Crack Width Reduction in Conventionally Reinforced Members Using Fibres

1
Erik S Bernard
1
Associate Director, BG&E Pty Ltd, Sydney

Abstract: Introduction of fibres to produce a hybrid conventional and fibre-based reinforcement system is
a useful means to effectively reduce crack widths under service loads, and possibly produce an increase
in flexural strength and rigidity. A reduction in crack widths leads to better protection of the conventional
reinforcement from aggressive agents. Both steel and synthetic fibres can influence crack widths, and can
increase the surface roughness and tortuosity of cracks, thereby reducing permeability to gas and water,
but these issues depend on the characteristics of the chosen fibre type. When selecting a fibre to use in
hybrid RC/FRC members, there are many issues to consider in order to estimate in-service performance.
This paper examines how crack width, flexural performance, and permeability of cracks in conventionally
reinforced concrete members are affected by the addition of different types of fibre, and examines the cost
competitiveness of fibres compared to conventional reinforcement for crack width control.

Keywords: cracks, reinforcement, fibres, permeability, autogenous healing.

1. Introduction
In recent decades the cost of maintaining and repairing deteriorated concrete structures has heightened
awareness of the role of cracks in facilitating corrosion of reinforcing bars, and the importance of
maintaining narrow in-service crack widths to limit the initiation of corrosion. Causes of cracks in hardened
concrete may include: early-age thermal contraction, autogenous and drying shrinkage of the concrete,
and imposed structural stresses. Explicit control of the width of cracks during the process of design has
therefore become an issue.
While there are several other advantages to reducing crack widths, the most important is improving the
durability of a member by limiting the ingress of aggressive ions such as chloride ions to the reinforcing
steel. Limiting the ingress of aggressive species depends in part on controlling permeability to water, so
the focus of much recent research related to crack widths in RC structures has been measurement of
water permeability in cracks and assessing factors that affect water permeability. Enhancing the durability
and water-tightness of concrete members will be the main objectives examined in this paper, so issues
that influence water permeability through cracks will be examined in detail.
There are three broad approaches to improving durability and controlling the water permeability of cracks
in concrete members. The first is by limiting the maximum tensile stress in reinforcing steel by including
additional rebar over and above that required to satisfy strength requirements. The second is through the
provision of pre- or post-tensioning. The third is through inclusion of fibres within the concrete, which can
be undertaken in combination with the first or second approaches. Inclusion of fibres in combination with
reinforcing steel may simplify the design of reinforcement in a way that is usually not possible by other
means, and is effective both with and without post-tensioning.

2. Reduction of Water Permeability using Fibres

2.1 Reduction of Crack Spacing and Width

The primary determinant of crack widths in conventionally reinforced concrete members is the tensile
stress in the steel bars. When fibres are introduced into the concrete enveloping the bars, they carry some
of the tensile load in the member so the neutral axis is moved toward the tensile face of the member. The
tensile stress in the bars is thereby reduced compared to the plain concrete case leading to a reduction in
mean crack width. However, this only occurs if the amount of conventional reinforcement is maintained as
fibres are introduced.
The mean width of structural cracks can be reduced by limiting the spacing s between these cracks (be
they generated by flexural or direct tension stresses) so that the effective strain experienced at each crack
is diminished Gilbert et al (1). This mechanism is associated with the process of ‘tension stiffening’ that
involves a progressive transfer of tension between concrete and bars on either side of a crack (2). By
improving stress transfer from bars to concrete, and introducing a non-zero tensile capacity perpendicular
to the crack faces, fibres cause the spacing between cracks to be reduced and the width of each crack to
be diminished even though the total number of cracks is increased. If the post-crack tensile strength of the
FRC is high compared to the tensile strength of the concrete matrix, there is evidence that the total
cumulative width of all surface cracks is reduced because some cracks become dis-continuous or are not
manifested at the surface of a member and therefore do not contribute to the passage of water. Reducing
crack widths is important because, according to Posieuille’s Law for fluid flow between plates, water flow
through a crack is proportional to the width squared, thus halving the average width of cracks will reduce
the flow by a factor of four.
The benefits of crack refinement associated with tension stiffening were introduced in codified form in
Eurocode 2 in 2004 (3). Since then, numerous modifications to the modelling of this effect have been
made and somewhat different approximations were introduced in the Model Code 2010 (4). The
commentary to the 2009 version of Australian Standard AS3600 followed Eurocode 2. The 2017 version
of AS5100 (5) did not include explicit calculation of crack widths but instead stipulated the maximum
stress in the tension steel needed to control crack widths so that the maximum was less than 0.30 mm.
The 2018 version of AS3600 (6) included further modifications that now account for the post-crack
performance associated with steel fibres.

