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Chapter Five: Bond, Anchorage and Development length

5.1 Introduction

In reinforced concrete members, flexural compressive forces are resisted by

concrete and the flexural tensile forces by the reinforcement. For this process
to exist, there must be a force transfer, or bond between the two materials.
One of the basic assumptions in the analysis and design of reinforced concrete
is that there is absolutely no slippage between concrete and reinforcing steel.
Whenever there is rate of change of stress in reinforcing bar, there must be
some interchange of stress or shear flow between the concrete and the
reinforcement. The resistance to slippage is termed bond. And the intensity of
this bonding force is termed bond stress.

Bond transfer is due to:

- Adhesion between the concrete and the reinforcing steels
- Frictional resistance and interlock between the bar deformations and the
surrounding concrete.
- Mechanical anchorage effect of the ends of the bars ( hook or bend)

5.2 Bond Stress Development

Bond stress in reinforced concrete embers arise from two distinct situations:
- From anchorage of bars (anchorage bond)
- From the change of bar force along its length due to change in bending
moment along the member (flexural bond).

Flexural Bond

Flexural bond stresses are the bond stresses developed between tension
reinforcement and concrete in flexural members. A short length of a beam is
considered as a free body diagram as shown below.

Due to change in bending moment along the axis of the member, a flexural
bending stress U is developed along the embedded reinforcement (Fig.C)
The change in bending moment dM produces a change in the bar force

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dM
dT 
z
Where z is the internal lever arm between tensile and compressive force
resultants. Since the bar or bars must be in equilibrium, this change in bar force
is resisted at the contact surface between steel and concrete by an equal and
opposite force produced by bond (see fig 5.C)

If u is the magnitude of the local average bond stress per unit of bar surface
area, then by summing horizontal forces
u O dx  dT
Where  O
is the sum of the perimeters of all the bars. Thus
dT
u
 O
dx
Substituting Eq. (a) in to Eq. (5.1), the unit bond stress can be written as:
dM
u
O zdx
dM
Since V
dx
V
u , this is the classic formula for computing the flexural
 O
z
bond stresses.
V
And u   f bd where fbd is the design bond strength (EBCS-2)
O z
In the computation of flexural bond stresses, due to the high stress gradient in
the bar at a crack location, local bond stress much higher than the one given by
the formula does occur. How ever, the procedure of computing bond stress can
be replaced by providing adequate embedment length past the location at which
the bar is fully stressed.

Anchorage Bond

Assume Ld to be the length of the bar embedded in the concrete subjected to a

net tensile force dT (see Fig. 5.). If db is the diameter of the bar, μ is the
average bond stress, and fs the stress in the reinforcing bar in a beam, the
anchorage force would be d bld and equal to the tensile force dT on the bar
cross section; that is

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d b2
dT  fs
4
d b2
Hence d bld 
fs
4
From which the average bond stress,
fd
 s b
4ld
And the development length
fd
ld  s b
4
Empirical data indicate that regardless what the flexural bond stresses in
tension reinforcement may be, if bars are sufficiently anchored or developed,
there will be no slippage b/n the concrete and the bars. Thus in order to ensure
that a bar is securely anchored by bond to develop its maximum usable strength,
equations for the development length of bars with different spacing is specified
by Building Codes (refer EBCS 2, Art. ).

5.3 Ultimate Bond Strength and Development Length

For reinforcing bars in tension, two types of ultimate bond failure have been
observed. The first is direct pull out of the bar, which occurs when ample
confinement is provided by the surrounding concrete. This could be expected
when relatively small diameter bars are used with sufficiently large concrete
cover distances and bar spacing. The second type of failure is splitting of
concrete along the bar when cover, confinement or bar spacing is insufficient to
resist the lateral concrete tension resulting from the wedging effect of the bar
deformations.

Development Length

Development length is defined as the length of embedment necessary to develop

the full tensile strength of the bar, controlled by either pullout or splitting.
With reference to fig 5.3 the moment, and the steel stress, is maximum at point
a and zero at the supports. If the bar stress is fs at a, then the total tensile
force Abfs must be transferred from the bar to the concrete in the distance l
by bond stress on the surface. To fully develop the strength of the bar, A bfy,
the distance l must be at least equal to the development length of the bar,
established by tests. If the actual length l is equal to or greater than the
development length ld, no premature bond failure will occur. That is, the beam

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will fail in bending or shear rather than by bond failure. However, if the actual
available length is in adequate for full development, special anchorage such as
Hooks must be provided.

Factors affecting the development length are bar size, bar spacing concrete
cover, type of concrete, spacing and amount of transverse reinforcement,
effect of use of excess main reinforcement, whether bars are coated, and the
effect of bar splicing.

