ELEMENTARY DESIGNS OF STRUCTURES:

Course Content:

1. Introduction to Elementary design:

 Use of Codes of practice, Handbooks, Manuals and technical Publications
 Design principles and Guidelines
 Review of nature of materials for structural use.
2. Elementary Reinforced concrete Design
 Simple beams and Slabs
 Columns and pillars
 Foundations
3. Elementary design of steel structures
 Tensile members
 Compression members
 Bending and Beams
 Connections
4. Elementary Design of Timber Structures
 Review of structural Timber species and stress grading
 Tensile members
 Compression members
 Beams
5. Elementary Design of Walls and Masonry
 Use of masonry
 General Guiding principle of masonry design
 Retaining wall analysis

1
Introduction

Use of codes of Practice;

Prior to 1972, the British system was designing structures using Elastic design or the Modular
Ratio of design. This is based on the assumption that stress-strain behaviour of both concrete and
steel remain elastic.

This implies that both have a constant modulus of elasticity thus a fixed ratio of moduli. It
further implies that the stresses are limited to permissible values. The code in use was CP114.
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CP 114 applies a factor of to the cube stress to obtain the permissible stress for concrete under
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bending. It also applies a factor of 1.8 to the yield stress of steel to get the permissible stress in
steel. At the permissible stress of steel in tension, the surrounding concrete has cracks therefore
to limit the crack width; the permissible tensile stress in steel is limited to 230N/mm2 whatever
the grade of steel.

In 1972, a limit state design code CP 110 was introduced. This was withdrawn in 1985 and a new
limit state design code BS 8110 was introduced. A new limit state design code Euro code 2 was
introduced in 2000. However, Euro code works hand in hand with BS 8110.
It must be pointed out that none of these codes is wrong. The proof is that thousands of structures
designed using these codes are still serving up to date.
However, CP 114 was more conservative than CP 110 which is conservative than BS 8110

2
Design Principles and Guidelines;

The task of the structural Engineer is to Design a structure which satisfies the needs of the client
and the user. Specifically, the structure should be:

 Safe
 Economical to build and maintain and;
 Aesthetically pleasing.

If we are to assess current structural design methods we need first to be clear about what
"design" is in this context. The concept of "engineering design" has proved to be somewhat
elusive to define. In trying to attribute a creative, ephemeral quality to what appears to many
practitioners as mundane and mechanical has interested many engineers.

An "engineering" design procedure really is a method of ensuring the safety and continued utility
of whatever is being designed. In the case of a glass beam, the engineering design procedure
aims to ensure adequate structural performance of the beam, under all possible applied loads, for
as long as it is to be in service. Ultimately, if we could accurately assess the greatest possible
load that is to be applied to an element of structure, and be utterly confident about the
mechanical properties of the material throughout the element, there would be no need for a
design procedure, as it is being defined here, it becomes clear that engineering design procedure
is essentially about the assessment of risk. In its most simple form of expression, it could be
described by the following relationship.

Design Actions > Safety Factor x Material Response

It should be stressed here that this safety factor includes an assessment of risks associated with
both the expected design actions and possible irregularities in material behaviour. It is therefore
broader than the safety factor used in permissible stress design.

It is important, therefore, in any design exercise, that the safety factor is intelligently and
appropriately assessed for any given situation. The development of design procedures, this
century, has been aimed at making the assessment of this safety factor a more logical and
transparent process.

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This has led to the re-expression of the simple relationship above into a supposedly more
defined, and certainly more complex, form that underlies the philosophy of limit state design.
This philosophy, Professor Heyman once observed, "can be seen only rather partially and dimly,
as if in a fog" (Heyman, 1980).

The philosophy of limit state design is generally considered, by the design community, to be the
underlying basic procedure, which can and should form the basis for design in all engineering
materials in any situation. This striving for an underlying process for engineering design has led
to the formulation of Eurocode 1 - Basis of Design and Actions on Structures, which has as its
primary objective "to ensure the consistency of design rules for a wide set of construction works
made of various materials" (Eurocode 1, 1996).

