Technical Note

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Project title
EN 1992-1-1:2004 Detailing Note
Job number
-
cc

File reference
-
Prepared by
Andrew Fraser

Date
14 November 2013
Subject
i

Interpretation of Clause 8.7.4 - Transverse reinforcement in the lap zone

1 Introduction
The purpose of this note is to provide guidance on the interpretation of cl 8.7.4 in EN 1992-1-1:
2004 incorporating corrigendum January 2008 and November 2010.

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2 Clause 8.7.4 Transverse reinforcement in the lap zone
Clause 8.7.4 is as follows; line numbering has been added for reference purposes:
8.7.4 Transverse reinforcement in the lap zone 1
2
8.7.4.1 Transverse reinforcement for bars in tension 3
4
(1) Transverse reinforcement is required in the lap zone to resist transverse tension forces. 5
6
(2) Where the diameter, , of the lapped bars is less than 20 mm, or the percentage of lapped 7
bars in any section is less than 25%, then any transverse reinforcement or links necessary for 8
other reasons may be assumed sufficient for the transverse tensile forces without further 9
justification. 10
11
(3) Where the diameter, , of the lapped bars is greater than or equal to 20 mm, the 12
transverse reinforcement should have a total area, A
st
(sum of all legs parallel to the layer of 13
the spliced reinforcement) of not less than the area As of one lapped bar (A
st
1,0A
s
). The 14
transverse bar should be placed perpendicular to the direction of the lapped reinforcement. 15
16
If more than 50% of the reinforcement is lapped at one point and the distance, a, between 17
adjacent laps at a section is 10 (see Figure 8.7) transverse reinforcement should be 18
formed by links or U bars anchored into the body of the section. 19
20
(4) The transverse reinforcement provided for (3) above should be positioned at the outer 21
sections of the lap as shown in Figure 8.9(a). 22
23
8.7.4.2 Transverse reinforcement for bars permanently in compression 24
25
(1) In addition to the rules for bars in tension one bar of the transverse reinforcement should 26
be placed outside each end of the lap length and within 4 of the ends of the lap length 27
(Figure 8.9b). 28
29
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3 Interpretation
An interpretation of this clause is presented below. Note that this clause applies to all structural laps
in all members. In order to avoid the most onerous requirements of this clause, the engineer may
wish to evaluate the actual stress in the reinforcement.
Line Comment
1, 24-
29
The purpose of this clause is to ensure adequate reinforcement is provided at the ends of
laps to control the transverse forces generated in these regions.
The reason for placing such reinforcement at the ends of the lap is that these are the most
highly stressed zones.
In a compression lap, a bar is introduced outside the end of the lap to account for the
bearing stresses developed at the end of the lapped bar.
5, 7,
12, 21
Each part of clause 8.7.4.1 (1) (4) is standalone.
7 - 10 Sub-clause (1) says that if bars smaller than 20mm in diameter are used or if the a
quadruple stagger on laps is detailed, then any transverse reinforcement provided will
meet the requirements of this clause and that no special provisions need be made.
7 Note that this applies to bars less than 20mm in diameter and not less than or equal to.
8 Reference is made to situations where the percentage of bars lapping in a section is less
than 25%. It is recommended that this be interpreted as less than or equal to which is
consistent with the provisions of Table 8.3 of the code with respect to laps.
12-13 Where the lapped bar diameter is 20mm the design of the transverse reinforcement at
the end of the lap should be explicitly considered.
12-15 With respect to the provisions of the first paragraph in (3), the transverse reinforcement
need not be placed between the lap and the outer face of the concrete.
The bars provided therefore control the opening of the crack although it is recognised that
bars above the lap would perform better (though this is not a requirement of this part of
the clause).
21-22,
29
Where explicitly required, the spacing of the transverse reinforcement should not be
greater than 150mm as per Figure 8.9.
Detailing can be greatly simplified if this is accounted for in defining bar spacing. If not
practicable, additional bars will be required to suit and clear instructions should be
provided to the reinforcement detailers.
See Section 4.6 of this note for further guidance.
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12-15
17-19
The second paragraph of (3) only applies to the case defined in the first paragraph of (3),
i.e. where the bar diameter is 20mm.
17-19 Where more than 50% of bars are lapped at a section and the clear distance between
adjacent laps is 10 then the transverse bars should be formed using links or U-bars
anchored into the concrete section.
Such bars should confine every lap, i.e. they are above the layer of the lap and as such
should be accounted for when considering cover requirements.
In instances where this provision applies, the reason for having bars normal to the surface
is that with increasing stress in the region of the lap, the most likely bond splitting will be
delamination at the level of the bars. This can only be controlled by bars perpendicular to
the surface.
17 Note that the parameter a in this clause is not the same as a in Figure 8.3.
18-19 Watch it: the clause states: transverse reinforcement should be formed by links or U
bars anchored into the body of the section.
If U-bars are used to confine laps in the bottom mat of a slab, the health and safety
implications must be considered and if U-bars are adopted in preference to standard or C-
shaped links then the ends should be hooked.
An appropriate detail should be part of the detailing intent provided by the engineer.

