REINFORCED CONCRETE DESIGN

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
Design Concept
1.1
Purpose of Structural Design
There are a number of fundamental objectives which must be incorporated in any design
concept to provide a structure which throughout its intended lifespan:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.

Will possess an acceptable margin of safety against collapse whilst in use,

Is serviceable and perform its intended purpose whilst in use,
Is sufficiently robust such that damage to an extent disproportionate to the original
cause will not occur,
Is economic to construct, and
Is economic to maintain

1.2
Reinforced Concrete Structural Elements
Basically, reinforced concrete structures element consist of many element and the element
are the following (refer Figure 1):
i.
Beam horizontal member carrying vertical loads from slab
ii.
Slab horizontal plate elements carrying any vertical loads sitting on top of it
iii.
Column vertical members carrying primarily axial loads from beams and slab
iv.
Walls vertical plate elements resisting vertical. Lateral or in-plane loads
v.
Staircase an element that connects to two floors
vi.
Foundation/bases/footing pads or strips that spread the column/wall loads to the
ground/earth
vii.
Retaining wall to resist pressure of earth retaining materials

Figure 1 Reinforced Concrete Structural Elements

1.3
Structural Design
Structural design process includes:1. Idealization of structure into load bearing frames and elements for analysis and
design
2. estimation of loads
3. analysis to determine the maximum moments, thrusts and shears for design
4. design of sections and reinforcement for the structural elements
5. production of arrangements and detail drawings and bar schedules

REINFORCED CONCRETE DESIGN

1.4
Design Standards
Three design codes are being used in Malaysia as follows:1. BS 8110: Part
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:

1: 1997: Structural Use of Concrete,

Code of Practice for Design and Construction
Code of Practice for Special Circumstances
Design Charts for singly reinforced beams, doubly reinforced
and rectangular column

beams

2. BS 6399-1:1996: Loading for Building, Part 1. Code of Practice for Dead and
Imposed Loads
3. CP 3: 1972: Chapter V: Loading, Part 2: Wind Loads
1.5
Design Concepts
There are three design concepts that have been developed and used in reinforced concrete
design. They are:
1. Permissible stress design: Design stresses within the elastic limit are developed by
dividing the ultimate strength of the material by a factor of safety.
2. Load factor design: Working loads are increased by a safety factor in order to obtain
greater value of design loads.
3. Limit state design: Loads and strength of materials are factored with partial safety
factors. Design loads are developed by multiplying working loads with partial safety
factors while ultimate strength of materials are reduced by dividing with partial
safety factors obtaining the corresponding characteristic strength. The partial safety
factors are stipulated in BS8110
1.6
Limit State Design
There are two types of limit state considered:
1. Ultimate limit state (ULS) in which the structure will not collapse, buckle or overturn
under the loads for which it is designed.
2. Serviceability limit state (SLS) in which a condition, e.g. deflection, cracking,
durability, excessive vibration, fire resistance, fatigue and special circumstances
such as earthquake resistance, occurs to an extent, which is unacceptable to the
owner, occupier, etc.
1.7
Characteristic Loads
The characteristic or service loads are the actual loads that the structure is designed to
carry. These are maximum loads which will not be exceeded during the life of a structure.
In statistical terms, the characteristic loads have a 95% probability of not being exceeded.
Refer Figure 2.1. BS 8110: Part 1, clause 2.4.1 defined the characteristic loads as:1. The characteristic dead load Gk: self weight of the structure, weight of finishes,
ceiling, services and partitions
2. The characteristic imposed/live load Qk: cause by people, furniture, equipment,
snow. Refer to BS 6399: 1996. Loadings for buildings. Code of practice for dead and
imposed loads.
3. The characteristic wind load Wk: depends on location, shape and dimensions of
buildings. Refer to BS 6399: Part 2. 1997. Loadings for Buildings. Code of practice
for wind loads

REINFORCED CONCRETE DESIGN

1.8
Characteristic Strengths of Materials
The characteristic strengths or grades of materials are as follows:1. Concrete: fcu is the 28 day cube strength in N/mm2. The minimum grades for
reinforced concrete are C30, C35, C40, C45 and C50 in N/mm 2.
2. Reinforcement: fy is the yield strength of steel bar in N/mm2. Three types of
reinforcement bar are:
Hot rolled mild steel (known as R-bar) fy = 250 N/mm2
High yield steel, hot rolled or cold worked (known as T-bar) fy = 450 N/mm2
Steel Wire Fabric (known as BRC) fy = 485 N/mm2
In statistical terms, the characteristic strengths have a 95% probability that the strength
will be higher than the specified value. Refer Figure 2.1.

Source: Design of Structural Elements. W.M.C. McKenzie

1.9

Partial Factor of Safety, Design Loads and Design Strength

Partial Factor of Safety: are applied to the strength of materials and loads to account for
tolerances in materials, material handling, design inaccuracies, untoward load increment
and constructional inaccuracies. These factors are derived based on experience and
simplified calculations. They are provided in Tables 1.1 and 1.2 respectively. The
applications of these factors are expressed as follows:
Design Loads
Design loads are loads used in design calculations:
Partial safety factor for loads ( f )

Design Load = characteristic loads (Gk,Qk,Wk) x partial factor of safety (f)

= (Gk,Qk,Wk) x f
Examples:
For ULS, Design Loads = 1.4Gk + 1.6Qk
For SLS, Design Loads = 1.0Gk + 1.0Qk
Design Strengths
Design loads are loads used in design calculations:
Partial safety factor for materials ( m ),
Design strengths = fk / m

REINFORCED CONCRETE DESIGN

Table 1.1

Partial Safety Factor for Materials (( m )

Reinforcement
Concrete Flexure/Axial
Shear
Bond Strength
Table 1.2

Ultimate

Serviceability

1.05
1.5
1.25
1.4

1.0
1.0

Partial Safety Factor for Loadings

Limit State
Ultimate

Load
Combination

Dead

Dead & Imposed

1.4
Dead & wind
1.4
Dead, wind &imposed 1.2

Imposed
1.6
1.2

Serviceability
Earth & Water
Pressure
1.4
1.4
1.2

Wind
1.4
1.2

All
1.0
1.0
1.0

1.10 Stress-Strain Relationships

Concrete
The actual stress-strain curve for concrete is given in Figure 5.8. However, BS 8110 uses
the stress-strain curve shown below with maximum strengths of 0.67fcu/m. The strain in
which the stress is at maximum level is 0.002, while the maximum strain at fracture is
0.0035. The modulus of elasticity E = 5.5[fcu/m].

REINFORCED CONCRETE DESIGN

Stress-strain curve according to BS 8110

Source: Design of Structural Elements. W.M.C. McKenzie

Steel Reinforcement
The actual stress-strain curve for steel is given in Figure 5.11. However, BS 8110 uses the
stress-strain curve shown in Figure 5.12.

Source: Design of Structural Elements. W.M.C. McKenzie

REINFORCED CONCRETE DESIGN

Source: Design of Structural Elements. W.M.C. McKenzie

- End of Lecture 1 -