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org/papers

Title: Optimum Distribution of Reinforcement to Reduce Differential Column

Shortening

Authors: HanSoo Kim, Department of Architecture, College of Architecture, Konkuk

University
Seung-Hak Shin, Department of Architecture, College of Architecture, Konkuk
University

Subjects: Construction
Structural Engineering

Keyword: Construction

Publication Date: 2011

Original Publication: CTBUH 2011 Seoul Conference

Paper Type: 1. Book chapter/Part chapter

2. Journal paper
3. Conference proceeding
4. Unpublished conference paper
5. Magazine article
6. Unpublished

Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat / HanSoo Kim; Seung-Hak Shin
 CTBUH 2011 World Conference October 10-12, 2011, COEX, Seoul, KOREA
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MS04-05

Optimum Distribution of Reinforcement to

Reduce Differential Column Shortening

Han-Soo Kim1 and Seung-Hak Shin2

Department of Architecture, College of Architecture, Konkuk University, Republic of Korea

1
(hskim@konkuk.ac.kr)
Department of Architecture, College of Architecture, Konkuk University, Republic of Korea
1
(wertt132@hanmail.net)

Han-Soo Kim

Biography

Han-Soo Kim is presently an associate professor in department of architectural engineering of Konkuk

University, Korea, where he has been working since 2005. He worked for the R&D center of Hyundai
Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd., Korea during 1994-2005. He holds BS and MS degrees in architectural
engineering from Seoul National University, Korea and Ph. D degree in structural engineering from KAIST,
Korea. Dr. Kim is a registered professional engineer specializing in structural analysis and design of tall
buildings. His research interests include long-term behavior of concrete structures and computational
simulation of progressive collapse.

Seung-Hak Shin is presently working on the doctors course in department of architectural engineering of
Konkuk University, Korea. He holds BS and MS degrees in architectural engineering from Konkuk University,
Korea. His research interests include long-term behavior of concrete structures.

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Abstract

Differential column shortenings should be closely evaluated at the design stage or construction phase of a
tall building because they might damage not only structural elements but also non-structural elements
such as partitions, curtain walls and mechanical pipes.
The column shortening depends on many factors such as material properties, loading conditions,
construction sequences, and internal and external restraints. Among these factors, internal restraint from
the reinforcement bars is considered to be the most effective component to reduce the axial shortening of
columns. In this study, a method to control the differential column shortening by placing additional
reinforcement is proposed and investigated on its efficiency.
The post-installation which develops after the placement of the concrete due to subsequent loads and
subsequent changes in amount should be reduced to mitigate the adverse effects from the differential
shortening. The post-installation shortening at a specific story is the sum of the axial deformation of each
column below the specific story. To reduce the shortening at a specific story, the axial stiffness of the
columns below the specific story should be increased by placing additional reinforcement.
The question raised here is how to distribute the reinforcement to the columns below the specific story. To
find out the effective reinforcement distribution method, the amount of reduction in column shortening
according to the steel ratio is examined by a multi-story single column. We investigated the efficiency
between the proposed distribution strategies when they were applied to the three models by comparing
the total reinforcement quantity and the reduction in shortening.
As a result, the distribution of the constant steel ratio was most effective. These results lead us to the
conclusion that the differential column shortening can be controlled in design stage by placing the
additional reinforcement to the columns.

Keywords: Column Shortening, Construction Sequence, Long-term Behavior, Tall Building, Reinforcement

1. Introduction

Differential column shortenings should be closely evaluated at the design stage or construction phase of a
tall building because they might damage not only structural elements but also non-structural elements such
as partitions, curtain walls and mechanical pipes. (Fintel et al, 1987)
The common method for preventing the serviceability deterioration and the damage to a structure due to
differential column shortening is placing camber. Placing camber on the columns which are expected to
develop larger shortening is a typical compensation method. However, placing camber during the
construction time requires accurate construction technique and costs additional money and labor.
Furthermore, the camber cannot mitigate the internal forces due to the differential column shortening
developed in the horizontal members such as beams and outriggers which are rigidly connected to the
columns.
The column shortening is normally examined after completion of the design stage. Therefore, for the purpose
of column shortening reduction, it is not efficient to make a change in the material property, section of the
column, and layout of frame. In this study, a method to control the differential column shortening by placing
additional reinforcement is proposed and investigated on its efficiency.

