REINFORCED

CONCRETE DESIGN I
(EC2)

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stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying recording or
otherwise to any person not authorized to use it without the express written permission of BCA
1
 EUROCODE
 SS EN 1990 Basis of structural design
 SS EN 1991 Actions of structure
 SS EN 1992 Design of concrete structures
 SS EN 1993 Design of steel structures
 SS EN 1994 Design of composite steel and concrete
structures
 SS EN 1995 Design of timber structures
 SS EN 1996 Design of masonry structures
 SS EN 1997 Geotechnical design
 SS EN 1998 Design of structures for earthquake
resistance
 SS EN 1999 Design of aluminium structures
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Course Overview
Objectives
Students are equipped with the fundamental
knowledge in carrying out design of reinforced
concrete structure such as beam, column, slab
and footings.

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Course Overview
This course will covers 9 topics:
1. Properties of Reinforced Concrete
2. Limit State Design
3. Structure Analysis
4. Section Analysis
5. Shear and Anchorage
6. Reinforced Concrete Beam Design
7. Reinforced Concrete Slab Design
8. Reinforced Concrete Column Design
9. Reinforced Concrete Foundation Design
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Course Overview
Assessment Method
The course will be assessed as follows;
 Class Participation – 10%
 Common Test – 20%
 Quiz/Test 2 – 10%
 Assignment – 20%
 Final Exam – 40%
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 REINFORCED
CONCRETE DESIGN I
Topic 1: Properties of
Reinforced Concrete

The Copyright of this document belongs to BCA. No part of this document may be used, disclosed, transferred, reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying recording or
otherwise to any person not authorized to use it without the express written permission of BCA
6
 TOPIC 1 :
Properties of
Reinforced Concrete

TOPIC 1.0 :
Topic Objectives

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1.0 Topic Objectives
At the end of the session, participants should be
able to:
 Discuss the aims and major steps involved in
structural design.
 Study the composite action of reinforced concrete.
 Explain the behavior of a concrete beam under
load.
 Discuss the properties of concrete.
 Discuss the properties of steel under load.
 Discuss the specification of the concrete and
steel.
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 TOPIC 1 :
Properties of
Reinforced Concrete

TOPIC 1.1 :
Composite Action

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1.1 Composite Action
 Reinforced concrete is basically made of two
materials, plain concrete and steel bars embedded
in concrete.
 Concrete possesses high compressive strength
but little tensile strength, which is about 10% of its
compressive strength only.
 Therefore, steel bars provide the needed strength
in tension. It also provides better shear strength
than concrete.
 However, concrete is more durable and better in
fire resistance than steel bars.
 Hence, reinforced concrete is made to combine
the best features of concrete and steel bars. 10
1.1 Composite Action
 The following table shows the differing properties
of concrete and steel:

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1.1 Composite Action
 Since the concrete is weak in tension, reinforced
concrete structures are designed on the
assumption that the concrete does not resist any
tensile forces.
 Steel reinforcement bars are designed to carry
these tensile forces, which are transferred by the
bond between the interface of the two materials.
 If the bond is not adequate, the reinforcing bars
will slip within the concrete and there will not be a
composite action.
 For adequate bonding, some reinforcement bars
are ribbed or twisted so that there is an extra
mechanical grip to concrete. 12
1.1 Composite Action
 Example of ribbed and twisted bars

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1.1 Composite Action
 The behavior of a simply supported beam
subjected to bending is shown below.
 The position of steel reinforcement at the bottom
helps to resist the tensile forces, while the
compression forces in the top of the beam are
carried by the concrete.

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1.1 Composite Action
 When the compressive or shearing forces exceed
the strength of the concrete, then steel
reinforcement must be provided as supplement to
the load carrying capacity of the concrete.
 For example, compression reinforcement is
generally required in a column where it takes the
form of vertical bars spaced near the perimeter.
 As the bars are slender, to prevent these bars
from buckling, links are used to assist the restraint
provided by the surrounding concrete.

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 TOPIC 1 :
Properties of
Reinforced Concrete

TOPIC 1.2 :
Material Specifications

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1.2 Material Specifications
Concrete Characteristic Strength, fck
 Concrete strength is assessed by measuring the
crushing strength of cubes or cylinders of
concrete made from the mix.
 These are usually cured, and tested after 28 days
according to standard procedures.
 Concrete of a given strength is identified by its
‘class’.
 For example, a Class 25/30 concrete has a
characteristic cylinder crushing strength (fck) of
25N/mm2 and cube strength of 30N/mm2.
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1.2 Material Specifications

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1.2 Material Specifications
Concrete Modulus of Elasticity, E
 Modulus of elasticity, E is defined as the ratio
between the stress and strain.
 Commonly, the secant or static modulus of
elasticity, Ecm is adopted as E for concrete.
 The magnitude of E is required for investigating
the deflection and cracking of a structure.
 The modulus of elasticity of concrete varies with
its strength.

