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1.3BASICASSUMPTIONSINFLEXURETHEORY
Fivebasicassumptionsaremade:
1.Planesectionsbeforebendingremainplaneafterbending.
2.Straininconcreteisthesameasinreinforcingbarsatthesamelevel,providedthatthebond
betweenthesteelandconcreteissufficienttokeepthemactingtogetherunderthedifferentload
stagesi.e.,noslipcanoccurbetweenthetwomaterials.
3.Thestressstraincurvesforthesteelandconcreteareknown.
4.Thetensilestrengthofconcretemaybeneglected.
5.Atultimatestrength,themaximumstrainattheextremecompressionfiberisassumedequalto
0.003,bytheEgyptianCode.
Theassumptionofplanesectionsremainingplane(Bernoulli'sprinciple)meansthatstrainsabove
andbelowtheneutralaxisNAareproportionaltothedistancefromtheneutralaxis,Fig.1.1.Testson
reinforcedconcretemembershaveindicatedthatthisassumptionisverynearlycorrectatallstagesof
loading up to flexural failure, provided good bond exists between the concrete and steel. This
assumption,however,doesnotholdfordeepbeamsorinregionsofhighshear.

FIGURE1.1.Singlereinforcedbeamsectionwithstraindistribution.

1.4BEHAVIOROFAREINFORCEDCONCRETEBEAMSECTIONLOADEDTOFAILURE
Tostudythebehaviorofareinforcedconcretebeamsectionunderincreasingmoment,letus
examinehowstrainsandstressesprogressatdifferentstagesofloading:
1.4.1Noncracked,LinearStage
As illustrated in Fig. 1.2, where moments are small, compressive stresses are very low and the
maximum tensile stress of concrete is less than its rupture strength, fctr. In this stage the entire
concretesectioniseffective,withthesteelbarsatthetensionsidesustainingastrainequaltothatof
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the surrounding concrete (

,theconventionalelastictheorymaybeused

FIGURE1.2.Transformedsectionforflexurebeforecracking.

ThisstageshouldbeconsideredasthebasisforcalculatingthecrackingmomentMcr, which
producestensilestressesatthebottomfibersequaltothemodulusofruptureofconcrete,Fig.1.3.
The Egyptian Code recommends the flexural formula M/Z to compute the flexural strength of the
section:

(1.1a)

where

isthemomentofinertiaofgrossconcretesectionaboutthecentroidalaxis,neglectingthe

reinforcement,ytisthedistancefromthecentroidalaxisofcrosssection,neglectingsteel,toextreme
fibertensionandfctr is the modulus of rupture of concrete. The Egyptian code (ECCS) suggests an
impericalformularelatesthemodulusofruptureofconcretetoitscompressivestrength:

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N/mm2

(1.1b)

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FIGURE1.3.Transformedsectionforflexurejustpriortocracking.

1.4.2Cracked,LinearStage
When the moment is increased beyond Mcr, the tensile stresses in concrete at the tension zone
increaseduntiltheyweregreaterthanthemodulusofrupturefctr,andcrackswilldevelop.Theneutral
axisshiftsupward,andcracksextendclosetotheleveloftheshiftedneutralaxis.Crackedconcrete
belowtheneutralaxisisassumedtobenoteffectiveandthesteelbarsresisttheentiretensileforce.
Thestressstraincurveforconcreteisapproximatelylinearupto0.40fcuhenceiftheconcretestress
doesnotexceedthisvalue,theelastic(straightline)theoryformulaM/Zmaybeusedtoanalyzethe
"allconcrete"areainFig.1.4.

FIGURE1.4.Transformedsectionforflexuresomewhataftercracking.

1.4.3Cracked,NonlinearStage
Formomentsgreaterthantheseproducingstage2,themaximumcompressivestressinconcreteexceeds
0.40

.However,concreteincompressionhasnotcrushed.Althoughstrainsareassumedtoremain

proportionaltothedistancefromtheneutralaxis,stressesarenotand,therefore,theflexuralformula
M/Zoftheconventionalelastictheorycannotbeusedtocomputetheflexuralstrengthofthesection.
TheInternalCoupleApproach,instead,willbeusedtocomputethesectionstrength.Thisapproach
allowstwoequationsforequilibrium,fortheanalysisanddesignofstructuralmembers,thatarevalid
foranyloadandanysection.AsFig.1.5indicates,thecompressiveforceCshouldbeequaltothe
tensileforceT,otherwisethesectionwillhavealineardisplacementplusrotation.Thus,

C=T

(1.2a)

The internal moment is equal to either the tensile force T multiplied by its arm yct or the
compressiveforceCmultipliedbythesameleverarm.Thus,
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(1.2b)

FIGURE1.5.Transformedsectionforflexureaftercracking.

