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Effect of Long-Term Load on Flexural Crack Widths in FRP-Reinforced Concrete Beams

Larger crack widths can be observed more in FRP-reinforced concrete members than in steel-reinforced concrete members as a result of the lower elastic modulus and bond strength of FRP reinforcement. The ACI 440.1R-15 design guide provides equations derived as the maximum bar spacing to control the crack widths indirectly. On the other hand, it is not concerned with long-term effects on the crack control design provisions. This study provides suggestions for how to incorporate time-dependent effects into the crack width equation. The work presented herein includes the results from 8 beams composed of four rectangular and T-shaped FRP-reinforced concrete beams tested for one year under four-point bending. Over a one year period, the crack widths increased as much as 2.6∼3.0 times in GFRP and AFRP-reinforced specimens and 1.1∼1.4 times in the CFRP-reinforced specimens compared to steel-reinforced specimens. In addition, the average multiple for crack width at one year relative to the instantaneous crack width upon the application of the sustained load was 2.4 in the specimens with a rectangular section and 3.1 in the specimens with a T-shaped section. As a result, it is recommended conservatively that the time-dependent coefficient be taken as 2.5 for the rectangular beams and 3.5 for T-beams.