INTRODUCTION TO

REINFORCED CONCRETE
DESIGN

ECS559 – REINFORCED CONCRETE DESIGN

PREPARED BY: DR. NADIAH SAARI

 Course Outcomes
CO1: Design reinforced concrete structural members and
frames using relevant code of practice for safety and
economics consideration (C6).

CO2: Evaluate reinforced concrete structures for safety

adequacy using relevant code of practice (C4).

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 Programme Outcomes
PO3: Design solutions for complex civil engineering
problems and design systems, components or processes
that meet specified needs with appropriate consideration for
public health and safety, cultural, societal, and
environmental considerations.

PO5: Create, select and apply appropriate techniques,

resources and modern engineering and IT tools, including
predictions and modelling, to complex civil engineering
problems, with an understanding of the limitations.

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 Learning Outcomes
At the end of this topic students should be able to:

1. Explain the appropriate code of practices for RC design

(CO2-PO5).

2. Describe and explain the concrete and steel material

properties, stress-strain relationship and limit state
design (CO2-PO5).

3. Identify durability characteristics (CO2-PO5).

4. Discuss the partial safety factors, load combinations,

load analysis and load transfer (CO2-PO5).

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 Code of practice
• A document about the best practice by engineers and
experienced researchers.

• The development of the Eurocodes started in 1975.

• It is said to be the most technically advanced structural

design codes in the world.

• Eurocodes (EC) are known as performance code

compared to British Standard (BS), which is a descriptive
code.

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 Code of practice
The Eurocode Family
EN 1990 EC0 Basis of structural design
EN 1991 EC1 Actions on structures
EN 1992 EC2 Design of concrete structures
EN 1993 EC3 Design of steel structures

EN 1994 EC4 Design of composite steel and concrete structures

EN 1995 EC5 Design of timber structures

EN 1996 EC6 Design of masonry structures
EN 1997 EC7 Geotechnical design
EN 1998 EC8 Design of structures for earthquake resistance
EN 1999 EC9 Design of aluminium alloy structures
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 Code of practice
• EC2 claimed to have more advantages over BS such as:
i. EC2 advices based on phenomena (e.g. bending,
shear etc.) rather than by member type as in BS 8110
(e.g. beams, slabs, columns etc.).
ii. EC2 design is based on characteristic cylinder
strength, fck and not cube strength, fcu.

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 Code of practice
• The benefits of using EC2 can be summarized as
followings:
i. Technically advanced codes in the world.
ii. Economical compared to BS 8110.
iii. Logical and avoids repetitions.
iv. More extensive.
v. Standardized design regulations across Europe.

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 Code of practice
• In Malaysia, these codes of practice are adopted for the
design of reinforced concrete structures:
i. BS EN 1990: 2002 - Eurocode: Basis of Structural
Design.

ii. BS EN 1991-1-1: 2002 - Eurocode 1: Actions on

structures (densities, self-weight, imposed loads for
buildings).

iii. BS EN 1992-1-1 : 2004 - Eurocode2 : Design of

concrete structures.

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 Basic design concept
Definition of Design:

• A process of material selection and determination of

member sizes of the structure to be built.

• In consideration of the loadings subjected to the structure.

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 Main objectives of structural design
To provide a structure which throughout its intended life
span:

1. Possess an acceptable margin of safety against

collapse whilst in use.
2. Serviceable and perform its intended purpose whilst in
use.
3. Sufficiently strong (robust) to cater for subjected
loadings.
4. Economic to construct (construction cost).
5. Economic to maintain (maintenance cost).

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 Reinforced Concrete
• A composite material that combines concrete with steel
reinforcements.

• The combination of these materials provide a strong

durable building material that could cater for both
compressive and tensile stress.

