RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN

OF R.C. AND P.C. STRUCTURES

F. Mola*, Politecnico di Milano, Italy

E. Mola, ECSD, Italy
L.M. Pellegrini, ECSD, Italy

36th Conference on OUR WORLD IN CONCRETE & STRUCTURES: 14 - 16 August 2011,

Singapore

Article Online Id: 100036058

The online version of this article can be found at:

http://cipremier.com/100036058

This article is brought to you with the support of 

Singapore Concrete Institute 

www.scinst.org.sg 

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RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN

OF R.C. AND P.C. STRUCTURES

F. Mola*, Politecnico di Milano, Italy

E. Mola, ECSD, Italy
L.M. Pellegrini, ECSD, Italy

36th Conference on OUR WORLD IN CONCRETE & STRUCTURES: 14 - 16 August 2011,

Singapore

Article Online Id: 100036058

The online version of this article can be found at:

http://cipremier.com/100036058

This article is brought to you with the support of 

Singapore Concrete Institute 

www.scinst.org.sg 

All Rights reserved for CI‐Premier PTE LTD 

You are not Allowed to re‐distribute or re‐sale the article in any format without written approval of 
CI‐Premier PTE LTD 

Visit Our Website for more information 

www.cipremier.com  
 th
36 Conference on Our World in Concrete & Structures
Singapore, August 14-16, 2011

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF R.C.

AND P.C. STRUCTURES

F. Mola*, E. Mola† and L.M. Pellegrini†

*Professor, Department of Structural Engineering

Politecnico di Milano
Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 32 – 20133 Milano, Italy
Email: <mola@stru.polimi.it>; Website: www.polimi.it, www.ecsd.it

Keywords: Conceptual design, concrete technology, construction techniques, bridges, tall buildings

Abstract. Some basic aspects of modern civil engineering are discussed, with a focus
on the conceptual approach to structural design. After presenting the peculiar features
of conceptual design, the development of normative documents is discussed,
particularly for reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete structures. The
development of concrete technologies and construction techniques for this kind of
structures are then discussed. Finally, some outstanding and representative buildings
and infrastructures are presented. The fundamental aspects of the evolution of the
construction practice are thus clarified and the role of the modern structural engineering
is highlighted.

1. INTRODUCTION

Nowadays, the design of reinforced and prestressed concrete structures challenges engineers with
complex problems, whose solution is not always straightforward, which calls for the engineers to
critically re-consider their role and cultural roots, in order to carry out their tasks and assume their
responsibilities in modern society. These days, in fact, the choices made by structural designers are
not only confined to the theoretical and practical fields, as the decisions have now taken a larger
meaning and stronger impact on the community and make a very strong statement in modern
architecture and on the environment. This calls for the engineers to deeply question their profession,
their ethical reasons, their cultural background in order that the basic principles of the theoretical and
scientific body of knowledge derived from the history of engineering can be preserved as the
foundation for future achievements.
Before presenting some of the most outstanding structures of civil engineering built in the last twenty
years, it is necessary to show the general pre-requisites of the conceptual design, both considered
as an innovative creative act and as a critical review of the past. The balance between innovation
and preservation of the past is a fundamental feature of conceptual design, which, in turn, is a basic
pre-requisite for a design approach able to fully comply with all the performance objectives required
of a structure.
Some general considerations on these broad and very sensitive subjects are thus expressed in the
following, with the goal of offering the Author’s personal perspective, based on many years of
experience in structural engineering, both in the academic and professional fields.

2. REMARKS REGARDING THE THEORETICAL ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF REINFORCED

CONCRETE AND PRESTRESSED CONCRETE STRUCTURES
Critical review and innovative creativity, representing the analytical and the design aspects of structural
engineering, can appear as irreconcilable features. On the contrary, they have to be pursued in a
strictly balanced approach, because, together, they become the tools for the creation of new,
__________________________
†
ECSD, Srl, Milano, Italy
 F. Mola, E. Mola and L.M. Pellegrini

outstanding objects.
In modern days, the economic resources involved in the financing of important structural and
infrastructural projects have become more and more relevant. The optimization of the use of money
and time is now one of the basic pre-requisite that designers must comply with. If this effort is not
carried out in a very careful and thorough way, even important projects might never see the light of
day, because of unsolved financing issues.
Also, it is mandatory that a common definition of all the different levels of performance of the object is
preliminary set forth and agreed upon, so that the design can be carried out to meet all the relevant
criteria. Accurate quality control procedures and acceptance thresholds must be defined, in order to
comply to all the design specifications.
It is thus apparent that it is not possible to clearly mark a boundary between theoretical and practical
aspects of the design approach to a new structure because they are strictly intertwined and deeply
affecting one another.
In classical mechanics mathematical speculation was not directly aimed at a practical design goal: the
only motivation for research was speculation itself, and the refinement of previous solutions of
general problems. This refinement process created the engineering cultural background enabling the
designers of today to find solutions to more and more complex problems.
The huge body of theoretical knowledge inherited by modern engineers allowed our ancestors to build
such wonders of structural engineering as the Pyramids, the ancient Greek temples, the Coliseum,
the medieval cathedrals, Fig.1.