2.2 Crack Tortuosity

In the context of improving the durability or water-tightness of RC members, the width and density of
cracking are not the only factors that influence performance. A second beneficial phenomenon associated
with the introduction of fibres is an increase in the roughness and tortuosity of crack surfaces compared to
plain concrete (within conventionally reinforced members). It has been demonstrated experimentally that
both steel and macro-synthetic fibres increase the roughness and tortuosity of cracks and that this leads
to a substantial reduction in water permeability compared to cracks of equal width in plain concrete (7).
This effect is multiplicative with the reduction in crack width associated with tension stiffening described
above, thus the inclusion of fibres acts to reduce the permeability of concrete cover to reinforcement by
two independent mechanisms that, to varying extents, depend on the characteristics of the fibres present
in the mix.
Ding et al (8), Akhavan et al (9) and Picandet et al (10) reported that fibres have the effect of increasing
both the surface roughness and tortuosity of cracks such that water permeability is reduced for a given
width of crack compared to plain concrete containing cracks of the same width. This is because the width
of cracks is not uniform, and greater roughness and tortuosity impede the flow of water compared to
smooth, flat, and parallel surfaces. According to Poiseuille’s Law, the permeability coefficient k of a crack
2
is approximated by k = b /12 where b is the width of the crack. In reality, the unevenness of crack surfaces
means that the actual permeability coefficient for a crack is usually expressed as ξb /12 in which ξ is a
2

modification factor to account for the influence of numerous factors on reducing the flow of water through
a crack compared to the ideal case of smooth parallel plates. The magnitude of ξ has been assessed in
several investigations and found to equal about 0.2 for plain concrete (8). Ding et al (7) and Picandet et al
(10) found that ξ falls much further, to values of between 0.032 for 50 MPa concrete with 55 kg/m of
3
3
hooked-end steel fibres, and 0.01 for 130 MPa concrete with 79 kg/m of steel fibre. This means that in
terms of water permeability, the effective width of a crack in SFRC is much lower than that of a crack of
the same observed width in plain concrete (about 50-95% lower). Polypropylene macro-synthetic fibres
also reduce the magnitude of ξ, and even micro-synthetic fibres can effect a reduction in permeability by
this mechanism (7), but to a lesser degree than steel fibres. The contribution that a fibre makes to
tortuosity and roughness will depend on many factors and therefore needs to be assessed on a case-by-
case basis.
Tension stiffening leads to the generation of regular surface cracks in members of observable mean width
b at the surface, and fibres reduce the width of these observable surface cracks compared to plain
concrete. Due to the process of progressive stress transfer from bars to concrete, crack widths in both
plain and fibre reinforced concrete tend to be narrower near the bar surface than at the surface of a
member (11). The effect of fibres on permeability reduction through increases in roughness and tortuosity
is independent of the tension stiffening effect and is multiplicative in its contribution to reduced water
permeability. Both steel and synthetic fibres are known to reduce crack widths and increase roughness
and tortuosity, thus introduction of either type will reduce water permeability.

