Let’s take a circular column as an example to illustrate this.
When the temperature is rising, the inner concrete’s temperature is higher than outer concrete’s temperature and the inner concrete is expanding. This induces pressure to the outside and the induced compressive stress will result in formation of radial cracks near the surface of concrete.
When the temperature drops, the concrete at the outside drops to surrounding temperature while the concrete at the central region continues to cool down. The contraction associated with inner concrete induces tensile strains and forms cracks tangential to the circular radius.
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This question is taken from book named – A Self Learning Manual – Mastering Different Fields of Civil Engineering Works (VC-Q-A-Method) by Vincent T. H. CHU.
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