TheresultantinternaltensileforceTisgivenby
(1.3)

where

istheareaofsteeland

isthesteelstress.Theresultantinternalcompressiveforceis

obtained by integrating the stress block over the area bc. Taking an infinitesimal strip dy of
area dA equals b by dy, located at a distance y from the neutral axis and subject to an assumed
uniformcompressivestressfandstrainXthecompressiveforceCisgivenby
(1.4)

Thisstagemaybeconsideredasthebasisforcalculatingtheflexuralstrengthofthesectionat
firstyieldofthetensionsteel(knownastheyieldmoment

).Whenthetensionsteelfirstreaches

theyieldstrain(
),thestrainintheextremefiberoftheconcretemaybeappreciablylessthan
0.003. If the steel reaches the yield strain and the concrete reaches the extreme fiber compression
strain of 0.003, simultaneously, the yield moment occurs and equals the ultimate moment Mu.
Otherwise,iftheconcretecrushedbeforethesteelyields,theyieldmomentwillnevertakeplace.
1.4.4UltimateStrengthStage
For the given section, when the moment is further increased, strains increased rapidly until the
maximumcarryingcapacityofthebeamwasreachedatultimatemomentMu.Thesectionwillreach
its ultimate flexural strength when the concrete reaches an extreme fiber compression strainXcu of
0.003andthetensilesteelstrainXscloudhaveanyvaluehigherorlowerthantheyieldstrain

AsFig.1.6indicates,thecompressiveforcesC1andC2areobtainedbyintegratingtheparabolic
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andrectangularstressblocksovertherectangularareasA1andA2of

and

,respectively.

FIGURE1.6.Singlereinforcedbeamsectionwithflexureatultimate.

Thecorrespondingleverarmsy1andy2aregivenby

TheresultantforceCis,then,computedfrom
(1.5)

ThepositionofCisatadistanceyfromthetopfiberwhereyiscomputedfrom

Thedistancebetweentheresultantinternalforces,knownastheinternalleverarm,is
yct=d0.4c

(1.6)

whered,thedistancefromtheextremecompressionfibertothecentroidofthesteelarea,isknown
astheeffectivedepth.TheultimatestrengthMuistherefore
(1.7)

1.5E

QUIVALENT ECTANGULAR
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COMPRESSIONSTRESSBLOCK

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1.5EQUIVALENTRECTANGULARCOMPRESSIONSTRESSBLOCK
Asameansofsimplification,theEgyptianCodehassuggestedthereplacementoftheactualshapeof
theconcretecompressivestressblock(aseconddegreeparabolaupto0.002andahorizontalbranch
upto0.003)byanequivalentrectangularstressblock,Fig.1.7.

FIGURE1.7.Actualandequivalentstressdistributionatfailure.

Aconcretestressof
isassumeduniformlydistributedoveranequivalentcompression
zoneboundedbytheedgesofthecrosssectionandalineparalleltotheneutralaxisatadistance
fromthefiberofmaximumcompressivestrain,wherecisthedistancebetweenthetopof
thecompressivesectionandtheneutralaxisNA.
FortheresultantcompressiveforcesoftheactualandequivalentstressblocksofFig.1.7,tohave
thesamemagnitudeandlineofaction,theaveragestressoftheequivalentrectangularstressblock
and its depth are
and
where
and
alreadyderivedwhencalculatingtheultimatestrengthMuinSection1.4.4.

. These values are as

The equivalent rectangular stress block applies, as the Egyptian Code permits, to
rectangular,Tandtrapezoidalsections,Fig.1.8.

FIGURE1.8.Applicabilityofequivalentrectangularstressblocktosomesections.

ForsectionsasshowninFig.1.9,stressdistributionshouldbebasedontheactualstressstrain
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diagram. The above procedure, however, can be implemented to obtain the parameters
thatcorrespondtothesesections.

and

FIGURE1.9.Inapplicabilityofequivalentrectangularstressblocktosomesections.

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