AVOID CRACKS IN CONCRETE SLABS-ON-GRADE By Harvey Haynes-Consulting Concrete Engineer Part 1 of 2 Types of Cracks and Their Causes SOIL

MOVEMENT Heave Expansive clay soils swell or heave with an increase in moisture content. Cracks in concrete slabs caused by heave can be identified by vertical offsets, cracks running parallel to an exterior wall, or cracks exhibiting an X-shaped pattern in a small room. It is difficult to distinguish cracks caused by heave from those caused by settlement. Settlement Slabs that have been overloaded or have weak soil support will settle due to soil consolidation. The strength of the slab greatly depends on the strength of the soil support. A slab four inches thick can be quite strong on firm soil, but may crack easily on weak soil. Cracks due to settlement can appear as half-circle cracks at the edge of slabs, cracks raveling along the edges, slabs breaking into small pieces (sections of one or two feet per side), or diagonal cracks across corners of slabs. THERMAL BEHAVIOR OF CONCRETE Seasonal Temperature Change If concrete is cast in the summer, it can experience a temperature decrease of 100 F by the middle of winter. This decrease in temperature can cause a slab 100 feet long to contract about 3/4 of an inch. This contraction movement may crack the slab. Contraction joints are placed in slabs to encourage the cracks to occur at the joint locations. If the slab is cast in winter, then the concrete could experience a 100 F increase in temperature by the summer. In this case, the slab would expand about 3/4 of an inch. Expansion joints are required to allow the slab to expand, or the slab may buckle. Daily Temperature Change Daily temperature change causes a varying temperature through the thickness of the slab. The sun heats the top surface, which causes the concrete near the top to expand, and the slab develops a hump shape where the middle is higher than the edges. If the top surface is colder than the bottom, the slab will have a curled shape where the edges are higher than the middle. Heat of Hydration Heat of hydration is heat internally generated by the concrete during the chemical process of cement hydration. Hydration is the mechanism by which cement sets and then gains strength. During the first night after concrete is cast, a common crack that occurs is caused by the combination of heat of hydration and warm ambient temperatures on the day the concrete is cast. Typically concrete is cast in the morning, and by the afternoon a hot sun raises the temperature

of the concrete, especially near the top surface. Internally, concrete generates a considerable amount of heat due to heat of hydration. By sunset of the first day, the concrete can be quite warm, easily 120 F. Cool evening temperatures initially reduce the temperature at the top surface, and this cooler concrete contracts. At this young age the concrete is quite weak, and the contraction movement can crack the concrete. By the next morning, the slab is found cracked. For this reason, contraction joints (also called control joints) must be installed the same day that the concrete is cast. SHRINKAGE BEHAVIOR OF CONCRETE Crazing Cracks These cracks appear at the very top surface layer of the slab where a thin layer of cement paste has lost water too rapidly and cracked. These cracks are very fine and shallow. Plastic Shrinkage Cracks Plastic shrinkage cracks develop when too much water evaporates while the concrete is fresh, or plastic in consistency. These cracks have a distinct form. They are quite wide at the surface, their depth into the slab is usually limited to about one to two inches, they range in length from about six inches to five feet, they usually develop parallel to one another, and they don't run to the edges of the slab. Drying Shrinkage Cracks These are the typical shrinkage cracks, which develop after the concrete is hard. They can appear randomly across slabs or have a uniform pattern. These cracks also extend from re-entry corners. If a cube four inches on a side were to dry over several months, each side would decrease in width by about 0.002 inch. The entire cube will decrease in volume. When cubes are laid end to end for a distance of 20 feet, the change in length would be about 1/8 inch. In a slab this gap would be the crack width. Why does the cube get smaller? Technically, there are two contributing reasons why moisture loss causes shrinkage, and the explanations relate to two different void sizes within the concrete. Concrete of residential home quality contains about 20 percent void volume. Part of this volume is microscopic pores called capillary voids, which were created by the original mixing water. Smaller voids, called gel voids, exist in the concrete within the hydrated cement particles. When water evaporates from the capillary voids, capillary forces develop which place the water in tension. Therefore the solids are placed in compression, and shrinkage occurs. When water within the gel voids evaporates, the hydrated cement particles become smaller and additional shrinkage occurs. If ambient conditions are at 100 percent relative humidity a concrete slab will not shrink. At 40 percent relative humidity, and many months of drying time, a slab 100 feet long can shrink up to 3/4 inch. Let rain soak the slab for a couple of days and the concrete will swell such that a permanent shortening of 1/8 to 1/4 inch exists.

