Practical Concrete

Surface Beds
Cracking Mechanisms and
Reduction of Risk
Part 3

Main Causes of Cracking

™ Plastic state
™ Plastic shrinkage
™ Plastic settlement Plastic State Movements
™ Hardened state
™ Moisture movements
™ Thermal movements
™ Loading-

Plastic Shrinkage Plastic

Plastic Shrinkage
Shrinkage
™ Cause
™ Rate of evaporation exceeds rate of bleeding
and water is removed from the concrete
matrix
™ Surface tension of water in capillaries sets up
tensile forces that tear the weak plastic
concrete-

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 Plastic
Plastic
Shrinkage
Shrinkage

Star-Shaped
Star-Shaped Plastic
Plastic Plastic
Plastic Shrinkage
Shrinkage
Shrinkage
Shrinkage Crack
Crack Crack
Crack

Minimising the risk

SANS
SANS 10109
10109 Chart
Chart
for
for the
the estimation
estimation
™ Methods
of
of evaporation
evaporation
™ Control evaporation rates
rates
™ Cast concrete under ideal conditions
™ Use SANS 10190 chart to assess evaporation
™ Humidify the environment
™ Spray water over surface
™ Cast the floor after the walls and roof are up
™ Protect from sun and wind-

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 Orientation of Fibres
™ Reinforce the concrete
™ Light steel mesh Plastic
Zone of
™ Little or no effect on plastic shrinkage Shrinkage
Beneficial Crack
™ Use fibres
Orientation
™ High surface area
™ Very close spacing
™ Only fibres in the correct orientation will be
effective
™ Do not eliminate bleeding Fibre

™ Use a well designed mix

™ Attention to grading of sand-

Plastic Settlement
™ Causes
™ Sinking
of particles with a specific gravity
above that of water
™ Cracks form where particles are restrained or
inhibited from moving
™ Segregation of coarse and fine particles
™ Poorabrasion resistance
™ Lower E-value-

™ Minimising the risk

™ Control bleeding
™ Specify a maximum allowable rate
™ ASTM Test – 0.3 mℓ/cm2
™ Use a well designed mix
™ Attentionto grading of sand particularly fines
™ Use AEA-

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™ Use fibres to reduce migration of water
™ Increase aggregate surface area
™ Increase tensile strain
™ Increase cohesion
™ Bind mix
™ Minimise retardation
™ Low temperatures
™ Admixtures
™ Slow cement- Influence of fibres on segregation

Drying Shrinkage
™ Due to Restrained Shrinkage of Concrete
Movements in Hardened ™ Result of moisture loss over extended time
Concrete ™ Initial
shrinkage is largest movement made
by concrete
™ Can be measured and specified-

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 Shrinkage
Shrinkage Sample
Sample
and
and Comparator
Comparator

Cause of Cracking
™ Unrestrained concrete will not crack
Cracking Due to Drying ™ Cracking is caused by restrained
shrinkage
Shrinkage Movement ™ Change in thickness of slab
™ Frictionunder slab
™ Steel reinforcement-

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 Drying
Drying
Shrinkage
Shrinkage
and
and Thermal
Thermal
Movements
Movements

Drying
Drying
Shrinkage
Shrinkage

™ Minimise the risk

™ Reduce moisture movements
™ Reduce the amount of water evaporating
™ Reduce the amount of water used in the
concrete mix Water
Water
™ Use largest coarse aggregate possible
Content
Content vs
vs
™ Use admixtures
Shrinkage
Shrinkage
™ Select well-shaped aggregate
™ Reduce the rate of moisture loss until concrete
has gained strength by desifying the concrete
through curing
™ Reduce bleeding-

Expansion on Rewetting

™ Reduce the amount of water adsorbed

Expansion of Concrete ™ Densify the surface through curing
™ Reduce bleeding in plastic state
™ Prevent contact with water
™ Indoors
™ Under slabs-

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 Thermal Movements
™ Causes
™ Contraction on cooling
™ Expansion on heating
™ Differential contraction and expansion will
Differential Shrinkage and
worsen cracking Expansion
™ Cold room with warm soil underneath
™ Ground frozen underneath and warm above
™ Slab surface in sun
™ Slab surface cold and wet underneath