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Advantages of reinforced concrete
1. Ability to be casted

2. Economical

3. Durable/Impermeable

4. Fire resistance

5. Energy efficient

6. On site fabrication

7. Aesthetic appearance

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 Disadvantage of reinforced concrete
1. Low tensile strength

2. Low ductility

3. Volume instability

4. Low strength-weight ratio

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 Typical RC members
1. Beam – a horizontal member carrying transverse loads.
2. Slab – a horizontal plate element carrying transverse
loads.
3. Column – a vertical member carrying primarily axial
load but generally subjected to axial load and bending
moment.
4. Staircase - a series of steps properly arranged to
connect different floors of a building carrying transverse
loads.
5. Base and foundation – a pad or strip supported directly
on/below the ground that spread the loads from column
or wall to the ground.
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16
Properties of concrete and steel

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 Material properties: concrete
• The typical stress-strain curve for concrete in compression
is shown below.

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 Material properties: concrete
• As the load is applied the ratio between stresses and
strains is approximately linear (proportional) at first and
concrete behaves almost as an elastic material.

• Eventually, the curve becomes no longer linear and

concrete behaves more as a plastic material.

• Concrete strength generally increases with its age.

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 Concrete compressive strength
• The concrete mix consists of cement, coarse aggregate,
fine aggregate (sand) and water.

• The quality of concrete depends on the mix proportions,

types of cement, cement/water ratio.

• The concrete strength is assessed by measuring the

crushing strength of cubes and cylinders made from the
mix.

• Samples are cured and then tested after 28 days

according to standard procedures.

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 Concrete compressive strength
• The strength of concrete is identified by its “class”, for
example Class 25/30 – the characteristic cylinder
crushing strength (fck) of 25 N/mm2 and cube strength
(fcu) of 30 N/mm2.

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 Concrete compressive strength

• There are higher strengths of concrete, these are just

examples that are commonly used.

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Concrete compressive strength

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 Concrete tensile strength
• In RC design, the tensile strength (ft) of concrete is
normally assumed to be zero.

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 Material properties: steel
• Types of steel:

i. Hot rolled high yield steel.

ii. Cold worked high yield steel.

• The specified characteristic strength, fyk is 500 N/mm2.

• The bars are commonly identified by H (for high yield

steel).

• High-yield bars are manufactured with ribbed surface or

in the form of a twisted square to have a mechanical
bond with the concrete.
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 Material properties: steel
• The typical stress-strain curve for steel is shown below.

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 Material properties: steel
• Reinforcing bar still has a considerable margin of safety
within its maximum load-carrying capacity beyond the yield
point.

• Modulus of elasticity of steel, Es can be taken as 200

kN/mm2.

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 Limit state design
• Objective of design – to achieve acceptable probabilities
that a structure will not become unfit for its intended use.

• In other words, it will not reach its limit state.

• There are two principle types of limit states:

i. Ultimate limit state (ULS)

ii. Serviceability limit state (SLS)

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 Ultimate limit state
• This requires the structure to be able to withstand and
hold, with an adequate factor of safety against collapse,
the safety of the occupants and the safety of the structure
itself.

• The possibility of buckling, overturning and accidental

damage (e.g. explosion) must be considered when
designing structures under ULS.

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 Serviceability limit state
• This requires the structure to be able to ensure the
occupants to be comfortable.

• Generally, the most important SLS checks are:

i. Deflection (the appearance of the structure or the comfort
of the occupants should not be affected)
ii. Cracking (must not affect the appearance and efficiency
of the structure)
iii. Durability (must be considered in terms of the proposed
life of the structure and its conditions of exposure)

• Other limit states are excessive vibration, fatigue and fire

resistance.
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 Durability
• A durable structure must have sufficient resilience and
serviceability performance for intended purpose under
working environment for the life-time of the structure.

• A durable concrete member is one that is designed and

constructed to protect embedded metal from corrosion and
to perform satisfactorily.

• To achieve this, it is necessary to consider many

interrelated factors at various stages in the design and
construction process.

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 Durability
• Factors affecting durability of RC structures:
a) Type of cement used in the concrete mix.
b) Minimum size of cross-section.
c) Exposure condition at the location of the structure.
d) Nominal cover to the reinforcement bars.
e) Minimum & maximum area of steel reinforcements.
f) Minimum & maximum spacing of steel reinforcements.
g) The width of any visible crack.

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 Durability
• EC2 recommends simple rules concerning these factors
which must be considered during member sizing and
reinforcement detailing stage.

