Lectures on Reinforced Concrete Design: Lecture 2

Ultimate Limit State:

Analysis of R.C. Beams (1)

Main Principles
1. The stresses and strains are related by the
material properties, including the stressstrain curves for concrete and steel.
2. The distribution of strains must be
compatible with the distorted shape of the
cross-section.
3. The resultant forces developed by the
section must balance the applied loads for
static equilibrium
2

Stress-Strain relations (BS8110)

Concrete

Steel
fy

m
Stress N/mm2

Ec

Es=200 kN/mm2

o =

The ultimate design stress is given by:

0.67 f cu

Tension and
compression

0.67 f cu
=
= 0.447 f cu 0.45 f cu
1.5

The ultimate strain =0.0035

Strain

The ultimate design stress is given by:

fy

fy
1.05

= 0.95 f y

The yield strain y is given by:

y =

0.95 f y
Es

0.95 f y
200 10

= 4.75 10 6 f y

1. Consider an unreinforced concrete beam of rectangular cross-section which is

simply supported at the ends and carries a distributed load, Figure 1
b

Uniformely distributed load = w kN/m length

Figure 1

Neutral axis
h

Cross-section
L

2. The beam will deflect due to the bending moments and shear forces induced by
the applied loading, Figure 2.
Figure 2

Original length of the beam before deformation = L

Final length of the top edge after deformation
= (L-2top)
i.e. shortening
Final length of the bottom edge after deformation = (L+2bottom) i.e. lengthening

3. The material above this axis must be in compression, whilst that below it
must be in tension. Since the strain in the material is directly proportional to
the distance from the neutral axis, flexural tensile cracking will begin at the
extreme bottom fibres and extend towards the neutral axis, Figure 3.

Figure 3

4. The inverted 'V' shape is characteristic of flexural cracking in concrete.

5. In addition to the tensile stresses caused by flexure, diagonal tensile stresses
are induced by the shear forces, Figure 4.
Figure 4

6. Since cracks develop in a direction perpendicular to that of the tensile

stresses, diagonal shear cracking appears in regions of high shear stress,
Figure 5.
Figure 5

7. In addition to cracking caused by directly applied loads cracking can also

occur due to factors such as settlement of the supports, temperature
variations and/or shrinkage strains.
8. The classification of cracks ranges from surface hairline cracks
(approximately 0.13 mm wide), which are generally regarded as negligible,
to severe penetrating cracks which can be many millimeters wide at failure.
9. The cracking caused by flexure in the unreinforced beam in Figure1
produces tensile failure at a very low value of w. Only 10% of the
compressive strength capacity of the beam is being utilized.
6

10. The introduction of steel reinforcement bars in the tension zone of the
beam enables the applied load w to be increased considerably until the
beam fails by yielding of the steel in the bottom in tension and
crushing of the concrete in the top fibres in compression, Figure 6.
Note that the neutral axis at failure moves to a position nearer the top of
the beam.

Figure 6
11. The amount of reinforcing steel required at any given section is
dependent on the value of the bending moment at that point.

12. Cracking caused by shear in an unreinforced beam is prevented by

providing shear links (also known as stirrups), as shown in Figure 7,
which ensure that steel reinforcement is present to resist the diagonal
tension indicated in the figure.
b

Figure 7

Shear Link

Diagonal shear cracking

L

13. The spacing of the links varies depending on the magnitude of the
shear force and the depth of the beam at any given section. At
locations of high shear, e.g. the support points, the links are closer
together than is required at regions where the shear is low, e.g. at
midspan in the beam, Figure 7.
14. The design of reinforced concrete is governed by the
requirements of BS 8110 -1:1997 'Structural use of concrete Part 1: Code of practice for design and construction' .
8

The distribution of strains and stresses across a section

Consider a section in the beam
shown. The section is subjected to
bending, and the resultant strain
diagram, together with three
different types of stress
distribution in the concrete are
shown below:
b
cc

Tension

0.9x

sc

A s'

Compression

Neutral
axis

Ast

st
Section

Strains

(a)

(b)

(c)

Triangular Rectangular Equivalent

parabolic
Rectangular

Comments on the stress distributions

a)

The triangular stress distribution applies when the stresses are very
nearly proportional to the strains, which generally occurs at the loading
levels encountered under working conditions and is, therefore, used at
the serviceability limit state .
b) The rectangular-parabolic stress block represents the distribution at
failure when the compressive strains are within the plastic range and it is
associated with the design for the ultimate limit state.
c) The equivalent rectangular stress block is a simplified alternative to the
rectangularparabolic distribution.
The rectangular stress block (c) may be used in preference to the more rigorous
rectangular-parabolic stress block. This simplified stress distribution will facilitate the
analysis and provide more manageable design equations, in particular when dealing
with non-rectangular cross-sections.
10