Limit state Design;

Limit states are situations beyond which the structure is unfit for use. This forms the basis of the
design methods in most codes of practice for structural design. They include:

a) Ultimate limit state and

b) Serviceability limit state.

Ultimate Limit State;

The structure or its elements should not collapse, overturn or buckle when subjected to design
loads. Under limit state, we consider;

 Robustness
 Stability and;
 Strength.

Robustness;

To be robust means that the layout should be such that damage to a small area or failure to a
single element will not lead to a whole collapse/ progressive collapse.

To achieve this;

4
 a) The structure should be able to resist notional horizontal load applied at the roof and each
floor level and the loads are 1.5% of the characteristic dead weight of the structure
between mid-heights of the storey below and above the roof.

b) All elements of the structures must be provided with ties. The design of ties is given in
clause (3.12.3 BS 8110 part 1 1997). The types of ties include:
a) Internal ties.
b) Peripheral ties.
c) Vertical ties.
d) Horizontal ties.

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Internal Ties;
These are provided at the roof and all floors in 2 directions at right angles. They should be
continuous throughout their length and anchored to the peripheral ties. they may be located as
follows:
 Spread evenly in slabs
 Grouped in beams
 Grouped in walls.
When grouped in walls or beams, the spacing should not be greater than 1.5LR, where LR is the
greater of the distance in Metres between columns, frames or wall centres supporting any 2
adjacent floor spans.

Peripheral ties
At each floor and roof level an effectively continuous peripheral tie should be provided, capable
of resisting a tensile force (in kilo Newtons) of 1.0Ft, located within 1.2 m of the edge of the
building or within the perimeter wall.
Vertical ties

Each column and each wall carrying vertical load should be tied continuously from the lowest to
the highest level (Foundation to roof). The ties should be capable of resisting a tensile force
equal to the maximum design ultimate dead and imposed load received by the column or wall
from any one storey.

These are required in buildings with more than 4 storeys.

Stability;

The overall stability of a structure should be provided by one or a combination of the following:
a) Shear walls (Reinforced Concrete).
b) Reinforced Concrete wall surrounding a stair well
c) Reinforced Concrete lift shaft
d) Rigid frame action.

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Stability;
The structure should be adequately strong to carry all the applied loads without collapse.

Serviceability Limit state;

The structure should not become unfit for use due to excessive deflection, cracking, vibration,
durability effects or inadequate fire resistance.

Deflection, this should not adversely affect its efficiency or appearance.

Cracking, the cracking should be kept within reasonable limits by detailing.

Vibration, it should not cause dis-comfort to the occupants of the structure.

Durability, this is the resistance to ware and tare and environmental effects with time.

Any Reinforced structure has to be designed to protect any embedded reinforcement. Durability
requirements are given in Table 3.2 & 3.3 of BS 8110. If durability is neglected, it will lead to
expenditure on;

 Inspection
 Maintenance
 Repair.
Durability in Reinforced concrete is catered for by selection of the most appropriate concrete
grade and cover for the condition of exposure.

Fire Resistance, during a fire, three resistance categories are considered:

 Resistance to collapse
 Resistance to fire penetration
 Resistance to transfer of excess heat.
Fire resistance determines the minimum thickness of members.
Durability and fire resistance depends on:
 Amount of cover
 Thickness of the member
 Type and quality of materials and workmanship.

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Factors affecting fire resistance, the factors that influence the fire resistance of concrete elements
are as follows:
a) Size and shape of elements;
b) Disposition and properties of reinforcement or tendon;
c) The load supported;
d) The type of concrete and aggregate;
e) Protective concrete cover provided to reinforcement or tendons;
f) Conditions of end support.

Review of nature of materials for structural use.

Structural materials can be categorised in many different ways. One of the most common is by
the nature of their failure. Materials, such as steel, after reaching their elastic limit, deform
plastically before failing. Such materials, where reasonably large plastic strains are observed, are
broadly categorised as ductile. On the other hand, those materials that exhibit little or no
plasticity are in contrast termed brittle.