Fig.1 – The Pyramids, the Parthenon, Coliseum, Gothic Cathedral

Such structures all comply with the law of equilibrium in a perfectly beautiful way, mostly due to an
empathic and intuitive act by the designer, rather than to a fully rational and mathematical approach,
because at the time when they were created, a more holistic, undifferentiated approach to the design
was used.
Later on, a stronger and stronger separation between theory and practice, analysis and design, came to
life, but nowadays, as mentioned above, this process needs to be reverted, because there is no
possibility, both for the architect and the structural designer, to ignore practical constraints while
pursuing their creative act.
It is impossible to design any structure without a deep knowledge of the theory of structural mechanics,
governing the statics of structures and the behavior of materials. This knowledge and understanding
need to be deeper and deeper the more structures become complex and performance levels
become many-folded and more difficult to comply with.
At the same time, it is impossible to focus only on theoretical solutions and very refined analytical
calculations, based on the huge computational capacity of modern day computers, without carefully
considering and incorporating into the design also a series of practical, constructive, budget and time
restraints and without fully exploiting all the state-of-the-art innovations in construction techniques
and construction site management.
When a synergic interaction between analysis and design is thus pursued and carried out, the most
exciting and important goal of the modern engineer is obtained, because it enables the engineer to
be at the same time the creator of a new object and the critical reviewer of his own creative process.

3. THE ROLE OF THE DESIGNER AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF DESIGN CODES

The two-faced role of modern engineers, both creators and analysts, should be well clarified and
supported by the latest generation of design codes. Such documents must be drafted so that they
become the tool for the engineer to boost his skills and to improve his performance, both as a
conceptual designer and as a design reviewer.
The body of European Codes (Eurocodes) has developed and evolved through a long path in the last
decades, culminating, at present, in a complete set of documents, each devoted to a specific
 F. Mola, E. Mola and L.M. Pellegrini

structural material, in addition to the one defining the actions on structures and the one devoted to
the specific prescriptions for seismic design.
At the beginning of the Fifties the normative situation in Europe was quite dispersed and no clear
specifications for a good structural design were provided to practitioners, so that the structures of
that time, even the more complex and representative ones, found the guarantee of a correct and
efficient behavior only in the deep culture of masters of design, such as Torroja, Nervi, Freyssinet,
Dischinger and others. The books of Nervi and Torroja on conceptual design, /1/,/2/, the Freyssinet
memoire on his professional life, /3/, and the Dischinger work on the evaluation of creep effects in
prestressed beams, /4/, are classic masterpieces which will inspire forever the work of structural
engineers.
The situation improved in 1953, when CEB (Comité Européen du Béton) was founded. The activity of
the Committee found its first expression in the drafting of the ‘Recommendations Unifiées’ in 1964,
later followed by an updated version in 1970. Many theoretical and experimental results were
included in the documents, so that many models for material behaviour were later derived from them,
but, most importantly, the definition of a unique methodology for the measure of safety of structures
was given, based on the semi-probabilistic limit state approach. After that, in cooperation with FIP
(Fédération International de la Précontrainte), the Model Code was first published in 1978, /5/. This
document was the first of the series of prototype Codes, i.e. reference documents, whose later
versions came out in 1990, /6/, and in 2010, /7/. The latter was published by the newly created fib
(Fédération International du Béton), born in 2000 from the unification of CEB and FIP.
The development of the Eurocodes evolved in the same decades, with the drafting of the different
Eurocodes (i.e. from EC0-Basis to EC9-Aluminium). Eurocode 2, devoted to reinforced concrete and
prestressed concrete structures, found its final draft in the document called EC2-EN-1992-1-1 for
buildings and EC2-EN-1992-2 for bridges,/8/.
Even if the present body of Eurocodes has finally found a satisfactory balance between being detailed
and comprehensive and, at the same time, user-friendly, still, a degree of damping persists between
rules and practice, so that an inevitable gap is still open between the engineering practice, with the
development of new techniques and the use of new materials, and their inclusion into normative
documents.
Filling this gap is once again a task, and not a very easy one in many cases, that must be directly
tackled by the engineer and designer, often making decisions based on their own judgment and
culture, rather than on prescriptions, in order to reach more effectively the design goals. The
theoretical knowledge and the analytical approach are the tools the engineers need to master in
order to fully understand the meaning and the hypotheses informing the codes, so that they can use
such normative documents as an enhancement of their own design capacity, rather than only a
restraint to their creative abilities.
It’s undeniable that genius inventions, such as the first application of the technique of prestressing in the
Pont de Veurdre by Freyssinet, Fig.2, or the early removal of the formworks used by Hennebique in
the Risorgimento Bridge in Rome, Fig.3, were conceived and successfully transformed into
innovative objects in an era where specific codes did not exist, but at the same time, given the
innovative character of those inventions, they were also highly hazardous, implying levels of safety
that modern society could never accept at the present day.

