Studies on Base Restrained Walls and Tanks Subjected to Shrinkage.

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Bibliographic Details
Title:	Studies on Base Restrained Walls and Tanks Subjected to Shrinkage.
Authors:	Bahl, Amrit¹, Shariff, Mohammad Najeeb², Yellamanda, Sankati³
Source:	ACI Structural Journal. Mar2026, Vol. 123 Issue 2, p197-210. 14p.
Subjects:	Crack formation in solids, Reinforced concrete, Finite element method, Structural design, Deformations (Mechanics)
Abstract:	Reinforced concrete (RC) members undergoing shrinkage are susceptible to cracking when restrained; however, studies on this behavior are limited. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to present crack widths, crack patterns, and shrinkage strains from an experimental study on three RC walls with aspect ratios of 3.26 and 1.08, and horizontal reinforcement ratios of 0.2% and 0.35%, as well as a rectangular tank with 0.24% reinforcement. A threedimensional (3-D) nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) is conducted, and the results reveal that although the model predicts strains and maximum crack widths reasonably well, the crack pattern differs from the experiments. The possible reasons for this difference are discussed, and a parametric study is done to propose design equations to estimate restraint factors along the wall centerline for different aspect ratios. These equations can be used to estimate the cracking potential in the design stage without the need for a nonlinear FEA. For length-to-height ratio (L/h) above 4, horizontal reinforcement has negligible effect on the restraint, and for L/h above 8, full-height cracks can be expected due to almost-uniform restraint. Finally, the design codes are compared, and it is found that ACI 207.2R and CIRIA C766 predict shrinkage-induced crack widths conservatively and reasonably accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database:	Engineering Source

Description
Abstract:	Reinforced concrete (RC) members undergoing shrinkage are susceptible to cracking when restrained; however, studies on this behavior are limited. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to present crack widths, crack patterns, and shrinkage strains from an experimental study on three RC walls with aspect ratios of 3.26 and 1.08, and horizontal reinforcement ratios of 0.2% and 0.35%, as well as a rectangular tank with 0.24% reinforcement. A threedimensional (3-D) nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) is conducted, and the results reveal that although the model predicts strains and maximum crack widths reasonably well, the crack pattern differs from the experiments. The possible reasons for this difference are discussed, and a parametric study is done to propose design equations to estimate restraint factors along the wall centerline for different aspect ratios. These equations can be used to estimate the cracking potential in the design stage without the need for a nonlinear FEA. For length-to-height ratio (L/h) above 4, horizontal reinforcement has negligible effect on the restraint, and for L/h above 8, full-height cracks can be expected due to almost-uniform restraint. Finally, the design codes are compared, and it is found that ACI 207.2R and CIRIA C766 predict shrinkage-induced crack widths conservatively and reasonably accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	08893241
DOI:	10.14359/51749261