• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.83-90
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• 2015

PURPOSES : The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the crack propagation depth through a slab and crack width movement in continuously reinforced concrete slab systems (CRCSs). METHODS : The crack width movements in continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) and continuously reinforced concrete railway track (CRCT) were measured in the field for different crack spacings. In addition, the crack width movements in both CRCP and CRCT were simulated using finite element models of CRCP and CRCT. The crack width movements, depending on the unit temperature change, were obtained from both the field tests and numerical analysis models. RESULTS : The experimental analysis results show that the magnitudes of the crack width movements in CRCSs were related to not only the crack spacing, but also the crack propagation depth. In CRCP, the magnitudes of the crack width movements were more closely related to the crack propagation depths. In CRCT, the crack width movements were similar for different cracks since most were through cracks. If the numerical analysis was performed to predict the crack width movements by assuming that the crack propagates completely through the slab depth, the predicted crack width movements were similar to the actual ones in CRCT, but those may be overestimated in CRCP. CONCLUSIONS : The magnitudes of the crack width movements in CRCSs were mainly affected by the crack propagation depths through the slabs.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.21-34
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• 2020

Precast deck joints have larger crack width than cast-in-place concrete decks. The initial crack typically occurs at the maximum moment but cracks on precast joints are significant and lead to failure of the deck. The present crack equation is applied to cast-in-place decks, and requires correction to calculate the crack width of precast deck joints. This research aims to study the crack width correction equation of precast decks by performing static tests using high strength and normal strength concrete. Based on experimental results, the bending strength of the structural connections of the current precast deck is satisfied. However it is not suitable to calculate and control the crack width of precast loop connections using the current design equation. A crack width calculation equation is proposed for crack control of precast deck loop joints. Also included in this paper are recommendations to improve the crack control of loop connections.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.75-86
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• 2016

PURPOSES : The purpose of this study is to investigate characteristics of crack spacing and crack width and their relationship in continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) based on the data obtained from long-term field observations. METHODS : The crack spacings and crack widths are measured periodically over 10 years at two different CRCP sections: one with asphalt bond breaker beneath concrete slab, and the other with bonded lean concrete base beneath concrete slab. The effects of steel ratio, type of underlying layer, terminal treatment method, and seasonal temperature change on the crack characteristics are evaluated by analyzing the measured data. RESULTS : The CRCP with lean concrete base shows smaller crack spacings than those of the CRCP with asphalt bond breaker. As the steel ratio increases, both the crack spacing and crack width tend to decrease. The crack width becomes larger as the crack age increases, but once the crack age is over a certain value the crack width tends to converge. When the terminal anchor lug system is not used and the expansion joints are employed at the terminals, the crack spacings and crack widths increase near the terminal sections. The crack spacing and crack width seem to be proportional each other, but not necessarily linearly, and their relationship is more distinguished in the summer when the crack widths become smaller. CONCLUSIONS : The steel ratio, underlying layer type, terminal treatment method, and seasonal temperature change affect the characteristics of cracks and the crack spacing and crack width are related to each other.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.219-233
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• 2023

Crack width is an important indicator to evaluate the health condition of the concrete structure. The crack width is measured by manual using crack width gauge commonly, which is time-consuming and laborious. In this paper, we have proposed a fast and simplified crack width quantification method via deep Q learning and geometric calculation. Firstly, the crack edge is extracted by using U-Net network and edge detection operator. Then, the intelligent decision of is made by the deep Q learning model. Further, the geometric calculation method based on endpoint and curvature extreme point detection is proposed. Finally, a case study is carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, achieving high precision in the real crack width quantification.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.227-232
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• 2002

This paper describes a calculation of an average crack spacing and the maximum crack width for the high-strength concrete tensile and flexural members. Based on the uniform bond stress distribution of the average steel and concrete strains over the transfer length, the crack spacing and the crack width are proposed to utilize influence of the concrete strength and the cover thickness. This analytical results presented in this paper indicate that the proposed equations can be more effectively estimated the maximum crack width and the average crack spacing of the reinforced concrete flexural and tensile members.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.43-49
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• 2016