Generally, due to the weakening effect of tension cracks, bars in tension require
larger development length than bars in compression (see the equations of the
development lengths of tension and compression reinforcements, EBCS 2, Art.).

Anchorage

In the event that the desired tensile stress in a bar cannot be developed by
bond alone, it is necessary to provide special anchorage at the ends of the bar,
usually by means of a 90 o or a 180 o hook. The dimensions and bend radii for
such hooks have been standardized (see section 5.6).

5.4 Bar cutoff and bend points in beams

Bending stresses, concrete dimensions, and longitudinal bar areas are calculated
based on critical moments along the length. These critical moment sections are
generally at the face of the supports (negative bending) and near the middle of
the span (positive bending).

The steel requirement on the other hand, is easily varied in accordance with
requirements for flexure, and it is common practice either to cut of bars where
they are no longer needed to resist stress or, some times in the case of
continuous beams, to bend up the bottom steel (usuallky at 45o) so that it
provides tensile reinforcement at the top of the beam over the supports.

The tensile force to be resisted by the reinforcement at any cross section is T =

Asfs = M/z where M is the value of bending moment at that section and z is the
internal lever arm of the resisting moment. The lever arm z varies only with in
narrow limits and is never less than the value at the maximum moment section.
Consequently, the tensile force can be taken with good accuracy directly
proportional to the bending moment. Since it is desirable to design so that the

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steel every where in the beam is as nearly fully stressed as possible, it follows
that the required steel area is very nearly proportional to the bending moment.

To illustrate, the moment diagram for a uniformly loaded simple span beam
shown in Fig. 5.4 can be used as a steel requirement diagram. At the maximum
section, 100 percent of the steel is theoretically required (0 percent can be
discontinued or bent), while at the supports, 0 percent of the steel is
theoretically required (100 percent can be discontinued or bent). The
percentage of bars that could be discontinued elsewhere along the span is
obtainable directly from the moment diagram, drawn to scale.

To determine cutoff or bend points for continues beams, negative and positive
moment envelops are drawn (see fig. 5.3b). The location of the points at which
50% of the bottom and top steel may theoretically be discontinued are shown

Actually, in no case should the tensile steel be discontinued exactly at the

theoretically cutoff points. It is necessary that the calculated stress in the
steel at each section be developed by adequate embedment length or end
anchorage, or a combination of the two. For the usual case, with no special end
anchorage, this means that the full development length ld must be provided
beyond critical sections at which peak stress exists in the bars. These critical
sections are located at points of maximum moment and at points where adjacent
terminated reinforcement is no longer needed to resist bending.

Further more, an internal stress redistribution occurs in a beam due to the

formation of diagonal tension crack (see section). And hence, EBCS requires that
every bar should be continued for a distance of al (see EBCS 2 Art.) beyond the
theoretical cutoff points to account the effect of shear.

5.5 Splicing of Reinforcement

Reinforcing bars are produced in standard lengths controlled by transportability

and weight consideration. In general, 12m lengths are normally produced. It is

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also convenient to work with shorter bar lengths. Thus it is normal to splice
bars. The forces may be transferred from one bar to another by a lapped joint
or a mechanical joint or welded joint. When two reinforcing bars are to be
joined by lap splicing, it is necessary to overlap a length sufficient to develop its
full strength by bond round the surface so that it does not slip under the design
stress.

Fig.5.3 shows a bar lap splice and the force and stress distribution along the
splice length ls. Failure of concrete at the splice region develops by a typical
splitting mechanism (see Fig. 5.2b). At failure, one bar slips relative to the
other. The idealized stress distribution in the bars along the splice length l s has
a maximum value fy at the splice end and 1/2fy at ls/2 (see Fig. 5.2).

The required length of lap for tension splices, established by test, may be
stated in terms of the development length ld (EBSC 2, Art. ). The connection or
the splicing should be as far as possible away from the section of high stress
and where several parallel bars are to be joined, the joints should be staggered.
It is recommended that splices in flexural members should not be provided at
sections where the bending moment is more than 50% of the moment of
resistance; and more than 50% of the total bars should not be joined at one
section.

Reinforcing bars in compression are spliced mainly in columns, where bars are
normally terminated just above each floor or every other floor. This is done
partly for construction convenience, to avoid handling and supporting very long
column bars, but it is also done to permit column steel area to be reduced in
steeps, as loads become lighter at higher floors.

