Civil Engineering Theory II – CIVN3029A

Introduction to RC
Beam Design

Lecturer: Dr. Imuentinyan Aivinhenyo

Hillman Building – Room 021
Purpose of the lecture:

•Illustrate the main principles used in the design

of a simply reinforced concrete beam.
•Explain the use of a preliminary design
procedure that allows for the initial
proportioning of a beam.
Basic Objective

The main objective is to identify areas where tension stresses are

developing and place enough steel bars in these areas to provide
adequate resistance to tension.
Basic Objective
The location of the areas where tension develops is dependent on the
direction of the applied loads and of the support conditions.
 Bending moment diagrams
Bending moment diagrams assist in determining where tension
stresses are developing. These diagrams consider the direction of the
loading and support conditions.

It is common engineering practice to draw these diagrams on the side

of the beam that is experiencing the tensile stresses.
 Bending moment diagrams

Bending moment diagram indicating the sides on which tension

develops.

wL wL/2 wL/2
wL/2
Internal equilibrium of the beam

-Upper part is under compression and

lower part is under tension. Compressive
and tensile forces must be equal.
-Somewhere close to the middle height
of the beam, there is a part that is
neither under tension nor compression
(neutral axis or neutral plane).
-Tensile resistance of concrete is
assumed to be zero. That is, all tension
forces are taken by the rebars.
C
-A firm bond between concrete and steel
allows for tensile stresses to be
T transferred from concrete to the steel.
Shaeffer, 1992
Internal equilibrium of the beam
Shaeffer, 1992 Shaeffer, 1992 Shaeffer, 1992

-As the load on the beam increases, so does the induced bending moment
(load effect). C and T must increase accordingly.
-To maintain equilibrium: C = T.
-The bending moment the beam can resist is C × z = T × z. Distance between
line of action of C and T: z
-The distribution of the compressive stresses is usually assumed to be
rectangular and not curved as shown in the figure.
 Methodology for the preliminary proportioning of a
singly reinforced concrete beam

Singly Doubly
reinforced reinforced
beam. beam. Resists
greater loads.
Link
(Provides
shear
resistance)

A full design methodology involves a rigorous derivation of equilibrium

equations that is beyond the scope of this course. These equilibrium
equations take into account the considerations mentioned in the previous
two slides.
In this course we will make use of a simplified design methodology that will
allow you to make an initial estimate of the dimensions of a singly
reinforced concrete beam. Methodology is based on SANS 10100-1.
Methodology for the preliminary proportioning of a
singly reinforced concrete beam

Definition of parameters:
b : width
h : depth or overall depth
d : effective depth (goes to centre of rebars)

To reduce iterations, the methodology requires us to make an assumption

regarding the b/d ratio. A recommended range of values for this ratio is 0.4
to 0.55.
Methodology for the preliminary proportioning of a
singly reinforced concrete beam

Consider the following beam cross sections:

b ≥ h (inefficient use h >> b (very slender b = 0.33∙h to 0.5∙h

of geometrical beam – may have (Recommended
properties) stability problems) proportions)

More adopted notation:

C1 = b/d fy = yield strength of rebars
φbar = diameter of the rebars fcu = compressive strength of concrete
φlink = diameter of the links M = Design bending moment
Preliminary depth using the Basic Span/Effective
depth ratio
L
Methodology for the preliminary proportioning of a
singly reinforced concrete beam (with Bending
moment consideration)
The equilibrium equations of a singly reinforced beam require us to ensure that:

Typically, b and d are chosen independently and if the previous requirement is not
met, larger values of b and d have to be chosen. But if we define b = C1∙d, we can
choose d in such a way that the previous requirement is always met.

Value of M and fcu are known. Assume a value of

C1 and solve for d.

If you choose fixed values for C1 and fcu, you can create plots of d vs. M that will aid
the design process. E.g.: (Next slide)
Example - preliminary design of singly reinforced concrete
beam
Question 1. Preliminary dimensioning of a reinforced concrete beam design.

The figure shows the plan view of a slab that is supported on two beams: AC and BD.
The slab supports the following loads: Dn = 5.5 kN/m2 and Ln = 2.8 kN/m2.

Severe exposure conditions.

Normal-density concrete.

a. Calculate the design uniformly distributed load (w) acting on beam AC.
b. Determine the design bending moment. Assume that beam AC is simply supported.
c. Estimate the required effective depth of the beam. From this point onwards assume
that:
- C1 = b/d = 0.45
- The design bending moment is 80 kN∙m (Ignore your answer in part b)
- fy = 450 MPa and fcu = 35 MPa
d. Estimate the overall depth of the beam (h). Assume φbar = 16 mm.
e. Recalculate d to be consistent with your final selection of h.
f. Estimate beam width (b). Make any relevant slenderness checks.
g. Determine the required flexural steel (As). Do NOT check As(min) or As(max).
h. Identify a suitable number of rebars for this beam.
Solution to question 1:

a. Let’s first find the design area load acting on the slab. According to our load
combinations it could be:
U = 1.2*(5.5 kN/m2) +1.6*(2.8 kN/m2) = 11.08 kN/m2 OR U = 1.5*(5.5 kN/m2) = 8.25
kN/m2
Choose greater value: U = 11.08 kN/m2. Now to obtain the design load per unit length (w)
we multiply U by the width of the tributary area of the beam. For this case the width of the
tributary area is half the separation between beams: 3 m/2 = 1.5 m.
Therefore: w = 11.08kN/m2 * 1.5 m = 16.62 kN/m

