DESIGN OF

STRUCTURES I
 Fundamental of design process
• Objectives of structural design:
A reinforced concrete design must satisfy the
following functional objectives:
 under the worst system of loading, the
structure must be safe.
 to ensure that the structure will perform
satisfactorily throughout its design life.
This is done by ensuring that the design loads or
stresses do not exceed the design strengths of
the materials.
 To ensure that the design is economical to
build and maintain. No under reinforcement
or over reinforcement as both have adverse
effects.
 Design process
This basically can be divided into two stages:
 Conceptual design: which involves
(a) An appreciation of the clientʹs requirement

(a) Comparison of alternative forms of

structural scheme. This is done in
consultation with the client, if need be.
 Detailed design: this concerns full
structural analysis and detailed design of
the selected scheme. It involves:

(a)Making realistic estimates of the design

loads acting on each elements of a
structure- beam, columns, slab. E.T.C
(b) Using the information in (a) together with
the materials properties, to size the elements.
please note that: The first stage is guided by the
experience while the second stage depends
more on a thorough understanding of the code
of practice for structural design.
 Material properties
Introduction: Reinforced concrete is a strong
durable building material that can be formed into
many shapes and sizes ranging from a simple
rectangular column, to a slender curved dome or
shell.
 Its unity and versatility are achieved by
combining the best features of concrete and
steel. Consider some of the widely differing
properties of these two materials that are listed
below;
 CONCRETE STEEL

STRENGTH IN TENSION POOR GOOD

STRENGTH IN GOOD GOOD,BUT SLENDER BARS

COMPRESSION WILL BUCKLE

STRENGTH IN SHEAR FAIR GOOD

DURABILITY GOOD CORRODES IF UNPROTECTED

FIRE RESISTANCE GOOD POOR- SUFFERS RAPID LOSS

OF STRENGTH AT HIGH
TEMPERATURE
It can be seen from this list that the materials
are more or less complementary.

Thus, when they are combined, the steel is

able to provide the tensile strength and
probably some of the shear strength while the
concrete, strong in compression, protects the
steel to give durability and fire resistance.
NOTE THAT:
(a) The tensile strength of concrete is only
about 10 % of compressive strength.
because of this, nearly all reinforced
concrete structures are designed on the
assumption that the concrete does not
resist any tensile force.
(b) Reinforcement is designed to carry
these tensile forces, which are transferred
by bond between the interface of the two
materials.
If this bond is not adequate, the
reinforcing bar will just slip within the
concrete and there will not be a
composite action.
• Thus members should be detailed so that
the concrete can be well compacted
around the reinforcement during
construction.
• In addition, bars are normally ribbed so
that there is an extra mechanical grip.
(c) Reinforcement should be kept clean by
stacking them off the ground. prior to usage
reinforcement should be free from mud, oil,
paint. all which weaken the bond with the
concrete. unless the bars are rigidly fixed in the
correct position the reinforcement may be
displaced during concreting, particularly where
the concrete is to be vibrated.
(d) The correct amount of concrete cover should
be maintained. it is important to ensure the
correct placing and fixing of all reinforcements
before casting/concreting. should there be any
discrepancies between the bending schedule
and the drawings, the design engineer should be
contacted.
 BUILDING REGULATIONS AND CODE
OF PRACTICE
 These are set of rules and regulations that
gives the necessary guide line and instructions
(not advice) for the design of engineering
structures.
It is usually conservative and is issued in the
country in which the structures is being
designed. In Nigeria (as in other Africa
countries) the code of practice of their
colonial masters are adopted
With minor adjustment to accommodate local
situations and conditions.
 They are used to ensure safety and economy
of construction and to avoid repetition of
mistakes.
 Some of the codes of practice used in the
design of structures are:
(A) CP 114- DEVELOPED IN 1957 FOR
PERMISSIBLE STRESS DESIGN IN CONCRETE.
(B) CP 110- DEVELOPED IN 1972. An
improvement over cp 114 based on partial
safety factor and favors limit states in concrete.
(C) BS 449- old permissible stress code for steel
(D) BS 648- SCHEDULE OF WEIGTH OF BUILDING
MATERIALS.
(e) BS 6399- Design loading for buildings.
part 1 of this code gives the imposed loads
and wind load for various buildings
(f) BS 5628- Code of practice for structural
use of masonry.
(g)BS8110- Developed in 1985 and
modified in 1997 for structural use of steel
work
(h) BS 5950- developed in 1985 and modified in
1990 for structural use of steel work
(i) BS 882- specification for aggregates from
natural sources for concrete.
note that: CP 110,114 and bs 449 involve the
use of charts. BS 8110 and 5950 involve the use
of tables the use of tables and equations
 For this course we will be designing to the
following code of practice :
BS 8110 part 1 1997 and 1985 ˝ Structural use
of concrete ˮ .
 Extract from both codes of practice will be
made available to the students in the course
of these lectures
 EXTRACT FROM BS 8110 CODE OF
PRACTICE
 General Principles:
It is recommended that one engineer
should be responsible for the overall
design, including stability.

