LECTURE 3

DESIGN OF REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAMS

 3.1 Content:

Introduction to reinforced concrete beams,

Design methodolgy,
Design of singly and doubly reinforced beam
sections,
Design of flanged beams
3.1 Introduction to Reinforced concrete beams:

Prime purpose of beams - to transfer loads

to columns or walls.
Several types of RC beams - defined with
respect to:
a) Support Conditions,
b) Reinforcement position and
c) Cross-section.
a) According to Support Conditions:

Simply supported beam

Bending moment and shear force diagrams for simply
supported beams under UDL
Simply supported beam under
uniformly varying load
Continuous beams
 Bending Moment and S.F
Bending Moment Diag. in cantilever beam
Diag. in
continuous beam
According to position of
reinforcement

Singly reinforced concrete

beam
 Doubly reinforced beam

The beam (size) is fixed for architectural purposes.

Reinforcement are provided both in tension and
compression zones.
Concrete has limitation to resist compression so extra
reinforcement in compression zone is required.
The beam (size) is fixed for architectural
purposes
Reinforcement are provided both in tension
and compression zones.

Concrete has limitation to resist compression

so extra reinforcement in compression zone is
required
According to beam cross-section
 3.2 Design Methodology
Reinforced concrete beam design consists primarily of
producing member details which will adequately resists:
> The ultimate bending moment
> Shear forces
> Deflection
> Cracks
Design stages
> Preliminary analysis and member design
> Detailed analysis and design of re-bar
> Serviceability calculations
 Preliminary analysis and member
design
(Ref: Manual for the Design of R.C. Structures,1985)
Cl.3.6.2 Beams should be of sufficient depth to avoid
the necessity of compressive reinforcement
and to ensure that an economicalamount of
tension and shear reinforcement is provided
For the purpose of assessing the self weight of beams, the
width of the downstand can be taken as half of the depth but
usually not less than 300mm. (However, in practice 250mm
width beams are also constructed)

The width should be determined by limiting the shear stress

in beams to 2.0N/mm2 and 0.6N/mm2 for concrete strentgh
30N/mm2.

>Width of beam (in mm) = 1000 V

2d
 > Width of rib (in mm)
1000 V

0 .6 d

V = Max. S.F (in kN) of the beam or rib,

cinsidered simply supported and

d = effective depth
 Reinforcement
Reinforcing bars are produced in two grades: hot rolled mild
steel bars have a yield strength fy of 250 N/mm2; hot rolled or
cold worked high yield steel bars have a yield strength fy of
460 N/mm2. Steel fabric is made from cold drawn steel wires
welded to form a mesh; it has a yield strength fy of 460
N/mm2.
Mild steel bars are produced as smooth round bars. High
yield bars are produced as deformed bars to increase bond
stress:
Before beginning section design, reinforcement data andcode
requirements with regard to minimum and maximum areas of
bars in beams and bar spacings are set out. This is to enable
practical sections to be designed.

In accordance with BS 8110: Part 1, clause 3.12.4.1,

bars may be placed singly or in pairs or in bundles of
three or four bars in contact. For design purposes the
pair or bundle is treated as a single bar of equivalent
area. Bars are available with diametersof 6, 8, 10, 12,
16, 20, 25, 32 and 40 mm.
 Minimum and maximum areas of
reinforcement in beams
The minimum areas of reinforcement in a beam section to
control cracking as well as resist tension or compression due
to bending in different types of beam section are given in
BS8110: Part 1, clause 3.12.5.3 and Table 3.25.

The maximum area of both tension and compression

reinforcement in beams is specified in BS8110: Part 1, clause
3.12.6.1. Neither should exceed 4% of the gross cross-sectional
area of the concrete.
RC Beam Design Procedure Section Design for
Moment as per BS 8110-1:1997
Initial Design:

Choose the initial section dimensions. Factors to be

considered are the basic span/depth ratio, the minimum
requirements for durability and fire resistance.
Remember to take account of cover and the size of the shear
links in determining the overall depth, h, and the effective
depth, d. A rough guide for the width of the section is about
half the depth.
Analysis:
Analyse the structure using standard structural analysis
techniques. Choose the location of the section to be designed
and read the moment, M, that the section must resist from
the bending moment diagram.
RC Beam Design Procedure Section Design for
Shear
R.C Beam analysis and design flow chart
(Ref: Manual for the Design of R.C. Structures,1985)
 Re-bar spacing

Note:
>Pairs or bundles are treated as a single bar of equivalent area.
>The above spacings ensure that the concrete can be properly
compacted around the reinforcement.
>Spacing of top bars of beams should also permit the insertion
of a vibrator.
 Example

The cross-section of a simply supported rectangular beam is shown in

Figure 5.31. Using the data given, and assuming the section to be singly-
reinforced, determine the area of tension reinforcement required to resist an
applied ultimate bending moment of 150 kNm.
Data:
Characteristic strength of concrete (fcu) 40 N/mm2
Characteristic strength of steel (fy) 460 N/mm2
Nominal maximum aggregate size (hagg) 20 mm
Diameter of main tension steel Assume 25 mm
Diameter of shear links 10 mm
Exposure condition moderate
Minimum required fire resistance 2.0 hours