2. Reduction of differential column shortening using reinforcement

2.1 post-installation shortening

The shortening can be divided into pre-installation shortening and post-installation shortening. In cast-in-
place reinforced concrete structures, the amount of shortening before the slab installation is not important
because the forms are usually leveled when the concrete is placed for each floor slab, which means that the
shortening compensation is done automatically. The post-installation which develops after the placement of
the concrete due to subsequent loads should be reduced to mitigate the adverse effects from the differential
column shortening.
Differential column shortening is generated by shortening differences between each column. To reduce the
differential column shortening, the axial stiffness of the column whose amount of shortening is larger than the
other should be increased. The axial stiffness can be increased by placing additional reinforcement.

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2.2 Long-term analysis of RC frames

The factors that affect column shortening can be categorized into material factors and structural factors. The
material factors indicate the factors determining the time dependent characteristics of plain concrete, which
include strength, modulus of elasticity, creep, and shrinkage as a function of time. The structure factors
include size of section, reinforcement, load, construction sequences and so forth.
By using transformed section, elastic strain can be obtained easily. However, the inelastic deformation by the
creep and shrinkage is difficult to predict. Many analysis methods have been developed in order to analyze
the inelastic displacement of the reinforcement concrete structure. The analysis methods include EMM
(Effective Modulus Method), RCM (Rate of Creep Method), AEMM (Age Adjusted Modulus Method), and
SSM (Step by Step Method). In this study, total strain is calculated by the following Eq. (1) and Eq. (2)
according to AEMM method. (Bazant, 1972; Ghali and Favre 1994; Gilbert, 1988; Kim, 2008; Neville et al.,
1983)

P
e (t ) = [1 + a 1f (t , t 0 )] + a 1e sh (t ) (1)
E c (t 0 ) Ac (1 + n0 r )

1
a1 = (2)
1 + n0 r [1 + cf (t , t 0 )]

Where n0 is the elastic modulus ratio of the reinforcement and concrete, r is the steel ratio, f (t , t 0 ) is
the creep coefficient which is the ratio of creep strain to instantaneous strain and e sh (t ) is the shrinkage
strain. c is the aging coefficient.

2.3 The strain according to the steel ratio.

The amount of reduction in shortening according to the steel ratio is examined by applying AEMM to a single
story reinforced column. The column section is 500mm x 500mm and the elastic modulus of the
reinforcement is 210GPa. The compressive strength of the concrete is 36MPa. The 2,000kN axis load
applied on the column. A CEB model is used for the concrete model. (CEB, 1993) The relative humidity is
50%. Figure 1 illustrated the reduced strain ratio according to the increase of steel ratio.
When placing 8% steel ratio, which is the maximum steel ratio of the reinforced concrete column, the total
strain ratio reduced to 31% of the strain without the reinforcement. It is observed that the more effective to
place additional reinforcement when the current steel ratio is low. Therefore, distributing equal amount of
reinforcement over the column is a good start to achieve the optimum or the nearly optimum solution.

1
0.9
0.8
0.7
Strain ratio

0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08
Steel ratio
elastic creep shrinkage total

Figure 1. The reduce strain ratio according to the steel ratio increase

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2.4 Shortening of multi-story columns

It is observed that the effective way to reduce the column shortening is to distribute the additional
reinforcement over the whole columns. However, since each column in a multi-story frame has different
section and different steel ratio, unlike single-story column, it is difficult to tell which distribution way is the
best one.
In this study, the five distribution methods shown in table 1 are investigated and compared to determine the
best way to satisfy the serviceability requirement.

