Prediction of Cracking Induced by Indirect Actions in RC Structures

Cracking of concrete plays a key role in reinforced concrete (RC) structures design, especially in serviceability conditions. A variety of reasons contribute to develop cracking and its presence in concrete structures is to be considered as almost unavoidable. Therefore, a good control of the phenomenon in order to provide durability is required. Cracking development is due to tensile stresses that arise in concrete structures as a result of the action of direct external loads or restrained endogenous deformations. This paper focuses on cracking induced by indirect actions. In fact, there is very limited literature regarding this particular phenomenon if compared to its high incidence in the construction practice. As a consequence, the correct prediction of the crack opening, width and position when structures are subjected to imposed deformations, such as massive castings or other highly restrained structures, becomes a compelling task, not so much for the structural capacity, as for their durability. However, this is only partially addressed by commonly used design methods, which are usually intended for direct actions. A set of non-linear analysis on simple tie models is performed using the Finite Element Method in order to study the cracking process under imposed deformations. Different concrete grades have been considered and analysed. The results of this study have been compared with the provisions of the most common codes.