Why does concrete crack? There are a few causes of cracks in concrete, but there are two main reasons why this happens. One reason concrete cracks happens to new concrete that is curing. Another reason cracks occur is when concrete is forced to flex or move. Concrete is not flexible and will crack or break when this type of force is applied.

When concrete is mixed, it has a bunch of water in it which kicks of the actuation process, or the curing of the concrete. Soon after cement powder is mixed with water, it begins the process of hardening or setting up. Once it is placed and left to cure, that water content is quickly reduced. This water loss causes the concrete to shrink and this shrinkage can cause cracks. Wet curing the new concrete can help avoid these early developing cracks. Cutting control joints into the concrete also encourage it to crack in a controlled way and where you want it to happen. It is not guaranteed to crack in the control joints, but again, this can help avoid these early cracks.

Concrete is very strong, when you are speaking of compressive strength (having weight applied on supported concrete - like a driveway). It is not very strong when you are speaking of the tensile strength (spanning a gap with weight applied - like a bridge). To increase the tensile strength of concrete, steel is embedded in it as reinforcement.

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