UNIT-1 GENERAL FEATURES OF REINFORCED CONCRETE

1.1 INTRODUCTION
A structure refers to a system of connected parts used to support forces (loads). Buildings,
bridges and towers are examples of structures in civil engineering. In buildings, the structure
consists of walls, floors, roofs and foundation. In bridges, the structure consists of a deck,
supporting systems and foundations. In towers the structure consists of vertical, horizontal
and diagonal members along with foundation.
A structure can be broadly classified as (i) sub-structure and (ii) super structure. The portion
of a building below ground level is known as sub-structure and portion above the ground is
called as super structure. The foundation is sub-structure and plinth, walls, columns, floor
slabs with or without beams, stairs, roof slabs with or without beams etc. are super structure.
Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, sand, wood, rocks, natural fibers are used
to construct buildings. Apart from this many man-made products are in use for building
construction. Bricks, tiles, cement, concrete, concrete blocks, plastic, steel & glass, etc. are
manmade building materials.
Cement concrete is a composite building material made from a combination of aggregates
(coarse and fine) and a binder such as cement. The most common form of concrete consists
of mineral aggregate (gravel & sand), Portland cement and water. After mixing, the cement
hydrates and eventually hardens into a stone like material. Recently a large number of
additives known as concrete additives are also added to enhance the quality of concrete.
Plasticizers, super plasticizers, accelerators, retarders, pozzolanic materials, air entertaining
agents, fibers, polymers and silica fumes are the additives used in concrete. Hardened
concrete has high compressive strength and low tensile strength. Concrete is generally
strengthened using steel bars or rods known as rebars in tension zone. Such elements are
reinforced concrete. Concrete can be moulded to any complex shape using suitable form
work and it has high durability, better appearance, fire resistance and economical. For a
strong, ductile and durable construction the reinforcement shall have high strength, high
tensile strain and good bond to concrete and thermal compatibility. Building components like
slab walls, beams, columns, foundation & frames are constructed with reinforced concrete.
Reinforced concrete can be in-situ concreted or precast concrete.
For understanding behavior of reinforced concrete, we shall consider a plain concrete beam
subjected to external load as shown in Fig. 1.1. Tensile strength of concrete is approximately
one-tenth of its compressive strength.

Fig. 1.1: Plain concrete beams

Hence, the use of plain concrete as a structural material is limited to situations where
significant tensile stresses and strains do not develop as in solid or hollow concrete blocks,
pedestal and in mass concrete dams. The steel bars are used in tension zone of the element to
resist tension as shown in Fig. 1.2. The tension caused by bending moment is chiefly resisted
by the steel reinforcements, while concrete resist the compression. Such joint action is
possible if relative slip between concrete and steel is prevented. This phenomena is called
bond. This can be achieved by using deformed bars which have high bond strength at the
steel-concrete interface. Rebars impart ductility to the structural element, i.e RC elements
have large deflection before it fails due to yielding of steel, thus it gives ample warning
before its collapse.

Fig. 1.2: Longitudinal elevation and C/s of RC beam

1.2 DESIGN LOADS
For the analysis and design of structures, the forces are considered as the Loads on the
structure. The various loads expected on a structure may be classified into the following
groups:
1. Dead loads: In a structure all components which are stationary, like wall, slab, etc.,
exert forces due to gravity, which are called as Dead Loads. These loads shall be
assessed by estimating the quantity of each material and then multiplying it with the
unit weight. The unit weights of various materials used in building constructions are
given in code IS875 (part 1)-1987. It includes exhaustive list. The commonly used
values used by the designers are listed in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1: Unit weight of some important building materials

2. Imposed or live loads: Moving bodies like furniture, humans, etc., exert forces due
to gravity, which are called as Live Loads. These loads are suitably assumed by the
designer. It is one of the major loads in the design. The minimum values to be
assumed are given in code IS875 (part 2)-1987. It depends upon the intended use of
the building. These values are presented for square metre of floor area. The code gives
uniformly distributed load as well as concentrated loads. The floors are to be
investigated for both udl and worst position of concentrated loads.
Some of important values are presented in Table 1.2, which are minimum value and
wherever necessary more than these values are to be assumed. For multi-storied
buildings, chances of full imposed loads acting simultaneously on all floors is very
rare. Hence the code makes provision for reduction of loads in designing columns,
load bearing walls, their supports and foundations as shown in Table 1.3. Dead loads
and live loads are gravitational forces which act vertically downward.
Table 1.2: Minimum imposed load to be considered

