UNIT - 1

GENERAL FEATURES OF
REINFORCED CONCRETE:
•Introduction,
•Design Loads,
•Materials for Reinforced Concrete
and Code requirements.
•Design Philosophy
•Limit State Design principles.
• Philosophy of limit state design,
•Principles of limit states,
•Factor of Safety,
•Characteristic and design loads,
•Characteristic and design strength.
 What is Structural Design ?
• Structures when subjected to external
loads (actions) have internal reactions in
the form of bending moment, shear force,
axial thrust and torsion in individual
members.
• As a result, the structures develop internal
stresses and undergo deformations.
• In structural design the members are
proportioned such that these internal
stresses and deformations are within
acceptable limits.
What are the objectives of Design of
Reinforced Concrete Structures ?
• should sustain all loads and deform
within limits for construction and use. -
SAFE
• should have an acceptable probability of
performing satisfactorily during their
intended life - FUNCTIONAL
• should be durable.
• should be economical
How to fulfill the objectives?

All the above objectives can be fulfilled by

understanding the strength and
deformation characteristics of the
materials used in the design as also their
deterioration under hostile exposure.
What are the BASIC MATERIALS ?
• RC has Two basic materials concrete and
steel
• the steel is produced in industries. Further, it is
available in form of standard bars and rods of
specific diameters. However, sample testing
and checking are important to ensure the
quality of these steel bars or rods.
• The concrete, on the other hand, is prepared
from several materials (cement, sand, coarse
aggregate, water and admixtures, if any).
• The necessary information regarding the
properties and characteristic strength of these
materials are available in the standard codes of
practices of different countries.

• It is necessary to follow these clearly defined

standards for materials, production,
workmanship and maintenance, and the
performance of structures in service.
 Code of Practice
IS 456 - 2000
Indian Standard
PLAIN AND REINFORCED CONCRETE -
CODE OF PRACTICE
( Fourth Revision )

Published by
BUREAU OF INDIAN STANDARDS
DESIGN METHODS as per IS 456 - 2000
Limit state method

•SECTION 5 of IS 456 deals with the design provisions.

•The semi-empirical limit state method of design has been

found to be the best for the design of reinforced concrete
members.

•Accordingly, structures or structural elements shall normally be

designed by limit state method. There are Two limit states -
serviceability and collapse.
Working stress method
•This method of design, considered as the method of
earlier times, has several limitations.

•However, in situations where limit state method

cannot be conveniently applied, working stress
method can be employed as an alternative.

•It is expected that in the near future the working

stress method will be completely replaced by the limit
state method.

•Presently, this method is put in Annex B of IS

456:2000.
What are the Main Loads , Forces
and Effects to be considered while
designing the structures?

As per IS 875 Code of Practice

 DEAD LOAD
• These are the self weight of the structure to be
designed
• Dead load =
dimensions of the cross section
x
unit weights of the materials

• The values of unit weights of the materials are

specified in Part 1 of IS 875.
 Imposed loads (LIVE LOADS)
• They are also known as live loads and consist
of all loads other than the dead loads of the
structure.

• The values of the imposed loads depend on the

functional requirement of the structure.

• Example: Residential buildings will have

comparatively lower values of the imposed loads
than those of school or office buildings.

• The standard values are stipulated in Part 2 of

IS 875.
 Wind loads
• These loads depend on the
– velocity of the wind at the location of the structure,
– permeability of the structure, (Openings)
– height of the structure etc.
• They may be horizontal or inclined forces
depending on the angle of inclination of the roof
for pitched roof structures.
• They can even be suction type of forces
depending on the angle of inclination of the roof
or geometry of the buildings
• Wind loads are specified in Part 3 of IS 875.
 Snow loads
• These are important loads for structures
located in areas having snow fall, which
gets accumulated in different parts of the
structure depending on projections, height,
slope etc. of the structure
• The standard values of snow loads are
specified in Part 4 of IS 875.
 Earthquake forces
• Earthquake generates waves which move
from the origin of its location (epicenter) with
velocities depending on the intensity and
magnitude of the earthquake.
• The impact of earthquake on structures
depends on the stiffness of the structure,
stiffness of the soil media, height and location of
the structure etc.
• The country has been divided into several
zones depending on the magnitude of the
earthquake.
• The earthquake forces are prescribed in IS
1893-2002
Shrinkage, creep and temperature
effects
• Shrinkage, creep and temperature (high or
low) may produce stresses and cause
deformations like other loads and forces
• Hence, these are also considered as loads
which are time dependent.
• The safety and serviceability of structures
are to be checked following the
stipulations of IS 456:2000 and Part 5 of
IS 875.
 Additional Forces and Effects
However, IS 456:2000 stipulates the following forces
and effects to be taken into account in case they are
liable to affect materially the safety and serviceability
of the structures.

