrete (m/m per °C or in/in per °C).
TSLS : The tensile force on the full section at serviceability limit state (kN or kip).
TULS : The tensile force on the full section at ultimate limit state. (kN or kip).
MSLS : Serviceability limit state moment (kNm or kipft).
MULS : Ultimate limit state moment (kNm or kipft).
Ro critical : The minimum percentage of reinforcement to be supplied.
Design output
Ast : Area of suggested reinforcement layout. (mm² or in²).
fst : Tensile stress in reinforcement (MPa or psi).
Mu : Ultimate moment capacity of section (kNm or kipft).
TU : Ultimate tensile capacity of surface zone (kN or kip).
The seasonal temperature variation, T2, is used to calculate long term thermal cracking:
If movement joints are provided as per Table 5.1 of the code, the seasonal variation
can normally be set equal to zero when considering early cracking only.
The seasonal temperature variation should always be considered for long-term thermal
cracking in combination with the applied moments and tensile forces.
Section OPC content (kg/m3)
Thickness (mm) 325 350 400
300 15 17 21
500 25 28 34
The restraint factor describes the amount of restraint in the system. The factor varies
between 0.0 to 0.5. For more detail, refer to Figure A3 of the code.
Tip: A higher restraint factor generally gives rise to more severe cracking. Therefore, when
in doubt, use a restraint factor of 0.5.
Enter a value for Ro critical, i.e. the minimum percentage of reinforcement to be supplied.
The value applies to the gross concrete section of the surface zone. The program gives a
default value of 100 · fct / fy, where fct is the three-day tensile strength of the immature
concrete. For more detail, refer to paragraph A.2 of the code.
Up to four sets of bars are calculated for slab sections. Each set has a different diameter and
spacing to comply with the crack width requirements. A fifth column is provided where you
could enter a bar configuration of choice.
For beams, up to four sets of bars are calculated. Each set of bars consists of a number of bars
of not more than two different diameters. The bar diameters are chosen to not differ by more
than one size.
Tip: You can embed the Data File in the calcsheet for easy recalling from Calcpad.