Table 1.3: Reduction of imposed loads on floors in design of supporting

structural elements

3. Wind loads: Wind load is basically a horizontal force due to wind pressure exerted
on the structure. It depends on the velocity of the wind and shape and size of the
building. Complete details of calculating wind load on structures are given in IS875
(part 3)-1987. Brief idea of these provisions are given below:
(i) Using color code, basic wind pressure Vb is shown in a map of India. The
designer can pick up the value of Vb depending on the locality of the building.
(ii) To get the design wind velocity Vz the following expression shall be used:
Vz = k1k2k3Vb
Where, k1 = risk coefficient
k2 = coefficient based on terrain, height and structure size.
k3 = Topography factor
(iii)The design wind pressure pz is given by,
pz = o.6Vz2
where, pz is in N/m2 at height Z and Vz is in m/sec. Up to a height of 30m, the
wind pressure is considered to act uniformly. Above 30m height, the wind
pressure increases.
4. Snow loads: IS 875 (part 4)-1987 deals with snow loads on roofs of the building. For
the building to be located in the regions wherever snow is likely to fall, this load is to
be considered. The snow load acts vertically and may be expressed in kN/m2 or N/m2.
The minimum snow load on a roof area or any other area above ground, which is
subjected to snow accumulation is obtained by the expression,
S = So
Where, S = design snow load on plane area of roof
= shape coefficient
So = ground snow load
5. Earthquake loads: Earthquake load is primarily a horizontal pressure exerted due to
movement of the soil at the foundation of a structure. Vertical earthquake force is
about 5% to 10% of the horizontal earthquake force. Details of earthquake load to be
considered is described in IS1893 2002 code.

6. Other forces and their effects: As per the clause 19.6 of IS456-2000, in addition to
above loads discussed, account shall be taken of the following forces and effects if
they are liable to affect materially the safety and serviceability of the structure,
a. Foundation movement [IS1904-1986]
b. Soil and fluid pressure [IS875 (part 5)-1987]
c. Vibration
d. Fatigue
e. Impact [IS875 (part 5)-1987]
f. Stress concentration effect due to point load and the like.
1.2.1 Load combinations
A judicious combination of loads is necessary to ensure the required safety and economy in
the design keeping in view the probability of
(a) Their acting together
(b) Their disposition in relation to other loads and severity of stresses or deformations
caused by the combination of various loads.
The characteristic loads are to be calculated on the basis of average/mean load of some
logical combinations of all the loads. 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. Different load combinations are given
in part 5 of IS875 1987. Some of the recommended combinations are given below,
1. DL
7. DL+IL+EL
2. DL+ LL
8. DL+IL+TL
3. DL+WL
9. DL+WL+TL
4. DL+EL
10. DL+EL+TL
5. DL+TL
11. DL+LL+WL+TL
6. DL+LL+WL
12. DL+LL+EL+TL
Where, DL Dead load, LL Live load, WL Wind load, EL Earthquake load and TL
Temperature load
1.3 MATERIALS FOR REINFORCED CONCRETE
1.3.1 Concrete
Concrete is a composite material consisting essentially of
a) A binding medium cement and water called cement paste.
b) Particles of a relatively inert filler called aggregates.
The selection of the relative proportions of cement, water and aggregate is called mix
design. A basic requirement of a good concrete is workability, strength, durability and
economy. Depending upon the intended use, the cement may be Ordinary Portland cement
(33, 43 & 53 Grade), Rapid hardening cement, Portland slag, Portland pozzolona etc. High
cement content gives rise to increased shrinkage, creep and cracking. Minimum cement
content is 300 kg/m3 and maximum being 450 kg/m3 as per Indian code. Mineral additives

