ARAS

Concrete and Reinforced Concrete

Concrete is a mixture of sand, gravel, crushed rock, or other

aggregates held together in a rocklike mass with a paste of

cement and water. Sometimes one or more admixtures are
added to change certain characteristics of the concrete such
as its workability, durability, and time of hardening. It has
high compressive strength and a very low tensile strength.
Reinforced Concrete is a combination of concrete and steel

wherein the steel reinforcement provides the tensile

strength lacking in the concrete.
*Steel reinforcing is also capable of resisting compression
forces and is used in columns as well as in other situations

Advantages of RC as a Structural
Material
1. It has considerable compressive strength as compared to most other
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

9.

materials
RC has great resistance to the actions of fire and water
RC structures are very rigid
It is a low-maintenance material
As compared with other materials, it has a very long service life
It is usually the only economical material available footings,
basement walls, piers and similar applications
A special feature of concrete is its ability to be cast into an
extraordinary variety of shapes
In most areas, concrete takes advantage of inexpensive local
materials which may have to be shipped in from other parts of the
country
A lower grade of skilled labor is required for erection as compared to
other materials such as structural steel

Disadvantages of RC as a Structural
Material
1. Concrete has a very low tensile strength,
2.
3.
4.

5.

requiring the use of tensile reinforcing

Forms are required to hold the concrete in
place until it hardens sufficiently
The low strength per unit of weight of
concrete leads to heavy members
The low strength per unit of volume of
concrete means members will be relatively
large
The properties of concrete vary widely due
to variations in its proportioning and mixing

Compatibility of Concrete and Steel

Concrete and steel reinforcing work together

beautifully in reinforced concrete structures

These two materials bond together very well
so there is a little chance of slippage between
the two, and thus they will act together as a
unit in resisting forces
Reinforcing bars are subject to corrosion, but
the concrete surrounding them provides them
with excellent protection.

Two Characteristics that can cause

Problems
1. Concretes Shrinkage
2. Creep

To minimize shrinkage, it is desirable to:

Keep the amount of mixing water to minimum

Curve the concrete wall
Placed concrete for walls, floors, and other large
items in small section
Use construction joints to control the position of
the crack
Use shrinkage reinforcement

Design Codes
1. ACI 318 83 - American Concrete Institutes Building

Code Requirements for Reinforced Concrete

2. Commentary on Building Code Requirements for

Reinforced Concrete
3. AASHTO American Association of State Highway

and Transportation Officials

4. AREA American Railway Engineering Association

Mechanical Properties of Reinforced

Concrete
1. Compressive Strength (fc)

Determined by testing to failure 28-day old 6 in. by 12 in.

concrete cylinders at a specified rate of loading
Most of Concrete 3000 to 7000 psi
Ordinary Application 3000 to 4000 psi
Pre-stressed Construction 5000 to 6000 psi
Columns of the lower stories of high-rise buildings up to
9000 psi

Mechanical Properties of Reinforced

Concrete
2. Modulus of Elasticity

The initial modulus is the slope of the stress-strain diagram

at the origin of the curve
The tangent modulus is the slope of a tangent to the curve
at some point along the curve, for instance, at 50% of the
ultimate strength of the concrete
The slope of a line drawn from the origin to a point on the
curve somewhere between 25% to 50% of its ultimate
compressive strength is referred to as a secant modulus
Another modulus, called the apparent modulus or the
long-term modulus, is determined by using the stresses
and strains obtained after the load has been applied for a
certain length of time

For calculating the modulus of elasticity of concrete

weighing from 90 to 155 lbs/ft 3

Ec = Wc1.5 33fc
where: Wc weight of the concrete (lbs/ft 3)
fc compressive strength (lbs/in 2)
For the normal-weight concrete weighing approximately 145

lbs/ft3
Ec = 57,000fc

Mechanical Properties of Reinforced

Concrete
3. Poissons Ratio

ratio of lateral expansions to the longitudinal shortening

For the higher-strength concrete 0.11

For the weaker grade concrete 0.21
Average value 0.16

4. Shear Strength

the test of concrete shearing strengths through the years

have yielded values all the way from 1/3 to 4/5 of the
ultimate compressive strength

Mechanical Properties of Reinforced

Concrete
5. Tensile Strength
- varies from about 10% to 15% of its compressive strength
- determined by the so-called split-cylinder test
Formula for Tensile Strength

where: P maximum compressive force

L length
D diameter of the cylinder

Reinforcing Steel
Reinforcing Steel
may be in the form of bars or welded wire fabric
also referred as being plain or deformed

Deformed bars have ribbed projections rolled into their surfaces to

provide better bonding between the concrete and the steel

Plain bars not used very often except for wrapping around
longitudinal bars, primarily in columns

Grades of Reinforcing Steel

1.
2.
3.
4.

