In reinforced concrete structures cover is normally provided to protect steel reinforcement

from corrosion and to provide fire resistance. However, the use of cover more than required
is undesirable in the following ways:

(i) The size of crack is controlled by the distance of longitudinal bars to the point of section
under consideration. The closer a bar is to this point, the smaller is the crack width. Therefore,
closely spaced bars with smaller cover will give narrower cracks than widely spaced bars with
larger cover. Consequently, with an increase in concrete cover the crack width will increase.

(ii) The weight of the concrete structure is increased by an increase in concrete cover. This
effect is a critical factor in the design of floating ships and platforms where self-weight is an
important design criterion.

(iii) For the same depth of concrete section, the increase of concrete cover results in the
reduction of the lever arm of internal resisting force.