Failure Under Flexure (Bending)

Consider a beam loaded transversely as shown. At any section, there is a
bending moment M applied by the loads. M puts the upper part of the beam
in compression and the bottom part in tension. Since concrete is week in
tension, it will crack and will not be able to take the tension. Concrete will take
the compression, while the tension will be taken by the steel bars at the
bottom.
Compression

Section
Fcc

z
Fst

Tension

Z is called the lever arm

Fcc=Compression force in concrete
(Fst) =Tension force in steel

For equilibrium in the horizontal direction:

(Fcc) = (Fst)..(1)
Hence, Fcc and Fst will form a couple.
The moment of the couple will balance the applied moment M, i.e.
M=Fccz =Fstz (2)

11

Flexural Modes of Failure of R.C. Sections

Reinforced Concrete (R.C.) section will fail in one of three modes:
1. Primary Tension Failure (PTF): Steel may reach its yield strength
before the concrete reaches its maximum strength. In this case
failure is due to yielding of steel. The section contains a relatively
small amount of steel and is called an under-reinforced section.
2.

Balanced Failure (BF): Steel may reach its yield strength at the same
time as concrete reaches its ultimate strength. The section is called
a balanced section. Steel and concrete fail simultaneously.

3.

Primary Compression Failure (PCF): Concrete may fail before the

yield of steel, due to the presence of a high percentage of steel in
the section. In this case the concrete strength and maximum strain
are reached while the steel stress is less than the yield strength. The
section is called an over-reinforced section.
12

1. Balanced Failure (BF)

For a singly reinforced concrete section subject to bending moment M the
distribution of strains and stresses at collapse are as shown below
cc = 0.0035
S=0.9x

0.45 f cu

Fcc

Neutral
axis

d
Ast

Fst

st

Section

Strains

Stress block

13

For a balanced failure with fy=460 N/mm2, X= .. Find the corresponding

area of steel (b) to produce balanced failure (BF):

If steel of area equal to bbd is provided in a concrete section, both steel and
concrete will reach their ultimate values simultaneously and the section will fail
all of a sudden by yielding of steel and crushing of concrete (catastrophic
failure). Such failure should be avoided as it gives no warning for the users.
14

Examples
Example1:
If fcu = 30 N/mm2 and fy= 460 N/mm2, compute the steel reinforcement for balanced failure?
Solution:

Example2:
If fcu = 30 N/mm2 and fy= 250 N/mm2, compute the steel reinforcement for balanced failure?
Solution

15

2.Primary tension Failure (PTF)

a) In a primary tension failure, the steel is
yielding while concrete has strain less
than its ultimate strain. This requires that
the steel ratio should be less than b
(The section is under-reinforced) and
hence the X will be less than Xb. Since X is
less or equal to 0.615d (the value for b),
to ensure a PTF, BS8110 recommends
that X should be less than or equal to
0.5d.
b) Primary tension failure is a ductile failure
that takes place gradually. The structure
will undergo very large deflections and
rotation before final collapse can take
place. Since such a failure provides ample
warning for failure, it is recommended to
design all structures for PTF.

cu = 0.0035
xb

x<xb

16

3.Primary Compression Failure (PCF)

a) In a primary compression failure, the
concrete reaches its ultimate strain
while the steel will NOT yield. This
requires that the steel ratio should be
greater than b (The section is overxb
reinforced) and hence the X will be
greater than Xb The stress in steel (less
than the yield stress) can be determined
from the strain diagram and Hooks law.
b) Primary compression failure is also
catastrophic without any warning.
Failure occurs by crushing concrete
under excessive compressive stresses
(unsafe design). Additionally, steel will
not be utilized to its full capacity
(uneconomical design). Such type of
failure should be avoided.

cu = 0.0035

x>xb

17

SUMMARY
1.
2.

3.

4.

5.

We have seen that X is proportional to .

