Research on Thermal Cracking of a Rectangular RC Tank Wall under Construction. II: Comparison with Numerical Model

Semimassive RC tank wall may crack in the period of concrete maturing due to hydration heat, ambient temperature, solar radiation, and the restraint of thermal strains. The objective is to investigate a different cracking type of the northern and southern surfaces caused by different sunlight intensity operating on the exposed tank walls. This proposition was confirmed by the in situ investigation presented in Part I, followed by measurements with the use of embedment vibrating wire sensors for concrete strains and reinforcement bar stresses and by numerical calculations (Part II). Moreover, the crack width in the interior of the wall was twice as wide as the crack width found on the segment surface. Furthermore, to extend Part I, analytical and experimental results of concrete strains, steel stresses, and cracks are compared and discussed. The analysis covered a viscous-elastic concrete model where concrete mechanical properties constitute the function of hydration degree. In the analysis, a viscous-elastic concrete model with cracking was used, where concrete mechanical properties constitute the function of a hydration degree.