Mamdouh Hamouda

Engineering Director
ARKAN architects consultants
It is quite often
for cracks to
develop at
reinforced
concrete rafts
and/or
basement walls
 Such cracking
would likely
lead to leakage
of ground water
in contact with
the crack
This discussion will be addressing
non-structural cracks

Why such cracks develop?

Concrete shrinks naturally, with
most prominent causes being:

 Drop in temperature
 Drying shrinkage
What happens?
a. Concrete shrinks excessively
b. Its movement is usually
restrained so contraction is
physically obstructed
c. Tensile stresses – beyond
concrete resistance- will
develop and will cause cracking
 Due to its low resistance to tensile
stress and to temperature / drying
shrinkage properties, concrete is
generally vulnerable to cracking of
various patterns, sizes and severities
 Cracking at basement envelope
develops at an early stage but the
severe implication thereof often
takes place several months later
when dewatering system is switched
off allowing water to leak through
these cracks
 Aftermath
remedy would
likely involve
high cost and
delay
potentiality
 Let us have a model to analyze
the contraction & stresses
resulting from temperature drop
& drying shrinkage
Criteria of Contraction Analysis
Drying shrinkage and temperature drop contraction
fck.cube 45 Analysis is carried out to
fck 35 the provisions of the
b RH 1.35625 Eurocode 2: Design of
fcm 43 fctm 3.2 Concrete Structures
fcmo 10 EN1992-1-1
a ds1 3

a ds2 0.13 a ds2*(fcm/fcmo) 0.559

e cd.0 0.00036254 DRYING SHRINKAGE
Tensile strength at different ages
362.535676 Microstrain 0.5
Coefficient of thermal expansion b cc = exp{ s [1-(28/t) ]}

e TE 0.0000115 s for class R cement= 0.2 t= 4

Drying shrinkage is b cc = 0.719535
equivalent to cooling of
31.52 OC
for t <28 for t >=28
40% OF DRYING SHRINKAGE IS EQUIVALENT TO A DROP OF
O
12.61 C a= 1 (2/3)
O
Temprerature drop 28 C
fctm(t) =b cc (t)a fctm
Sum equvlnt drop 40.6 O
C
2.303
 Consider this
example:
Basement wall
Dimensions (m)
20.0, 3.25, 0.40

Restraint:
Held at all but
upper boundary
edges
Basic assumptions:
 Concrete grade 45 Mpa is used
 Shuttering taken off after 12 hours
 40% drying shrinkage takes place
48 hours after removing shutter
 Temperature drop from hydration
to ambient = 55 – 28 = 27o C
 No early curing applied
Tensile Stresses SX developed in the
wall 48 hours after stripping:
 This means that:
Direct tensile stresses in the
wall will reach 5.41 Mpa under
the conditions given, while
tensile resistance of concrete
at age of 4 days will only be
2.3 MPa
As a result, the wall will crack where
tensile stresses will exceed the
concrete tensile resistance
Some of these
cracks will be too
fine to be seen, so
they will remain
invisible until after
several months later
when Dewatering
System will be
switched off
Q: Does that mean that cracks are
inevitable?
A: No ..

It means that their occurrence is

quite likely, but it is possible for
cracks to be prevented/controlled
if the mix design and pouring
conditions are enhanced
Let’s apply the folowing modifications on
our previous example:

 Reduce the length of wall sector to be poured by

inserting joints at third points

 Replace 50% of cement by GGBS to reduce heat of

hydration

 Keep the shuttering in place for 72 hours after

pouring to prevent early loss of surface water

Now re-analyze the model in previous example

to find out the result of these modifications…
Tensile stress contour Sx corresponding to modified mix and pouring conditions
 Analysis results:
Maximum tensile stresses in the wall in
horizontal direction will only be
1.63 Mpa
under such modified conditions, which
is well within the concrete tensile
resistance at 4 days age that was
previously assessed to be:
2.3 Mpa
 So, cracking can be
controlled/ avoided by
implementing certain
enhancements to the mix
and to pouring conditions
There are several options and
techniques to do that, but I
shall focus here on practical
measures involving
reasonable cost & effort
Considerations taken in Concrete Mix

 Partly replace cement by GGBS, Flyash

or microsilica to reduce heat of
hydration

 Reduce W/C ratio to below 0.30 to

mitigate shrinkage, by the use of
WRWRA (super/hyper plasticizers)
Considerations taken during construction

 Control the temerature of fresh concrete

 Avoid pours at windy or extremely hot

weather

 Use thermal insulation on top of massive

pours (rafts)
Considerations taken during construction

Pour
relatively
short
sectors of
basement
wall at
alternate
sequencing
Considerations taken during construction

Forms are to be left in position

after pouring for 72 hours
(at least)
Considerations taken during construction

If you feel it would be costly or time

consuming these pictures should remind
you with the other possible alternative
Considerations taken during construction

Adopt high
waterproofing
standards,
materials &
accessories
Considerations taken during construction

Surface
preparation and
the insertion of
Water bars & Re-
injectable hoses
at joints
Considerations taken during construction

Re-injectable
hoses at joints
Thank you for paying
attention

Any questions?