Influence of concrete depth and surface finishing on the cracking of plastic concrete

Settlement and shrinkage cracking occurs in plastic concrete once cast up to around the final setting time. This paper reports on the influence of element depth and surface finishing operations on the cracking of plastic concrete. Deeper concrete elements are shown to have less severe shrinkage cracking when no settlement cracking is present, while when combined with settlement cracking at similar cover depths the cracking is more severe in deeper concrete. Surface finishing operations are shown to only close the surface of plastic cracks and not the crack below the surface, therefore temporarily hiding the true severity of the cracking.