Fig. 2 – Pont De Veurdre Fig. 3 – Risorgimento Bridge

Creativity, critique, theoretical knowledge and awareness of progress in the experimental field on which
the recommendations of codes are based are all fundamental ingredients of a common background
for modern engineers, establishing the boundaries and the guidelines for a safe and sound approach
to modern structural design. In the last three decades, this common background gave way to the
creation of beautiful and complex structures, embodying the excellence of contemporary architecture
 F. Mola, E. Mola and L.M. Pellegrini

and engineering, both from the point of view of pure design, and from those of construction
techniques and of the improvement of the performance levels of concrete, not only as for strength,
but also durability, workability, sustainability.

4. THE DEVELOPMENTS OF CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY

4.1 General aspects

In the long history of concrete as a construction material, two distinct periods can be recognized,
each of them characterized by a different approach of the engineers and architects to the design and
construction of structures.
The first period ranges from the birth of reinforced concrete structures to the Fifties: it can be defined
as ‘heroic’ or ‘epic’, since during those decades the basic rules for the dimensioning of structures
were established.
In the mid-fifties, the birth of CEB, as mentioned above, boosted innovation in the evaluation of the
safety of structures. In particular, with the new concept of limit state, the approach to the design of
structures became more aware and less empiric, including the analysis of problems other than that
of load bearing capacity. The notion that a much broader range of performance levels of structures
must be investigated led the way for the introduction of specific methods and thresholds for the
safety measures of a wider range of different limit states, among which durability took a very
important role starting from the early Seventies.
From that moment on, concrete technology has dramatically improved, so that today structures can
be designed to prescribed levels of durability and load bearing capacity.
It must be noted, though, that the behavior of reinforced concrete structures does not depend only on
the durability of the material itself, but rather on the effective interaction between concrete and steel
rebars. The development of concrete technology thus means the improvement of construction details
and any measure taken in order to allow concrete and steel to work together in the most effective
possible way.
The different performances required of modern concrete are essentially related to: strength,
workability, compactability, dimensional stability and resilience. These properties, defining in a
broader sense high performance concrete, even though they are not independent on one another,
anyway, for each of them, a purposely aimed mix design, with some peculiar features, is generally
requested. For this reason the main character of concrete performance designed concrete will be
separately discussed.

4.2 High strength concrete

A marked increase in the strength of concrete is one of the first prerequisites that the development of
concrete technologies could achieve.
For this reason, for a while, strength was a privileged property of concrete, the one that both the
designer and the technologists wanted to develop almost exclusively.
Until 2009, the Italian Building Code, introduced in 1996, defined the highest concrete class as a
characteristic cubic compressive strength of 55MPa, while the Italian Building Code approved in
2009, defines the highest concrete class as having a characteristic cubic strength of 105 MPa. This
means that the allowed strength threshold has almost doubled in the last thirteen years.
Today, high strength concrete can be relatively easily produced, and its performance can be
guaranteed by strict quality control procedures, so that it can now be used as a construction material
even for structures for which steel had always been the only possible material until a decade ago. In
particular, for the vertical elements of tall buildings, at present, concrete is employed more and more
extensively. This has reduced the global cost of such buildings, since the static efficiency ho=fc/pc,
ratio between strength and unit weight of concrete, as illustrated in Fig.4, has increased by 4.7 times,
while the cost of the material has increased about by 3 times.
 F. Mola, E. Mola and L.M. Pellegrini

Fig. 4 – Static efficiency of concrete Fig. 5 – Casting of SCC concrete

The increase in strength also positively affects durability and workability, because normally the
aggregate dimensions are reduced and the porosity limited. Nonetheless, specific mixes must be
designed in order to fully reach the goals of high durability and high workability.

4.3 High workability concrete

The workability of concrete is a crucial factor for an efficient casting procedure, which is a
fundamental prerequisite in order to guarantee the development of the required properties once the
concrete is cured and to allow the full interaction between concrete and rebar to take place.
Technological progress aimed at high workability found its inception in the early Eighties, when the
so-called
called rheoplastic concretes were devised.
devised The
he main properties of such concretes were high
fluidity
ty and plasticity. Later on, these properties were further enhanced, leading to the design of
concretes able to flow and self-compact
self under their own weight only,, with no need of vibration.
vibration
The industrial production of this kind of concrete started in the mid-Nineties,
Nineties, and it was labelled as
‘self-compacting’
compacting’ concrete (SCC). SCC is characterized by a very high workability and the ability to
flow easily even through veryry congested rebar arrangements, Fig.5.
Such concrete te requires a careful mix design and a refined casting and curing procedure. First
F of all,
the formworks must be water proof, moreover, during casting free falling of concrete from
considerable heights must be avoided, to prevent bleeding and segregation.
The quality control procedures for self-compacting
compacting concrete are quite strict and include a range of
tests with specified thresholds for acceptance. If the quality of fresh SCC is not strictly guaranteed,
the properties of the resulting cured concrete cannot be exploited as well.
Among the numerous ous researches carried out on these matters, in /9/, two very important and
interesting features of SCC are shown: the first one is that SCC exhibits an increase
increas in compressive
strength with respect to an ordinary concrete of the same class; the second one is the improved
bonding between concrete and rebar in SCC with respect to ordinary concrete.
These results show that structural durability can be enhanced if SCC is employed, even if they also
suggest that a careful and thorough experimental and analytical
analytical investigation must
mu be carried out.

