Solving reinforcement

congestion problems
Creative detailing and welded wire fabric
combine to speed ductile concrete frame construction

BY ROBERT C. RICHARDSON
VICE PRESIDENT, STRUCTURAL FABRIC DIVISION
DAVIS WALKER CORPORATION

he ductile moment-resisting space frame concept

makes high-rise construction feasible and safe in
earthquake-prone regions such as Californias San Francisco Bay area. Ductile concrete frames are designed so
that all structural elements continue to carry loads
without collapse even after heavy seismic forces have
caused yielding of the reinforcing steel and large deformations. The concept works because plastic hinges
form at beam/column connections, absorbing energy
and dissipating it through the large deformations.
Beams, columns and their connections must be detailed to meet or exceed American Concrete Institute
(ACI) and Uniform Building Code (UBC) requirements,
and very heavy transverse reinforcement within and
near the joints is required to confine or basket the
concrete.
In meeting and implementing the code-imposed detailing requirements for beam/column connections, the
concrete construction industry has faced a continuing
problem: congestion of steel at and near the joints. Detailing and placement of steel at these connections have
slowed job progress and contributed to higher costs,
limiting the growth of construction in concrete ductile
frames. Howe ve r, these obstacles can be overcome.
Thoughtful detailing practices helped to ease steel
congestion at beam/column connections on the Pacific
Plaza condominium tower in Emeryville, California and
fabric cages cut labor costs while making it easier to correctly position the transverse steel. The authors company supplied welded wire fabric reinforcement for this 30story building, scheduled for completion in January
1984. In consultation with the design principals, he assisted in preparation of specifications for the fabric and,

Figure 1. Connection details showing steps taken to

minimize congestion.

at the same time, learned of their innovative approach to

detailing the joints.

Why concrete was chosen

Careful investigation preceded the choice of a ductile
concrete frame and the development of details. The architect and the developer preferred the use of a framed
structure because of the space planning flexibility it offered, but they had a choice between structural steel and
concrete. Preliminary studies indicated that structural
costs for the two alternatives were similar. Howe ve r, by
eliminating the need for fireproofing, metal decking and
hung ceilingsexpensive add-ons to steel framessubstantial savings would be realized. The developers chose
the ductile concrete frame option, and Pacific Park Plaza
is being built for $69.30 per square foot, several dollars
less than the steel alternative.
Implementation of the seismic design included two
other decisions: the use of low (9 1/2-foot) floor-to-floor
heights and moderate spans within the tri-winged floor
plan. These contributed to increased lateral resistance
and thus helped in achieving cost-effective design which
exceeded UBC requirements by 30 to 50 percent (as necessitated by the stricter requirements of the City of
Emeryville).

to reduce bottom bar interference. Arrow C indicates

the bottom of the beam intersecting from the right,
with its bottom bars well below the bottom bars of the
beam normal to it.
Bent bars terminated outside exterior columnsAt
perimeter beam/column connections, a 5-inch stub
of concrete was provided on the outside face, thus
permitting bent beam bars to be terminated outside
the column, away from the region of steel congestion
within the joint. Arrow D indicates the concrete stub,
and arrow E shows the position of the bent bars in the
stub.
Figure 2 shows a typical completed beam/column
joint on the buildings perimeter. One of the top beam
bars passes outside the column and the bent ends terminate in the beam extension.

Use of welded wire fabric

Two other decisions contributed to the speed, economy, and precision of construction.
Welded wire fabric ties and stirrups. The structural engineers specified wire fabric, a prefabricated reinforcement, because they anticipated that faster field work
would result from the easier handling and assembly of
the fabric shapes for column cages and beam stirrups. In

Detailing procedures to reduce congestion

Three specific detailing procedures shown in Figure 1
were used where applicable in reducing steel congestion
within the beam/column connections:
Inset beam facesThe faces of the beams were inset 2
inches from the faces of the columns in order to minimize rebar interference. Arrow A points to the inset
beam face, with the column face to its left. As a result,
the corner beam bar passes just inside the corner column bar, as indicated by arrow B.
Varied beam depthsBeams joining or intersecting at
columns were designed with varying depths in order

Figure 3. At right, stub end of column cage assembly from

three floors below. At left, steel worker tightens threaded
couplers which join the cage assemblies.

Figure 2. Typical completed beam/column joint on building

perimeter. Note that the top beam bar at the left passes
outside the column steel and also that the bent end
terminates in the beam extension.

addition, the prefabricated reinforcement helped provide the accuracy of steel placement that they considered essential. Three-story column cage assemblies were
made up at the fabricators plant. Column rebars had
threaded couplers at the ends to join the assemblies,
which were lifted into place by crane. Beam bars were
then threaded through the intersection at each floor,
with the bottom cage of beam stirrups already in place.

Placing of the top cage completed the operation.

Time savings as a result of these procedures were imp re s s i ve: Column cages were placed in about half the
time site-assembled cages would have required and
placement of the preshaped stirrup cages was done in
only one-fifth the time needed for individual stirrups.
75,000 psi fabric column ties specified. A final detailing decision which contributed to the reduction of steel
congestion and to ease of handling was specification of
a high strength (75,000 psi yield) welded wire fabric
specifically for the column ties. Based upon their own research and structural analysis, the structural engineers
had made a case for an 85,000 psi fabric. Although at
variance with ACI, this would have satisfied both UBC
and City of Emeryville requirements. But the author advised use of the 75,000 psi product because ready availability and assurance of steady, on-time delivery were
needed to meet the requirements of a 13-month schedule for frame construction. (85,000 psi fabric, made of
micro-alloy steel, is not yet available on a broad, assured,
steady supply basis.)
Ties in the beam column joints were spaced at 212inch centers. Engineer T. Y. Lin was only allowed to consider 60,000 psi yield strength bars for ties used as shear
reinforcement in the joints. For ties between the joints,
howe ve r, the drawings gave the option of substituting
D20 wires for #5 bars and D16 wires for #4 bars, at the
same spacings. Requirements for substitution of structural fabric for reinforcing bars in the beam stirrups were
similar. This resulted in a significant weight reduction of
materials, lower field labor costs and faster placing.
Project meets schedule
Application of these innovations worked well. Because
of reduced congestion and prefabrication of much of the

Figure 4. After threading beam bars through the

intersection, worker places top cage, capping the beam
stirrup in a single operation.

major reinforcing steel, an entire 23,000 square feet of

floor was completed every 7 working days. Right on
schedule.
Credits
Developer: Emery Associates and Penn Mutual Life, a joint
venture offered by Pacific Union Company
Architect: Whisler-Patri
Structural Engineer: T. Y. Lin International
General Contractor: Lathrop/Kiewit, a joint venture

PUBLICATION #C830669
Copyright 1983, The Aberdeen Group
All rights reserved