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ARCH 1182
CHAPTER 5
Introduction to concrete design
1.1 Properties of reinforced concrete
Concrete
Concrete is stone like material obtained artificially by hardening of the
mixture of cement, inert-aggregate materials (fine & course) and water in
predetermined proportions.
A wide range of strength properties can be obtained by appropriate
adjustment of the proportions of its constituents but it is known that it has
enough strength in compression, little tensile strength which makes it weak in
bending, shear and torsion.
Thus, for common structures such as beams, slabs, etc, concrete requires steel
bars to be placed at tensile zone of the structure which may be concreted.
Advantages of concrete
It is moldable in to any desired shape.
It does not deteriorate with time.
It is fire, weather and corrosion resistant.
It is monolithic
Disadvantage of concrete
It is difficult to dismantle
It requires formwork (expensive)
It is difficult to supervise after pouring.
Due to crack, large portion of section not efficiently used.
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Compressive
Strength of
Concrete
Water-cement ratio
Test for this property is made either on cylinder specimen (6x12 in (or) 150 x 300
mm) or on a cube of 150mm to obtain the cylinder compressive strength or cube
compressive strength respectively.
These tests are generally made on the 28th day from the date of preparation of
specimens. The later measurement, (cube), is used in the Ethiopian standard where
concrete is graded as C5, C10, C15, C20, C25, C30, C40, C50, in which the number
indicate strength in MPa.
fc3
fc3>fc2>fc1
Concrete
comp.
fc2
Strength
fc1
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Concrete is weak in tension but its tensile strength is important in a variety of items
the conditions under which cracks form and propagate on tension zone of RC
flexural members depend strongly on the tensile strength of concrete.
Two methods are used to determine tensile strength of concrete. These are
beam-test and split-cylinder test method.
For both concrete and reinforcement the Code uses the term characteristic
strength instead of 28-day works cube strength and yield stress.
The characteristic strength for all materials has the notation fk and is defined as
the value of the cube strength of concrete (fcu), the yield or proof stress of
reinforcement (fy), below which 5% of all possible test results would be expected
to fall.
The value is therefore:
fk = fm 1.64s
Where: fm is the mean strength of actual test results determined in accordance
with a standard procedure,
s is the standard deviation, and
1.64 is the value of the constant required to comply with 5% of the test
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The strength of concrete for design purposes will be based on compressive tests
made on cubes at an age of 28 days unless there is satisfactory evidence that a
particular testing regime is capable of predicting the 28-day strength at an earlier
age.
The 28-days characteristic strengths determine the grade of the concrete and it is
important to select the correct grade appropriate for use.
The concrete has to provide the durability for the environmental conditions as well
as adequate strength for the loading requirements.
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C5
C15
C20
II
C5
C15
C20
C25
C30
C40
C50
C60
Conversion Factor
1.05
1.25
The characteristic cylinder compressive strength fck are given for different grades of
concrete in Table 1.2.3.
Table 1.2.3
Grades of Concrete and Characteristic Cylinder Compressive Strength fck.
Grades of
C15
C20
C25
C30
C40
C50
C60
12
16
20
24
32
40
48
Concrete
fck
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1.2
Reinforcing Steel
Steel reinforcements are available in the form of round bars and welded wire fabric.
Deformed bars are the most commonly used bars which have projected ribs on the
surface of bar. The ribs of deformed bar improve the bond between steel and the
surrounding concrete in RC members by providing mechanical keys.
For slabs
Diam.
(mm)
10 12
14 16
18
20
22 25 28
Area
(cm2)
0.28
0.50
0.785 1.13
1.54
2.01
2.52
3.14
3.8
4.9
6.2
Weight
(kg/m)
.222
.395
.617
1.21
1.57
2.0
2.47
3.0
3.9
4.8
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Compared with concrete, it is a high strength material. For instance, the strength
of ordinary reinforcing steel is about 10 & 100 times, the compressive & tensile
strength of common structural concrete.
1.3
It is known that plain concrete is quite strong in compression, weak in tension. On the
other hand, steel is a high cost material which able to resist both tension & compression.
The two materials (plain concrete & reinforcing steel) are best be utilized in logical
combination if steel bars are embedded in the plain concrete in tension zone close to the
surface. In this case, plain concrete is made to resist the compressive stresses and
reinforcing steel resists the tensile stresses. Both plain concrete & reinforcing steel bar
together assumed to act as one composite unit and it is termed as reinforced concrete
(RC). The tensile stresses developed in the section are transferred to reinforcing steel
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In all RC members, strength design is made on the assumption that concrete does not
resist any tensile stresses. All the tensile stresses are assumed to be resisted by the
reinforcing steel imbedded in tension zone. Sometimes if necessary, reinforcing steel is
provided in compression zone to assist the concrete resisting compression in addition to
reducing creep deformation.
Reinforcing steel & concrete may work readily in combinations due to the following
reasons.
1. Bond between the bars & the surrounding concrete prevents slip of the bars
relative to the concrete. Adequate concrete cover for steel bar and embedment
length of bar are required to transfer stress between steel and concrete
without slipping.
