Reinforced concrete

Characteristics - Generally consisting of portland cement, water, construction aggregate (coarse

and fine), and steel reinforcing bars (rebar), concrete is cheaper in comparison to structural steel.

Strength - Concrete is a composite material with relatively high compressive strength properties,
but lacking in tensile strength/ductility. This inherently makes concrete a useful material for carrying
the weight of a structure. Concrete reinforced with steel rebar give the structure a stronger tensile
capacity, as well as an increase in ductility and elasticity.

Constructability - Reinforced concrete must be poured and left to set, or harden. After setting
(typically 12 days), a concrete must cure, the process in which concrete experiences a chemical
reaction between the cementitious particles and the water. The curing process is complete after 28
days; however, construction may continue after 12 weeks, depending on the nature of the structure.
Concrete can be constructed into nearly any shape and size. Approximately half of the cost of using
reinforced concrete in a structural project is attributed to the construction of the form-work. In order
to save time, and therefore costs, structural concrete members may be pre-cast. This refers to a
reinforced concrete beam, girder, or column being poured off site and left to cure. After the curing
process, the concrete member may be delivered to the construction site and installed as soon as it is
needed. Since the concrete member was cured off location beforehand, construction may continue
immediately after erection.

Fire resistance - Concrete has excellent fire resistance properties, requiring no additional
construction costs to adhere to the International Building Code (IBC) fire protection standards.
However, concrete buildings will still likely use other materials that are not fire resistant. Therefore, a
designer must still take into account the use of the concrete and where it will require fire hazardous
materials in order to prevent future complications in the overall design.

Corrosion - Reinforced concrete, when constructed properly, has excellent corrosion resistance
properties. Concrete is not only resistant to water, but needs it to cure and develop its strength over
time. However, the steel reinforcement in the concrete must not be exposed in order to prevent its
corrosion as this could significantly reduce the ultimate strength of the structure. The American
Concrete Institute provides the necessary design specifications for an engineer to ensure there is
enough concrete covering any steel reinforcement to prevent exposure to water. This cover distance
must be specified because concrete will inevitable crack at locations carrying tension, or locations
containing reinforcing bars for the purpose of carrying said tension. If the concrete cracks, it provides
a path for water to travel directly to the reinforcing bars. Some reinforcing bars are coated in epoxy
as a second order measure of preventing corrosion due to water contact. This method induces higher
costs on the overall project, however, due to the higher cost of the epoxy coated bars. Also, when
using epoxy coated bars, reinforced concrete members must be designed larger, as well as stronger, in
order to balance the loss of friction between the reinforcing bars and concrete. This friction is referred
to as bond strength, and it is vital to the structural integrity of a concrete member.