Presentation on

LIMIT STATE METHOD DESIGN OF

RCC STRUCTURE
Presented by
Arnab Sur
Under Prof. Shantanu Bhanja
Department of Civil Engineering
National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata
 INTRODUCTION
• Structural Engineering is categorised in 2 parts-
 Analysis –
a. Equilibrium
b. Flexibility
c. Stiffness
 Design –
a. Safety
b. Serviceability
c. Durability
d. Economy
e. Aesthetics

National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata

 RCC Structure Design Criteria
Safety – A structure must be safe with
appropriate factor of safety for loading that may
come on it during its intended life.
Serviceability – A structure should provide
the service for which it’s constructed.

Durability – A structure should sustain loading

for which it was designed and should perform well
with safety & serviceability up to its whole life.
Durability without serviceability (or) with less
margin of factor of safety has no meaning.
National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata
 RCC Structure Design Criteria
Economy – Design and
construction of any structure should
be economical without affecting
safety, serviceability and durability.

Aesthetic – If huge investment is

involved in design and construction
of a structure, then aesthetic also
plays an important role.

National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata

 METHODS TO DESIGN RCC MEMBERS
Working Stress Method : This method is based on
actual stress developed in concrete and steel at the time of
working of structure. (i.e. structure in use is subjected to
the loads or any other kind of actual loading)
Limit State Method : In this method of design,
structure shall be designed to withstand all loads liable to
act on it through its life. It shall also satisfy all serviceability
requirements, such as limitation on deflection & cracking.
This acceptance limit for safety and serviceability
requirement before failure occurs is called Limit State.

National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata

 Limit State Method
Types of Limit State :
 Limit State of Collapse :
1. Flexure
2. Shear
3. Torsion
4. Compression
 Limit State of Serviceability :
1. Deflection
2. Cracking
3. Vibration
National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata
 Design Strength of Material
This is the strength which is considered for design of structure .
 Concrete :

0.67 Fck
Design strength =
1.5

= 0.45 Fck

National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata

 Design Strength of Material
 Steel:
Characteristic Strength
Design strength =
Partial Factor of Safety(1.15)

fy

1.15
=

= 0.87 fy

National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata

 Design Strength of Material
Concrete Steel
fu
fck
fy
Stress

Stress

0.002 Strain 0.2 Strain

Possible in civil engineering Not Possible in civil engineering

National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata
 Design Load
• Design Load = (Characteristic load) * (Partial factor of safety)
• Characteristic Load: It means, that value of load, which
has 95% probability of not being exceeded during life of a
structure.
• Partial Factor of Safety : According to IS 456: 2000

National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata

 Limit State of collapse : flexure

Limit States
A limit state is a state of impending failure, beyond which a structure ceases
to perform its intended function satisfactorily, in terms of either safety or
serviceability; i.e., it either collapses or becomes unserviceable.

Flexure
Flexure or bending is commonly encountered in structural elements such as
beams and slabs (as well as plates and shells) which are transversely
loaded. Flexure also occurs in columns and walls that are subjected to
eccentric loading, lateral pressures and/or lateral displacements.
National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata
 Limit State of collapse : flexure
Assumptions : (Clause 38.1, IS 456:2000)
• Plane sections normal to the axis remain plane
after bending.
For initially straight members, the assumption implies that the distribution
of normal strains across the beam cross-section is linear. That is, the
normal strain at any points in the beam section is proportional to its
distance from the neutral axis.

National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata

 Limit State of collapse : flexure
Assumptions (Contd.):
For the case of a ‘sagging’ moment, as indicated in the given Figure the
top ‘fibres’ (above the neutral axis) are subjected to compression and the
bottom ‘fibres’ (below the neutral axis) to tension, with the maximum
strains occurring at the most extreme (top/bottom) surfaces. Of course, if
the moment is ‘hogging’ (‘negative’), as in the case of a cantilever, the top
fibres will be in tension and the bottom fibres in compression.

