Lecture 1

March 2018
 Design for flexure
 Design of continuous beams
 Span to depth ratios
 Design of framed structures
 Design of flat slabs
 Shear
 Torsion
 Yield line method for design of slabs
 Calculation of slab deflections
 Calculation of crack widths
 Design of membranes panels for plane stress
 Strut and tie method
This course will consider :
• The fundamental behaviour of reinforced concrete
members in flexure, shear and torsion.
• The background to Eurocode 2 rules.
• The design of framed structures and shear walls.
• The design of membrane elements under plane stress.
• The design of 2 way spanning slabs with particular
emphasis on yield line theory.
• The calculation of deflection and crack width at the
serviceability limit state.
• The use of strut and tie models for the design of
disturbed or D regions such as deep beams and corbels.
 By the end of this course the student should
have a good understanding of the design of RC
structures to EC2 at both the serviceability and
ultimate limit states.
 1. Reinforced Concrete Design to Eurocode 2

Mosley, Bungey and Hulse 7th Edition.

 2. Eurocode 2.

 3. UK National Annex to Eurocode 2.

 4. Goodchild C et. al, Economic Concrete Frame

Elements to EC2, The Concrete Centre.

1.1 Aims
 The basic principles of the method are the same for
all codes but we will consider Eurocode 2 (EC2). The
design of the followings will be considered :
 1. Singly reinforced sections.

 2. Sections with compression reinforcement.

 3. Sections of arbitrary shape.

1.2 Notation
The notation of EC2 is adopted where relevant. Key
symbols are as follows:
fck characteristic concrete cylinder strength
fcd design concrete compressive strength (αfck/γc)
fcm mean concrete cylinder strength
fyk characteristic reinforcement yield strength
fyd design reinforcement yield strength (fyk/γs)
Fcd design compressive force resisted by concrete
Fst tensile force resisted by reinforcement
Fyd design yield force resisted by reinforcement
MR moment of resistance
MRd design moment of resistance (calculate with fcd & fyd)
MEd applied design moment (calculated with ultimate loads)
ULS ultimate limit state
SLS serviceability limit state
α reduction factor for concrete compressive strength
γc material partial factor for concrete
γs material partial factor for reinforcement
1.3 Material properties
This involves the stress-strain relationships for concrete and
reinforcement.

1.3.1 Concrete
 The compressive strength of concrete is established with either the
cylinder or cube test.
 The cylinder strength equals the uniaxial compressive strength of concrete
and is a material property.
 The cylinder strength fc is approximately 0.8fcu where fcu is the cube
strength.
 The design equations in EC2 are expressed in terms of the characteristic
cylinder strength but cubes are tested for compliance in the UK.
Figure 1.1: EC2 Design stress-strain relationships for concrete
• Figure 1.1 shows that the stress strain response of
concrete is approximately linear up to around 0.4fcm.
The stress reaches its peak value at εc1 which is taken
as 0.002.
• For fck ≤ 50 MPa. Subsequently, the response is strain
softening as the stress reduces with increasing strain.
The concrete is assumed to fail at a strain of fcu which
is taken as 0.0035 for fck ≤ 50 MPa.
• EC2 gives two alternative design stress-strain
curves for concrete which are shown in Figures 1.2
and 1.3.
Figure 1.2: EC2 design stress-strain diagram for concrete
Figure 1.3: EC2 bi-linear design stress-strain diagram for concrete
• The stress is expressed in terms of the characteristic
strength fck in these figures rather than the mean strength
shown in Figure 1.1.
• Figure 1.2 is more realistic than Figure 1.3 but both are
idealisations.
• Figures 1.2 and 1.3 also show the design concrete
compressive strength fcd which is given by αfck/γc where α
is a Nationally Determined Parameter (NDP) with a
recommended value of 1.0 and γc is the partial factor for
concrete which equals 1.5.
• α is taken as 0.85 in the UK National Annex to EC2.
1.3.2 Material properties of reinforcement
Figure 1.4 shows a series of typical stress strain curves for
reinforcement. The key points to note are that the shapes of
the stress-strain curves as well as the ultimate strain depend
on the manufacturing process. EC2 deals with this through
the introduction of ductility classes.
Figure 1.4: Stress-strain curves for reinforcement
• The notation QST in Figure 1.4 stands for Quenched and
Self Tempered.
• Cold stretched and cold rolled bars do not have a well
defined yield point and are less ductile than hot rolled
bars. Therefore, the yield strength of reinforcement is
defined in terms of the 0.2% proof stress as shown in
Figure 1.5.
• The proportionality limit (point 2 in Figure 1.5) defines the
maximum stress at which stress is proportional to strain.
• Permanent deformation occurs if the bar is loaded beyond
the elastic limit (point 3 in Figure 1.5).
Figure 1.5: Definition of 0.2% yield strength
EC2 adopts a perfectly elasto-plastic design stress strain
curve for reinforcement as shown in Figure 1.6. This
simplifies the design procedure as the post-yield stress in the
reinforcement is independent of strain. The design yield
strength of the reinforcement fyd = fyk/γs where γs is the
partial factor for reinforcement which EC2 takes as 1.15.
Figure 1.6: EC2 design stress-strain curve for reinforcement
1.4 Flexural behaviour