4.4 Reduced shrinkage concrete

One of the most undesirable features of concrete, traditionally limiting its use
se for surfaces that have
particular architectural value, is the development of remarkably visible cracking patterns due to
restrained shrinkage. Imposedsed deformation are mostly due to thermal effects, both exogenous and
endogenous ones, and those caused by the shrinkage of concrete. Since ordinary or concrete
structures
ctures are strongly statically undetermined, the presence of imposed deformations that reduce
the volume of the material during curing,
curing causes significant tensile stresses in concrete, which in turn
causes cracking.
Its negative impact on the aesthetics of the structure is the most evident shortcoming of cracking, but
its most dangerous effect is the dramatic reduction of the durability of the structure, which becomes
more exposed to the aggression of the environment.
The goal of reducing g or, better, eliminating shrinkage-induced
shrinkage induced cracking has been pursued starting
from the seventies, thus leading to the development of special concrete mixtures that increase their
volume while curing. Since expansion is an imposed deformation opposed in sign si to shrinkage, it
induces compressive stresses that oppose those induced by shrinkage, thus allowing, at the end of
the curing phase, an almost complete elimination of cracking.
Still, the problem of the evaluation of cracking due to imposed deformations
deformations cannot be fully and
successfully mastered if the long term behavior of concrete is not taken into account.
account A purely elastic
 F. Mola, E. Mola and L.M. Pellegrini

analysis of the problem leads to the deceitful conclusion that an expansion-induced deformation
pattern having the same asymptotic value as the one of the shrinkage induced stresses would give
way to the complete elimination of the latter. This is not true, because the final stress pattern induced
in the material is affected not only by the asymptotic values, but also by the rate of development of
the phenomena. For this reason, as illustrated in Fig.6, long terms effects due to shrinkage are
generally larger than those due to expansion.

Viscoelastic Analysis
Elastic Analysis

Fig. 6 – Shrinkage and expansion plots Fig. 7 – MAXXI Museum, Rome

Since state-of-the-art concrete technology is not able to produce delayed expansion concrete,
alternative attempts were made, such as the reduction of shrinkage itself, with the use of special
admixtures in the mix design. The new generation of expansive concrete with shrinkage reducing
admixtures proved to be very effective, since the reduction of the asymptotic value of shrinkage
deformations also reduces the associated tensile stresses, which can be fully kept under the limit of
tensile strength of concrete. Interesting applications involving the use of these materials have
recently been carried out, in the construction of the XXI Century Modern Art Museum (MAXXI) in
Rome, Fig.7.

4.5 Fiber reinforced concrete

This kind of concrete was developed in order to increase ductility and resilience under tensile
stresses. The presence of micro-cracks in the concrete mass is the main reason for its very low
tensile strength and its fragile failure.
The addiction of fibers of different kinds, either metallic or glass or plastic ones, introduces into the
concrete mass elements able to prevent the formation of micro-cracks and limits the opening of
existing ones. Once the problems of decreased workability and increased density due to fibers are
solved, the use of fiber reinforced concrete is highly beneficial, since durability, ductility and
resilience are significantly improved.
Even if the tensile strength of concrete is increased by the presence of fibers, still the use of
ordinary steel rebar is mandatory, in order to provide tensile strength to the structural elements after
the concrete cracking takes place, at the ultimate limit state.
In any case fibers reduce the cracking pattern, increasing the global structural durability.

5. DEVELOPMENT OF CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES

5.1 New construction techniques for bridges and infrastructures

One of the first applications of innovative construction techniques for p.c. bridge structures was the
segmental construction, i.e. on-site casting with sliding formworks.
This method brilliantly solved the problem related to the height of the piers. It also allowed the
bridges to be built starting from the piers and casting the decks as cantilevers, without any need for
propping or provisional supports, with a final casting at the end of the construction, which creates
continuity in the completed deck. In Fig.8 it can be seen that the construction process must start from
two opposite piers, moving towards the mid-span in a symmetrical way, in order to prevent excessive
flexural actions in the piers. It becomes important to correctly predict and monitor the vertical and
lateral displacements of the cantilevered parts of the deck, in order to achieve the correct final
continuous configuration.
 F. Mola, E. Mola and L.M. Pellegrini

Fig. 8 – Segmental construction process for bridges

In order to do this, the development of long term deformations in concrete must be accurately
investigated, since creep deformations are remarkable in concrete when it is loaded at a young age.
Another construction technique for bridges and flyovers, which is the natural evolution of the former,
is the use of precast segments instead of cast-in-situ ones, with the use of prestressing to allow the
cantilevered configuration in the construction phase, Fig.9.