5.6 Detailing Provision as per EBCS-2, 1995

Bending of Bars

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1) the minimum diameter to which a bar is bent shall be such as to avoid

crushing or splitting of concrete inside the bend of the bar, and to avoid
bending cracks in the bar
2) For bars or wires, the minimum diameter of the mandrel used should be
not less than the values given in the following Table.

Table 5.1 Minimum diameter of bend

Bar size Main reinforcement Stirrups and ties
Ø ≤ 16 5Ø 4Ø
16 < Ø ≤ 25 6Ø 6Ø
25 < Ø ≤ 32 8Ø -
Ø > 32 10Ø -

Concrete Cover to reinforcement

1) The concrete cover is the distance between the outer surface of the
reinforcement (including links and stirrups) and the nearest concrete
surface.
2) A minimum concrete cover shall be provided in order to ensure:
o the safe transmission of bond forces
o that spalling will not occur
o an adequate fire resistance
o the protection of steel against corrosion
3) to transmit bond forces safely, and to ensure adequate compaction , the
concrete cover, to the bar or tendon being considered, should never be
less than:
a) Ø or Øn ( ≤ 40mm), or
b) (Ø + 5mm) or (Øn + 5mm) if dg> 32mm
Where Ø is the diameter of the bar
Øn is the equivalent diameter of a bundle
dg is the largest nominal maximum aggregate size
4) The minimum concrete cover to all reinforcement including links and
stirrups should not be less than the appropriate values given in the
following table.

Table 5.2 Minimum Cover Requirements for Concrete Members

Type of Dry environment: Humid Sea water and/or
Exposure Interior environment: aggressive chemical
buildings of Interior environment:

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normal components (e.g. Components

habitation or laundries); completely or
offices exterior partially submerged in
components; sea water;
(Mild) components in non components in
aggressive soil saturated salt air;
and/or water aggressive industrial
atmospheres
(Moderate) (Sever)
Minimum
cover 15 25 50
(mm)

5) The allowance (Δh) for tolerance will usually be in the range of 0 mm < Δh <
5 mm, for pre-cast elements, if production control can guarantee these
values and if this is verified by quality control. The allowance will be in the
range of 5 mm < Δh < 10 mm, for insitu reinforced concrete construction.
6) For concrete cast against uneven surfaces, the minimum covers given in
the above table should generally be increased by larger allowances for
tolerances. For example, for concrete cast directly against the earth, the
minimum cover should be greater than 75 mm; for concrete cast against
prepared ground (including blinding) the minimum cover should be greater
than 40mm. surfaces having designed features, such as ribbed finishes or
exposed aggregate, also require increased cover.
7) The nominal cover shall always be at least equal to the diameter of the
bar Ø and incase of bundles to the size of a single bar of equivalent area
by the following equation
 e  b n
Where Øe is the effective diameter of the bundle
Øb is the diameter of bars forming the bundle
n is the number of bars in the bundle

8) The required minimum covers given in the above table, as modified to allow
for tolerances, may be insufficient for fire protection and particular
requirements shall be referred.

Spacing of reinforcement

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1) The spacing of bars shall be suitable for the proper compaction of

concrete and when an internal vibrator is likely to be used, sufficient
space shall be left between reinforcement to enable the vibrator to be
inserted
2) The maximum aggregate size dg should be chosen to permit adequate
compaction of the concrete round the bars
3) The clear horizontal and vertical distance between bars shall be at least
equal to the largest of the following values:
a. 20mm
b. The diameter of the largest bar or effective diameter of the bundle
c. The maximum size of the aggregate dg plus 5mm
4) Where bars are positioned in separate horizontal layers, the bars in each
layer should be located vertically above each other and space between the
resulting columns of bar should permit the passage of an internal vibrator
5) Lapped bars may touch one another within the lap length
6) Maximum distance with in the bars shall comply with the code requirement

Bond

Design Bond Strength

1) The design bond strength fbd depends on the type of reinforcement, the
concrete strength and the position of the bar during concreting
2) The bond conditions are considered to be good for( See Figure) :
a) All bars which are in the lower half of an element
b) All bars in elements whose depth does not exceed 300mm
c) All bars which are at least 300mm from the top of an element in which
they are placed.
d) All bars with an inclination of 45o to 90o to the horizontal during
concreting.

3) For good bond conditions, the design bond strength of plain bars may be
obtained from :
fbd = fctd
4) For deformed bars twice the value for plain bars may be used
5) For other bond conditions, the design bond strength may be taken as 0.7
times the value for good bond conditions

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Figure 5.1 Bond requirements

Anchorage of Reinforcement

1) All reinforcement shall be properly anchored at each end with due

consideration for the effect of arch action and shear cracks
2) To prevent bond failure, the tension and compression in any bars at any
section due to ultimate loads shall be developed on each side of the
section by appropriate embedment length or end anchorage or combination
thereof. Hooks may be used in developing bars in tension (see figure).