Uniform drying of concrete does not occur in slabs-on-grade because only one face is exposed to evaporation. A moisture gradient exists through the slab thickness where the top is drier than the bottom, so shrinkage will be greater at the top. This condition results in the slab having a cupped or curled shape. This shape can be explained by picturing the 4-inch cube, where the top of the cube is dry and shrinks by 0.002 inch, while the bottom is moist and does not shrink. The cube would have a wedged shape. Place these cubes tightly together, end-to-end, for a distance of 20 feet and the slab will have a curled shape. It is difficult to observe the slight curvature of curling, but measurements have been made on highway pavement. For a slab 15 feet in length, measurements in the morning showed curling where the edges of the slab picked up about 1/8 inch. In the afternoon, the slab essentially was flat. The effect of the sun caused the top surface to expand, which countered the shrinkage, and the slab leveled out. When night returned, the slab cooled and shrinkage again created the curled shape of the slab. There are situations where curling is restrained, such as a slab joined to a perimeter footing. When curling is restrained, the stresses on the top surface of the slab are greater than if the slab was free to curl, so cracks occur sooner. Because curling cannot be prevented, drying shrinkage cracks in concrete slabs can only be minimized, not prevented. Part 2 of 2 Recommendations to Avoid Cracks SOIL MOVEMENT Heave The critical factor in preventing expansive clay soils from causing problems with heave is to be certain that the clay soil is damp (above its optimum moisture content) before concrete is cast. Watering the clay may take days to get it damp. It is advisable to have a soils engineer provide a letter stating that the clay is at proper moisture content. Slabs, such as garage floors or walkways next to a house, should be free to float on top of the soil as opposed to being tied into the house footing. Place isolation joint material between the slab and building. Use reinforcing bars to distribute and limit the width of cracks and prevent vertical offsets. As a guide, use #3 bars at 18-inch spacing each way in 4-inch thick slabs, and #4 bars at 20-inch spacing in 5-inch slabs. Do not use welded wire mesh of size 6x6-W1.4xW1.4 (also known by its old designation of 6x6-10x10). Mesh of size 6x6-W2.9xW2.9 is marginal, but acceptable. Settlement Compacted base rock four inches deep will provide a uniform, firm support for the slab. If base rock is not used, be sure that the subgrade (native soil) can provide good support even when the subgrade is wet. Use a 5-inch thick slab, which is 50% stronger than a 4-inch thick slab in flexural strength.