PURPOSES : The field application and performance of continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP), constructed by using the mechanical tube-feeding method, are evaluated in this study. METHODS: The location of the rebar was evaluated by using the MIRA system. The early-age CRCP performance was evaluated via visual survey, in which the crack spacing and crack width were examined. RESULTS: The location of longitudinal reinforcing bars was evaluated via MIRA testing and the results showed that the longitudinal rebars all lie within a given tolerance limit (${\pm}2.5cm$) of the target elevation. In addition, owing to the low temperature when the concrete was pured, the crack spacing in the Dae-Gu direction is slightly wider than that of the Gwang-Ju direction. Almost all of the crack spacings lay within the range of 1.0 m~3.0 m. A crack width of <0.3 mm was measured at the pavement surface. However, as revealed by the field survey, the crack spacing was not correlated with the crack width. CONCLUSIONS : In CRCP constructed by using the mechanical tube-feeding method, almost all of the longitudinal reinforcing bars lay within the tolerance limit (2.5 cm) of the target elevation. The concrete-placing temperature affects the crack spacing, owing to variations in the zero-stress temperature. Crack survey results show that there is no correlation between the crack spacing and crack width in CRCP.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.707-715
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• 2007

The vulnerability of concrete to its environment is significantly dependent on the fact that concrete is a porous material. For well-consolidated and well-cured concrete, its service life is a very long and an entrance of aggressive substance might be only pores. However, for cracked concrete, cracks should be preferential channel for the penetration of aggressive substance such as chloride ions. The effect of crack on chloride penetration depends on its size for example, crack width and crack depth. The purpose of this study is examining the effect of crack width and crack depth on chloride penetration. In order to visualize chloride penetration via cracks, RCM (rapid chloride migration) testing is accomplished. Crack width is examined using an optical microscope and CMOD value is used to estimate average crack width. From the examination on the trend of chloride diffusion coefficients of concrete specimens with various crack widths, a critical crack width and a critical crack depth are found out.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.21 no.3 s.75
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• pp.114-121
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• 2006

As one of the serviceability limit states, the prediction and control of crack width in reinforced concrete bridges or PSC bridges are very important for the design of durable structures. However, the current bridge design specifications do not provide quantitative information for the prediction and control of crack width affected by the initiation and propagation of corrosion. Considering life span of concrete bridges, an improved control equation about the crack width affected by time-dependent general corrosion is proposed. The developed corrosion and crack width control models can be used for the design and the maintenance of prestressed and non-prestressed reinforcements by varying time, w/c, cover depth, and geometries of the sections. It can also help the rational criteria for the quantitative management and the prediction of remaining life of concrete structures.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.103-111
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• 1985

Presented is a study on the determination of crack width and crack spacing in the reinforced concrete flexural members. The derivation of crack width and crack spacing is based on the recently developed cracking theory. The new prediction formulas for the crack widths and crack spacings are proposed. An experiment for the reinforced concrete beams was conducted to compare with the proposed formulas. The comparisons of the present prediction formulas with our tests and other test data show good agreement. The present crack width formula has been also compared with the well-known ACI formula originally proposed by Gergely & Lutz. It was found that the present crack width formula shows better correlation with test data than that of Gergely & Lutz.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.159-180
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• 2003

In this paper spacing and width of flexural cracks in reinforced concrete beams are determined using two-dimensional finite element analysis. At early loading stages on the beam the primary crack spacing is based on the slip length, which is the development length required to resist the steel stress increment that occurs at a cracked section on the formation of the first flexural crack. A semi-empirical formula is presented in this paper for the determination of the slip length for a given beam. At higher load levels, the crack spacing is based on critical crack spacing, which is defined as the particular crack spacing that would produce a concrete tensile stress equal to the flexural strength of concrete. The resulting crack width is calculated as the relative difference in extensions of steel reinforcement and adjacent concrete evaluated at the cracked section. Finally a comparative study is undertaken, which indicates that the spacing and width of cracks calculated by this method agree well with values measured by other investigators.