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1.2 Material Specifications
 The table below shows the values of modulus
of elasticity for different strength of concrete.

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1.2 Material Specifications
Steel Characteristic Strength, fyk
 Grade 500 or 500N/mm2 characteristic strength
has replaced Grade 250 and Grade 460
reinforcing steel throughout Europe.

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1.2 Material Specifications
 High-yield bars are manufactured with a ribbed
surface or in the form of a twisted square.
 Square twisted bars have inferior bond
characteristics and have been used in the past,
although they are now outdated.
 Deformed bars have a mechanical bond with the
concrete, thus enhancing ultimate bond stresses.

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1.2 Material Specifications
 The ductility of reinforcing steel is also classified
for design purposes. Ribbed high yield bars
maybe classified as follows:
 Class A - which is normally associated with small
diameter (<12 mm) cold-worked bars used in
mesh and fabric. This is the lowest ductility
category.
 Class B - which is most commonly used for
reinforcing bars.
 Class C - high ductility which may be used in
earthquake design or similar situations.

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1.2 Material Specifications
Concrete Stress-strain Relations
 The knowledge of the relationship between the
stresses and strains is necessary to analyse and
design a member.
 Initially, as the load is applied, the strain increases
linearly with stress and the concrete behaves as an
elastic material.
 Then, the curve is no longer linear and the concrete
behaves more like plastic material.
 In the plastic range, if the load is removed, the
deformation would not recover.
 The ultimate strain for concrete is a constant of
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approximately 0.0035.
1.2 Material Specifications
 Stress-strain curve for concrete in compression

c2 cu2

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1.2 Material Specifications
 Concrete generally increases its strength with age
as shown in the following curve for a concrete
made with a class 42.5 Portland Cement with a 28
day compressive strength of 30N/mm2.

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1.2 Material Specifications
Steel Stress-strain Relations
 The representative short-term design stress-strain
curve for reinforcement is given in figure below.

 The behaviour of the steel is identical in tension and

compression, linear in the elastic range up to the
design yield stress, fyk where fyk is the characteristic
yield strength of steel. 27
 TOPIC 1 :
Properties of
Reinforced Concrete

TOPIC 1.3 :
Characteristics of Concrete
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1.3 Characteristics of Concrete
Shrinkage
 Shrinkage is due to the reduction in volume of
concrete. This can cause cracking of the concrete.
 A low water-cement ratio will help to reduce the
drying shrinkage.
 When the tensile stress caused by shrinkage or
thermal movement exceed the strength of the
concrete, cracking will occur.

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1.3 Characteristics of Concrete
 Shrinkage is taking place due to the following
reasons:
 Initial absorption of water by the cement and
aggregates when the concrete is mixed.
 Evaporation of water which rises to the concrete
surface.
 Thermal contraction during the process of
hydration of cement while settling.
 Subsequent wetting and drying after getting
hardened.

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1.3 Characteristics of Concrete
Creep
 Creep is the continuous deformation of a member
under sustained load.
 The characteristics of creep are as follows:
 The final deformation of the member can be three to
four times the short-term elastic deformation.
 The deformation is roughly proportional to the intensity
of loading and to the inverse of the concrete strength.
 If the load is removed, only the instantaneous elastic
deformation will recover - plastic deformation will not.
 There is a redistribution of load between the concrete
and any steel present.
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1.3 Characteristics of Concrete
 The effects of creep are particularly important in
beams, where the increased deflections may
cause:
 opening of cracks,
 damage to finishes and
 the non-alignment of mechanical equipment.
 The provision of reinforcement in the
compressive zone of a flexural member helps to
restrain the deflections due to creep.

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1.3 Characteristics of Concrete
Durability
 Concrete structures, properly designed and
constructed, are long lasting and should require
little maintenance.
 The durability of the concrete is influenced by:
 The exposure conditions: expose to atmosphere, soil,
sea water, etc. – refer Table 1.3.1
 The cover to the reinforcement: Adequate cover is
essential to prevent contact of corrosive agents with
steel. – refer Table 1.3.2
 The concrete quality: a dense well-compacted concrete
with a low water-cement ratio is very important.
 The width of any cracks. – refer Table 1.3.3
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1.3 Characteristics of Concrete
Table 1.3.1 Exposure
Classes

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1.3 Characteristics of Concrete

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Table 1.3.2 Concrete Cover
1.3 Characteristics of Concrete

Table 1.3.3 Maximum bar size or spacing to limit crack width 36

References
1. Reinforced Concrete Design to Eurocode 2,
6th Edition by B.Mosley, J.Rbungey and Ray
Hulse,
2. How to Design Concrete Structures Using
Eurocode 2,
3. Design of Concrete Structures by Arthur H.
Nilson et al.
4. Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete by
F.K.Kong and R.H-Evans.
5. Design of Structural Elements, 3rd Edition by
Chanakya Arya.
6. BS EN 1992-1-1:2004 – EC2. 37
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