The intricate “art” of crack width control in concrete

We are pleased to announce that the next ROC&TOK webinar will take place on  July 4th, 2024 at 3PM CEST/Paris Time and will be one hour long (30-minute presentation + 30-minute interaction). The registration for this webinar is free.

Speakers: Dr Fragkoulis Kanavaris, ARUP, United Kingdom and Dr Miguel Azenha, University of Minho, Portugal

Hosts: Dr Prannoy Suraneni, University of Miami, United States and Prof. Karen Scrivener, EPFL, Switzerland

Title: The intricate “art” of crack width control in concrete

Cracking in concrete has been a topic of ongoing research due to its relevance to a structure’s durability, structural capacity, resilience and aesthetic requirements. To an extent, cracking in plain and reinforced concrete can be considered inevitable with design codes and guidance documents recognising the importance of controlling crack widths. But how well do we understand and account for the complex phenomena that lead to cracking in our approaches towards crack control in reinforced concrete? Are there flaws and over simplifications in the design models proposed and can multiphysics simulations help us to identify weak points in the prevalent methodology? This talk will explore the history and advancements on crack width control in concrete with a progressive lens using also lessons learnt from real-life examples.