In structural design, ductile materials are usually preferred, because failure is rarely sudden and
catastrophic. Once the material has yielded, large observable strains will occur before total
collapse of a structure.

Steel,

The most common primary structural building material, generally behaves in a ductile fashion.
However, during the Second World War, over two hundred steel ships suffered serious brittle
fracture, often at relatively low stress levels. It was observed that brittle behaviour, in normally
ductile materials, almost always occurs in regions of elastic stress concentration, where some
constraint exists to prevent plastic stress redistribution (McGuire, 1968).

Following these experiences, designers realised that brittle fracture in steel could be avoided by
sensible detailing. This is also true of reinforced concrete. Concrete itself is a brittle composite,
but with the addition of reinforcement it behaves in a ductile fashion. In earthquake-prone areas,
where designing for ductility is paramount, reinforced concrete beam-column joints are highly
reinforced to avoid the possibility of brittle behavior.

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Reinforced Concrete
Reinforced concrete is a complex material, being comprised of a brittle composite which has
been rendered ductile by the addition of reinforcement. It also fits reasonably well into the limit
state method because sensible detailing can ensure that an RC element behaves in a ductile
fashion at failure. However, failure of reinforced concrete structures rarely occurs as a result of
an inadequate design approach, but frequently occurs because of poor detailing or poor
workmanship. Numerous examples of reinforcement corrosion problems could be cited, in which
structures not much more than a few years old are showing serious signs of deterioration.

Timber

Timber, because it comes from a natural living source is by its nature highly variable, anisotropic
and inhomogeneous. This in itself suggests it would be a difficult material for construction.
However, it is very widely used, because of its toughness, the ease with which it can be cut and
joined and its natural attractiveness that is not so evident in other construction materials.

This high degree of variability is reflected in the strength of timber; not only between species but
also within a species. The coefficient of variability is typically between 10 and 30 percent
depending on the species. The current British code for timber (BS5268:1996), defines the
stresses that can safely be permanently sustained for particular species as grade stresses.

Timber and Glass

It is worth noting that there are many similarities between timber and glass. This seems strange
because timber is so forgiving to local damage and glass quite the opposite. However, closer
investigation of their behaviour under load highlights some interesting parallel.

Masonry

So far in this discussion the emphasis has been on stress. When we turn to masonry, stress-based
design methods become all but irrelevant. This is because it is almost impossible for a masonry
structure to fail completely as a result of over-stressing (except of course in tension). In
compression, to crush an average sandstone with a % strength of say 40/N/mm2, would require a
tower of similarly dense material to be 2km high (Gordon, 1978).

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 Furthermore to discuss plastic behaviour of individual units of masonry would be nonsense, as
the material displays little or no ductility. However, it is possible to "translate basic ideas
stemming from plasticity theory into terms applicable to masonry" (Heyman, 1995).

Reinforced Concrete Design

Reinforced concrete is one of the principal materials used in structural design. It is a composite
material, consisting of steel reinforcing bars embedded in concrete. These materials have
complementary properties. Concrete on one hand has high compressive strength but low tensile
1
strength of approximately th of the compressive strength. Steel bars, on the other hand, can
10
resist high tensile stresses but buckle when subjected to comparatively low compressive stresses.
Steel is much more expensive than concrete. By providing steel bars predominantly in those
zones within a concrete member which will be subjected to tensile stresses, an economical
structural material can be produced which is both strong in compression and strong in tension. In
addition, the concrete provides corrosion protection and fire resistance to more vulnerable
embedded steel reinforcing bars.

Basis of Design;

The design of reinforced concrete elements to BS 8110 is based on the limit state method. The
ultimate limit state models the behaviour of the element at failure due to a variety of
mechanisms including excessive bending, shear and compression or tension. The serviceability
limit state models the behaviour of the member at working loads and in the context of reinforced
concrete design in principally concerned with the limit states of deflection and cracking.