ASTM A615, billet steel, grades 40 and 60

ASTM A616, rail steel, grades 50 and 60
ASTM A617, axle steel, grades 40 and 60
ASTM A706, low-alloy steel, grade 60

Analysis of Beams by the

Working Stress Method (WSD)
Assumptions made for WSD
1. A plane section before bending remains a
plane section after bending
2. Stress is proportional to strain
3. The tensile strength of concrete is negligible
and tensile force are carried completely by
steel reinforcing
4. The concrete and steel bond together
perfectly that no slip occurs

Working-Stress Design
Introduction to Bending of Reinforced Concrete Beams
Uncracked Concrete Stage
* At small loads when the tensile stresses are less than the
Modulus of Rupture (the bending tensile stress at which the
concrete begins to crack), the entire As of the beam resists
bending, with compression on one side and tension on the other

Concrete Cracked Elastic Stresses Stage

* As the loads increased after the Modulus of Rupture of the
beam is exceeded, cracks begin to develop in the bottom of the
beam
fc < 0.50 fc

Working-Stress Design
Cracking Moment
- tensile stresses in the bottom of the beam equals the
modulus of rupture

Ultimate Strength Stage

* As the load is increased further so that the
compressive stresses are greater than of the
concretes 28-day strength, the tensile cracks are more
upward, As does the neutral axis, and the concrete
stresses begin to change appreciably from a straight
line.
fc > 0.50 fc

Working-Stress Design
Cracking Moment

where:
fr modulus of rupture of concrete (normal weight of
concrete
Yt distance from the centroidal axis of the section to its
extreme fiber in tension
Ig moment of inertia of gross concrete section about
centroidal
axis

Working-Stress Design
Elastic Stresses Concrete Cracked
- the ratio of the steel modulus to concrete modulus is
called Modular Ratio (n)

where: Es modulus of elasticity of steel (200,000

MPa)
Ec modulus of elasticity of concrete

Working-Stress Design
* For the figure, the steel bars are replaced with an
equivalent area of fictitious concrete (nAs), which can
resist tension. This area is referred to as transformed
area.
fc
N.A.
As

n As
fs/n

Working-Stress Design
In WSD, a margin of safety is provided by
permitting calculated flexure stresses to reach only a
certain percentage of the ultimate strength of the
concrete or the yield strength of the reinforcing.
In WSD, the most economical design possible is
referred to as balanced design. A beam designed by
this method with under full service load, have its
extreme fibers in compression stressed to their
maximum permissible value fc and its reinforcing bars
stressed to their maximum permissible value fs .
Balanced design is the situation assumed for the beam
and stress diagram shown:

Working-Stress Design
kd/3

fc
kd
d
d-kd
As

N.A.

T = As f s
fs/n

k -d/3

Transformed Section
Method
The transformed area of the tension bars = nA s
where:
As area of tensile reinforcing bars
n modular ratio ( 6.00)
For calculating the modulus of elasticity of concrete
Density of concrete = 1,500 to 2,300 kg/m 3

Ec = Wc1500 0.043fc (in Mpa)

where: Wc density of the concrete
fc specified compressive strength of concrete @ 28 days
For the normal-density concrete = 2,300 to 2,400 kg/m 3

Ec = 4,700fc

Transformed Section
Method
f
c

x
d

N.A.
As

x/2
n As
fs/n

b
*where:
b width of the beam
d effective depth

Problem #1
For the given section, determine the actual stresses in
concrete and steel for a bending moment of 100
kN.m if fc = 21MPa.
x
500mm
3-25mm bars
nAs
300mm

x/2

Problem #2
For the frame loaded as shown, find the maximum uniformly distributed
load, w, that could be imposed on the beam if it has a rectangular
section of 300x550 (bxd) reinforced with 5-20mm bars. Use
fc=12.42 MPa, fc=27.60 MPa and fs=165.60 MPa. Assume the
midspan moment as the actual maximum moment
w
B
1.50m
10 kN
1.50m
A

5.0m

x/2

550mm
5-20mm bars
nAs
300mm