This will ensure that various designs by

other engineers are compatible in terms of
detailing and components.
 The structure must be arranged so that it can
transmit dead, wind and imposed load directly
to the foundations.

The general arrangement must ensure a

robust and stable structure that will not
collapse gradually under the effects of misuse
or accidental damage to any component part
of the designed structure.
 STABILITY
 The structure must act compositely against
any external force. Strong points must be
provided by the use of shear walls.

Lateral stability in two orthogonal directions

should be provided by a system of strong
point within the structure so as to produce a
˝braced ˮ structure i.e one in which the
structure will not be subjected to sway
moments.
 The shear walls must also be of reinforced
concrete not less than 180 mm thick to help
concreting.
 The walls must also be 225 mm brick work or
200 mm solid block work properly tied and
pinned to the framing for low to medium rise
buildings.
Also, strong point should be effective
throughout the full height of the building axis
where
The structure is divided by expansion joints
each part should be structurally independent
and designed to be stable and robust without
relying on the stability of adjacent sections.
 All members of the structure must be
effectively tied together in the longitudinal,
transverse and vertical directions.
Lastly movement joints should be provided to
minimize the effects of movement caused by
shrinkage, temperature variations, creep and
settlement of foundation.
FIRE RESISTANCE AND DURABILITY
 In order for a structural member to carry its
load during and after. A fire resistance may
need to be greater than that which is dictated
by purely structural considerations.
 Similarly, the cover to reinforcement
necessary to ensure durability may dictate the
lower limit of the cross-sectional dimensions.
 LOADING
This manual adopt the limit-state principle
and the partial factor format of bs 8110. the
loads to be used in calculations are therefore:
(a) characteristics Dead load, gk: the weight of
the structure complete with finishes, fixtures
and fixed partitions
(b) characteristics imposed load, qk,

(c ) characteristics wind load, wk,

(d) nominal earth and water, en

 The design loads are obtained by multiplying
the characteristic loads by the appropriate
partial safety factor.
 TABLE 1: PARTIAL SAFETY FACTORS
FOR THE LOADS
LOAD TYPE

LOAD DEAD IMPOSED EARTH WIND, Wx

COMBINATION LOAD Gk LOAD, Qk AND
(INCLUDING EARTH WATER,
AND WATER
LOADING WHERE
PRESENT)
ADVERSE BENEF ADVERSE BENE
ICIAL FICIAL
1. DEAD AND 1.4 1.0 1.6 0 1.2 /1.0 ----
IMPOSED
2. DEAD AND WIND 1.4 1.0 ----- ---- 1.2 /1.0 1.4

3. DEAD, WIND 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 /1.0 1.2

AND IMPOSED
 Serviceability limit state:
provided that span / effective depth ratios and
bar spacing rules are observed it will not be
necessary to check for serviceability limit states
 Material design stresses:
Design stresses are given in appropriate sections
of the manual. The partial safety factors for
strength materials are the same as those given
in bs 8110.
 Tension reinforcement:
Reinforcement can now be calculated by the
following formula:
𝑀
As =
0.95𝑓𝑦× 𝑧
Where M is the design ultimate bending
moment under load at the section and d is the
effective depth.
 Compression reinforcement:
If for a rectangular section
𝑀 > 0.15𝑓𝔠𝔲𝑏𝑑² compression
𝐾−𝐾′𝑓𝑐𝑢𝑏𝑑²
reinforcement is required: As'=
0.9𝑓𝑦(𝑑−𝑑′)
Where A's is the area of compression steel. 𝑑 is
the centroid, b is the width of the section and d
its effective depth.
 Bars arrangement
 When the area of the main reinforcement in
the members has been calculated, check that
the bars can arranged with the required cover
in a particular manner avoid congested areas.

 In slabs, the bar spacing should not be less

than 150 mm nor more than 300 mm the bars
should not be less than 10mm normally more
than 20mm.