• Foundation movement (IS 1904)

• Elastic axial shortening
• Soil and fluid pressures (IS 875 - Part 5)
• Vibration
• Fatigue
• Impact (IS 875 - Part 5)
• Erection loads (IS 875 - Part 2)
• Stress concentration effect due to point of application
of load
 Combination of loads
• Design of structures has to account for all types of
loads/forces/effects that can occur simultaneously
in order to maintain their serviceability and safety
• Design of structures would become highly
expensive if all types of forces are assumed to act
on all structures at all times.
• Some logical combinations of all the loads are
necessary.These logical combinations are based
on
(i) the natural phenomena like wind and earthquake do not
occur simultaneously,
(ii) live loads on roof should not be present when wind loads
are considered

• IS 875 Part 5 and IS 456-2000 stipulate the

combination of loads to be considered in the
design of structures.
What is limit state Design?

Limit states are the acceptable limits for the safety

and serviceability requirements of the structure
before failure occurs.

The design of structures by this method will thus

ensure that they will not reach limit states and will
not become unfit for the use for which they are
intended.
There are two main limit states:

(i) limit state of collapse

and
(ii) limit state of serviceability

Limit state of collapse deals with the strength

and stability of structures subjected to the maximum
design loads out of the possible combinations of
several types of loads.
Therefore, this limit state ensures that neither
any part nor the whole structure should collapse or
become unstable under any combination of
expected overloads.
Limit state of serviceability deals with

deflection and cracking of structures under

service loads,

durability under working environment during

their anticipated exposure conditions during
service,

stability of structures as a whole, fire

resistance etc.
All relevant limit states have to be considered in
the design to ensure adequate degree of safety
and serviceability.

The structure shall be designed on the basis of

the most critical limit state collapse and shall be
checked for other limit states of serviceability.
 What are Design Loads and Design
Strength ?
• In the limit state method, the
– design load is the (Fd)
characteristic load x partial safety factor for
Loads
– design strength is the (fd)
characteristic strength / partial safety factor
for strength
 What is meant by characteristic load?
• Characteristic load (cl. 36.2 of
IS 456:2000) is that load
which has a ninety-five per
cent probability of not being
exceeded during the life of the
structure.

• It is not possible to estimate

the actual loads on the
structure.

• Accordingly, the loads are

predicted based on statistical
approach, where it is •Characteristic load should
assumed that the variation of be more than the
the loads acting on structures average/mean load.
follows the normal distribution
as shown in Fig.
Characteristic load = Average/mean load + K

The value of K(standard deviation for load) is

assumed such that the actual load does not exceed the
characteristic load during the life of the structure in 95
per cent of the cases.

As per CL 36.2 Values given in IS 875(Parts 1 to

4) and seismic forces given in IS 1893 shall be
assumed as Characteristic Loads
What is meant by characteristic Strength?
As per CL 36.1, the characteristic strength of
a material as obtained from the statistical
approach is the strength of that material
below which not more than five per cent of
the test results are expected to fall.

However, such characteristic strengths may

differ from sample to sample also.

Characteristic strength should be less than

the average/mean strength.
Characteristic strength = Average/mean
strength - K

The value of K(standard deviation for strength) is

assumed such that the actual strength may fall below
the characteristic strength in 5 per cent of the cases.

Characteristic strength shall be as per Table 2 of

IS 456-2000 (PN 16)
 Limit State Design Philosophy
Freque Resistance, S
ncy Load effect, Q

f(S)
f(Q)

Design
Point

Qm Sm
Probability density functions for Resistance and load effect
 What are Partial safety factors ?
•Structures are subjected to overloading also.

•Material Strength may be less than characteristic

value

•Hence, structures should be designed with suitable

factors of safety.

•The design values are obtained from characteristic

Values through the use of Partial Safety Factors one
for Loads (f ) and one for material strength (m ).
f allows for;

Possible deviation of the actual behaviour of the

structure from the analysis model
Deviation of loads from specified values and
Reduced probability that the various loads acting
together will simultaneously reach the
characteristic value.

m takes account;

Possible deviation of the material in the structure

from that assumed in design
Possible reduction in the strength of the material
from its characteristic value
Mode of failure (ductile or brittle)
m = 1.5 for concrete
m = 1.15 for Reinforcing steel
Respective values of  f for loads in the two limit
states as given in Table 18 of IS 456 for different
combinations of loads are shown below
NOTES:
1 While considering earthquake effects, substitute EL for WL.

2 For the limit states of serviceability, the values given in this

table are applicable for short term effects. While assessing
the long term effects due to creep the dead load and that
part of the live load likely to be permanent may only be
considered.

1) This value is to be considered when stability against

overturning or stress reversal is critical