Having identified the relevant limit states, the design process simply involves basing the design
on the most critical one and then checking the remaining limit states. This requires an
understanding of:

 Material properties.
 Loadings.

Characteristic compressive strength of concrete, fcu

Concrete is a mixture of water, coarse and fine aggregates and a cementitious binder (normally
Portland cement) which hardens to a stone like-mass. The strength and other properties may vary
considerably due to operations such as transportation, compaction and curing.

The compressive strength of concrete is usually determined by carrying out compression tests on
28-day old cubes which have been prepared using a standard procedure laid in BS 1881. If a
large number of compression tests were carried out on the same mix, it would be found that a

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plot of crushing strength against frequency of occurrence would approximate to a normal
distribution. (See figure a head).

As a compromise between economy and safety, BS 8110 refers to the characteristic strength (fcu)
which is defined as the value which not more than 5% of the test results fall.

The characteristic and mean strength (fm) of a sample are related by the expression

fcu = fm – 1.64
x S.D.

Where S.D. is the

standard deviation.
Thus assuming that
the mean strength is
35Nmm-2 and
standard deviation is 3
Nmm-2, the
characteristic strength
of the mix;

=35 – 1.64 x 3 = 30
Nmm-2

Where: the standard deviation SD = {Ʃ[(fx-fm)2]/n}1/2

From the normal distribution, it’s seen that the mean strength of concrete isn’t suitable for design
since 50% of test results fall below the mean. The characteristic strength is the strength below
which only 5% of the sample fall or which is exceeded by 95% of the test sample.

Assignment One
1. What is the mean strength if the characteristic strength fcu = 40N/mm2 and standard
deviation = 2N/mm Hint fm=fcu+1.64s
2. A test carried out on concrete cubes gave the following values; 41, 39,41,38,40,42,43,37.
What is the;
a) Mean b) standard deviation c) characteristic strength of concrete
3. Given that a beam made of concrete in 2 above is under moderate conditions of exposure,
specify the cover and fire resistance if its width is 300mm.

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Concrete of a given grade can be identified by its ‘Grade’. For example a grade of 30 concrete
(C30) has a characteristic strength of 30Nmm-2.

For reinforced concrete made with normal aggregates, BS 8110 recommends that the lowest
grade of concrete should be 25, although in practice, a C30 mix is invariably necessary because
of durability considerations. The table shows the characteristic strength of various grades of
concrete normally specified in reinforced concrete.

Concrete grade Characteristic strength, fcu (Nmm-2)

C 25 25
C 30 30
C 35 35
C 40 40
C 45 45
C 50 50
Tensile Strength;
The tensile strength of concrete is given by f kt = k f cu
The tensile strength is ignored in ultimate limit state while the tensile strength is used in the
serviceability limit state to determine the cracking criteria.
Characteristic strength of Reinforcement, fy;

Design strength = characteristic strength/partial factor of safety = fy/ɣm

The value ɣm for ultimate limit state is;
Reinforcement ɣm = 1.05, design strength =0.95fy (2001 edition of BS 8110)
ɣm = 1.15, design strength = 0.87 fy (1985 edition of BS 8110)
The characteristic strength of steel is the strength obtained from testing a large sample of steel
and it’s the one below which only 5% of the sample yield fall.

Strength of reinforcement can be obtained from Table 3.1 of BS 8110

CP 110 1985 BS 1985

Mild steel (R) 250Nmm-2 Mild steel (R) 250Nmm-2

High yield steel (Y) 410, 425, 460 485 High yield steel (T) 460 Nmm-2

Characteristic Strength f
Design Strength = = k
Partial Factor of Safety m

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It should be noted that for the ultimate limit state the partial safety factor for reinforcement (  ms )
is 1.05, but for concrete (  m c ) assumes different values depending upon the stress type under
consideration. The partial safety factors for concrete are all greater than that of reinforcement
since concrete quality is less controlled.