THERMAL BEHAVIOR OF CONCRETE Seasonal Temperature Change To minimize cracks, different types of joints are installed in slabs. Contraction or Control Joints: These joints are installed by placing plastic inserts or grooves into the fresh concrete to a depth of one-fourth the thickness of the slab. Saw cuts are also used, but should be made the same day that the concrete is cast. Spacing and layout are discussed later in the drying shrinkage section. Expansion or Isolation Joints: These joints are of a compressible material, such as fiberboard, installed the full depth of the slab. For expansion joints, spacing is between 50 to 100 feet. Construction Joints: These joints mark where new concrete abuts existing concrete. The joint can function as a contraction joint when detailed using bond breaker on one concrete face, or when using keyways or smooth dowels greased on one side. Constructions joints will not function as contraction joints when design details call for roughening one concrete face or having reinforcing bars tie together the new and existing concrete. Daily Temperature Change and Heat of Hydration To minimize cracks that appear the morning after concrete is cast, install saw cut contraction joints on the same day that concrete is cast. Grooves and inserts also are good joints because they are installed while the concrete is fresh. SHRINKAGE BEHAVIOR OF CONCRETE Crazing Cracks These cracks are prevented by proper finishing methods; use light tamping, do not overwork the surface, and do not add dry cement to the surface to absorb bleed water. If necessary, bleed water can be vacuumed or dragged off. Plastic Shrinkage Cracks Windy or hot weather is a sign of danger. Keep the temperature of the concrete as low as possible by having transit mix trucks stand-by in the shade, or cool the mixing drum by spraying water on the outside surface. Have a sufficient crew size available for rapid placement and finishing. In extreme hot weather, avoid exposing young concrete to the hot part of the day by starting to cast concrete in the late afternoon or early evening. Delay evaporation of bleed water by spraying fog mist across the work area; or better, use an evaporation control coating sprayed on the fresh concrete after bullfloating. Store this material on the job so it is available on windy or hot days. Drying Shrinkage Cracks Mix Design: The more water used in making concrete, the greater the amount of shrinkage. Hence, do not add water beyond the amount necessary for proper slump.

Use as large an aggregate size as possible. Concrete with 1-1/2 inch maximum size aggregate will shrink less than concrete with 3/4-inch maximum size, and both of these will shrink considerably less than pea gravel concrete, which uses a 3/8-inch maximum size aggregate. Vapor Retarders: Vapor retarders are used primarily to stop ground moisture from moving up through the concrete slab. Acceptable vapor retarders are: a. Clean 3/4-inch drain rock, 4 to 6 inches deep b. Plastic sheeting covered by 1 to 2 inches of clean sand c. Plastic sheeting of minimum 10-mil thickness The preferred system is (a) and (b) together. System (c) can result in excessive cracks in the slab if a high slump concrete is used. Therefore, use system (c) only with a low slump concrete (3inch maximum). Contraction Joints: Use saw cuts, inserts, or grooves to install contraction joints. Make certain that saw cuts are installed on the same day the concrete is cast. Spacing of contraction joints is given in the following table: Contraction Joint Spacing For Slab Thickness Of: 4 inches Interior Slab 16 feet 5 inches 20 feet 6 inches 24 feet

Exterior Slab

10 feet

13 feet

15 feet

Any slab cast in an open environment is an exterior slab, which means that tilt-up slabs are exterior slabs. Patios and walkways are usually 3.5 inches thick and they should have a contraction joint spacing of around 6 feet. If pea gravel concrete is used, then reduce the recommended spacing in the table by 3 feet. The simplest and surest method to minimize most cracks in slabs is to follow this guidance on contraction joint spacing. The layout of joints is best when square sections are made. When rectangular sections are made, the length should not exceed 1.5 times the width. Re-entry corners must have contraction joints. Reinforcement: Welded wire mesh of size 6x6-W1.4xW1.4 (or old designation of 6x6-10x10) is the most common type of reinforcement in slabs-on-grade, and it is essentially useless. If welded wire mesh is used, then use 6x6-W2.9xW2.9; however, this is still a small amount of steel and will do little in crack control.

