Mechanical Predictions on Concrete Deterioration. Part 1: Eigenstresses in Concrete

The physical, chemical, and thermodynamical deterioration mechanisms in the concrete give rise to shrinkage or expansive strains in the cement paste or in the aggregates. These strains result in eigenstresses in the concrete, which may lead to cracking of the concrete. This paper presents idealized evaluations of the stress distributions for the most common deteriorational mechanisms in the concrete, based on the technical elasticity theory and separate predictions of the behavior of the constituent materials in the concrete. This paper forms the basis for the predictions of crack patterns that will be presented in a following paper.