Figure 1.7: Flexural failure of reinforced concrete beam

under 4 point loading
Figure 1.7 shows a reinforced concrete member that has
been loaded to failure under four point loading. Note the well
developed cracking pattern and that that plane sections
remain plane over the crack spacing.
Figure 1.8: Moment curvature response of under reinforced
concrete beam
 Figure 1.8 shows the moment-curvature response of a typical
reinforced concrete beam.
 Three key stages to note are the moments at first cracking Mcr,
first yield of reinforcement My and the peak or ultimate moment of
resistance Mu.
 In reality, the reinforcement stress fs is greater than fy at Mu due to
strain hardening.
 For simplicity, we generally neglect the effect of strain hardening in
design and calculate Mu in terms of fy.
 Also note that the flexural lever arm z increases from first yield at
My to Mu due to the change in shape of the concrete stress block
shown in Figure 1.8.
Figure 1.9: i) Linear elastic concrete (fully cracked), ii) Stress
block at failure, iii) Equivalent rectangular stress block (from
Behrouzi A. Concrete International Sept. 2015)
Figure 1.9 illustrates
i) the linear elastic concrete stress block which is valid for
peak concrete stresses up to around 0.4fc (where fc is
the cylinder strength),
ii) the concrete stress block at failure
iii) the equivalent rectangular stress block commonly used
in design.
The linear elastic stress block shown in Figure 1 .9 i) is
used for calculation of crack widths and deflection at the
serviceability limit state (SLS).
1.4.1 Analysis of a singly reinforced section in flexure

