Crack analysis of tensile and bending RC members

Abstract

The authors have recently proposed a new concept of crack analysis based on the assumed reinforcement strain profile between the adjacent cracks. Mean crack spacing is obtained from the equality of mean strains of the tensile reinforcement assessed from the strain profile and the mean value calculated by EC2. The current study considers mean crack spacing for both tensile and bending RC members. For bending members, mean spacing is established separately for primary and secondary cracks. The current paper quantifies constitutive parameters of the model for the cases mentioned above. The model is validated against independent test data. A comparative analysis has demonstrated that the predictions of mean crack distance by the proposed model agree well with the tests of RC elements.