EXPERIMENTAL AND ANALYTICAL STUDY ON THE INFLUENCE OF CRACK ON DRYING AND WETTING BEHAVIOR OF CONCRETE MEMBERS

Abstract

 This paper describes an experimental and analytical study on the influence of crack on drying-wetting behavior of concrete members. Experimental results showed that the drying-wetting is accelerated by the existence of crack. Numerical simulation method was developed, which can well simulate drying and wetting behavior of concrete members with various patterns of cracks. Parametric numerical simulation of long-term behavior of concrete members with cracks revealed that the crack strain, which is defined as crack width divided by crack interval, is an effective index for the influence of crack on long-term drying and wetting behavior of concrete members and that monthly model of environmental action is acceptable to predict long term drying-wetting behavior of concrete under natural environment.