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 Concrete cover
• The nominal cover (cl. 4.4.1, EN1992-1-1) can be assessed
as follow:

Cnom = Cmin + Cdev

• Cmin shall be provided in order to ensure:

i. The safe transmission of bond forces (Table 4.2, EN
1992-1-1).
ii. The protection of steel against corrosion (Table 4.4N,
EN 1992-1-1).
iii. An adequate fire resistance (Tables 5.5, 5.6 & 5.8, EN
1992-1-2).
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 Concrete cover
• Cmin can be obtained from:

Cmin = max (Cmin,b, Cmin,dur, Cmin,fire, 10 mm)

• Cdev (cl. 4.4.1.3, EN 1992-1-1) is an allowance which

should be made in the design for deviation from the
minimum cover. It should be taken as 10 mm.

• It is permitted to reduce to 5 mm if the fabrication is

subjected to a quality assurance system.

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 Concrete cover
Table 4.2 (EN 1992-1-1) : Minimum cover, Cmin,b requirements with regard to bond

Arrangement of bars Minimum cover Cmin,b*

Separated Diameter of bar
Bundle Equivalent diameter: n =  nb ≤ 55 mm

where nb is the number of bars in the bundle, which is

limited to:

nb ≤ 4 for vertical bars in compression

nb ≤ 3 for all other cases

* If the nominal maximum aggregate size is > 32 mm, cmin,b should be increased
by 5 mm

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 Concrete cover
Table 4.4N (EN 1992-1-1): Min cover, Cmin,dur requirements for durability

Exposure Class according to Table 4.1

Structural
Class XC2 / XD1 / XD2 / XD3 /
X0 XC1 XC4
XC3 XS1 XS2 XS3
S1 10 10 10 15 20 25 30

S2 10 10 15 20 25 30 35

S3 10 10 20 25 30 35 40

S4 10 15 25 30 35 40 45

S5 15 20 30 35 40 45 50

S6 20 25 35 40 45 50 55

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 Concrete cover
• Table 2.1 (EN 1990) gives indicative design working lives for design purposes for
various types of structures, as follows:

Design Working
Category Structures
Life (years)

1 <10 Temporary structures

Replaceable structural parts, gantry girders,

2 10 to 25
bearings

3 15 to 30 Agricultural and similar structures

Building structures and other similar

4 50
structures
Monumental buildings, bridges and other
5 100
civil engineering structures

6 >100 Special structures

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Table 5.5 (EN 1992-1-2) Minimum dimensions and axis distances
for simply supported beams for fire resistance

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Table 5.6 (EN 1992-1-2) Minimum dimensions and axis distances
for continuous beams for fire resistance

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 Table 5.8 (EN 1992-1-2) Minimum dimensions and axis distances
for simply supported one-way & two-way solid slabs for fire resistance

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 Minimum member dimensions
Beam

• A beam size is selected based on the deflection control

criteria (Table 7.4N, EN 1992-1-1) and requirements related
to the placement of reinforcement.

• Span to overall depth (L/h) ratios of 13 to 18 are generally

found to be economical in the case of simply supported and
continuous beams.

• The recommended ratio of width to overall depth (b/h) in a

rectangular beam section is between 0.3 to 0.6.

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Minimum member dimensions

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 Minimum member dimensions
Slab

• A slab thickness is selected based on the deflection control

criteria (Table 7.4N, EN 1992-1-1) and requirements
related to fire resistance.

• Span to overall depth (L/h) ratios of 20 to 30 are generally

found to be economical in the case of simply supported
and continuous slabs.

• For reinforced slabs in buildings subjected to bending

without significant axial tension, specific measures to
control cracking are not necessary where the overall depth
does not exceed 200 mm (cl. 7.3.3, EN1992-1-1).
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 Minimum member dimensions
Column

• A preliminary size of column requires ℎ > 𝑏 and ℎ ≤ 4𝑏.

• The column dimension (b or h) may also be based on the

width of a beam located on top of it.

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 Min. & max. reinforcement area
• The minimum area of reinforcement for beam and slab
specified in cl. 9.2.1.1, EN 1992-1-1 is given by:

As, min = 0.26 (fctm / fyk) bt d  0.0013 bt d

• The minimum area of reinforcement for column specified

in cl. 9.5.2(2), EN 1992-1-1 is given by:

As, min = 0.1 NE / fyd or 0.002 Ac

whichever is greater.