like fly ash, silica fume, rice husk ash, metakoline and ground granulated blast furnace slag
may be used to reduce micro cracks. The aggregate is used primarily for the purpose of
providing bulk to the concrete and constitutes 60 to 80 percent of finished product. Fine
aggregates are used to increase the workability and uniformity of the concrete mixture. Water
used for mixing and curing shall be clean and free from oil, acids, alkalis, salts, sugar, etc.
The diverse requirements of mixability, stability, transportability, placeability, mobility,
compatibility of fresh concrete are collectively referred to as workability. Compressive
strength of concrete on the 28th day after casting is considered as one of the measure of
quality. At least 4 specimens of cubes should be tested for acceptance criteria.
1.3.1.1 Grade of concrete
Based on the compressive strength of concrete, they are designated with letter M followed by
an integer number represented the characteristic strength of concrete, measured using a 150
mm size cube. Characteristic strength is defined as the strength of material below which not
more than 5% of test results are expected to fall. The concrete grade M10, M15 and M20 are
termed as ordinary concrete and those of M25 to M55 are termed as standard concrete and the
concrete of grade 60 and above are termed as high strength concrete. The selection of a
minimum grade of concrete is dictated by durability considerations which are based on the
kind of environment to which the structure is exposed, though the minimum grade of
concrete for reinforced concrete is specified as M20 under mild exposure conditions, it is
advisable to adopt a higher grade. For moderate, severe, very severe and extreme exposure
conditions, M25, M30, M35 & M40 grades respectively are recommended. Typical stressstrain curves of concrete is shown in Fig. 1.4.

Fig. 1.4: Typical stress-strain curves of concrete in compression

1.3.1.2 Tensile strength of concrete

The tensile strength of concrete is expressed in terms of the flexural strength and its
magnitude is expressed in the form of an empirical relation expressed as,
= = 0.7 /2
Where, fck = characteristic cube compressive strength of concrete in N/mm2.
1.3.1.3 Modulus of elasticity of concrete
The short term static modulus of elasticity of concrete required for computations of
deflections of structural concrete member is a function of characteristic compressive strength
and is expressed in the form,
= 5000 /2
1.3.1.4 Shrinkage of concrete
Shrinkage is the time dependent deformation, generally compressive in nature. The
constituents of concrete, size of the member and environmental conditions are the factors on
which the total shrinkage of concrete depends. However, the total shrinkage of concrete is
most influenced by the total amount of water present in the concrete at the time of mixing for
a given humidity and temperature. The cement content, however, influences the total
shrinkage of concrete to a lesser extent. The total shrinkage of concrete depends upon the
constituents of concrete, size of member and environmental conditions. The approximate
value of total shrinkage strain in concrete for design purposes may be taken as 0.0003.
1.3.1.5 Creep of concrete
Creep is another time dependent deformation of concrete by which it continues to deform,
usually under compressive stress. The creep strains recover partly when the stresses are
released. The creep of concrete depends upon several factors such as the strength of concrete
at loading, stress in concrete and the duration of loading. In the absence of data, the ultimate
creep strain may be estimated from the values of creep coefficient (ratio of ultimate creep
strain to elastic strain). These values are helpful in computations of long trem deflections of
structural concrete members compiled in Table 1.4.
Table 1.4 Creep coefficient of concrete (IS:456-2000)
Age of loading
Creep coefficient
7 days
2.2
28 days
1.6
1 year
1.1
1.3.1.6 Durability of concrete
Durability of concrete is influenced by various factors such as type of environment, cement
content, water/cement ratio, workmanship, cover to the reinforcement, the shape and size of
the structural concrete member. IS:456-2000, categorizes the exposure conditions into five
types and the minimum cement content and maximum water/cement ratios to be used in
concrete for different types of exposure conditions to ensure durability of concrete are
compiled in Table 1.5 and 1.6.