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4 Recommendations
The following recommendations are made:
4.1 Avoid the issue entirely
4.1.1 Consider the stress in the bar
It should be remembered that it is good practice to stagger laps and also to lap in regions of low
stress. In such instances the stress in the reinforcement may not necessitate a 20mm bar (line 7) and
as such there would be no need to explicitly design the transverse reinforcement.
To implement this, the engineer should give guidance to the reinforcement detailers as to where laps
may, or may not, be made in the detailing instructions.
4.1.2 Use couplers
In some instances it may prove beneficial to use couplers rather than laps. Whilst there is a cost
premium on specifying couplers, for large diameter bars this is offset by the saving in reinforcement
within the lap being replaced in addition to avoiding the need to meet the requirements of this
clause.
Another instance where it may prove necessary to adopt couplers is at construction joints where the
provision of staggered laps beyond the joint prove impractical.
4.2 Think: starters and construction joints
Are wall starters staggered? Are bars going through construction joints staggered?
This should be addressed in the engineers detailing instructions and the implications of possibly
having 100% of bars lapping in a section addressed.
4.3 Think: horizontal wall bars
If the vertical bars are 20mm or above then consideration should be given to limiting the horizontal
bar spacing to 150mm.
The engineer should also make it clear in the detailing instruction whether the horizontal bars are
acting structurally or simply part of a deemed-to-satisfy reinforcement provision.
4.4 Large bars that are closely spaced
It should be relatively straightforward to identify situations where large bars at close centres will be
required during the concept/scheme design stages. From this it can be determined whether
confinement is required and thus:
i. Define this in the calculation plan and the need for increased cover
ii. Revise the detail to engineer out the issue
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4.5 Confining bars in a slab or raft
If confining bars are required in a slab or raft, where possible adopt typical links or C-shaped bars;
if U-bars are used the ends of the U-bars in the bottom layer should be hooked with respect to issues
of health and safety.
4.6 What A
st
should be used?
It may not always be obvious to reinforcement detailers how to determine A
st
and guidance should
be given by the engineer in the detailing instruction.
The clause makes no distinction between structural member types but it is useful to consider this in
providing guidance as follows:
4.6.1 Where the bar size transverse to the lap is to the lapped bar size
Noting that A
st
is not additional to transverse bars already provided, it is likely that in some
members, e.g. flat slabs or two-way slabs, the bars transverse to the lap may be of approximately
the same size as the bars being lapped.
In such cases, provided that at least one of these bars falls within the end zone of the lap then the
only requirement is to comply with the maximum spacing limit for transverse bars at the end of the
lap, i.e. 150mm crs.
Assuming that the transverse bars are at a greater spacing than this, loose bars should be added as
necessary and it is recommended that their size be not less than a quarter of the size of the bars
being lapped.
4.6.2 Where the bar size transverse to the lap is the lapped bar size
Where the bars transverse to the lap are significantly smaller than the bars being lapped, e.g, in a
beam, wall, or one-way slab, A
st
should be calculated explicitly.
However, a pragmatic (though conservative) approach would suggest that in the absence of
calculation, for transverse bars placed at 150mm crs (the maximum allowable spacing), their
diameter may be taken as 12mm where the lapping bars are less than 40mm in diameter and 16mm
where the lapping bars are 40mm diameter; this recommendation ignores the benefit of any other
bars that may cross the lap. The justification for this approach is given in Appendix A.
In all instances the engineer should check that this is appropriate for the particular design situation
and may wish to do further calculations to demonstrate a smaller bar diameter may be used whether
by considering the stress in the lap of by reducing the spacing of the transverse bars.



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Appendix A
A1 Justification for advice on transverse bar size
Section 4.6.2 suggested a pragmatic approach to determining the size of a transverse bar that could
be used in a given situation where the already provided transverse bars are significantly smaller
than the lapped bars; the justification for this is given in this appendix.
If a typical section is considered, the tension lap length, l
0
, required for bars in good bond
conditions may be of the order of magnitude given in Table A.1:
Table A.1 Lap lengths based on bar size
Lapping bar diameter (mm) Lap length required, l
0
(mm) Third of lap length, l
0
/3 (mm)
20 955 315
25 1250 415
32 1630 540
40 2235 745
Note that the lap length values may vary depending on the parameters used; those given in
Table A.1 are for illustrative purposes only.
If it is assumed that the transverse bars at placed at 150mm crs (their maximum allowable spacing),
the required diameter of the transverse bars may be plotted as a function of lap length, Figure A.1.
The data from Table A.1 can then be plotted on the chart to show the required transverse bar size.

Figure A.1 Transverse bar diameter required at end of lap (N.B. horizontal axis is defined as l
0
/3)
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From Figure A.1, it is shown that for lapping main bars of a size less than 40mm, a transverse bar
diameter of 12mm at 150mm crs is conservative whilst for lapping main bars of 40mm diameter,
16mm diameter transverse bars at 150mm is conservative.
If the spacing between transverse bars is reduced their diameter of the transverse bars may be
reduced.
Note also that as this chart is based on good bond conditions; there is an increasing degree of
conservatism when the suggested transverse bar sizes are applied to bars in poor bond conditions
due to the increase required lap length.
It should also be remembered that the length l
0
/3 relates to the required length and not the provided
lap length; this should be noted on detailing instructions.


DOCUMENT CHECKING (not mandatory for File Note)
Prepared by Checked by Approved by
Name Andrew Fraser Ian Feltham Tony Jones