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 Min. & max. reinforcement area
• The maximum area specified in cl. 9.2.1.1, EN 1992-1-1 for
tension or compression reinforcements of beam, slab and
column is given by:

As,max = 0.04Ac

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 Spacing
• The minimum distance between bars is to permit
concrete flows around reinforcement during construction
and to ensure that concrete can be compacted
satisfactorily for the development of adequate bond.

Beam

• As specified in cl. 8.2, EN 1992-1-1 the clear distance

between bars should not be less than the minimum
spacing, Smin.

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 Spacing
• Smin is obtained from the maximum of:

i. the maximum bar size,

ii. the maximum aggregate size + 5 mm, or
iii. 20 mm

• Spacing between bars must not exceed the maximum

spacing, Smax obtained from cl. 9.2.2, EC2-1-1:2004.

• Spacing between bars can be determined from Table

7.3N, where the steel stress is given by:

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Spacing

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Spacing

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 Spacing
Slab

• The spacing of bars should not exceed Smax,slabs

• For the principal reinforcement, 3h  400 mm, where h

is the total depth of slab.

• For the secondary reinforcement, 3.5h  450 mm.

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 Spacing
Column

• The spacing of the transverse reinforcement along the

column should not exceed Scl,tmax obtained from the
minimum of:

i. 20  min. diameter of the longitudinal bars

ii. the lesser dimension of column
iii. 400 mm

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 Spacing between links
cl. 9.2.2, EC2-1-1:2004

For vertical links, α = 90°

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 Actions
• The set of applied forces (or loads) for which a structure is
to be designed.

• The standard loadings are given in BS EN 1991: Eurocode

1 – Actions on Structures.

• The main categories of actions are:

i. Permanent actions, Gk
ii. Variable actions, Qk

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 Permanent actions (Gk)
• Actions which are normally constant during the structures’
life.

• Include the weight of the structure itself and all static

components.

• Examples:
i. Self-weight of all permanent structures such as
beams, columns, floors, wall, roofs and finishes.
ii. Permanent partitions.

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 Variable actions (Qk)
• These actions are more difficult to determine accurately.
• Estimates are based on standard codes of practice or
experience.

• The values adopted are based on observations and

measurements and it is less accurate than the assessment
of dead loads.

• Examples: weights of buildings occupants, furniture,

machinery and retained earth or water.
• The standard values can be obtained from BS EN 1991-1-
1:2002 (Actions on Structures).

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 Partial factor of safety, m
• Allowance of possible variations to cater for errors during
construction or manufacturing process .

• This is applied to the strength of materials.

• Steel – manufactured in a factory with stringent care

(smaller partial factor of safety).

• Concrete – constructed on site (leads to higher partial

factor of safety).
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Partial factor of safety, m

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 Partial factor of safety, f
• This is applied to actions (loads).

• To cater for errors/inaccuracies due to:

i. Design assumptions and inaccuracy in calculation.
ii. Possible unusual load increment.
iii. Unforeseen stress redistribution.
iv. Constructional errors.

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Partial factor of safety, f (ULS)

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 Partial factor of safety, f (SLS)

• For the design at ULS the load combination that will be

used is:

Design load = 1.35 Gk + 1.5 Qk

• For the design at SLS the load combination that will be

used is:

Design load = 1.0 Gk + 1.0 Qk

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 Load Path
• The load path is simply the direction in
which each consecutive load will pass
through connected members.

• The sequence commences at the highest

point of the structure working all the way
down to the footing system, ultimately
transferring the total load of the structure
to the foundations.

• Each structural member must be designed

for all loads that pass through it.

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 Load Path
• For a framed structure with columns,
beams and slabs the load path is as
follows: Load applied on slab
is transferred to the adjoining
beams. Load from the beams
is transferred to the columns supporting
the beams. Load from the columns
is transferred to the foundations.

• For a framed system with trusses, the load

from the truss is either transferred to the
adjoining beams then from the beams to
the adjoining columns, or the load from the
truss is transferred directly to the columns.

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Action transfer in a building

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