National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata

 Limit State of collapse : flexure
Assumptions (Contd.):
• The maximum strain in concrete at the outer most
compression fibre is taken as 0.0035 in bending.
This is a clearly defined limiting strain of concrete in bending compression beyond
which the concrete will be taken as reaching the state of collapse. It is very clear
that the specified limiting strain of 0.0035 does not depend on the strength of
concrete.

National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata

 Limit State of collapse : flexure
Assumptions
(Contd.):
• The relationship between the
compressive stress distribution in
concrete and the strain in concrete
may be assumed to be rectangle,
trapezoid, parabola or any other
shape which results in prediction of
strength in substantial agreement
with the results of test. An
acceptable stress strain curve is given
in Fig. 21. of IS 456:2000 For design
purposes, the compressive strength
of concrete in the structure shall be
assumed to be 0.67times the
characteristic strength. The partial
safety factor shall be applied
in addition to this.
National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata
 Limit State of collapse : flexure
Assumptions (Contd.):
The maximum stress in the ‘characteristic’ curve is restricted
to 0.67 fck. The curve consists of a parabola in the initial
region up to a strain of 0.002 (where the slope becomes zero),
and a straight line thereafter, at a constant stress level of 0.67
fck up to an ultimate strain of 0.0035.
For the purpose of limit states design, the appropriate partial
safety factor γc has to be applied, and γc is equal to 1.5 for
the consideration of ultimate limit states. Thus, the ‘design
curve’ is obtained by simply scaling down the ordinates of the
characteristic curve — dividing by γc. Accordingly, the
maximum design stress becomes equal to 0.447 fck .

National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata

 Limit State of collapse : flexure
Assumptions (Contd.):
• The tensile strength of the concrete is ignored.
Concrete has some tensile strength (very small but not zero).
Yet, this tensile strength is ignored and the steel
reinforcement is assumed to resist the tensile stress.
However, the tensile strength of concrete is taken into
account to check the deflection and crack widths in the limit
state of serviceability.

National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata

 Limit State of collapse : flexure
Assumptions (Contd.):
• The stresses in the reinforcement are derived from
representative stress-strain curve for the type of steel used.
Typical curves are given in Fig. 23 of IS 456:2000. For design
purposes the partial safety factor Ym equal to 1.15 shall be
applied.
The design yield strength fyd is obtained by dividing the specified yield
strength fy by the partial safety factor γs = 1.15 (for ultimate limit states);
accordingly, fyd = 0.870 fy. In the case of mild steel (Fe 250), which has a
well−defined yield point, the behaviour is assumed to be perfectly linear-elastic
up to a design stress level of 0.87 fy and a corresponding design yield strain εy
= 0.87 fy / Es ; for larger strains, the design stress level remains constant at
0.87 fy

National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata

 Limit State of collapse : flexure
Assumptions (Contd.):
In the case of cold-worked bars (Fe 415 and Fe 500), which
have no specific yield point, the transition from linear elastic
behaviour to nonlinear behaviour is assumed to occur at a
stress level equal to 0.8 times fy in the characteristic curve
and 0.8 times fyd in the design curve. The full design yield
strength 0.87 fy is assumed to correspond to a ‘proof strain’
of 0.002;
i.e, the design yield strain εy is to be taken as 0.87 fy / Es +
0.002

National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata

Limit State of collapse : flexure

National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata

 Limit State of collapse : flexure
• The maximum strain in the tension reinforcement in
the section at failure shall not be less than:

This assumption ensures ductile failure in which the tensile reinforcement

undergoes a certain degree of inelastic deformation before concrete fails in
compression.

National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata

 Limit State of collapse : flexure
Maximum limit of maximum strain of tensile steel at the time
of failure is not defined because steel is very ductile as
compared to concrete.
Minimum limit of maximum strain of tension steel at the time
of failure is defined for full utilisation of strength of
steel.

National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata

 Reference
• IS 456:2000
• SP 16
• Reinforced Concrete Design By Devdas
Menon, S. Unnikrishna Pillai
• Reinforced Concrete (Limit State Design) by A
K Jain
• NPTEL

National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata

Thank
You