Table 1.5 Environmental exposure condition (Table 3 of IS:456-2000)

Sl. No. Environment
Exposure conditions
1
Mild
Concrete surfaces protected against weather or aggressive
conditions, except those situated in coastal area.
2
Moderate
Concrete surfaces sheltered from severe rain or freezing whilst wet
Concrete exposed to condensation and rain
Concrete continuously underwater
Concrete in contact or buried under non-aggressive soil/
groundwater
Concrete surfaces sheltered from saturated salt air in coastal area
3
Severe
Concrete surfaces exposed to severe rain, alternate wetting and
drying or occasional freezing whilst wet or severe condensation.
Concrete completely immersed in sea water
Concrete exposed to coastal environment
4
Very severe
Concrete surfaces exposed to sea water spray, corrosive fumes or
severe freezing, conditions whilst wet
Concrete in contact with or buried under agressive sub-soil/ground
water
5
Extreme
Surface of members in tidal zone
Members in direct contact with liquid/solid aggressive chemicals
Table 1.6 Minimum cement content, maximum water-cement ratio and minimum grade
of concrete for different exposure with aggregate of 20 mm maximum size
Plain concrete
Reinforced concrete
Min.
Max. free
Min.
cement
Max.
free
Min.
Min.
Sl.
Exposure
cement
watercontent
watergrade of
grade of
No.
content
cement
kg/m3
cement ratio concrete
concrete
3
1
2
3
4
5

Mild
Moderate
Severe
Very
severe
Extreme

kg/m

ratio

220
240
250
260

0.60
0.60
0.50
0.45

M15
M20
M20

300
300
320
340

0.55
0.50
0.45
0.45

M20
M25
M30
M35

280

0.40

M25

360

0.40

M40

1.3.1.7 Thermal expansion of concrete

The knowledge of thermal expansion of concrete is very important as it is prepared and
remains in service at a wide range of temperature in different countries having very hot or
cold climates. Moreover, concrete will be having its effect of high temperature during fire.
The coefficient of thermal expansion depends on the nature of cement, aggregate, cement
content, relative humidity and size of the section. IS 456 stipulates (cl. 6.2.6) the values of
coefficient of thermal expansion for concrete /oC for different types of aggregate.

1.3.2 Reinforcing steel

Steel bars are often used in concrete to take care of tensile stresses. Often they are called as
rebars, steel bar induces ductility to composite material, i.e. reinforced concrete, steel is
stronger than concrete in compression also. Plain mild steel bars or deformed bars are
generally used.
Due to the poor bond strength plain bars are not used. High strength deformed bars generally
Cold Twisted and Deformed (CTD) are used in reinforced concrete. During the beginning of
the 21st century, Thermo Mechanically Treated (TMT) bars which have ribs on the surface
are used in reinforced concrete. Yield strength of steel bars is denoted as characteristic
strength. Yield strength of mild steel is 250 MPa, yield strength of CTD & TMT bars
available in the market has 415 MPa or 500 MPa or 550 MPa. TMT bars have a better
elongation than CTD bars. The stress - strain curve of CTD bars or TMT bars do not have a
definite yield point, hence 0.2% proof stress is used as yield strength. Fig 1.5 shows the
stress-strain curve of different steel grades. Steel grades are indicated by Fe followed by
yield strength. In the drawings of RCC, denotes MS bar and # denotes CTD or TMT bars.

Fig. 1.5: Typical stress-strain curves for reinforcing steels

1.4 DESIGN CODES AND HANDBOOKS
A code is a set of technical specifications intended to control the design and construction. The
code can be legally adopted to see that a sound structure is designed and constructed. The
code specifies acceptable methods of design and construction to produce safe and sound
structures.
National building code has been formulated in different countries to lay down guidelines for
the design and construction of structures. International building code has been published by
the international code council located in the USA. National building code (NBC 2005)
published in India describes the specification and design procedure for buildings.

