The Analysis of Cracks in Beams of Quay No. 80a at Klaipeda Passenger and Cargo Terminal

Abstract

The cracks can be technological, appear during the usage time of construction, they can also be regular, and appear under the design load or they can also be unexpected and appear due to accidental impacts. Our research has shown that the cracks have appeared in reinforced concrete beams of the superstructure in quays No. 80 and 81 after the construction of Klaipeda Passenger and cargo terminal are caused by shrinkage strain, when the reinforced concrete beams has hardened. Normal hardening concrete shrinkage deformation is inevitable, but it depends on a number of factors, in particular, that in the present structures occurred because: - W/C ratio of concrete mixture exceeds the allowable values; - coarseness of selected aggregates (D = 16 mm) are too small for the construction of a massive wall; - concrete stratification and possible lack of care for hardening concrete (ambient temperature, etc.), this segregation could be affected by to big spread of concrete mixture (class of slump S3). The crack width at reinforced concrete beams in the superstructure of quay No.80 varies from 0.05 to 0.5 mm. This are a non-structural cracks, so they do not reduce significantly the mechanical strength and stability of the structure. Also, research has shown that the relationship between the crack width and the distance between the cracks is weak. Proposals for elimination of potential causes of cracking are presented according to the results.