Analysis of Crack Width Calculation of Steel Fibre and Ordinary Reinforced Concrete Flexural Members

It is known that steel fibre can reduce the crack width of reinforced concrete flexural members however generally accepted crack width calculation method does not exist yet. The residual tensile strength which is used for crack width calculations should be obtained from tests. Three crack width calculation methods of steel fibre and ordinary reinforced concrete flexural members are discussed in this paper. All these methods have been derived using Eurocode 2 provisions, which are intended to the members without the fibre. Experimental cracking results of small cross section flexural members reinforced with steel fibre and ordinary reinforcement are also discussed. A scatter of the residual tensile strength which is obtained from three point bending test and its influence to the crack width is also reviewed briefly. Calculated crack widths are compared to the experimental results. It is determined that due to lack of the specimens the large deviations of residual flexural tensile strength can be obtained and it can cause the significant errors of calculated crack widths. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.sace.6.1.6336