b. According to table 2 in your notes, the maximum bending moment in a simply supported
beam occurs at mid span and has a magnitude of wL^2/8. In this case L = 5.5 m. M = (16.62
kN/m)*(5.5 m)2/8 = 62.8 kN*m

c. Adopting the assumptions made in the problem, we use the design curve for fcu = 35
MPa, and C1 = b/d = 0.45. We obtain d must be greater than: 320 mm (See next slide)
d. Overall height of beam (h): h ≈ d + cover + φlink + 0.5*φbar. According to table 4 in your
notes, cover is 40 mm; φlink can be taken as 10 mm; φbar is given; and d has already been
calculated. Therefore: h ≈ 320mm + 40mm + 10mm + 0.5*16mm = 378mm. We round up to
the closest centimetre: h = 380mm.

e. Recalculate d: d = h – cover – φlink – 0.5*φbar = 380mm – 40mm – 10mm – 8mm =

322mm

f. Beam width (b): If C1 = b/d = 0.45; then b = 0.45*d = 0.45*322mm = 145mm. Round up
to closest centimetre: b = 150 mm. This not yet the final answer, slenderness checks must
be made.
For simply supported beams: b ≥ L/60 = 5500mm/60 = 92 mm < 150 mm OK.
b ≥ √(Ld/250) = √(5500mm*322mm/250) = 84.2 mm < 150 mm OK.
Therefore b = 150mm.
Design for flexure reinforcement (using an arbitrary design moment of 80kNm):

g. First check if k = M/(b∙d2∙fcu) < 0.156:

k= (80 kN∙m×1000N/1kN×1000mm/1m)/(150mm〖×(322mm)〗^2×35 N⁄〖mm〗^2

)=0.147<0.156 OK

NB: If k > 0.156, it is indicative that section dimension is inadequate and/or compression
reinforcement is required.

Calculate the lever arm z:

z is the lowest of:
(0.5+√(0.25-k/0.9))∙d=255.8 mm OR 0.95*d = 305.9 mm
Therefore z = 255.8 mm.

Calculate Area of steel, As As= M/0.87fy.z

As= (80 kN∙m×1000N/1kN×1000mm/1m)/(0.87×450 N/mm2 ×255.8mm)=798.8mm2

Lastly, check the As(min) and As(max) values that apply for fy = 450 MPa.

As(min) = 0.0013bh = 0.0024*150mm*380mm = 74.1 mm2 < 798.8 mm2 OK

As(max) = 0.04bh = 0.04*150mm*380mm = 2280 mm2 > 798.8 mm2 OK
Worked Example 2 – Beam Design

The beam section shown in the figure below has characteristic material strengths of
fcu = 30 N/mm2 for the concrete, and fy= 460 N/mm2 for the steel. The design moment
at the ultimate limit state is 165 kN m which causes sagging of the beam. Design the
tension reinforcement for the rectangular section. Dimensions of the beam are given in
mm.
Solution to question 2:

Hint:
Size of beam given.
Required to establish the area of steel (tension
reinforcement) to withstand the bending moment at
ultimate limit state.

b= 230mm ; d = 490mm; h =550mm

Strength of concrete fcu = 30 N/mm2
Strength of steel fy = 460 N/mm2
M = 165kN.m

Step 1: establish K using the section equilibrium equation

for singly-reinforced section.
K= M/bd2 fcu

K= 0.1 which is less than 0.156 (compression steel not

required).
Step 2: establish the lever arm z using the equation

Z= d[0.5+√(0.25 – K /0.9)]

Z= 490*0.87= 426mm (which is less than 0.95d)

Step 3: calculate the area of steel reinforcement using the

equation:
As =M/0.87fy*z
As = 165 * 10^6/0.87*460*426

As = 968 mm2
Provide two T25 bars = 982mm2
Step 4
Check As against the maximum and minimum required.

As max = 0.04bh = 0.04*230*550 = 5060mm2 OK.

As min = 0.0013bh = 0.0013*230*550 = 164.45mm2 OK.

Calculated As meets the requirements.

Tutorial Question 4 Solution (page 25 in lecture notes)
In this case, dimension of beam as well as the ultimate bending moment to be resisted is already given.
What is required is the area of steel reinforcement for that given cross section. So here, the step for
preliminary sizing of section and load calculation is skipped altogether. The next step will be to estimate
K.

b=260mm ; h= 480mm ; M= 290KN.m

Tension bars to be used = 16mm diameter ; links to be used = 8mm
Compression bars (if needed) = 12mm diameter the K value will tell if compression steel is needed.
To calculate K, we need to estimate effective depth, d
d=480mm-(0.5*16mm)-8mm-20mm = 444mm
K=M/bd^2fcu = (290*106 )/(260*4442*30) = 0.189
Calculated K is greater than 0.156. implies that compression side reinforcement is also required.
Applying the equations given in lecture notes (page 22);
Area of Compression steel AsI can be established to be about 309.25mm2 (3 no. 12mm bars)
Area of Tension steel As can be established to be about 2237.78mm2 (12 no. 16mm bars)
Check:
As min =162.24mm2 As max = 4992mm2 (Design satisfies these conditions)
Note: In practical situations, due to the large number(12) of 16mm bars required to accommodate the
given bending moment for the cross section, it will be more appropriate to utilise a larger diameter bar,
say 25mm or 32mm, and then redo the entire design!