2. Proper concrete mixes provide adequate impermeability of concrete against bar
corrosion.
3. Sufficiently similar rates of thermal expansion (0.00001/0C to 0.000013/0C for
concrete and 0.000012/0C for steel) introduce negligible stresses between
steel and concrete under temperature changes.
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shear
forces,
torsions
&
bending
moments)
and
their
effects
(deformations).
4. Design of structural elements (if assumed dimensions are adequate).
5. Detailed structural drawings and schedule of reinforcing bars.
To achieve safe and economic structures, three philosophies of design had been adopted
by codes of practices.
These are:
Working Stress Design (WSD) method: -WSD is the oldest and simplest method of
design used for reinforced concrete structures. It is based on the assumption that
concrete is elastic, steel & concrete together act elastically. Also, the stresses
developed in concrete & steel are not exceeded the respective allowable stresses any
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1. Concrete is not elastic material. The inelastic behavior of concrete starts right
from very low stresses. The actual stress distribution of concrete in section
cannot be described by a triangular stress diagram.
2. Since factor of safety is applied on the strength of materials, there is no way to
account for different degrees of uncertainty associated with different types of
loadings.
3. It is difficult to account for creep and shrinkage by computations of elastic
stresses.
Beside these drawbacks, the method does not ensure consistence safety of
structure and also provide
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uneconomical section.
A major advantage of USD method over WSD method is that total safety factor of
structure thus found to be nearer to its actual value. Further, structures designed by
USD method require less reinforcement than those designed by the WSD method.
The main draw backs of USD method are as follows:
1. Since load factor is used on the service loads, there is no way to account for
different degrees of uncertainty associated with variation in material strengths.
2. There is complete disregard for control against excessive deflections.
Limit State Design (LSD) method: -Limit state design method has developed from
ultimate strength design method in order to apply in service load and ultimate load
conditions. Design of structure in limit state is made to achieve an acceptable
probability that structure or part of it will not become unfit for use for which it is
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intended during expected life. That is, it will not reach any of the specified limit
state. The limit state of structure is the condition of its being not fit for use. A
structure with appropriate degrees of reliability should be able to withstand safely all
possible combinations of design loads that are liable to act on it throughout its life
and it should also satisfy the serviceability requirements, such as, limitations on
deflection and cracking. Further, it should be able to maintain the required structural
integrity during and after accidents such as fires, explosions and local failure. In
other words, all relevant limit states must to be considered in design to ensure an
adequate degree of safety and serviceability. These limit states which must be
examined in design are broadly classified in to two major limit states. These are:
- Ultimate strength limit state (Limit state of collapse), and
- Serviceability limit state
Ultimate strength limit state: -which deals with the strength and stability of the
structure under the maximum over load it is expected to carry. This implies that
whole of the structure or part of it should not fail under any combination of expected
over load. Ultimate load theory is generally applicable for ultimate strength limit
state. Ultimate strength limit state may include ultimate limit state for:
-flexure
-shear
-compression
-torsion
-tension
-stability of structure for over-turning & sliding
Serviceability limit state: -which deals with conditions such as deflection, cracking
of structure under service loads, durability, excessive vibration, fire resistance,
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fatigue, etc. Elastic (working stress) theory is generally applicable for serviceability
limit state.
When dealing with the most economical structure associated with safety and
serviceability requirements, the variability exists between construction materials and
the construction process itself. We should be able to state a design philosophy to
cope with the various criteria required to define the serviceability or usefulness of
any structure in a rational manner.
When any structure is rendered unfit for use for its designed function by one or
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more of the above causes, it is said to have entered a limit state. The Code defines
the limit states as:
(i). Ultimate limit state: the ultimate limit state is preferred to collapse.
Accepting the fact that the strengths of construction materials vary, as do also the loads
on the structure, two partial safety factors will now be used. One will be for materials
and is designated m; the other, for loading, is termed f. These factors will vary for the
various limit states and different materials. As new knowledge on either materials or
loading becomes available the factors can be amended quit easily without the complicated
procedures to amend one overall factor used in previous Codes.
The normal procedure is to design for a critical limit state and then to check for the
other limit states are satisfied. The critical state for reinforced concrete structures is
usually the ultimate limit state. However, water-retaining structures and prestressed
concrete is usually designed at the serviceability limit state with checks on the ultimate
limit state.
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Qn = nominal load
f = partial safety factor for loads
Rd = design resistance = fk/m
fk = characteristic material strength
m = partial safety factor for materials
Each of these terms are discussed in the following sections.
Safety Factors
Partial Safety Factors for Materials at ULS
Design
Situations
Concrete, c
Reinforcing Steel, s
Class I
Class II
Class I
Class II
1.50
1.65
1.15
1.20
Accidental
1.30
1.45
1.00
1.10
Design Situation
Action
Factor,
Favorabl
e
Persistent and
Permanent
1.00
1.30
Transient
Variable
0.00
1.60
Accidental
Permanent
1.00
1.00
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Unfavorable
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