The cause of cracking in concrete is due to its compatibility with steel and the fact that reinforced concrete meets the requirements for an advanced building material.
In order to answer this question, the size of the crack and the construction of the bridge will have to be examined.
In addition, it is not unimportant to look at the causes of cracks in the bridge. How do cracks in bridges form? ; The main causes of cracks in concrete
Concrete is most commonly used as a building material.Despite this, concrete surfaces have often not remained perfectly intact over the years and sometimes this can even be seen in recent buildings or infrastructure.
Concrete has a weak spot; the tendency to tear.The cause of cracking in concrete is due to its compatibility with steel and the fact that reinforced concrete meets the requirements for an advanced building material. That is precisely why concrete is so popular to build with.Nevertheless, all cracks in concrete bridges are not identical and there can be several reasons for cracks to appear in bridges.
Causes for cracking in concrete bridges include thermal shrinkage or swelling, deformation and hydraulic shrinkage.
Cracks in concrete caused by deformation
Tensile, compressive and shear forces are exerted on concrete structures. These forces cause the material to deform and cracks can occur. The location and shape of the crack in the structure are often characteristic. The cause can therefore be found by looking closely at the cracks.
• Cracks in the concrete due to compressive loading run parallel to the applied force.
• Tension-induced cracks in the concrete are formed perpendicular to the force.
• Cracks in the concrete due to shear forces are perpendicular to the tensile stress.
Cracks in concrete caused by hydraulic shrinkage
Concrete that is in the open air often shrinks during curing. Shrinkage occurs because part of the water in the concrete evaporates.
Cracks then appear when the shrinkage forces exceed the strength of the concrete.
Cracks can also occur in concrete elements that cannot deform. When concrete shrinks, deformation is not possible.
Under these conditions, an internal stress builds up that leads to cracking when the stress overcomes the strength of the concrete.
However, any concrete element or structure that is submerged or located in a moisture-saturated environment will only contract or expand very little.
Cracks can already form before the concrete has cured.
Cracks in concrete due to thermal shrinkage
Large structures often suffer from cracks in concrete due to thermal shrinkage due to cement hydration.
This is a reaction in which heat is released, which is then spread over the concrete.
As a result, the temperature change is not the same in all parts of the bridge structure and differential deformation occurs that can lead to cracks in the concrete.
Can you repair a cracked bridge?
In most cases, a small crack in bridges can be repaired with a dedicated injection agent or repair mortar. When there are large cracks, it can often be more complex.
It is important that the structure of the bridge is not affected.
A bridge with small cracks can be repaired with Logic UW flex injection. Because shrinkage and expansion cracks occur, there are movements in the concrete, which means that the repair agent must be flexible.
Logic UW flex has an excellent capacity to completely fill the most minimal cracks in the concrete, which are initially not visible to the eye in the various concrete layers of the bridge.
If there are large gaps in the bridges, a flexible repair mortar can be used; Logic UH Flex.