Experimental Investigation on Flexural Crack Control for High-Strength Reinforced-Concrete Beam Members

Abstract The purpose of this study is to investigate the flexural crack development of high-strength reinforced concrete (HSRC) beams and suggest the design equations of the flexural crack control for HSRC beams. This study conducts two full-size simply-supported beam specimens and seven full-size cantilever beam specimens, and collects the experimental data of twenty full-size simply-supported beams from the past researches. In addition to high-strength reinforced steel bars of specified yielding stresses of 685 and 785 MPa, these specimens are all designed with the high-strength concrete of a specified compressive stress of 70 or 100 MPa. The experimental data is used to verify the application of the flexural crack control equations recommended in ACI 318-14, as reported by AIJ 2010, as reported by JSCE 2007 and as reported by CEB-fib Model Code 2010 on HSRC beam members; then, this study concludes the design equations for the flexural crack control based on ACI 318-14. Additionally, according to the experimental data, to ensure the reparability of an HSRC beam member in a medium-magnitude earthquake, the allowable tensile stress of the main bars can be set at the specified yielding stress of 685 MPa