Strut and Tie Model

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 Outlines
• Initially developed as Truss Model by Ritter (1899) and Morsch (1902)
• Concrete compression struts and steel tension ties form a truss to resist
applied loads
• Primarily used to design local regions (D regions) subjected to nonlinear
stress/strain distributions at present
• Unified approach to consider all load effects (M, N, V, T) simultaneously
• Reduces complex state of stress in D regions into a truss comprised of simple
uni-axial stress paths represented by members of the model
• Equilibrium conditions are maintained
• Strain compatibility conditions are not considered
• Serviceability criteria is not assured
• No single unique model for most design situations
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 Basic Concepts and Assumptions

• RC section is fully cracked

• Tension is taken by steel
• Compression is taken by strut formed within concrete
• Strut and tie form a stable mechanism
• Steel yields before struts crush (for ductility)
• Steel is adequately anchored in concrete
• External forces are applied at nodes (intersection points of struts and ties)
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First Truss Model of RC Beam

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 Local (D) and Main (B) Regions

• B Region:
– Plane sections remain plane after deformation
– Bernoulli’s strain compatibility conditions are applicable
• D Region:
– Plane sections do not remain plane after deformation
– Beam theory is not applicable.
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 Local (D) and Main (B) Regions

• Near concentrated loads and supports

• Knee joints, corbels and brackets
• Deep beams
• Column ends
• Openings
• Discontinuities 6
 Local (D) and Main (B) Regions

• Stress/strain intensities decrease rapidly with distance

from origin of stress concentrations.
• Stress/strain trajectories are smooth in B regions
• Stress/strain trajectories are turbulent in D regions
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 Local (D) and Main (B) Regions

St. Venant’s Principle:

• Localized effects caused by any load acting on a body will
dissipate (smooth out) within regions that are sufficiently away
from the load location
• Stress due to axial load/bending approach a linear distribution
at an distance approximately equal to the maximum cross-
sectional dimension of member (in both directions) away from
discontinuity.
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 Local (D) and Main (B) Regions

D regions due to discontinuities in loading and geometric can be

identified using St. Venant’s Principle

Reference: ACI 318:2014,

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 Strut and Tie Model for RC Knee Joints

Closing Moment Opening Moment

Subjected to closing moment due to gravity loads

Top rebar in beam and outer rebar in column in tension
Bottom portion of beam and inner portion of column in compression
Subjected to opening moment due to earthquake
Bottom rebar in beam and inner rebar in column in tension
Top portion of beam and outer portion of column in compression
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 Steel Arrangement for Closing Moment in RC Knee Joints

Top and bottom steel of beam are connected to form a loop in joint
region
Inner and outer steel of column are connected to form a loop in joint
region
Separation of beam steel and column steel makes construction easy.
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Steel Arrangement for Closing Moment in RC Knee Joints

Top steel of beam and outer steel of column are not

connected i.e. spliced along outer edge of column
Outer corner is unconfined due to splicing
Joint strength is 34% of governing member strength
(Swann 1969) 12
Steel Arrangement for Opening Moment in RC Knee Joints

Steel arrangement to resist opening moment

Bottom tension steel of beam is connected to inner tension steel of
column
Top compression steel of beam is connected to outer compression
steel of column
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Steel Arrangement for Opening Moment in RC Knee Joints

Resultant of tensile forces in beam and column tends to

straighten the steel and tear out a chunk of concrete
Joint strength is 10% of governing member strength
(Swann 1969)
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Steel Arrangement for Opening Moment in RC Knee Joints

Bottom tension steel of beam is connected to outer compression steel

of column
Top compression steel of beam is connected to inner tension steel of
column
Additional steel bars provided along outer edge to project joint core
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Steel Arrangement for Opening Moment in RC Knee Joints

Compression forces at top of beam and outer portion of

column tend to push out a triangular chunk of concrete at
outer corner
Joint strength is 17% of governing member strength
(Swann 1969) 16
Strut and Tie Model for Closing Moment in RC Knee Joints

• Concrete struts and tension ties follow compression and tension

trajectories respectively
• Model developed based on stress flow patters are expected meet
compatibility conditions and serviceability requirements.