Fig. 9 – Segmental construction by using precast

Following this method, the perfect compatibility between the surfaces of two adjacent segments must
always be guaranteed, in order to achieve the correct longitudinal and transverse final geometric
configuration of the structure, the correct distribution of the interlocking stresses at the interface and
the correct safety coefficient against the decompression limit state. In this case, it’s even more
important to carry out a refined analysis of the time evolution of the deformations and of the stresses
in the segments.
Another possible construction technique is the so-called ‘incremental launching’ method, which
implies the pre-assemblage of large parts of the decks in areas where workers have easy access.
After that, the pre-assembled parts are moved into place sliding on tracks with translational or
rototranslational movements.
The procedure of incremental translational launching for prestressed concrete bridges, Fig.10, was
developed in the Eighties, when jacking operations and the constructions of sliding supports able to
minimize friction forces became possible. The incremental launching technique can be profitably
used for bridges with straight axis and nearly constant spans, ranging between 40m and 70m,
nevertheless, bridges with curved axis in the vertical or horizontal plane have recently been
constructed.

Fig. 10 – Construction phases for a launched bridge

 F. Mola, E. Mola and L.M. Pellegrini

The technique based on the rotational movement of the bridge after its construction, as shown in
Fig.11, is particularly useful when a river or railroad must be crossed, because the additional costs
due to the track system are much lower than those due to the discontinuation of service or the use of
very high propping system or the aggravation given by the presence of water.

Fig. 11 – Construction technique for cable stayed bridges involving rotation of the deck after
construction

Finally, an interesting construction method is the one based on the introduction or provisionary
restraints that are released in later phases. This method is typically used for arch bridges, Fig.12.
The two halves of the bridge are built separately, in an almost vertical configuration, then they are
rotated into the final horizontal configuration and the provisionary hinges at their bases are
transformed into a continuous joint with an additional casting or with imposed deformations.
Alternatively, the two halves of the bridge are built segmentally in their final configuration, but are
provisionally restrained by stays, until they are made continuous at the end of the construction phase
with the last casting at mid-span.

Fig. 12 – Construction techniques for arch bridges

5.2 New construction techniques for tall buildings

In recent years the use of concrete has become more and more widespread in tall buildings, due to
the increase in the strength of concrete, its workability and its durability, coupled with an easier
construction procedure with respect to that required for steel. At the end of the Sixties the tallest
concrete building in the world was the Pirelli Building, 127m high, whereas at the end of the Nineties
the record had increased to 310m with the Telekom Malaysian Headquarters, to get to the 800m of
Burj Khalifa in Dubai, currently the tallest building in the world, having the main structural elements
made of concrete, Fig.13.
 F. Mola, E. Mola and L.M. Pellegrini

Fig. 13 – Pirelli Tower, Malaysian Telekom Tower, Burj Khalifa

The main structural elements in tall buildings are the foundations, the shear-resistant cores, the
columns and the floor slabs.
Foundations are usually concrete plates, 3m thick and up, normally made of self compacting
concrete, with reduced hydration heat and reduced shrinkage. In this way, it’s possible to cast them
4 3
continuously, covering extensive surfaces with volumes of concrete in the order of 10 m or more
without the development of cracking patterns due to shrinkage and hydration heat.
The construction technique of stairways cores involves the use of dedicated formworks, with highly
specialized features consisting in self advancing formworks, windshields, concrete pumps, coupled
with a strongly industrialized production and arrangement of rebar, that are usually made of pre-
assembled parts. A scheme of such devices is represented in Fig.14, whereas in Fig. 15 the
construction method used for Burj Khalifa is shown.

Fig. 14 – Concrete casting system Fig. 15 – Burj Khalifa construction Fig. 16 – Steel encasing of columns

Another state-of-the-art technique, used for Palazzo Lombardia in Milan, currently the tallest building
in Italy, is the use of steel encasing for the reinforced concrete vertical elements. The steel
formworks, not having a static role, can be erected for a height of 3 to four storeys, leaving room at
the floor level to insert the floor rebar, before the slabs are cast. Inside the steel encasing, the
longitudinal and confinement rebars are arranged for the whole height, thus eliminating the need to
move formworks and install the rebar floor by floor, Fig.16.

Fig. 17 –Polyethilene spheres in the slabs Fig. 18 – Prestressed slab with unbonded tendons

Once the slab formworks are ready and the floor rebar is also arranged, concrete can be cast. The
steel encasing thus acts as a perishable formwork, providing a very consistent reduction of
construction times, also allowing the slab-to-column joints to be cast much more effectively and
 F. Mola, E. Mola and L.M. Pellegrini

guaranteeing a better monolithic quality of the frame, which in turn is crucial for an improved global
structural behavior.
Finally, as for slabs, the modern trend is to have cast in situ reinforced concrete slabs or reduced-
weight partially precast slabs, sometimes coupled with unbonded prestressing cables. Among the
reduced-weight slabs, those with polyethylene spheres are very interesting: they were very
successfully employed in Palazzo Lombardia, as shown in Fig. 17.
Prestressed slabs allow a significant reduction of flexural deformations, the reduction of the
thickness of the cross section, the almost complete elimination of cracking phenomena, thus
increasing global structural efficiency and durability, Fig.18.

