Modeling of Restrained Shrinkage Cracking in Concrete Materials

The paper reviews an experimental study conducted to evaluate the restrained shrinkage in plain and fiber reinforced concrete. A constant humidity chamber was used to hold the restrained shrinkage specimens. While the chamber was subjected to constant flow of air around the specimens, the strain in the restraining steel and the crack width in the concrete samples were monitored continuously. An analytical approach was developed in order to better understand the restrained shrinkage of concrete under the proposed test method and to eliminate the influence of test conditions. The model incorporates key influential parameters of shrinkage, creep, aging, and microcracking, in stress analysis of a restrained concrete section.