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Strut and Tie Model for Closing Moment in RC Knee Joints

• Top tensile steel of beam and outer tensile steel of column are
represented by ties (solid lines ab and de respectively)
• Centroidal lines of compression zone in beam and column are
replaced by struts (dotted lines og and fo)

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Strut and Tie Model for Closing Moment in RC Knee Joints

• Ties ab and de are connected by straight lines bc and cd

representing stress flow between the ties
• Tensile forces in ties ab, bc, cd and de produce bearing force on
concrete at nodes b, c and d directed towards inner corner node o.
• Struts bo, co and do represent the compressive stress flow due to
the bearing force at nodes b, c and d 19
Strut and Tie Model for Closing Moment in RC Knee Joints

• Stable strut and tie assembly consists of

– Tension ties ab, bc, cd and de
– Compression struts bo, co, do, fo and go
– Nodes b (C-T-T), c (C-T-T), , d (C-T-T), and O (C-C-C) are in
equilibrium
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• Forces in all struts and ties can be calculated from equilibrium
Strut and Tie Model for Closing Moment in RC Knee Joints

• Correct arrangement of primary steel in joint

– Tension steel along tension tie abcde
– Compression steel along compression struts og and fo and
extended into joint region to satisfy compression anchorage
requirement
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Strut and Tie Model for Closing Moment in RC Knee Joints

• Radius of tension steel bend (r) affects

– Local crushing of concrete under curved portion
– Compression failure of diagonal struts bo, co and do
 r
 2.2
 d Bao et al. (1991)
r r
0.33  0.2 ,  0.6
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 d d
Strut and Tie Model for Closing Moment in RC Knee Joints

• Inclined closed stirrups are provided to

– Splitting of concrete due to severe bearing pressure directly
beneath curved portion of primary tension steel
– Confinement of concrete at node o subjected to extremely high
compression stresses from all directions

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Strut and Tie Model for Closing Moment in RC Knee Joints

• Tension and compression steel introduce shear stress (t) around

joint core area
• Principle tensile stress (s1) produced due to shear stress (t)
introduces diagonal cracks in joint core
• Secondary diagonal steel is required in joint core to
– Control cracks
– Prevent premature failure 24
Strut and Tie Model for Closing Moment in RC Knee Joints

• Final steel arrangement includes

– Tension steel at top of beam and outer side of column
– Compression steel at bottom of beam and inner side of column
– Diagonal steel perpendicular to cracks in joint core
– Inclined closed stirrups radiating from inner to outer corners
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Strut and Tie Model for Opening Moment in RC Knee Joints

• Strut and tie model is obtained by reversing the strut and tie model
for closing moment in RC knee joint – stable and in equilibrium
• Bottom tensile steel of beam and inner tensile steel of column are
represented by ties (solid lines)
• Centroidal lines of compression zone in beam and column are
replaced by struts (dotted lines) 26
Strut and Tie Model for Opening Moment in RC Knee Joints

• Stable strut and tie assembly consists of

– Tension ties (solid lines)
– Compression struts (dotted lines)
– Nodes (C-C-T & T-T-T) in equilibrium
• Forces in all struts and ties can be calculated from equilibrium
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Strut and Tie Model for Opening Moment in RC Knee Joints

• Primary steel arrangement is as follows:

– Tension steel is provided along tension ties
– Compression steel is provided along compression struts
– Radially oriented steel is provided in the form of closed
ties/stirrups to meet anchorage requirements
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Strut and Tie Model for Opening Moment in RC Knee Joints

• Alternate strut and tie models show following requirements

– Tension steel in beams and columns to be connected by forming
a loop around the joint core
– Diagonal steel perpendicular to the diagonal line connecting the
inner and outer joint corners

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Strut and Tie Model for Opening Moment in RC Knee Joints

• Final steel arrangement includes

– Tension steel at bottom of beam and inner side of column
spliced around the loop
– Compression steel at top of beam and outer side of column
– Radially oriented closed stirrup steel
– Diagonal steel perpendicular to the diagonal line connecting the
inner and outer joint corners 30
 Steel Arrangement for Opening and Closing Moment

• Steel arrangement for opening and closing moments is

combination of steel arrangements obtained separately for closing
and opening moment

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 Strength of Concrete Strut

• ACI 318:2014 Code Provisions

Effective compressive strength of concrete in a strut is given by
f ce  0.85 s f c
bs – strut coefficient

With adequate steel

Without adequate steel

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 Additional Study Materials
• Schlaich, J.; Schafer, K. and Jennwein, M. (1987), Toward a Consistent
Design of Structural Concrete, PCI Journal, V.32, No. 3, May-June, pp. 74-
150.
• Collins, M. P. and Mitchell, D. (1991), Prestressed Concrete Structures,
Response Publications, Canada, pp 517-518.
• MacGregor, J. G. (1997), Reinforced Concrete: Mechanics and Design,
Third Edition, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 939 00.
• Menn, C. (1986), Prestressed Concrete Bridges, Birkhauser, Basle, ed.,
535 pp.
• Muttoni, A.; Schwartz, J. and Thurlimann, B. (1997), Design of Concrete
Structures with Stress Fields, Birkhauser, Boston, MA, 143 pp.
• Reineck, K.-H., ed. (2002), Strut-and-Tie Models, SP-208, American
Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, MI, 250 pp.
• Reineck, K.-H. and Novak, L.C., eds. (2010), Further Examples for the
Design of Concrete with Stut-and-Tie Models, SP-273, American Concrete
Institute, Farmington Hills, MI, 288 pp.
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