If < b then X < Xb and the steel strain will be large while the strain in
concrete will be low. This is desirable as cracking and deflection will
increase, giving a good warning before failure. This type of failure is
DUCTILE and gives a warning of cracking and large deflections. The
section is under-reinforced.
If > b, X will be > Xb, and hence the steel strain will be small so that
steel will never fail. In this case failure takes place by crushing concrete
on the compression side (Primary compression failure). The failure of
this type is BRITTLE and sudden, giving no warning. The section is overreinforced.
If = b, both steel and concrete will reach their ultimate values
simultaneously and the section will fail all of a sudden by yielding of
steel and crushing of concrete (also BRITTLE failure). The section is
balanced.
It is desirable to design reinforced concrete structures to be ductile, i.e.
under-reinforced. So to produce primary tension failure, X should be less
than 0.64d. In fact BS8110 takes the limit
for X as 0.5d.
18

Analysis of sections at the ultimate limit state

1. Singly Reinforced section subject to bending moment M.

At the limit state of collapse, the distribution of strains and stresses in the section are as
shown below.
b
0.45 f cu
= 0.0035
x

compression

S=0.9x

cc

Neutral
axis

Fcc

z =d s/ 2
As

st

Section

Strains

Fst

Stress block

19

BS8110 recommends that z should not be greater than 0.95d.

The equations derived are the same as the equations in section 3.4.4.4 BS8110.
These equations can be used to design the area of tension reinforcement in a
rectangular concrete section to resist an ultimate moment M.
20

Adequacy of Sections
1. A given section is said to be adequate if the
internal resisting ultimate moment is equal
to or greater than the externally applied
ultimate bending moment.
2. The section is also adequate if the steel
reinforcement used is equal to or greater
than that required.
21

Maximum moment capacity of a section

Following BS8110 in limiting depth the neutral axis, x=0.5d, then the
corresponding lever arm becomes:
0.45 f cu

sc

cc = 0.0035

Neutral
axis

S=0.9x

Fcc

Ast
st

Section

Strains

Fst

Stress block

K is the limiting value for K for a singly reinforced section.

If K>K compression reinforcement is required to prevent crushing of concrete.
22

Example 3: Design of a singly reinforced rectangular section

The ultimate design moment to be resisted by the section shown is 185 kNm.
Determine the area of tension reinforcement (As) required given the
characteristic material strengths are fy = 460 N/mm2 and fcu = 30 N/mm2.
Solution

b= 260

d= 440

23

Example 4: Analysis of a singly reinforced rectangular section

Determine the ultimate moment of resistance of the cross-section shown
given that the characteristic strengths are fy = 460 N/mm2 for the
reinforcement and fcu = 30 N/mm2 for the concrete.
Solution:
b= 300

0.45 f cu
S=0.9x

d= 520

0.0035

Fcc

As = 1470 mm 2

st

Fst

24

Note:
If it is found that steel is not yielding, the problem requires solving for x using
Fcc=fst with the steel strains and hence stresses being determined from
stress diagram, to be used in Fst instead of 0.95fy.
25

Example 5: Analysis of a singly reinforced rectangular section

Determine the ultimate moment of resistance of the cross-section shown
given that the characteristic strengths are fy = 460 N/mm2 for the
reinforcement and fcu = 30 N/mm2 for the concrete.
Solution:
b= 300

0.45 f cu

Ast = 3000 mm 2

S=0.9x

d= 520

cc = 0.0035

Fcc

Fst = f st Ast

st

26

b= 300

0.45 f cu
S=0.9x

d= 520

0.0035

Fcc

Ast = 3000 mm 2

st

Fst = f st Ast

27

28

Table 1: Areas
Bar
Size
(mm)
1
8
50
10
79
12
113
16
201
20
314
25
491
32
804
40
1257

of groups of reinforcement bars (mm2)

Number of bars
2
101
157
226
402
628
982
1608
2513

3
151
236
339
603
942
1473
2413
3770

4
201
314
452
804
1257
1963
3217
5027

5
251
393
565
1005
1571
2454
4021
6283

6
302
471
679
1206
1885
2945
4825
7540

7
352
550
792
1407
2199
3436
5630
8796

8
402
628
905
1608
2513
3927
6434
10053

9
452
707
1018
1810
2827
4418
7238
11310

10
503
785
1131
2011
3142
4909
8042
12566

Table 2: Reinforcement bar areas (mm2) per meter width for various bar spacings
Bar
Bar Spacing (mm)
Size
(mm)
75
100
125
150 175 200 225 250
275
300
8
671
503
403
336 288 252 224 201
183
168
10
1047
785
628
524 449 393 349 314
286
262
12
1508 1131
905
754 646 566 503 452
411
377
16
2681 2011 1609 1341 1149 1005 894 804
731
670
20
4189 3142 2513 2095 1795 1571 1396 1257 1142 1047
25
6545 4909 3927 3273 2805 2454 2182 1964 1785 1636
32 10724 8043 6434 5362 4596 4022 3575 3217 2925 2681
29
40 16756 12567 10050 8375 7179 6281 5583 5025 4568 4188