Table 1. Distribution method of additional reinforcement

Distribution method Way to distribute

Constant steel ratio distribution Constant steel ratio in each story

Constant steel area distribution Constant steel area in each story

Reverse steel ratio distribution Inverse proportion to the existing reinforcement in each story

Triangle steel ratio distribution Triangle form steel ratio in whole story

Reverse triangle steel ratio

Reverse triangle form steel ratio in whole story
distribution

3. Multi-story example

3.1 Analysis Model

Three numerical models were analyzed to compare the effect of each distribution method. All models are 51-
story reinforced concrete column line as shown in figure 2.

a) Fixed section model b) Fixed stress model c) General model

ID
rId326

: Steel : Concrete
Figure 2. 51-story column line

The left model is "fixed section model" in which the size of the section of each floor is fixed. The center
model is "fixed stress model" in which the axial stress acting on the column of each floor is constant. The
right model is "general model" whose section and steel ratio are divided into several groups.
In the fixed stress model, the column sections of each story are different. In this model, the section of the first
floor is 800mm 800mm and the section of the top floor is 112mm 112mm. The cross section of each
member, acting stress and analysis results are shown in the table 2.

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Table 2. Analysis models detail

Fixed section model Fixed stress model General model

BH Stress BH
(mm) (MPa) (mm)
Section or stress 1F-15F 850 850
all story all story 16F-30F 800 800
800 800 27MPa
31F-51F 750 750
1F-20F 3.0%
Initial steel ratio 2% 2% 21F-41F 2.5%
41F-50F 2.0%
Maximum shortening
39F 51F 42F
generated story
Maximum shortening 84mm 150mm 79mm

Shortening limit 70mm 120mm 70mm

The other parameters for the analysis model are as follows; the elastic modulus of the reinforcement is
200GPa. The design strength of the concrete is 60MPa. The relative humidity is 60%. The construction time
for each story is 5 days and time of the completion is 255 days. The story height is 3.0m. Each story was
applied by dead load of 150kN at 5 days intervals and the additional load of 50kN applied 30 days after the
dead load. The live load of 150kN applied on the whole story 600days after start.
In the fixed section model, the column section and steel ratio of each story is fixed. Therefore, the result of
constant steel ratio distribution, constant steel area distribution and reverse steel ratio distribution become
identical distribution. In the fixed stress model, the result of constant steel ratio distribution and reverse steel
ratio distribution are the same.

3.2 Stories to be reinforced

The maximum post-installation column shortening is normally developed at the middle story of column line.
The post-installation shortening at a specific story is the sum of the axial deformation of each column below
the specific story. To reduce the shortening at a specific story, the axial stiffness of the columns below the
specific story should be increased by placing additional reinforcement. The above mentioned factor was
verified by using the triangle steel ratio distribution in the fixed section model. Figure 3 shows that the
distribute reinforcement from 39F to the ground is the most economical way than the distribution from other
stories such as 33F and 45F. Therefore, it can be said that the most effective way to distribute is placing the
reinforcement from the floor of maximum post-installation shortening to the ground floor.

21
27
Target story

33
39
45
51

2.20E+09 2.25E+09 2.30E+09 2.35E+09 2.40E+09 2.45E+09

Additional rebar (m3)

Figure 3. Additional reinforcement amount according to the reinforcement ranges

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3.3 Effective distribution method

The required reinforcement amounts which meet according to each distribution method were compared to
determine the most efficient distribution method.
These results are shown in table 3. The steel ratios of additional reinforcement according to five distribution
methods are illustrated in figure 4.