2.3 Autogenous Healing

A third mechanism by which fibres reduce permeability is the beneficial effect they have on promoting
autogenous healing of cracks. All types of fibre have been shown to enhance the process of calcium
carbonate deposition in cracks by acting as a scaffold upon which calcite crystals form possibly leading to
the sealing (commonly known as ‘healing’) of cracks (12).
The possible beneficial effect of autogenous crack healing should be considered, but possibly not relied
upon, when estimating the effect of fibres on durability and water-tightness of structures. Fibres can
indirectly promote the process of crack sealing by reducing the mean width of cracks to the point where
autogenous healing is more likely. This is because the processes responsible for autogenous healing are
more likely to occur in narrower cracks, especially when tortuosity and surface roughness are high, since
sealing tends to occur more readily at narrow points in a crack where the possibility of bridging the gap
from one face to the other is greater. If maximum crack widths can be limited to less than 0.10 mm, then
autogenous healing is especially likely (13).
Autogenous healing of cracks is mainly attributable to two mechanisms, these being: hydration of
unhydrated cement particles, and dissolution and carbonation of calcium hydroxide in water within the
crack (13). Since young concrete tends to have more unhydrated cement present, the former mechanism
tends to dominate in young concrete. At later ages, precipitation of calcium carbonate becomes the
dominant mechanism. For both these processes, the presence of water is essential for sealing to occur.
Fibres can directly promote crack sealing in two ways: by reducing the mean crack width as described
earlier in this paper, and by acting as a scaffold for precipitated crystals to form within a crack, thereby
helping to seal the crack more rapidly and effectively to the passage of water (12, 14). Smaller and more
numerous fibres are more effective for this purpose than large and more sparely distributed fibres, with
PVA micro-fibres (15) being found to be more effective than macro-fibres (16, 17) due to their hydrophilic
surface polarity. These fibres can promote the sealing of cracks of up to 0.50 mm width, but are more
effective for narrower cracks in the range of 0-0.20 mm width.
Other factors are known to promote autogenous healing, and these should be considered in the context of
fibre use. A high cement factor (18), high ambient temperature (19), limestone additives (20), high
humidity, and especially alternating wet and dry cycles (21), all promote more effective sealing of cracks
for structures not permanently immersed in water (22). Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs)
have a variable effect on sealing, together with the magnitude of water pressure gradient in the crack.

3. Corrosion Resistance
In relation to corrosion resistance, there are two issues to consider. The first is the enhancement in
corrosion resistance of the conventional reinforcement due to the reduction in crack widths associated
with inclusion of fibres. The second is the corrosion resistance of the fibres themselves. A large body of
evidence exists describing the effect of crack widths on corrosion potential for conventional and post-
tensioned steel reinforcement (23). As described by Shaikh (24), susceptibility to corrosion generally
increases as the width of cracks at the surface of bars increases up to a width of 0.3 mm, but results are
highly variable and are sensitive to other factors such as the depth of cracks and properties of the
concrete. While some documents have concluded that crack width is unrelated to corrosion rates (eg.
Concrete Institute of Australia, 25), several European codes specify a maximum allowable crack width that
is more restrictive for more aggressive exposure environments than benign environments (4).
As the severity of exposure increases, the maximum allowable width of cracks is generally reduced in
order to limit the ingress of aggressive agents such as chloride ions and acidic species to the
reinforcement. It has been found that in aggressive conditions, including marine and underground
environments, if cracks can be limited to no more than 0.15 mm width (and an adequate cover of
impermeable concrete maintained) the potential for corrosion of the reinforcing bars is diminished (24) but
this depends on the quality of the concrete used in construction.
Corrosion of the carbon steel fibres themselves at crack locations is also related to crack width, but the
existence of synthetic, amorphous metallic, and stainless steel fibres means that it is possible to reduce
the issue of fibre corrosion in cracks. While corrosion of a steel fibre at a crack will generally not lead to
the spalling and the associated acceleration of deterioration that occurs with bars, the fibre will lose its
tensile capacity as cross-sectional area is lost to corrosion. The resulting loss of tensile stress in the
section will push the neutral axis toward the compression zone and increase the tensile force in the
reinforcing bars, thereby leading to a steady increase in crack width that may result in corrosion of the
conventional reinforcement. Marcos-Meson et al (26) summarised the results of numerous investigations
and found that crack widths in excess of 0.15 mm in SFRC generally led to steady reductions in post-
crack performance with the passage of time. In the local context, Bernard (27) examined the rates of
corrosion of SFRC at the North Head STP in Sydney and found that the residual strength of cracked
SFRC suffered a 50-60% loss after only three years of coastal exposure for a crack of 0.3 mm width, even
in the absence of percolating water. Rates of corrosion were found to be greatly diminished if crack widths
could be limited to no more than 0.10 mm. These results are supported by similar long-term tests on
SFRC undertaken in Swedish tunnels by Nordström (28).