The values of  m for the ultimate limit state (Table 2.2, BS 8110)

Material / stress type Partial safety factor,  m

Reinforcement (Pre-stressing steel included) 1.05
Concrete in flexure or axial load 1.50
Shear strength without shear reinforcement 1.25
Bond strength 1.4
Concrete, others (bearing stress)  1.50
The factor  m accounts for;

 Difference between actual and specified strength

 Uncertainties in the accuracy of the method used to predict the behaviour of members
 Variation in member sizes and building dimensions. .

Short term Design Stress-Strain curve for Normal Weight Concrete

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Short term Design Stress-strain curve for Reinforcement

Characteristic and Design loads:

These are loads above which only 5% of the loads lie. They have a 95% chance of not being
exceeded.

1. The characteristic dead load Gk, is the self-weight of the structure, weight of finishes,
ceiling, services and partitions. The self-weight is estimated from assumed section sizes
and the unit weights are given in BS 648.
Determine the characteristic load for CR 4.1 lecture room given that it is made of a
200mm reinforced slab, 25mm underside plaster, 25mm cement sand screed. The unit-
weights of concrete and cement sand screed & underside plaster are 24KNmm-2 and
22KNmm-2 respectively.
Solution
Thickness of slab = 200mm = 0.2m
Weight of slab = (0.2 x 24) = 4.8KNmm-2
Thickness of finishes = (25 + 25) mm = 50mm = 0.05m
Weight of finishes = (0.05 x 22) = 1.1KNmm-2
Gk = (Weight of slab + Weight of finishes)
= (4.8 + 1.1) = 5.9 KNmm-2
2. Characteristic imposed load Qk also called live loads is caused by movable objects such
as people, furniture and equipment. These are given in BS 6399, part 1.

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 3. The characteristic wind load Wk depends on the location, shape and dimensions of the
building. The design of buildings for wind loading can be based on any of the following:
 CP 3 chapter 5, part 2
 BS 6399, part 2 (These codes apply only to UK)

Wind loads in Uganda are very small compared to the UK. Moreover there is no accurate data
available for computing wind loads. The UK code BS 6399 part 2 should be used with caution
because the design data is location dependent.

In determination of wind load as per BS 6399, the following factors are considered:

 The basic wind speed.

 The design wind speed.
 The dynamic pressure.
 The pressure coefficients.
 The total wind force.

The design load = characteristic load x partial safety factor, (  f )

= 1.4 Gk + 1.6 Qk; 1.4 and 1.6 are partial safety factors.

Load combinations:

Load type
Dead load Imposed load Earth, wind & water
Load combination pressure

Adverse Beneficial Adverse Beneficial Adverse Beneficial

(Dead + Imposed)
+ water & earth 1.4 1.0 1.6 0 1.4 0

(Dead + wind) +
water & earth 1.4 1.0 - - 1.4 1.4

(Dead + Imposed
+ water) 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2

If the dead and wind loads act in the same direction then their effects are additive and the load
combination is 1.4 (Gk + Wk).
However if the effects are opposite wind uplift, the critical load condition is 1.0 Gk – 1.4Wk.

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For Dead + Imposed + Wind
= 1.2Gk + 1.2Qk + 1.2Wk
The partial factors take account of:

 Possible increase in load.

 Inaccurate assessment of the effects of loads.
 Un-foreseen stress distribution in members.
 The importance of the limit state being considered.

Bar spacing and concrete cover for steel reinforcement:

It is necessary to guard against honey combing when concreting and ensure that the wet concrete
mix passes through the reinforcement without separation, to guard steel and to protect
reinforcement from corrosion and loss of strength in case of fire.

 Clear distance between parallel bars in layers must not be less than bar diameter db or 1
in. (25.4 mm).

 Clear distance between longitudinal bars in columns must not be less than 1.5db or 1.5 in.

 Minimum clear cover in cast-in-place concrete beams and columns should not be less
than 1.5 in (38.1 mm) when there is no exposure to weather or contact with ground.