For designing reinforced concrete following codes of different countries are available:
India IS456 2000 Plain and reinforced concrete code practice.
USA ACI318 2011 Building code requirements for Structural concrete (American
concrete institute)
UK BS8110 part1 structural use of concrete code of practice for design and
construction. (British standard Institute)
Europe EN 1992 (Euro code 2) Design of concrete structures
Canada CAN/CSA A23.3-04 Design of concrete structures (Reaffirmed in 2010),
Australia As 3600 -2001 concrete structures.
Germany Din 1045 Design of concrete structures
Russia SNIP
China GB 50010 2002 Code for design of concrete structures to help the designers, each
country has produced handbook.
In India following handbooks called special publication are available.
SP 16-1980 Design Aid for Reinforced concrete to IS456 1978
SP 23-1982 Handbook on concrete mixes
SP 24 -1983 Explanatary handbook on IS456 1978
SP 34-1987 Handbook on concrete reinforcement and detailing.
1.5 DESIGN PHILOSOPHIES
Over the years, various design philosophies have evolved in different parts of the world, with
regard to reinforced concrete design. A design philosophy is built up on a few fundamental
premises (assumptions), and is reflective of a way of thinking.
The earliest codified design philosophy is the working stress method of design (WSM). Close
to a hundred years old, this traditional method of design, based on linear elastic theory, is still
surviving in some countries (including India), although it is now sidelined by the modern
limit states design philosophy. In the recent (2000) revision of the Code (IS 456), the
provisions relating to the WSM design procedure have been relegated from the main text of
the Code to an Annexure (Annex B) so as to give greater emphasis to limit state design (as
stated in the Foreword).
Historically, the design procedure to follow the WSM was the ultimate load method of design
(ULM), which was developed in the 1950s. Based on the (ultimate) strength of reinforced
concrete at ultimate loads, it evolved and gradually gained acceptance. This method was
introduced as an alternative to WSM in the ACI code in 1956 and the British Code in 1957,
and subsequently in the Indian Code (IS 456) in 1964.
Probabilistic concepts of design developed over the years and received a major impetus
from the mid-1960s onwards. The philosophy was based on the theory that the various

uncertainties in design could be handled more rationally in the mathematical framework of

probability theory. The risk involved in the design was quantified in terms of a probability of
failure. Such probabilistic methods came to be known as reliability-based methods. However,
there was little acceptance for this theory in professional practice, mainly because the theory
appeared to be complicated and intractable (mathematically and numerically).
In order to gain code acceptance, the probabilistic reliability-based approach had to be
simplified and reduced to a deterministic format involving multiple (partial) safety factors
(rather than probability of failure). The European Committee for Concrete (CEB) and the
International Federation for Prestressing (FIP) were among the earliest to introduce the
philosophy of limit state method (LSM) of design, which is reliability-based in concept [Ref.
3.2]. Based on the CEB-FIP recommendations, LSM was introduced in the British Code CP
110 (1973) [now BS 8110 (1997)], and the Indian Code IS 456 (1978). In the United States,
LSM was introduced in a slightly different format (strength design and serviceability design)
in the ACI 31871 (now ACI 318-95).
Thus, the past several decades have witnessed an evolution in design philosophy from the
traditional working stress method, through the ultimate load method, to the modern limit
states method of design.
Defects of the above two methods:
a. Working stress method makes use of working stresses. The material strength is not
fully utilized; hence the design is not economical.
b. In ultimate strength design, ultimate stresses are used. The loads are multiplied by
load factors. Due to this section will be very slender (b, d are smaller). Due to this
there will be excessive deflection, cracking and vibration.
To overcome the disadvantages of working stress method and ultimate method, a
probabilistic design concept called as Limit state method was developed during 1970s.
IS456 -1978 recommended this method and is continued in 2000 version also. This method
safeguards the risk of both collapse and unserviceability. The limit state method uses multiple
safety factory format, which attempt to provide adequate safety at ultimate loads and denote
serviceability at service loads by considering all limit states. The acceptable limit for safety
and serviceability requirements before failure or collapse is termed as Limit state.
Two principal limit states are considered viz. 1. Limit state of collapse 2. Limit state of
serviceability. The limit state of collapse includes one or more of i) flexure, ii) shear,
iii) torsion and iv) compression. The limit state of collapse is expressed as R>Uii Where,
and are partial safety factors, here <1 & >1. The most important limit state of
serviceability considered in the design is of deflection and others are crack and vibration. For
deflection, max (l/) where max is maximum deflection, l is the span and is an integer
number. For overall deflection is 250 and for short term deflection =350.

