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In order to serves its intended purpose, a structure

must be safe and serviceable.

A structure is safe, if it is able to resist without distress

and with sufficient margin of safety, all forces which are
likely to act on it during its life time.

Serviceability, implies that deformation of structures such

as deflections, cracking and other distortions under load
shall not be excessive.

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Excessive deflection lead to sagging of

floor, crushing of partitions, buckling of glass
enclosures, ill lifting doors and windows,
poor drainage, misalignment of machinery
and excessive vibration.

For control of deflection, two alternative methods

are described in EC2 clause 7.4:
1. Limiting span to depth ratios (Clause 7.4.2)
2. Calculation of actual deflection (Clause 7.4.3)

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Deflection limit:
1. Final deflection of a beam, slab or cantilever subjected to
quasi-permanent loads should not exceed span/250
2. For the deflection which takes place after the application of
finishes or fixing of partition should not exceed span/500 to
avoid damage to fixtures and fittings.

The basic span-effective depth ratios, to control deflection to a

maximum of span/250 are given in EC2 as;

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1.5

Example 1
If As req = 1663 mm2 and As req = 200 mm2, check the deflection of the beam
below based on EC2 requirement. Assumed fck = 25 N/mm2 and fyk = 500
N/mm2.

8m

d = 550 mm

250
2H12

6H20

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Example 1: Solution
Percentage of required tension reinforcement;
= As, req / bd
= 1663 / 250 550 = 0.012
Reference reinforcement ratio;
o = (fck)1/2 10-3 = (25)1/2 10-3 = 0.005
Since o

Use Eq. (7.16b) in EC 2 Cl. 7.4.2

Percentage of required compression reinforcement;

= As, req / bd
= 200 / 250 550 = 0.001

Example 1: Solution
For structural system, K = 1.0

l
o
1
K 11 1.5 f ck

d
' 12

f ck

'

= 1.0 (11 + 3.52 + 0.22) = 14.75

Basic span-effective depth ratio, l/d = 14.75

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Example 1: Solution
Modification factor for span greater than 7 m;
7/span = 7/8 = 0.88
Modification factor for tension steel area provided;
As, prov/As, req = 1885/1663 = 1.13 1.5
Allowable span-effective depth ratio;
(l/d)allow = 14.75 0.88 1.13 = 14.63
Actual span-effective depth ratio

8000/550 = 14.5 (l/d)allow = 14.63

SAFE

Cracks are induced in reinforced concrete elements as a

result of;

Flexural tensile stress due to bending under applied

loads;

Diagonal tension stress due to shear under applied load;

Volume changes due to shrinkage, creep, thermal and

chemical effects; and

Splitting along reinforcement due to bond and

anchorage failure.

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The primary objective of crack control is to limit

the width of individual cracks.

This is required not only for aesthetic reasons,

but more importantly, for durability and
particularly for corrosion protection of
reinforcement.

For control of crack, two alternative methods are

described in EC2: Cl. 7.3;
1. Control of cracking without direct calculation,
(Clause 7.3.3)
2. Calculation of crack widths (Clause 7.3.4)

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Limiting crack width;

In the absence of specific requirements (e.g. water

tightness) the crack width may be limited to 0.3 mm in
all exposure classes under quasi-permanent
combination of loads.

In the absence of requirements for appearance, this

limit may be relaxed to 0.4 mm for exposure classes X0
and XC1.

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Control of cracking without direction calculation;

Minimum reinforcement area
As, min = kc k fct, eff Act / fyk

Maximum spacing of reinforcement

Maximum bar size

10

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kc = Stress distribution coefficient (1.0 for pure tension, 0.4 for

flexure)
k

= Non-linear stress distribution coefficient

1.0 for webs with h 300 mm or flanges 800 mm wide
0.65 for webs h 800 mm or flanges 800 mm wide
(interpolate for intermediate values)

fct, eff = Tensile strength of concrete at time of cracking with a

suggested minimum of 3 N/mm2
Act = Area of concrete within tensile zone defined as that area
which is in tension just before the initiation of the first crack

fs

f yk
1.15

Gk 0.3Qk
1
(1.35Gk 1.5Qk )

11

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f yk
1.15

Gk 0.3Qk
1
(1.35Gk 1.5Qk )

h 1000 mm

fs

N.A

Skin
reinforcement
As As, min
(taking k = 0.5)

12

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