Early-age cracking of concrete bridge decks, typically caused by drying, autogenous, and thermal shrinkage effects, can have detrimental effects on long-term behavior and durability. Darwin and Browning (2008) recently reported that “by controlling early-age cracking, the amount of cracking at later ages should remain low.” They also reported that early-age cracking could significantly increase the rate and amount of chloride penetration (from deicing salts), which may accelerate the corrosion rate of embedded reinforcing steel.
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