
30 Apr 11 Types of Cracks in Concrete and The Causes
Concrete is known for its high durability, rigidity, and resistance, which make it an efficient choice for the construction and real estate sectors. In domestic and commercial projects, concrete structures consistently stand the test of time and last for years with minimal maintenance. However, external factors like design flaws, environmental changes, and construction issues result in the formation of cracks. The worst part is that there are many different types of cracks in concrete, making it hard to spot.
Here is a detailed blog listing all the common types of cracks in concrete to identify one at your residence or commercial space. You can search for the best and most reliable concrete jacking in Calgary for its improvement.
Complete List of Types of Cracks in Concrete
Let’s move to the list of concrete cracks and what causes them to appear in your domestic or commercial structure.
1- Plastic Shrinkage Cracks
These types of cracks in concrete appear right after fresh layers are placed on the structure, like concrete slabs; as the water retention reduces, empty spaces form and create a gap in the levelling. Once the layer dries rapidly, stiffness emerges and loses its ability to hold tensile stress.
Causes: High temperature, low humidity, improper mixing & placement, excessive surface area, and ineffective curing methods.
2 – Structural Cracks
It is one of the severe types of concrete cracks that might damage the foundation structure. The crack might appear with a size of ⅛” or more and often extends in thickness over time.
If these structural cracks remain unnoticed, the whole building might fall off.
Causes: Poor construction practices, soil movement, water infiltration, design flaws, and overloading structures.
3 – Crazing Cracks
The rapid drying of concrete surfaces leads to crazing cracks that cause shrinkage in underlying layers. These interconnected cracks in concrete don’t penetrate the structure but threaten its quality.
Causes: The exposure to low humidity, high air or concrete temperature, hot sun, or any combination of these during placement.
4 – Disintegration
It comprises multiple types of cracks in concrete, from scaling to peeling, eventually leading to collapse. Disintegration follows the breakdown process, where it first cracks into small pieces, scaling, and later, huge chunks falling off.
Causes: Contamination, such as an Alkali-silica attack, carbonation, chloride, acid, and sulfate attack. Disintegration is caused by adopting inappropriate construction practices.
5 – Hardened Cracks
As the name suggests, these are the types of cracks in concrete that form when the structure dries to harden. Excessive expansion and a shorter time frame between the drying and wetting concrete cycle lead to hardened cracks.
Causes: Thermal changes, ground settlement, design and engineering flaws, excessive loads, corrosion, improper curing, and structural movements.
6 – Spalling
These concrete cracks appear with flaking and crumbling of the outer layer, resulting in rough and uneven surfaces. The concrete area gets cracked and delaminated from the substrate.
Causes: Improper installation, chemical exposure, poor quality concrete mix, freeze-thaw cycles, and developed weak spots.
7 – Popout Cracks
These common types of cracks in concrete indicate small conical pieces that get peeled off from concrete layers. The area’s exposure to humid and external temperatures further contaminates and worsens concrete’s sustainability.
Causes: Impure materials, weak aggregates, alkali-silica reaction (ASR), rapid drying or curing in extreme weather conditions, and overwork on concrete surfaces.
8 – Settlement Concrete Cracks
Occasionally, ground settling beneath the concrete slab might cause settlement cracks. This occurs due to the void created in the ground below the concrete surface, which affects the stability of concrete.
Causes: Poor ground conditions, water infiltration, inadequate soil compaction, excessive loading, and tree roots.
9 – Crusting Cracks
While curing the concrete, the top layers dry more quickly than the bottom layers, causing the surface to become crusty and cracked. This doesn’t count as a severe type of crack in concrete but causes surface-level damage.
Causes: Uneven drying, rapid moisture loss, temperature fluctuation, improper time finish, and excessive use of troweling or mechanical finishing tools.
10 – Re-Entrant Corner Cracks
These are different types of cracks in concrete when the material is poured on corners or rounded objects. If the material doesn’t spread evenly while drying, it forms cracks on the sides.
Causes: Thermal expansion and contraction, improper joint placement, lack of reinforcement, shrinkage, structural loading, etc.
11- Corrosion Cracks
The corrosion of embedded metal components weakens the concrete structure by developing internal pressure and reducing the bonding strength between the concrete and reinforcement.
Causes: Poor concrete quality, Chloride Ingress, insufficient concrete cover, inadequate curing, environmental factors, and corrosive substances.
These are common types of cracks in concrete, and it is essential to address the issue earlier by identifying cracks to avoid serious structural problems. Concrete requires crack prevention to extend its sustainability, whether it’s your interior structure, like floors, garages, foundation walls, or exteriors, such as driveways, patios, or pool decks.
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