Limit State of Serviceability in

Deflection
 Serviceability
Serviceability is the fitness of the structure to serve the
desired function satisfactorily under service loads
Various considerations
Deflection
Cracking
Vibrations
Slenderness
Impermeability
Acoustic
thermal insulation
 Important Considerations
The member should not undergo excessive deformation (i.e.
limit state of deflection)
The crack width at the surface of R.C. member should not be
more that specified by the code (i.e. limit state of cracking)
As per IS 456:2000, the combinations of loads for
serviceability conditions should be the largest of the following:-
1.0DL + 1.0LL
1.0DL + 1.0WL Pg.No. 68
1.0DL + 0.8LL + 0.8WL or EL
 Two Approaches
Two approaches for safety against excessive deflection of bending
members:-
Empirical method of restricting the span to effective depth ratio
Computation of deflection satisfying the specified allowable
limits of deflection
Cracking of concrete in tension zone cant be avoided but it
can be limited by adhering to the codal requirements of
minimum steel area & maximum spacing of bars in the member
Proper & prolonged curing of concrete, good quality of mix
should be ensured for the control of cracking
The actual crack width of cracks should be calculated by
theoretical method & checked with the codal requirements for
the given environmental conditions.
 Limit state of Deflection
Its set down on several factors
Aesthetic/ psychological discomfort
Effect on geometry & shape of the structure
Deformation of doors, windows & other fixures
Cracks in attached walls, floor & ceiling finishes
Ponding of roof slabs
Limiting crack widths which are otherwise increased with
increased deflections.
When it is designed based on ULM / LSM it results in thinner/
slender sections, Which will deflect more than those designed by
WSM
The problem is further amplified due to the increasing use of
HYSD bars.
 Cracks in attached walls

Ponding of roof slabs

 Deflection of R.C Member
Short term, instantaneous or immediate deflection
Long term deflection
Total deflection
Short term deflection
This is due to initial elastic deformation of the R.C member
due to load and permanent imposed load under service
conditions
Long term deflection
This is caused due to
Creep & shrinkage under sustained loading
Additional elastic deflection due to temporary live loads
Total Deflection

Total Deflection Pg.No. 88 Annex-C

Sum of short term and long term deflections
aT is the total deflection,
aT = ai + alt = ai + (acs + acc(perm) + atp)
Where aT = Total deflection
ai = immediate or short term deflection
alt = long term deflection
acs = deflection due to shrinkage
acc(perm) = deflection due to creep, under permanent loads
atp = deflection due to temperature
Short Term Deflection

Due to service loads

Factors affecting the short term deflections are:-
Magnitude of live load & mode of distribution (i.e.
concentrated, uniformly distributed or other variations)
Span of the structure
Type of end restraints
Cross-sectional properties, including percentages of tensile
and compressive reinforcement
Grade of concrete & its characteristic strength
Type of reinforcement & magnitude of stress in steel
reinforcement
Amount & extent of flexural cracking
 Long Term Deflection

The additional deflections of R.C member under the effect of

sustained loads.
This is mainly due to the following;-
Deflection due to differential shrinkage (acs)
Deflection due to creep under sustained loading (acr)
Deflection due to temperature effects (atp)
Deflection due to additional live loads (aadl)
 Deflection due to Shrinkage - acs

Shrinkage of an isolated plain concrete member is its

volumetric free contraction, causing shortening of the member
Reinforcing bars, embedded into it to resist tension, resists
this shortening, resulting in the production of curvature,
commonly known as shrinkage curvature
The compressive stresses are developed in steel and tensile
stresses are developed in concrete and the member defects
The shrinkage deflection enhances the deflection due to loads
The presence of steel in compression side obviously prevents
shrinkage to a greater extent
Pg.No.88 Annex-C-C-3
Deflection due to creep under sustained loading-acr