4. Long-term Crack Widths

Corrosion and water-penetration occur over a substantial period of time, thereby raising the question of
whether fibres can adequately control crack widths in the long as well as short-term. Drying shrinkage,
thermal contraction, and external loading are often the dominant causes of cracking, so in considering
whether crack widths are likely to increase with the passage of time one must firstly determine whether
the shrinkage and mechanical load-induced stresses that caused the cracks in the first place persist with
the passage of time. These issues are normally of greatest interest in high-value infrastructure, so several
examples will be assessed in the context of long-term crack width estimation.
In each of the cases examined below, it is important to consider that once formed, the location of cracks
does not change with the passage of time. Moreover, the majority of cracks will form as soon as the
‘cracking condition’ has been imposed, so the number and spacing of flexural or direct tension cracks
generally does no increase with the passage of time. Instead, the parameter that may change with the
passage of time is the tensile stress in the bars; an increase in tensile stress (and thus crack widths) may
be caused by either a change in imposed loads (mechanical or environmental) or relaxation of stress in
the concrete or fibres due to creep or corrosion. An additional contribution to crack width increase with
time occurs as a result of the steady relaxation of bond stress between the tensile steel and concrete due
to creep of the concrete in tension.
4.1 Tunnel Linings
Fibre reinforced concrete is frequently used in tunnel linings. In these structures, fibres may be used in
combination with steel bars, such as in segmentally-lined tunnels, or in a cast-in-place lining after a fibre
reinforced shotcrete lining has been used as primary ground support. Fibres are very seldom used
together with bars in sprayed concrete linings due to compaction difficulties caused by interference
between the fibres and reinforcing steel. In both segmental and cast-in-place linings, the reinforcement is
generally only required prior to and during installation, but in service may be required in those parts of a
lining subject to relatively high bending moments which normally occur together with high compressive
hoop stresses. The lining may crack in flexure in the short-term under these circumstances, but the depth
of cracks is likely to be shallow due to the large compressive hoop stress that is normally present (Figure
1a). In the long term, creep and shrinkage of both the fibres in tension and concrete in compression will
re-distribute stresses such that the cracks may widen or narrow with the passage of time (29). Both steel
and macro-synthetic fibre reinforced concrete will exhibit creep in tension due to the process of
progressive fibre pull-out under a sustained load (30) but macro-synthetic fibres will generally exhibit a
larger effective creep strain than steel fibres. This will result in a progressive reduction in tensile stress
across the region of tension, slowly pushing the neutral axis toward the compressed region (31).
Creep of concrete in compression will increase the depth of the compression zone and push the neutral
axis toward the tension region. Both creep of fibres in tension and concrete in compression are likely to
increase the stress in the compressed reinforcing bars, but they may cancel each other in relation to their
effect on the tension bars, possibly resulting in no noticeable change in crack width with the passage of
time. This process is independent of the effect of creep in the ground, which tends to reduce the
magnitude of lining bending moments over time but does not necessarily reduce hoop stresses. Given the
complexity of actions affecting the long-term behaviour of a lining, no firm generalisations can be made
about the width of long-term cracks compared to short-term cracks, so a thorough analysis must be
undertaken for each specific load-case to estimate likely behaviour.

a) b)

Figure 1. a) Stress distribution through the section of a tunnel lining subject to high bending and
hoop stresses, and b) through a typical post-tensioned girder section in the short and long term.