Design process;
The Architect determines the arrangement of elements to meet the client’s requirements. This is
availed to the structural Engineer as architectural plans. The structural Engineer determines the
best structural system to suit the architectural concept.

The design process consists of the following:

a) Idealization of the structure into load bearing frames and elements for analysis and
design. From the architectural plan, we draw a layout showing position of columns,
beams, shear walls and stair cases. This is an idealized structural layout which will
consist of beams and columns in one plane.
b) Estimation of the loads
c) Analysis to determine the maximum torsional and bending moments, axial and shear
forces
d) Design of sections and reinforcements for the slabs, beams, stair cases, columns, walls
and foundations to resist bending and torsional moments, shear and axial forces.

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Reinforced concrete design means:

i. Determine member dimensions

ii. Determine concrete strength
iii. Determine concrete strength
iv. Determine concrete cover
v. Determine area of steel
vi. Determine location (Depth of steel)
vii. Determine distribution and layout of steel
viii. Determine anchorage of steel
ix. Production of detailed drawings and bar bending schedules.

Design of Beams

Beams in reinforced concrete structures can be defined according to:

 Cross-section
 Position of reinforcement
 Support conditions.

Some common beam sections are shown in Fig (a) to (d). Beams reinforced with tension steel
only are referred to as singly reinforced Beams. Beams reinforced with tension and compression
steel are termed doubly reinforced beams. Inclusion of compression steel will increase the
moment capacity of the beam and hence allow more slender sections to be used. Thus, doubly
reinforced beams are used in preference to singly reinforced beams when there is some
restriction on the construction depth of the section.

Under certain conditions, T and L beams are more economical than rectangular beams since
some of the concrete below the dotted line (neutral axis), which serves only to contain the
tension steel, is removed resulting in a reduced unit weight of beam. Furthermore, beams may be
simply supported at their ends or continuous, as illustrated in below.

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Some of the notation used in beam design. Here b is the width of the beam, h the overall depth
of section, d the effective depth of tension reinforcement, d′ the depth of compression

reinforcement, As the area of tension reinforcement and A′s the area of compression
reinforcement.

The following sub-sections consider the design of:

1. Singly reinforced beams

2. Doubly reinforced beams
3. Continuous, L and T beams.

Singly Reinforced Beam Design

All beams may fail due to excessive bending or shear. In addition, excessive deflection of beams
must be avoided otherwise the efficiency or appearance of the structure may become impaired.
Bending and shear are ultimate states while deflection is a serviceability state. Generally,
structural design of concrete beams primarily involves consideration of the following aspects
which are discussed next:

 Bending
 Shear

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  Deflection.

Bending (clause 3.4.4.4, BS 8110)

Consider the case of a simply supported, singly reinforced, rectangular beam subject to a
uniformly distributed load ω as shown in Figs below.

Stress and strain distributions at section A-A: (a) section; (b) strains; (c) triangular (low
strain); (d) rectangular parabolic (large strain); (e) equivalent rectangular.

The load causes the beam to deflect downwards, putting the top portion of the beam into
compression and the bottom portion into tension. At some distance x below the compression
face, the section is neither in compression nor tension and therefore the strain at this level is zero.
This axis is normally referred to as the neutral axis.
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Assuming that plane sections remain plane, the strain distribution will be triangular (b).

The stress distribution in the concrete above the neutral axis is initially triangular (c), for low
values of strain; because stress and strain are directly proportional The stress in the concrete
below the neutral axis is zero, however, since it is assumed that the concrete is cracked,
being unable to resist any tensile stress. All the tensile stresses in the member are
assumed to be resisted by the steel reinforcement and this is reflected in a peak in the
tensile stress at the level of the reinforcement.

As the intensity of loading on the beam increases, the mid-span moment increases and the
distribution of stresses changes from that shown in (c) to (d). The stress in the reinforcement
increases linearly with strain up to the yield point. Thereafter it remains at a constant value
However, as the strain in the concrete increases, the stress distribution is assumed to follow the
parabolic form of the stress–strain relationship for concrete under compression.