6. SOME REMARKS REGARDING STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS

In large-scale structures, such as tall buildings or important bridges and flyovers, usually built
segmentally, the correct prediction of the long term deformations due to creep becomes very
important.
Concrete creep can affect the structural service life causing excessive deformations, cracking or
other negative phenomena which can sometimes be impossible to repair or require high
maintenance costs.
In the Thirties, the first theories regarding visco-elasticity, aimed at developing formulations for the
structural analysis that would take into account concrete ageing were developed. From then on, the
study of the problem of the long term variation of stresses and deformations in concrete and its
analytical solutions boomed, so that new technologies and construction techniques could be
attempted and mastered, leading to the achievements of the present days. Structural solutions that
were unthinkable a few decades ago are today a reality and new, even more impressive challenges
are already being undertaken.
The more challenging the applications become, the more refined and theoretically complex the
solutions of the problem must become as well. For this reason, the theoretical and analytical
approaches are strictly intertwined with the practical needs, and both must be beneficial for each
other, which requires designers and researchers synergic efforts.

6.1 Examples related to long term structural analysis

In Fig.19 the construction procedure for a segmental prestressed concrete bridge is shown.
Construction starts from the central bay, then moving to the lateral ones, which are connected to the
central bay by means of hinges and then closed by means of prestressing, creating a continuity.

Fig. 19 – Segmental prestressed bridge: construction process

The bending moment vs time plots in the two hinges, starting from the time when each of them
becomes moment resisting, are affected by prestressing and differential shrinkage. A remarkable
difference can be observed between the final diagram of flexural actions and the elastic initial one.
The final diagram is non-symmetric because of the differences in the ages of concrete in the
different segments.
When different rheological models are assumed for concrete, a quite scattered range of values of
actions and deformation at final time can be obtained. Consequently the correct choice of
 F. Mola, E. Mola and L.M. Pellegrini

constitutive models is a key factor to obtain reliable solutions. The use of the different formulations
suggested by Codes must always be supported by a wise and cultured engineering approach.
Another example is the cable stayed bridge, represented in Fig. 20. If the second order effect of the
self-weight induced vertical deformations of the stays is taken into account, then a careful
determination of the tension in the stays, interacting with the concrete deck, is needed, because the
two affect each other. If the stays are prestressed to tension values equal to the values they would
have if considered undeformable, then such values of tension will not vary in time, as represented in
Fig. 21. This is the consequence of a fundamental theorem of viscoelasticity, which is still valid in the
case of geometric non-linearity. Still, this situation is impossible to pursue in real bridges, because of
their rheological non-homogeneity, /10/. As a consequence, the stress patterns in the stays and in
the deck will vary in time, as shown in Fig.22, so that the designer must always be able to predict
and limit values of this variation, to prevent negative effects.

Fig. 20 – Cable stayed bridge

Fig. 21 – Axial forces in the stays Fig.22 Bending moments in the deck

Even more difficult problems arise in launched bridges. Referring to the four span bridge of Fig.23,
the bending moment X1 vs time plot is reported in Fig. 24 a. The abrupt changes are related to the
time when the bridge is launched, while the smooth lines describe the structural relaxation.
Furthermore, as illustrated in Fig.24 b, the values of the bending moment are higher in comparison
with the elastic ones, as during launching the vertical displacement of the metallic nose increases in
time owing to concrete creep.

Fig. 23 – Lauched bridge: construction phases

 F. Mola, E. Mola and L.M. Pellegrini

Finally, it can be observed that displacements larger than those in the final configuration are present
during the construction process, as shown in Fig.24 c), in which the envelope of the transverse
displacements during the construction process has been reported, /11/. The envelope of the
alternate deflections maintains its basic properties in every span except for the last, in which the
presence of the previous spans reduces the related displacements.

Fig. 24 – a) Bending moment X1 vs time plot; b) Evolution of elastic and viscoelastic bending
moments; c)Transverse displacement envelope in launching

Another very important problem is that of column shortening in tall buildings. It causes deformations
in the slabs and remarkable differential displacements in the supports of the non-structural elements,
such as facades.
This phenomenon, discussed in /12/, must be analyzed by taking into account the compensation of
displacements that is carried out during the construction. The analysis shows that during the service
life of the structure, remarkable increases in the vertical displacements of the columns take place.
Referring to the building in Fig. 25, studied in /13/,the displacements of the columns are originated by
two effects: a long term effect due to the loads applied below the level where the displacement is
being measured and an elastic and long term effect due to the loads applied above the level where
the displacement is being measured. In Fig. 26 the global vertical displacements, sum of the two
effects, are reported. As for beams, as shown in Fig. 27, the reductions in the flexural stresses are
small, because the displacements in the columns are induced by static loads.