Creep is the phenomenon owing to which compressive strain in

concrete keep on increasing under sustained loading
The strain in tension steel also increases depending upon the
reduction in the lever arm
In flexural members, the distribution of creep strains across the
depth is non-uniform, with a practically linear variation resulting
in creep curvature, which is additive to initial elastic curvature
This results in the increase in deflection and depends mainly on
the magnitude of permanent load on the structure
Instead of determining the creep deflection (acc(perm)) directly, in
terms of the initial elastic deflection (ai(perm))
IS code procedure involves the explicit calculations of deflection
ai+cc(perm) due to permanent load plus creep
Pg. No. 89-Annex-C-C-4
Creep Coefficient
Values of Creep Coefficient
Age of loading Creep coefficient

7 days 2.2

28 days 1.6

1 year 1.1

Pg No. 16 Clause 6.2.5.1

 Deflection due to Temperature

A bending member may deflect if there is difference in

temperatures between the top & bottom faces of the member
In roof members, there may be substantial temperature
differential between the top face which is exposed to the sun & the
bottom face which may be under air-conditioned atmosphere
It is usually of a hogging nature for cantilevered structures,
this deflection may be additive.
Similarly, in very cold weather, the deflection due to
temperature may be deflections due to gravity loads, shrinkage
& creep
Deflection due to Temperature

`
 Control of Deflection-Pg No. 37 Clause 23.2
Is 456-2000 has given two approaches for safety against deflection
of bending members (beams & slabs);
Specifying allowable limits of deflection in terms of span-
deflection ratio
Specifying span to effective depth ratio for control of deflection
Deflection limits by span-deflection ratio
IS 456-2000 specified two allowable limits of deflection for
safety of members against excessive deflection:
the final deflection due to all loads including the effect of
temperature, creep & shrinkage & measured from the as-cast
level of the supports of floors, roofs and all other horizontal
members shouldnt normally exceed span/250
The deflection including the effects of temperature, creep &
shrinkage occurring after erection of partitions & application
of finishes shouldnt normally exceed span/350 or 20mm,
whichever is less
 Span to effective depth ratio
The second approach is based on span/deflection ratio, which is
indirectly related to the span-deflection ratio Pg. No. 37-Clause 23.2.1
Modification factors for basic span- depth ratios
Effect of span greater than 10m Fl
Effect of percentage of tension steel and service stress in steel Ft
Effect of percentage of compression steel Fc
Effect of beam section i.e. rectangular or flanged Fb
(l/d)final = (l/d)basic x Fl x Ft X Fc X Fb
Span Factor Fl
Fl = 10 / span in meters > 1
Factor Ft Pg.No. 38
This factor depends on the type of steel used and percentage
of tension reinforcement at the point of maximum deflection.
fs = 0.87fy X Area of cross section of steel required
Area of cross section of steel provided
Span to effective depth ratio
Factor Fc Pg.No. 38 compression reinforcement
This factor takes into account the effect of compression
steel provided at the point of maximum deflection
It value is taken from
Fc = 1 +[ Pc / (3+Pc)] less than or equal to 1.5
Factor Fb Pg.No. 38 ratio to web width to flange width
This is applicable for flanged beam
The factors fl and Fc for flanged beams are calculated for the
effective flange width bf
A reduction factor Fb is used to allow for the reduced area in the
tension zone
Fb = 0.8 +(2/7)(bw /bf - 0.3) less than or equal to 0.8
 Span-depth ratios Two-way slabs

For two-way slabs of shorter spans upto 3.5m with mild steel
reinforcement, the span to over all depth ratios (l/D ratio) given
below may generally be assumed to satisfy vertical deflection
limits for loading class upto 3kN/m2
For HYSD bars of grade Fe 415, the values given above should
be multiplied by 0.8
 Measures of control deflection
If the computed deflection for a designed member/structure
comes out to be greater than the allowable deflection
The following measures may be taken
Increase the depth of section
Increase the camber Not greater than l/250
Use of richer concrete mix reduces upto 10%
Use of Fe 250 steel in place of HYSD bars deflection reduces
by 25%
Increase the width of section
Delay in erection of partitions & finishes Reduce creep
deflection by about 30%
Use of T-section