Slabs-on-grade do not have a code requirement for being reinforced; hence, they can be of unreinforced concrete with cracks controlled by a close spacing of contraction joints. Cracks can occur even if reinforcing steel is used. The reinforcement is to control crack width and spacing. A recommended amount of steel (which only provides partial effectiveness in controlling crack widths) is the amount given for shrinkage and temperature reinforcement for structural concrete in the American Concrete Institute Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete, ACI 318-95, Section 7.12. This amount is equivalent to #3 bars at 18-inch spacing in 4-inch thick slabs and #4 bars at 20-inch spacing in 5-inch thick slabs. Contraction joints are still required, and the spacing can be larger than that for unreinforced slabs. To allow these joints to properly function, it is advisable to cut every other bar crossing the joints. To obtain maximum effect in controlling cracks by steel reinforcement, an amount of steel three times that given above is required. These slabs are considered as continuously reinforced concrete, and contraction joints can be omitted. Reinforcing bars are good because they can be chaired. Place the bars in the top half of the slab. For slabs of 5 inches or thicker, locate the bars 2 inches below the top of the slab. Don't allow the chairs, or dobbies, to settle in the sand cushion layer. The reinforcing bars need to be near the top of the slab to minimize the width of the cracks. Cracks are widest at the top because the greatest shrinkage occurs at the top. Steel fiber reinforcement works well to control cracks. The fibers are added to the transit mix truck in quantities of at least 30 to 50 pounds per cubic yard of concrete. Normal placing and finishing procedures are used. Contraction joints are required, but at a larger spacing. Steel fibers are highly recommended. Polypropylene and nylon fibers do not provide any benefit in controlling drying shrinkage cracks, but they do have value in controlling plastic shrinkage cracks. These fibers are added to the transit mix truck in quantities of about 1 to 1.5 pounds per cubic yard of concrete. Curing: The objective of curing is to allow concrete to gain strength. To do this, the temperature must be above 40 F and water must be present within the concrete for the cement to hydrate. The best curing method is to flood concrete, but the most common method is to spray curing compound on concrete. This method attempts to contain the mix water inside concrete, and it is moderately effective. In windy or hot weather, the coverage rate specified by the manufacturer should be increased by 1.5 times. A rough surface also requires more compound than a smooth surface. As long as water is held inside the concrete, drying shrinkage does not occur. Eventually the concrete decreases in moisture content, and then shrinkage begins. Curing allows concrete to gain strength; stronger concrete will crack less than poorly cured or weaker concrete. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS Soil Movement

o o

Expansive clay soil must be damp before concrete is placed. The subgrade must provide fairly uniform and firm support for the slab, even when the subgrade is wet. If not, use base rock.

Thermal Behavior of Concrete

o

To accommodate seasonal temperature changes, install expansion joints to prevent slab from buckling, and install contraction joints (also called control joints) to minimize random cracks due to contraction. To avoid cracks that appear the day after casting slabs, install contraction joints on the same day the concrete is cast.

Shrinkage Behavior of Concrete

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o o o o o o o o o

To avoid crazing cracks, prevent excessive paste on the top surface of fresh concrete by light tamping, do not overwork the surface, and do not apply dry cement to the top surface. To avoid plastic shrinkage cracks, use an evaporation-control coating on fresh concrete during windy or hot weather. Also, use polypropylene or nylon fiber reinforcement to minimize plastic shrinkage cracks. Do not add mix water to concrete beyond the amount for proper slump. Use concrete with 3/4-inch maximum size aggregate or larger. For pea gravel concrete, use extra-close spacing of contraction joints. During hot weather, keep the temperature of the fresh concrete cool while in the transit mix truck by having truck stand-by in the shade and spraying the outside of the drum with water. Space contraction joints properly (see table). This is the simplest and surest method to minimize most cracks. Layout contraction joints for square sections. For rectangular sections, make the length less than 1.5 times the width. Put contraction joints at re-entry corners. Unreinforced concrete slabs are acceptable, but be certain that contraction joints are properly spaced. Don't use welded wire mesh of size 6x6-W1.4xW1.4. In its place, use mesh of size 6x6W2.9xW2.9 or larger. For reinforcement to provide a fair benefit in crack control, use #3 bars at 18-inch spacing in slabs 4-inches thick, and #4 bars at 20-inch spacing in slabs 5-inches thick. Chair reinforcing bars and mesh so they are located in the top half of slabs. Use steel reinforcement to control shrinkage cracks; steel fibers are more effective than bars. Spray curing compound on fresh concrete immediately after the final finishing operation. Check to be sure the coverage rate is equal or greater than the manufacturer's recommendation and 1.5 times the recommendation in windy or hot weather.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Sincere thanks to the following individuals for reviewing the tape series: Professor Kumar Mehta of the University of California at Berkeley, Professor Paulo Monteiro of the University of California at Berkeley, Professor Lawrence Kahn of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Mr. Wayne Ferree of TerraTech Inc., Mr. Ashok Kakade of Concrete Science, Mr. Donald Pearman of Pearman Construction Inc., and Mr. Andrew Bardakos of R.H. Wehner Construction Co. REFERENCES FOR FURTHER STUDY Concrete: Structure, Properties and Materials, by P. Kumar Mehta and Paulo J. M. Monteiro, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 2nd Edition, 1993, pp. 548. Properties of Concrete, by A.M. Neville, John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, 7th Edition, 1996, pp. 842. ACI Committee 224, Control of Cracking in Concrete Structures, Manual of Concrete Practice, Part 3, American Concrete Institute, Detroit, Michigan, published annually, pp. 42. ACI Committee 302, Guide for Concrete Floor and Slab Construction, Manual of Concrete Practice, Part 2, American Concrete Institute, Detroit, Michigan, published annually, pp. 46. Concrete Floors on Ground, Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Illinois, 1983, pp. 36. Designing Floor Slabs On Grade, by Boyd C. Ringo and Robert B. Anderson, The Aberdeen Group, Addision, Illinois, 1992, pp.199.