1.6 PARTIAL SAFETY FACTOR

To account for the different conditions like for material strength, load etc. different partial
factors are used for material and load. These are applied to the loads and material to arrive at
the design values.
=

=
As per clause 36.4.2 page 68 of IS 456, m= 1.5 for concrete and m =1.15 for steel. Similarly
clause 36.4.1 page 68 of code gives f in Table 18 for different values for different load
combinations and different limit states.
IS 456 2000 Recommendations
(i) Partial safety factors for materials to be multiplied with characteristic strength is given
below.
Table 1.7: Values of partial safety factor m
Limit state
Material
Collapse
Deflection
Cracking
Concrete
1.5
1.0
1.3
Steel
1.15
1.0
1.0
, =

(ii) Partial safety factors for loads to be multiplied with characteristic load is given below.
Table 1.8: Value of partial safety factors f
Load combination
Ultimate limit state
Serviceability limit state
1) Dead load and live load
1.5(DL+LL)
DL+LL
2) Dead seismic/wind load
a) Dead load contributes to stability 0.9DL+1.5(EL/WL)
DL + EL/WL
b) Dead load assists overturning
1.5(DL+EL/WL)
DL + EL/WL
3) Dead, live load and seismic/wind 1.2(DL+LL+EL/WL)
DL+0.8LL+0.8EL/WL
load
DL-Dead Load, LL-Live Load, WL-Wind Load, EL-Earthquake Load

(iii) The code has suggested effective span to effective depth ratios as given below
Table 1.9: Basic effective span to effective depth ratio (l/d)
Type of beam / one way slab Span 10m Span > 10m
Cantilever
7
Deflection should be calculated
Simply supported
20
(20x10)/span
Continuous
26
(26x10)/span
The above values are to be modified for
(a) The type and amount of tension steel (Fig 4 page 38 of IS456-2000)
(b) The amount of compression steel (Fig 5 page 39 of I5456-2000)
(c) The type of beam, i.e., flanged beams etc. (Fig 6 page 39 of I5456 2000).
(iv) For slabs spanning in two directions, the l/d ratio is given below
Two way slab
Simply supported
Continuous

l/d for grade of steel

Fe 250
Fe 415
35
28
40
32

1.7 CHARACTERISTIC STRENGTH AND LOADS

The limit state method is based on statistical concepts. Strength of materials and loads are
highly variable in a range of values. Tests on compressive strength of concrete in the
laboratory has indicated coefficient of variation of 10%. Hence, in reinforced concrete
construction, it is not practicable to specify a precise cube strength. Hence, limit state design
uses the concept of characteristic strength. The characteristic strength of a material is that
value of the strength of a material below which not more than 5 percent of the test results are
expected to lie. fck indicates characteristic strength of concrete and fs indicates characteristic
strength of steel.
Similarly characteristic load is that value of load which has an accepted probability of not
being exceeded during the life span of the structure. In practice the load specified by IS8751987 is considered as characteristic load.
1.8 OBJECTIVES OF STRUCTURAL DESIGN
The design of a structure must satisfy three basic requirements:
1) Stability to prevent overturning, sliding or buckling of the structure, or parts of it, under
the action of loads;
2) Strength to resist safely the stresses induced by the loads, including environmental loads,
in the various structural members and their connections; and
3) Serviceability to ensure satisfactory performance under service load conditions which
implies providing adequate stiffness and reinforcements to contain deflections, crack-widths

and vibrations within acceptable limits, and also providing impermeability and durability
(including corrosion-resistance), etc.
1.9 SOME DEFINITIONS
Service load (or working load): Service load refers to the expected load to which the
structure is subjected to in its normal use/service. It does not include any possible
overloading or any safety factors.
Ultimate load: Ultimate load refers to the maximum load the member or structure, as the
case may be, can carry before failure.
Creep: Creep is the permanent movement or deformation of a material in order to relieve
stresses within the material.
Shrinkage of concrete: The term shrinkage is loosely used to describe the various aspects of
volume changes in concrete due to loss of moisture at different stages due to different
reasons.
Segregation: Segregation refers to a separation of the components of fresh concrete,
resulting in a non-uniform mix. This can be seen as a separation of coarse aggregate from the
mortar, caused from either the settling of heavy aggregate to the bottom or the separation of
the aggregate from the mix due to improper placement.
Bleeding: Bleeding is defined as the appearance of water on the surface of concrete after it
has consolidated but before it is set. Since mixing water is the lightest component of the
concrete, this is a special form of segregation.