Crack widths are important in tunnel linings both from the perspective of durability and water-tightness.
Groundwater in most locations will contain chloride ions, sulfates, and other aggressive agents that can
pose a threat to the steel reinforcing bars (and steel fibres, if used). In addition, percolation under
pressure will force such water to flow through cracks more readily than is the case for above-ground
structures, thus crack width limits are usually more onerous in underground environments than above
ground. The potential for autogenous healing in cracks is improved across narrower cracks, but cannot be
completely relied upon, especially if acidic water if present. The damaging effects of percolation will be
more common in the case of through-cracks, although these are less frequent than flexural cracks which
generally only extend part way through a lining.

4.2 Post-tensioned Bridge Girders

The objective in adding fibres to post-tensioned bridge girders is to improve durability by reducing the
width of cracks due to thermal, flexural, and bursting stresses. Flexural cracks will generally only be
present if the girder is partially pre-stressed, which normally results in cracking in the short-term. Addition
of fibres will reduce the spacing of the short-term cracks, thereby controlling their location in the long-term.
This means that the benefits of fibre addition are manifested in the long-term even if creep diminishes
their structural capacity to zero with the passage of time. The presence of a slowly diminishing
compressive action due to relaxation of the post-tensioning is likely to be more substantial than any
relaxation of the tensile stress in the fibres (30). This is because the depth of the compression zone is
typically much larger than that of the tension zone and the magnitude of the compressive stresses are
much greater than the relatively modest tensile stress existing in the fibres even in the short-term (Figure
1b).
Thermally-induced cracks may be present if suitable control of the manufacturing process for pre-cast
girders is inadequate. This type of crack tends to occur in particularly thick members, but may be present
in other members subject to uncontrolled rates of cooling following steam-curing. Measures commonly
used to control thermal cracking are described by Bamforth (32). While this document does not account
for the effect of fibres, the approach to crack width estimation is very similar to the standard late-1990’s
approach for reinforced concrete members made with plain concrete (25). Experience has indicated that
fibres are effective for reducing thermal crack widths (33), but the details of an effective design approach
have yet to be published.
The presence of fibres in post-tensioned girders can also improve bursting resistance and shear capacity,
both with and without stirrups, and may provide minor improvements in bending and seismic resistance.
The potential for bursting around anchorages frequently gives rise to a requirement for heavy
reinforcement, which can lead to congestion and complicate construction (34). Fibres have a proven
capacity to improve resistance to bursting, around both tendon anchorages and external point loads, so
that congestion can be relieved and speed of construction improved. Shear resistance is similarly
improved with the addition of fibres, so that the minimum required density of stirrups is lower. This can
also be useful for reducing the minimum thickness of sections. Both these issues are beyond the scope of
the present investigation but should be considered in relation to the overall economy of fibre use in post-
tensioned girders. Due to the surface staining that often occurs due to corrosion of steel fibres located
close to the surface of a member, especially in coastal areas, the use of carbon steel fibres in bridge
elements has been limited. Macro-synthetic, amorphous metallic and stainless steel fibres may remove
this limitation to the use of fibres in these applications.