™ Accommodated in open joints-

Curling
™ Causes of curling
™ Drying shrinkage in the top 50 mm ™ Thermal contraction & expansion of the
™ Airconditioning surface
™ Plastic sheet underneath ™ Sun
™ Cold room
™ Moisture expansion of the bottom 50 mm
™ Warm subbase-
™ Poorly sealed joints
™ Plastic sheet underneath
™ Overlay slabs
™ High water table-

Curling
™ Minimise the risk
™ Reduce differential moisture movement
™ Don’t put plastic underneath
™ Seal joints adequately

™ Reduce differential thermal movement

™ Cold room floors on the ground - use insulation
™ Slab panels in the sun

™ Increase ductility or flexural strength to

resist load
™ Use fibres-

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 Curling
Curling Failure
Failure
due
due to
to Loading
Loading
™ Use correct cement
™ Make the slab thick enough
™ The mass of the slab will oppose uplift
™ Verticalrestraint between panels will reduce
curling unless they are moving together-

™ Reinforcement
™ Steel mesh
™ Must not prevent joint from opening

Minimising the Risk ™ Must be in the correct position relative to the

thickness
of Shrinkage Cracking ™ Must have sufficient steel cross-sectional area

™ Fibres
™ Polypropylene fibres ineffective in hardened state
™ Steel fibres are more effective
™ Minimise shrinkage movements-

™ Joints
™ Allow the movement to take place by giving
the concrete somewhere to go-

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 Load
Load Load applied to floor
Transfer
Transfer

Concrete slab Restrained

vertical

Accommodation of Movement in
Low subbase
Joints High subbase
stress and possible
stress at
acceptable levels
failure

Effect of load transfer at

edge of slab
Concrete slab
with increased
thickness Low subbase
stress at acceptable
levels

No
No Restraint
Restraint
Degree of Shrinkage a Shrinkage b
Saw cuts
Restraint

Frictionless
surface - greased Concrete slab on frictionless
glass? surface.
Restraint
Restraint
Crack width a+b

Concrete slab restrained at ends.

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Small
Small Restraint
Restraint
More
More Restraint
Restraint

Cracks Saw cuts

Combined crack all cracked
Plastic sheet width = a + b
reduced friction but
not frictionless
Saw cuts
Damp subbase
no plastic
Slab on damp subbase.

Concrete slab on plastic sheet.

Large
Large Restraint
Restraint
Cracks Light mesh
Note on Steel Mesh

™ Itis virtually impossible to position it 50 mm

Plastic
Slab with light mesh. below the surface where it would be most
Heavy
Multiple
reinforcement
effective and it serves little or no purpose. If
micro cracks the steel mesh is placed so that it is able to
cross the location of the joints then it will not
allow the joints to open and its presence is
Subbase
Slab with heavy reinforcement.
detrimental to the performance of the floor-

Design Criteria for Joints

™ Requirements ™ Jointshide cracks – they do not eliminate
them
™ Must not allow vertical movement between
panels i.e. provide vertical restraint ™ Must be effective for the full life of the floor or
expansion can severely damage the structure
™ Must allow free movement laterally i.e. no
horizontal restraint ™ Must open sufficiently initially, to provide an
opening that will accommodate all future
™ Must not open by more than 0.9 mm or the
expansions due to moisture and expansion
vertical interlock will be ineffective
™ The initial shrinkage is always the greatest
™ Must not open to more than 1.25 times the movement and is usually adequate if it is kept
original width or the sealant will fail- open-

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™ Empirical rules for joint spacing
™ 25 to 30 times the thickness of the slab
™ Maximum spacing 4.5 m
™ Aspect ratio less than 1.25
™Practical Concrete Surface
™ Cracking out of joints requires restraint Beds
provided by friction under the floor
™ All joints must crack out or the movement in
those that do will be too great
™End Part 3
™ Joints accommodate all future movement due
to moisture or thermal effects-

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