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Hi guys just to discuss with you my understanding of crack widths in Environmental structures according to ACI. --------------------------- Normal structures --------------------------- 1. ACI 318-95 based on statistical method of Gergely & Lutz 1968 limits Z based on exposure. We are calculating crack widths here. (Normal structures) 2. ACI 318-99 proposed limiting the spacing and removed actually calculating the width and also removed the exposure conditions. For example for beams and one-way slabs s (in) = 540/fs -2.5cc or in other words limiting the fs=0.6fy (For normal structures) 3. ACI 224R-01 references method 1 and 2 above and 3 european codes. The most confusing part is the table in which Nawy suggests 0.1mm crack width for water-tight structures. The whole document is for normal structures except this line. And people are following this line and refer to this document for water tight structures. I mean its just a suggestion and by the way this method 1 is obsolete now since ACI 318-99 (see point 2 above). --------------------------- Water tight structures --------------------------- 1. ACI 318-08 states clearly that for watertight structures ACI 350-06 codes should be used. 2. ACI 224.4R-13 also specifically states that for watertight structures walls in section 7.4, we should use ACI 350-06. 3. ACI 350-06 for water tight structures does not recommend calculating a number for crack width but rather limiting max steel stress in bars to be 20k ksi or fs=0.33fy for normal conditions. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To sum it up, Philosophy of crack width control is not to calculate probable crack widths but to limit the max stress in steel bars. For normal structures: fs=0.6fy and for water tight structures fs=0.33fy