Fig. 25 – Reference building Fig. 26 – Sum of vertical displacements Fig. 27 – Time evolution of
flexural stresses

The Codes often provide simplified design aids, such as tables or plots, to predict long term effects.
These simplified solutions can sometimes be too simplistic, leading to mistakes in the predictions of
complex phenomena. An example of this concept can be found in Fig.28 a),b), where, for a
continuous 3-bay beam, the time evolution of the bending moments at the supports is shown,
following the introduction of continuity in the supports N.1 and N.2, after the loading is applied. In
Fig.28 a), representing a homogeneous structure, the plots Hij (i=j=1,2), governing the solution of the
problem, are reported. In Fig.28 b), the same plots, but for a structure where the lateral bays are
assumed to be much older than the central one are represented. In both cases, the two sets of Hij
(i=j=1,2) plots are not very different from one another, whereas the Hij (i,≠j) plots are equal to zero in
the first case, while they are non-zero, even if their values are small, in the second case.
Given the similarity of the the two sets of Hij (i=j=1,2) plots and the small relative values of the Hij
(i,≠j) plots in the second case, one could be tempted to assume the solution of the first case, i.e.
homogeneous structure, as a good approximation for the solution of the second case, related to a
 F. Mola, E. Mola and L.M. Pellegrini

non-homogeneous structure. However, this is not a wise choice, because it does not allow the
evaluation of the peculiarity of the behavior in the latter case. Unfortunately, though, while
determining the Hij plots in the first case is quite easy, it is not as easy in the second case, /14/, but
this challenge should be consciously faced by the designer by perceiving it as an advancement of his
own knowledge.

a) b)
Fig. 28 – Time evolution of the bending moments at the supports of a three-bay beam

7. SOME REPRESENTATIVE CASE STUDIES

In order to highlight the above discussed concepts, some representative structures are presented.
The chosen examples are some of the most important reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete
structures built in the last decades. Three bridge structures and some buildings will be presented, all
of them representing, at the time of their construction, innovative challenges, both for the designers
and the constructors, some of which even breaking world records.

7.1 Bridges

The first is the Gatweay Bridge, built in Brisbane, Australia, in 1986, Fig.29. It is a multi-span
prestressed concrete viaduct, whose central bay spans 260m. This span set the length record for a
prestressed concrete bridge and held it for 15 years, till the beginning of the New Millennium, when
the new and current world record was set by the Stolma bridge in Norway at 303m.

Fig. 29 – Gateway Bridge

The main beam of the Gateway Bridge, having a hollow core cross section, is the largest ever built. It
is 15m high on the supports, 15m wide and supports a 22m wide deck. The bridge was built by
means of a climbing formwork. In 2010 a new viaduct, parallel to the first, was open and the two of
them coupled took the name of ‘Sir Leo Hirsher Bridge’. In Fig.30 the first bridge and the second
one, under construction, are represented.

Fig. 30 –Second Gateway Bridge under construction

 F. Mola, E. Mola and L.M. Pellegrini

A second structure, which is very interesting for its architectural features and its very challenging
configuration, is the Millau Bridge, built on the Paris-Montpeller highway in France, Fig.31. The
structure is a cable-stayed bridge, having 342m spans, supported by seven piles. The maximum
height of the piles, 343m, set a world record, while the maximum height of the deck above the
ground, i.e. 270m, ranks twelfth in the world. The stays are not parallel and the piles are very
slender, so the aesthetics of the bridge is very peculiar and a beautiful example of refined elegance.
This result is the consequence of the complete achievement of the potential of conceptual design,
when coupled to architectural innovation and aesthetics. For the construction of the deck the
launching technique was adopted, with eight provisional supports. In Fig. 32 the construction phases
of one pile is represented.

Fig. 31 – Millau Bridge, France Fig. 32 – Millau Bridge: construction

A third, very interesting example, is the Krka River Bridge, built in 2005 in South Croatia, Fig.33.
It is a reinforced concrete arch bridge, with a steel-concrete deck consisting in a grid of steel beams
with two main beams spanning 7.6m and two transverse beams spanning 4m. The arch spans
204m, one of the longest ever built. The construction technique was segmental, with provisional
stays and steel proppings on top of the piles, so that no scaffolding for the formworks was needed,
Fig.34. The segments were 5.20m thick, 10m wide and 3m high. The state-of-the-art construction
technique allowed the use of arch bridges to be re-considered and rated, since it allows very
pleasant aesthetics results to be achieved in areas where the environment would be spoiled by more
invasive structures.

