Open Access

ARTICLE

Prediction of Interfacial Cracking due to Differential Drying Shrinkage of Concrete in Precast Shell Pier Cap

Kyong Pil Jang¹, Je kuk Son², Seung Hee Kwon^1,3

1 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Myongji University, San 38-2, Namdong, Cheoin-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi-do, 449-728, South Korea.
2 Construction Technology Research Institute, Samsung C&T Corporation, 6th Floor, Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-935, South Korea.
3 Corresponding author.
Tel.: +82 (31) 330-6418; Fax: +82 (31) 336-9705; E-mail: kwon08@mju.ac.kr

Computers, Materials & Continua 2013, 38(3), 155-173. https://doi.org/10.3970/cmc.2013.038.155

Abstract

In a precast shell pier cap, cracking at the interface between the precast shell and the cast-in-place concrete may happen due to differences between the drying shrinkage of the inner and the outer concrete. The objective of this study is to establish a prediction method for interfacial cracking that will consider the real mechanism of differential drying shrinkage and creep. The main parameters used in the analysis were determined from experiments for a concrete mix that is applied to the manufacturing of pier caps. The variation of internal relative humidity over time was first calculated based on the nonlinear moisture diffusion; cracking analysis then followed. Prediction of the initiation of interface cracks and the increase of their width over time was performed. It was found that additional reinforcement across the interface is very effective at reducing crack width.

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Keywords

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