Calculation method of crack width in reinforced concrete beams with skin reinforcement

To investigate the cracking behavior of reinforced concrete beam with skin reinforcement, a test of eight rectangular section flexural members reinforced with 500 MPa steel bar was carried out. Test results suggest that the skin reinforcement can reduce average crack spacing by 30% to 50% and short-time maximum crack width by 29% to 70%. The effect of skin reinforcement on average crack spacing and average crack width is analyzed based on the test results. A short-time maximum crack width formula concerning the skin reinforcement is put forward that takes into account the crack width formula adopted in the code GB 50010-2002. The proposed calculation formulas agree with experimental results.