This is the first of an every-other-month column on slabs, based on the book Designing Floor Slabs on Grade by Boyd C. Ringo and Robert B. Anderson. Bob Anderson is in the process of updating this book and a third edition is due out later this year. Mary Hurd's introduction to the book starts with seven questions:

How thick should the slab be? How strong should the concrete be? Is reinforcement needed? Where should the joints be placed? Can adding fibers enhance the slab's performance? When is post-tensioning appropriate? What can be done to control cracking?

Although generally these may be considered decisions made by the designer, contractors should understand the basics of slab design in order to be an involved partner in a project. Design includes all of the decisions, specifications, and details made and documented before construction can begin. It is based on both the subgrade support and the concrete material. The authors regard design as a two-step procedure: thickness selection is done by one of the recognized design methods, then other features such as joint location and treatment and construction tolerances are determined. This month, we will start at the bottom and look at what information about the supporting soil is needed.

Introduction. A slab on grade cannot be designed without numerical values that come directly from knowing what supports the slab. At the very least, a value is needed for the modulus of subgrade reaction, commonly referred to as k; however, the grade support system is more complicated than is indicated by a single value. In addition to k, it is necessary to know the properties of the underlying soil and available fill material. In other words, to design and construct a quality slab on grade, one needs to know as much as possible about the grade system that supports that slab. The flow chart summarizes an orderly approach to obtaining this information. Working with a soils specialist. The first consideration of any slab on grade design should be that of securing adequate geotechnical information. This should put the person responsible for the floor design into the process at the very beginning of any planning, which must include site considerations. When alternative sites are being evaluated for a project, soils conditions are often

a significant economic factor. The floor designer should be able to advise the owner as to what soils information will be needed. He should do this along with the geotechnical engineer in order to provide an optimum geotechnical report. Too often the team effort of floor designer and geotechnical engineer is missing. This can lead either to costly overspending in obtaining soils information or to unexpected construction overruns due to omissions or errors in initial information. It must be emphasized that the slab on ground designer should be engaged either before or at the same time as the geotechnical firm. Limit risk with insufficient information. The authors have found that in much routine slab on grade design no soils information is available other than the floor designer's experience. This experience is occasionally in the jobsite area, but frequently is not within that geographical area. This situation often leads to relying on what previous experience dictated, such as 6 inches has always worked or the soil is good. If forced into this situation, the designer must protect himself by stating on the construction drawings what assumptions were made in the design process. The designer should also limit his liability by noting in writing the risks and possible consequences of inadequate soil information. Such steps not only protect the floor designer and inform the client but often result in the client's favorable reconsideration in providing geotechnical backup.