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Stephen Pienaar Wed, 6th Feb 2008 0 Comments

In some cases, the Continuous Beam/Slab Design program gives unexpected long-term deflection
values. What factors can influence the results?

Design load, concrete cracking and reinforcement layout are major determining factors when calculating long-term
deflections in beams and slabs. The Continuous Beam/Slab Design program incorporates all these parameters in
its calculation of long-term deflection. Although the deflection behaviour of most beams and slabs is very
predictable, there are some cases where the program gives unexpected long-term deflection values.

The Continuous Beam/Slab Design program

calculates short-term (elastic) deflections
using gross concrete sections. When
calculating long-term deflections, however,
the program considers the effects of
concrete cracking, shrinkage and creep
under permanent load. All of these effects
are directly or indirectly related to the
reinforcement in the beam or slab. The program’s online Help gives a full explanation of the calculation procedure
in the Theory and Application section. In a nutshell, the program determines the level of cracking along the length
of the beam, and appropriately reduces the flexural stiffness where the section is cracked. The various deflection
components are then calculated using numeric integration of the curvature (M/EI) diagrams.

In zones where a beam is cracked, there

can be a significant loss in flexural stiffness.
Large creep deflections are often the result
of extensive cracking in high moment zones,
e.g. over supports. A quick way of identifying
the zones of cracking and spotting potential
problems, is to review the Crack File output.
It lists the gross and cracked section
properties at points along the length of the
beam.

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Two sets of reinforcement data are used by

the program: “required reinforcement” and
“entered reinforcement”. By default, the
program uses the “required reinforcement”
to calculate cracked section properties.
Once you have generated reinforcement for
the beam, the program will use the “entered
reinforcement” for the long-term deflection
calculations. This gives you the ability to manipulate the long-term deflection by selectively adding more
reinforcement.

Although long-term deflections are calculated at SLS, ULS loading influences the deflection calculations
indirectly—the reinforcement demand is calculated at ULS, and that in turn determines the cracking strength of a
beam at SLS.

It is easy to overlook less obvious interactions between ULS loading, reinforcement and cracking in a beam, and
then encounter “unexpected” long-term deflection behaviour. Here are a few examples:

• The long-term deflection seems unrealistically high compared to the short-term deflection: Very large long-
term deflection is usually the result of high creep. The cause of this is typically excessive cracking, especially
over the supports of continuous beams. In turn, insufficient cracking strength is often due to insufficient
section depth—one can often fix the problem by increasing the depth to comply with L/d ratios specified in the
relevant design code. In a relatively thin slab, high deflection could be due to the neutral axis approaching the
level of tension reinforcement—thicken the slab to increase stiffness and reduce deflections.
• Adding reinforcement increases deflections: The top and bottom reinforcement layout have a direct impact on
shrinkage deflection. Adding more bottom reinforcement at midspan, for example, will result in additional
downward shrinkage deflection (because the additional reinforcement resists shrinkage in the bottom face).
The additional shrinkage deflection may exceed the other deflection components, resulting in a net increase in
deflection.
• Adding reinforcement has no effect on deflection: When using the flat slab detailing modes (Column Strip or
Middle Strip) to enter reinforcement, the program reverts to using “required reinforcement” for long-term
deflections. This is done because deflections cannot be accurately determined for two-way spanning slabs
when using the column or middle strip data in isolation. By using the “required reinforcement” instead (and
ignoring your “entered reinforcement”), the program can provide a rough estimate of the average long-term
deflection across the width of the slab.
• Increasing the load increases the deflection disproportionally: An increase in load may cause cracking in
sections previously uncracked, and increase the level of cracking in previously cracked sections. The resulting
loss of stiffness leads to higher deflections in a greater proportion than the increase in load.
• Decreasing the ULS load factors increases deflection: The reinforcement demand under ULS loads will be
lower for smaller ULS load factors. If using “required reinforcement” for the long-term deflection calculation,
the cracking strength of the beam will generally be lower. The SLS loads remain unchanged though, resulting
in higher deflection.

• Long term deflections do not adjust for entered reinforcement

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