The actual stress distribution at a given section and the mode of failure of the beam will depend
upon whether the section is (1) under-reinforced or (2) over-reinforced.

If the section is over-reinforced the steel does not yield and the failure mechanism will
be crushing of the concrete due to its compressive capacity being exceeded. Steel is expensive
and, therefore, over-reinforcing will lead to uneconomical design. Furthermore, with this type of
failure there may be no external warning signs; just sudden, catastrophic collapse.

If the section is under-reinforced, the steel yields and failure will again occur due to crushing of
the concrete. However, the beam will show considerable deflection which will be accompanied
by severe cracking and spalling from the tension face thus providing ample warning signs of
failure. Moreover, this form of design is more economical since a greater proportion of the steel
strength is utilised. Therefore, it is normal practice to design sections which are under-reinforced
rather than over-reinforced.

In order to ensure that the section is under-reinforced, BS 8110 limits the depth of the neutral
axis (x) to a maximum of 0.5d, where d is the effective depth

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Procedure for designing of singly reinforced rectangular beams

M
1. Compute K=
bd 2 f cu
2. Determine the value of K′.

i. K′ = 0.156; if moment redistribution is not greater than 10%

ii. K′ = 0.402(  b- 0.4) – 0.18(  b- 0.4)2, if moment redistribution is greater than 10%
Moment after redistribution
where  b is 
Moment before redistribution
3. Compare K′ and K.

If K < K′, the beam is singly reinforced therefore proceed to next step

If K > K′, the beam is doubly reinforced.

4. Compute Z (lever arm);
 K 
Z = d  0.25 - 
 0.9 
5. If Z > 0.95d, then Z = 0.95d.
d - Z
6. Compute x =  
 0.45 
 M 
7. Compute As = 
 0.95 f Z 
 y 

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Example:

A simply supported beam of 6m span carries a uniformly distributed load inclusive of self-
weight of 10KN/m and an imposed load Qk of 5KN/m. The beam is 300 x 500mm, assuming
grade 30 concrete and high yield longitudinal steel reinforcement, fy = 460N/mm2, 20mm cover,
10mm links and 20mm longitudinal steel. Design the beam

Loading: ultimate load = 1.6Qk + 1.4Gk

= (1.6 x 5 + 1.4 x 10) = 22KN/m

Applied moment (maximum);

wl2 22 x 62
M= = = 99KNm
8 8

d = h – cover to links -  of links – 0.5  of main bars.

= (500 – 20 – 10 – 0.5 x 20) = 460mm.

M 99 x 106
K= = = 0.052
bd 2 f cu 30 x 300 x 4602

K < K′ = 0.156, therefore the beam is singly reinforced.

 K   0.052 
Z = d  0.25 - d  0.25 - 
 0.9   0.9 
d d ok.
 Z = (0.938 x 460) = 431.7mm

 M  99 x 106
As =   =
 0.95 f Z  0.95 x 460 x 431.7
 y 
= 524mm 2

Therefore from Tables of cross-sectional areas of groups of bars in mm2

Provide 2T20mm bars As = 628mm2. Or 3T16mm As = 603mm2.

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Guideline to provision/ detailing of beams

 Bar diameter and type should be available on market.

 Use a same type of diameter of bar in a member.
 Use a large number of smaller diameter bars than fewer large diameter bars. This is
necessary because if one bar is defective, the effect is less if small bars are provided.
Smaller bars provide better bond.

Use of design charts:

Procedure:

1. Determine the applied moment M from the moment diagram

2. The dimensions b and d are determined
3. M/bd2 is calculated
4. Strength of concrete fcu is determined
5. A horizontal line is drawn through M/bd2
6. Where the line meets the fcu curve, a vertical line is drawn
7. The ordinate through which the vertical line passes on the 100As/bd axis is read, q
100As
Therefore, =q
bd

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