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Microcracking in Concrete

Microcracking in Concrete

Microcracking in concrete refers to the tiny cracks that can form within the material even before any external load is applied. These microcracks typically occur at the interface between the coarse aggregate and the hydrated cement paste, often as a result of differential volume changes prompted by variations in stress-strain behavior, as well as thermal and moisture movement. Initially, these microcracks remain stable and do not grow substantially until the concrete is stressed to about 30...

Types of Non-structural Cracks in Concrete

Types of Non-structural Cracks in Concrete

Non-structural cracks are primarily of three types: plastic, early-age thermal, and drying shrinkage cracks. Plastic cracks are further classified into plastic shrinkage cracks and plastic settlement cracks.
Plastic shrinkage cracks typically form within hours after the concrete is poured. The concrete's surface dries faster than the bottom, creating tensile stress that the still-plastic concrete cannot withstand, leading to diagonal or randomly patterned cracks on the concrete surface.
Plastic...

Behavior of Concrete Under Compressive Load

Behavior of Concrete Under Compressive Load

Concrete exhibits specific behaviors under different compressive loads. Understanding this is crucial for understanding its structural integrity. When concrete undergoes uniaxial compression, it tends to develop cracks that run parallel to the direction of the force. These parallel cracks stem from localized tensile stresses that occur perpendicular to the compression direction. Additionally, angled cracks may appear due to the formation of shear planes.
As the concrete specimen fractures under...

Mass Concreting

Mass Concreting

Mass concreting refers to the process of placing large volumes of concrete, such as in gravity dams. The heat generated during the cement hydration process and differential cooling rates within the concrete mass can lead to a temperature gradient, which can result in thermal cracks in the concrete mass.
To reduce the risk of such cracking, the concrete mix may incorporate low-heat cement and pozzolans to reduce the temperature rise. Pre-cooled angular aggregates and water-reducing admixtures...

Creep in Concrete

Creep in Concrete

Creep refers to the time-dependent increase in strain under a sustained load, excluding other time-dependent deformations associated with shrinkage, swelling, and thermal expansion in concrete. The primary mechanism behind creep involves the loss of physically adsorbed water from the calcium silicate hydrate within the hydrated cement paste. This process is further exacerbated by concrete's non-linear stress-strain relationship, microcrack development in the interfacial transition zone, and...

Design Example: Joints in Concrete Pavements

Design Example: Joints in Concrete Pavements

Concrete pavement joints are essential for maintaining the structural integrity and longevity of pavement by controlling where and how the pavement cracks. These joints can be categorized based on their functions, such as contraction or control joints, construction joints, isolation joints, and expansion joints.
Contraction joints are typically formed by sawing a groove into the concrete shortly after it has hardened. This creates a weakened vertical plane, deliberately encouraging cracking at...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 22, 2026

Control of Cell Geometry through Infrared Laser Assisted Micropatterning

Control of Cell Geometry through Infrared Laser Assisted Micropatterning

Published on: July 10, 2021

Patterning by controlled cracking.

Koo Hyun Nam¹, Il H Park, Seung Hwan Ko

¹Research Center of MEMS Space Telescope, Department of Physics, Ewha Womans University, Daehyun-dong 11-1, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-750, South Korea. koonam@namk.org

|May 12, 2012

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers controlled crack patterns in silicon nitride films on silicon substrates. This technique enables precise nanofabrication of intricate, ordered crack morphologies for advanced material applications.

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Last Updated: May 22, 2026

Control of Cell Geometry through Infrared Laser Assisted Micropatterning

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Full-field Strain Measurements for Microstructurally Small Fatigue Crack Propagation Using Digital Image Correlation Method

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Area of Science:

Materials Science
Nanotechnology
Fracture Mechanics

Background:

Crack formation typically leads to material failure.
However, cracking can produce complex patterns like spirals, oscillations, and fractal geometries.

Purpose of the Study:

To demonstrate controlled initiation, propagation, and termination of channeled crack patterns.
To explore the creation of distinct crack morphologies in a film/substrate system.

Main Methods:

Utilized a silicon nitride thin film on a silicon substrate.
Employed micro-notches in the substrate to concentrate stress for crack initiation.
Controlled processing conditions to achieve specific crack patterns.

Main Results:

Successfully created three reproducible crack morphologies: straight, oscillatory, and orderly bifurcated (stitchlike).
Demonstrated control over crack direction changes by altering system parameters.
Achieved termination of crack propagation using pre-formed multi-step crack stops.

Conclusions:

The developed patterning technique offers novel opportunities in nanofabrication.
Provides a foundation for atomic-scale pattern formation, surpassing current state-of-the-art methods.