4.3 Water-retaining Structures

Fibres may provide benefits for tanks, basements, roofs, and marine structures with regard to improved
water-tightness. In most of these structures, water is often present under pressure and penetration
through the concrete must be resisted in order to satisfy service requirements. Permeation through the
bulk concrete is assumed to be controlled by an appropriate mix design, but this aspect of concrete
technology has no bearing on overall water-tightness if sizeable through-cracks are present. Measures
such as full post-tensioning have been employed to preclude water passage, but this is an expensive
option. An alternative is to control the width and distribution of cracks so that water penetration is
negligible. Addition of fibres to a conventionally reinforced concrete barrier is one way in which this can be
achieved relatively economically.
The factors to be considered in water-retaining structures are: the requirement to limit crack widths to very
narrow maximums (0.05-0.10 mm), durability of the reinforcement in the presence of a hydrostatic head,
and aesthetic issues such as the avoidance of rust stains and efflorescence. Autogenous healing can be
very useful to achieving water-tightness, but is difficult to effect reliably. Fibres can be used at quite high
dosage rates to create a hybrid reinforcement system in which cracks become dis-continuous around bars
and through the thickness of a member, thereby limiting water penetration. The very narrow cracks
associated with high performance FRC encourages autogenous healing and ‘clogging’ of cracks that
helps maintain water-tightness without relying on a compressive pre-stress.

5. Partial Substitution of Bars with Fibres

There is ample evidence that fibres can reduce the width of cracks in flexural and direct tension reinforced
concrete members, but little published evidence that this can be achieved economically compared to
alternative approaches to crack width control. Several analyses have therefore been conducted to
evaluate the performance of a simple concrete flexural member with and without fibres (as well as
conventional steel reinforcement). Crack widths were assessed using both AS3600 and MC2010. The
Model Code generally predicted slightly narrower crack widths for both the plain concrete and FRC when
used together with deformed tension bars. It was also found that crack widths in the plain concrete
benchmark with conventional reinforcement were primarily reduced as a result of reductions in the tensile
stress in the steel bars. For the hybrid members, further reductions occurred as a result of a smaller crack
spacing.
An important outcome of these analyses is that narrow crack width limits impose a cost. Reducing the
maximum allowable width from 0.30 to 0.15 mm doubles the cost of the conventional tensile
reinforcement. However, fibres can offset this if used to augment the minimum number of bars required for
strength. The conventional steel is most competitive when crack width limits are permissive (>0.30 mm).
When the crack width limit is reduced (as would occur in more aggressive exposure classifications), the
competitiveness of FRC improves relative to the option of including additional steel bars over-and-above
strength requirements. In general, light levels of fibre reinforcement appear more competitive than high
fibre dosage rates; fRx = 1.0 MPa appears to be the most competitive configuration in the present analysis
for crack width limits of 0.10-0.20 mm. If crack width limits are very tight (as would be prescribed in water-
tight structures), higher levels of post-crack performance appear more attractive. Both steel and macro-
synthetic fibres appear to be similarly competitive in the present analysis, but this will clearly vary with the
local price of fibres. The influence of fibre reinforcement on crack roughness, tortuosity, and autogenous
healing have been excluded from this analysis.
6. Conclusions
Crack widths have an important influence on the durability and serviceability of reinforced concrete
structures. Reducing the width of cracks can enhance resistance to the passage of water and improve the
durability of concrete structures. The inclusion of steel fibres in combination with conventional
reinforcement has been demonstrated to be effective for the purpose of reducing crack widths, and a
means of accounting for this effect is now available in several codes. Recent research has also shown
that synthetic fibres are similarly effective for this purpose. Additional benefits can arise through the
introduction of fibres, including an increase in surface roughness and tortuosity in cracks and
enhancements to the effectiveness of autogenous healing. Considered together, these three processes
strengthen the case for inclusion of fibres in many types of conventionally reinforced structures.
The main impediment to wider use of fibres is uncertainty regarding the cost. Alternative means of
reducing crack widths exist, such as limiting the magnitude of tensile stresses in reinforcing bars or use of
pre-stressing. Each of these three approaches to crack width reduction will impose a cost compared to
traditional designs (which ignore the question of crack widths). Cost comparisons indicate that FRC is
primarily competitive when crack widths limits are strict, as would occur in more aggressive exposure
environments, while conventional steel reinforcement on its own is more competitive when crack width
limits are relaxed (that is, 0.30 mm or greater).

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