Figure 1.10 outlines the key steps in the analysis of a singly reinforced
section which involves the following key assumptions:
1. Plane sections remain plane on average as shown in Figure 1.7.
2. Stresses are calculated using the stress-strain relationships for steel
and concrete as appropriate.
3. Failure occurs when the strain in the extreme compressive fibre
reaches an assumed limiting strain εcu which EC2 takes as 0.0035 for
flexure provided fck ≤ 50 MPa.
4. The tensile contribution of the concrete between the top of a crack and
the neutral axis (see stress block in Figure 1 .10) is neglected since it
makes negligible contribution to flexural resistance.
Figure 1.10: Analysis of singly reinforced section
Taking moments about the centroid of the line of action of the compressive
force, the moment of resistance of a singly reinforced section shown is
given by:
𝑀𝑀 = Fs z = Asfs z
where Fs = Asfs is the tensile force in the reinforcement at flexural failure
and z is the flexural lever arm which is the distance between the centroids
of the tensile and compressive forces in the steel and concrete respectively.
Due to axial equilibrium
the compressive force in the concrete Fc equals Fs.
  In design, solve for the area of reinforcement As which is unknown.
  In assessment, As is known. Solve for the moment of resistance MRd.
The depth to the neutral axis x is calculated from axial equilibrium.
1.4.1.1 Calculation of moment curvature response
The principles of Figure 1.10 can be used to calculate the moment
curvature response of a fully cracked section in which the shape of
the concrete stress block changes with increasing curvature as
shown in Figure 1.8 due to the nonlinearity of the concrete stress
strain relationship.
1.4.2 Classification of failure mode
Flexural failure occurs when either
i) the concrete crushes at the extreme compression fibre or
ii) the reinforcement ruptures.
Flexural failure typically occurs due to concrete crushing. The
mode of failure is ductile if the reinforcement yields before concrete
crushing (under reinforced) or brittle and hence undesirable if the
concrete crushes at failure without yield of reinforcement (over
reinforced). Failure can also occur due to reinforcement rupture if
the reinforcement has insufficient ductility for concrete crushing to
occur. Flexural failure modes are classified as follows.
1.4.2.1 Under reinforced
A section is classified as under reinforced if the reinforcement yields at failure
prior to concrete crushing. Figures 1.11 and 1.12 show the crack pattern at
failure and load displacement response of an under reinforced beam tested at
Imperial College. Points to note are:
1. cracks develop when the stress in the extreme tensile fibre reaches the
concrete tensile strength.
2. the regular crack pattern
3. the horizontal cracking in the flexural compressive zone at mid span which
indicates concrete compressive failure
4. the large increase in displacement between first yield of reinforcement and
peak load
5. the increase in load between first yield of reinforcement and flexural failure
Figure 1.11 : Cracking in under- reinforced beam at failure
Figure 1.12: Load deflection response of under reinforced beam
At first yield of the reinforcement:
𝑀𝑀 = As fy zy
where zy is the lever arm at first yield of the reinforcement.
At peak load:
𝑀𝑀u = As fsu zu
where zu is the lever arm at flexural failure and fsu is the corresponding stress
in the reinforcement.
The ultimate moment of resistance Mu > My due to
i) increase in lever arm from zy at first yield to zu at failure due to the
change in shape of the concrete stress block and
ii) strain hardening of reinforcement which causes fsu to be greater than fy.
Beams should be designed as under reinforced since the failure mode is
ductile.
1.4.2.2 Balanced section
The failure is defined as balanced if the tension reinforcement yields
simultaneously with the extreme fibre compressive strain reaching fcu as
shown in Figure 1.13.

Figure 1.13: Strain distribution in balanced section at design ULS

The design ultimate curvature 1/ru equals the slope of the
strain diagram at the design moment of resistance which is
given by:
1/𝑟𝑟u = 𝜀𝜀cu/𝑥𝑥 = 𝜀𝜀s(d-𝑥𝑥)
where 𝜀𝜀s is the reinforcement strain at failure. (Note that the
ULS curvature reduces as x increases)

For a balanced failure, 𝑥𝑥= 𝑥𝑥balanced and 𝜀𝜀 = 𝜀𝜀yd

By similar triangles:

𝑥𝑥balanced / d = 𝜀𝜀cu / (𝜀𝜀cu + 𝜀𝜀yd)

xbalanced = 0.62d if εcu = 0.0035 and εyd = fyd/Es = 0.00217
where fyd = 500/1.15 = 435 MPa and Es = 200 GPa
1.4.2.3 Over reinforced section
In an over reinforced section, the concrete fails in compression before the
reinforcement yields leading to a sudden and explosive failure. In this
case, x > xbalanced where xbalanced is defined in Section 1.4.2.2.
Figures 1.14 and 1.15 show the crack pattern at failure and load
displacement response of an over reinforced beam tested at Imperial
College. Points to note are:
1. The large depth of flexural compression zone (indicated by cracks
only extending to mid height)
2. Compressive failure of concrete adjacent to loading plate
3. The relatively small displacement at peak load
Figure 1.14: Cracking in over - reinforced beam at failure
Figure 1.15: Load deflection response of over reinforced beam
Questions??