Cracking in reinforced concrete flexural members - A reliability model

Cracking of reinforced concrete flexural members is a highly random phenomenon. In this paper reliability models are presented to determine the probabilities of failure of flexural members against the limit states of first crack and maximum crackwidth. The models proposed take into account the mechanism of cracking. Based on the reliability models discussed, Eqs. (8) and (9) useful in the reliability-based design of flexural members are presented.