Table 3. Amounts of additional reinforcement of each method

3
( Unit : m )

Reverse
Constant Constant Reverse steel Triangle
triangle
Distribution method steel ratio steel area ratio steel ratio
steel ratio
distribution distribution distribution distribution
distribution

fixed section model

2.34 2.34 2.34 2.30 2.61

fixed stress model

1.59 1.04 1.59 2.57 1.04

General model
1.59 1.55 1.58 1.71 1.62

51
51
46
46
41 41
36 36
31 31
Story

26 26
21
Story

21
16
16
11
6 11
1 6
01 0.02 0.04 0.06
0 0.01 0.02 Steel
0.03ratio0.04 0.05 0.06
Steel ratio

Constant steel ratio Constant steel area

Reverse steel ratio Triangle steel ratio
Reverse triangle steel ratio

a) Fixed section model

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51

51 46
46 41
41 36
36 31
31
Story 26
26
21
21
Story

16 16
11 11
6 6
1
1
0 0 0.01 0.02 0.03
0.02 0.04 0.04
0.05 0.06 0.06
Steel ratio
Steel ratio

Constant steel ratio Constant steel area

Reverse steel ratio Triangle steel ratio
Reverse triangle steel ratio

b) Fixed stress model

51
51
46
46
41
41
36 36

31 31
Story

26 26
21
Story

21
16
16
11
11
6
1 6

01 0.02 0.04 0.06

0 0.01 0.02 Steel
0.03ratio0.04 0.05 0.06
Steel ratio

Constant steel ratio Constant steel area

Reverse steel ratio Triangle steel ratio
Reverse triangle steel ratio

c) General model

Figure 4. Steel ratio of each story

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In case of the fixed section model, the limit of column shortening could be satisfied with the minimum
additional reinforcement by using the triangle steel ratio distribution. On the other hand, the largest additional
reinforcement was required when using the reverse triangle steel ratio distribution.
For the fixed stress model, the constant steel area distribution and the reverse triangle steel ratio distribution
were equally good but the triangle steel ratio distribution was the worst.
The constant steel ratio distribution, the constant steel area distribution and the reverse steel ratio
distribution give the nearly same results for the general model.
Generally in a tall building, the section and the steel ratio of the columns are designed into several groups.
Therefore, the triangle steel ratio distribution and reverse triangle steel ratio distribution may not be suitable
for the actual tall buildings. Also, the result of constant steel ratio distribution, constant steel area distribution,
and reverse steel ratio distribution showed the small difference in point of the required additional
reinforcement if the change of the section and steel ratio according to the stories is small. Therefore, it is
recommended to use the constant steel ratio distribution for the reduction of column shortening.

4. Conclusion

In this study, the method to control the differential column shortening by placing additional reinforcement is
proposed and investigated. The following conclusions can be drawn from the analysis results.

1) Differential column shortening can be controlled in design stage by placing the additional
reinforcement to the columns.

2) Placing the reinforcement from the floor of the maximum post-installation shortening to the ground
floor is most effective.

3) Distributing the additional reinforcement according to the identical ratio steel ratio is the most proper
way for the typical tall buildings.

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research
Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2010-0015991).

References

Bazant ZP, (1972) Prediction of Concrete Creep Effects Using Age-adjusted Effective Modulus Method, ACI
Journal, Vol .69, pp. 212-217.
CEB (Comite Euro-International Du Beton), (1993) CEB-FIP model code 1990. Thomas Telford Services Ltd,
London.
Fintel M, Ghosh SK and Iyengar H, (1987) Column Shortening in Tall Structure-prediction and Compensation,
Portand Cement Association, Skokie, IL.
Ghali A and Favre R. (1994) Concrete structures: stresses and deformations, E&FN Spon, London.
Gilbert RI. (1988) Time effects in concrete structures, Elsevier: Amsterdam.
Kim HS. (2008) Column shortening analysis of tall buildings considering the restraints of rebars and
horizontal members, Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea, Vol. 24, pp. 35-42.
Neville AM, Dilger WH and Brooks JJ. (1983) Creep of plain and structural concrete, Construction Press,
New York.

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