Basic Anchorage Length

1) The basic anchorage length is the embedment length required to develop

the full design strength of a straight reinforcing bar.
2) The basic anchorage length lb for a bar of diameter Ø is:
 f yd
lb  .
4 f bd

Required Anchorage Length

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1) The required anchorage length lb,net depends on the type of anchorage and
on the stress in the reinforcement and can be calculated as :
As ,cal
lb,net  alb  lb,min
As ,ef
Where As,cal is the theoretical area of reinforcement required by the
design
As,ef is the area of reinforcement actually provided
a = 1.0 for straight bar anchorage in tension or compression
= 0.7 for anchorage in tension with the standard hooks of Fig. 5.
lb,min is the minimum anchorage length

2) For bars in tension,

lb,min  0.3lb  10
or  200 mm
3) For bars in compression,
lb,min  0.6lb  10
or  200 mm

Figure 5.2 Required anchorage length

Ties and Stirrups

1) The type of anchorage used shall not induce splitting or spalling of the
concrete cover.
2) Anchorage by hooks(135o to 180o) is required for plain bars
3) Anchorage by bends( 90o to 135o) is only allowed for deformed bars

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4) The required anchorage lb,net shall be measured from the mid depth of the
member

Laps and Joints

1) The length of lap lo shall be at least equal to:

lo  a1lb,net  lo,min
l o,min  0.3aa1lb  15
Where
or  200 mm
lb,net and a are as given before.
a1 is a function of the percentage of the reinforcement lapped at
any section as given in the following Table. Lab joints are
considered to be at the same section if the distance between
their centers does not exceed the required lap length.
Table 5.3 Values of a1
Distance Distance of nearest Percentage of
between to surface reinforcement lapped within
adjacent laps required lap length
a b 20% 20% 20% 20%
20%
a ≤ 10Ø and/or b ≤ 5Ø 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8
a > 10Ø and b > 5Ø 2.0
1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3
1.4

2) The lap length lo shall be at least equal to the basic anchorage length lb.
3) The percentage of lapped bars in compression in any section may be 100%
of the total steel cross section.
4) The separation of bars at the joint shall be as small as possible and shall
not exceed 4Ø except in slabs and walls. The distance between two
adjacent laps shall be equal to:
a) In the transverse direction: 2Ø ≥ 20mm ( clear distance)
b) In the longitudinal direction: 1.5lo (center to centre distance)
5) Transverse forces in lapped joints shall be checked where
a) Ø ≥ 16mm, or
b) The join affects more than one-half of the total area of the bars

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Figure 5.3 Bond requirements

Curtailment of Longitudinal Reinforcement

Staggering Rule

1) The tensile force diagram or M/z diagram for a flexural member shall be
obtained by dividing the moment diagram by the appropriate lever arm z
and displacing the resulting curves horizontally by the amounts a1 as
shown in Fig. 5.
2) The displacement a1 depends on the spacing of potential share cracks and
may be taken as follows in the absence of more accurate determination:

a) Members without shear reinforcement ( e.g. slabs) a1 = 1.0d

b) Members with Vsd < 2Vc a1 = 0.75d

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c) Members with Vsd ≥ 2Vc a1 = 0.5d

Where Vsd is the applied design shear force

3) Near points of zero moment, a1 ≥ d shall be taken for both positive and
negative moments.

Figure 5.4 Tensile force diagram

Anchorage Length of reinforcement

1) Reinforcement shall extend beyond the point at which it is no longer

required to resist tension for a length given by:
a) lb according to the previous equation
b) lb,net ≥ d according to the previous equation provided that in this case,
the continuing bars are capable of resisting twice the applied moment
at the section
2) The anchorage length of bars that are bent as shear reinforcement shall
be at least equal to 1.3lb,net in zones subjected to tension and to
0.7lb,net in zones subjected to compression

Anchorage Bottom reinforcement at the Supports

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3) At least one-quarter of the positive moment reinforcement in simple

beams and one-half of the positive moment reinforcement in slabs shall
extend along the same face of the member into the support
4) The anchorage of this reinforcement shall be capable of developing the
following tensile force Ft.
a
Ft  Vsd 1  0.5Vsd
d
5) The anchorage length is measured from:
a) The face of the support, for a direct support
b) A plane inside the support located at a distance of 1/3 the width of
the support from the face of the support, for an indirect support.
6) The anchorage length of the bottom reinforcement at intermediate
supports shall be at least 10Ø.

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