Fig. 33 – Krka Bridge, Croatia Fig. 34 – Krka Bridge: construction phase

7.2 Tall buildings

Two elegant buildings, related to the Italian experience and representative of the evolution of tall
buildings in Italy in the last fifty years will be discussed at first.
The older one is the Pirelli Tower, represented in Fig. 35, 127m tall, which, when it was built, was the
tallest building in the world having a reinforced concrete structural system.
 F. Mola, E. Mola and L.M. Pellegrini







 























 




























 











 

















 



 











 














 


 







 


 











 

 







 


 


 





 







  





  

















 






 

 
 



  

   






  
 










 
 

 


 

 






 

 




 
 



  



 


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Fig. 35 – Pirelli Tower, Milano:: view and plan Fig. 36 – Palazzo Lombardia Complex, Milano: view and plan

The structure is made of a central core and two lateral cores located at the sides of the plan, having
a diamond shape. Between the cores two frames are located, supporting the slabs, with maximum
span 18m, including main and secondary beams.
The construction techniques was traditional, with casting in ordinary formworks, but, even if the new
construction
ction techniques had not yet been employed, still the results were very good from an
architectural point of view.
In 2009, the Pirelli Building was outgrown by the new Palazzo Lombardia Complex, 161.30m high,
represented in Fig.36.. For this building, state-of-the-art
state art technologies were employed, so that a very
aesthetically refined and beautiful object, which has now become a landmark in Milan’s skylight,
could be successfully built in a very short time.
Two other
her important tall buildings are the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago, USA,
423m high and built in the first decade of the current century, Fig.37 a), and the CITIC Plaza Building
in Canton, China, 321.9m high and completed in 1997, 1997 Fig.37 b). Both
oth buildings have a reinforced
concrete structural system and both held the world record of height for this kind of buildings, at the
time of their construction.

Fig. 37 – a) Trump Intl. Hotel and Tower, Chicago, b) CITIC

C Plaza, Canton, China, c) Grande Arche,
Paris, France, d) Bayerische Hypotheken Bank, Munich, Germany

This fact shows that the record height increased by 30% in about ten years, as a consequence of the
impressive development of concrete technology. To build the Trump Tower,
Tower, concrete having a cubic
strength of 70MPa was employed, with enough workability to be pumped upwards for over 400m
prior to casting.
Even higher performance concrete was used for the building which is currently the tallest in the
world, i.e. the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, 800m
800m high, having a reinforced concrete main structure. These
advancements show that the development of the potential of concrete is fundamental for tall
buildings, at present and even more in the near future. Finally, the
the use of high performance concrete
coupled to prestressing
stressing allows complex and elegant structures to be built. This is the case of the
Grande Arche in Paris, ris, France,
France Fig.37 c) and of the Bayerische
erische Hypoteken Bank in Munich,
Munich
Germany, Fig.37 d), where the use of prestressing
prestressing was the only means to solve some very delicate
technological
ogical and construction issues.
 F. Mola, E. Mola and L.M. Pellegrini

8. CONCLUSIONS

Modern structural engineering challenges designers to extremely complex tasks, calling them to very
though efforts to find reliable and efficient solutions. On one side, structural designers have to
conceive efficient and reliable structures based on their knowledge of structural mechanics and their
theoretical background. On the other side, state-of-the-art analytical and numerical techniques must
be mastered by modern engineers and extensively used to investigate in detail even the most
complicated issues of the structural response. The two main features of conceptual design of
structures are thus expressed: the ability to conceive beautiful and efficient structures and the ability
to thoroughly investigate their behavior.
This approach to structural design has brought to very impressive developments in the last three
decades, which can be summed up in three main aspects: scientific advancements, technological
progress, construction technique development.
The advancements in the scientific and theoretical knowledge of structures led to the statement of
normative documents for the measure of structural safety, which is a fundamental prerequisite for
designers, technological advancements allowed higher and higher concrete performance levels to be
achieved, state-of-the-art construction techniques allowed even very complex structures to be
successfully built. These three aspects, harmonically conceived, allowed a very fruitful expression of
the full potential of the conceptual design approach to structures, as represented by the outstanding
case studies hereby discussed.

9. REFERENCES

/1/ Nervi, P.L., “Scienza o Arte del Costruire? Caratteristiche e possibilità del cemento armato”,
Rome, 1945 (in Italian)
/2/ Torroja, E. “Razon y Ser de los tipos estructurales”, Madrid, 1956 (in Spanish)
/3/ Freyssinet, E., « Naissance du beton precontraite et vues d’avenir », Travaux, Paris, June 1954
(in French)
/4/ Dischinger, F., « Untersuchung uber die Kincksichereit, die elastische verformung und das
kriechen des betons bei bogenbrucken”, Der Bauingenieur, H. 33/34, 1937
/5/ CEB Model Code 78, Système International de Réglementation Technique Unifiée des
Structures, Vol.II, Paris, France, 1978
/6/ CEB/FIP Model Code 90, Thomas Thelford, London,UK, 1993
/7/ fib Model Code 2010,Vol.2, Design, Bulletin 56, Apr. 2010
/8/ Eurocode 2, EN 1992-1-1 - Design of Concrete Structures - Part 1.1 General Rules and Rules for
Buildings, EN 1992-2 - Part 2 Concrete Bridges
/9/ Mola, F. , “The chemical, physical, mechanical properties of SCC, a wide research programme in
progress in Italy, Proc. of. 29th Intl. Conference on ‘Our World in concrete and structures’,
Singapore, 2004
/10/ Mola,F.,Pisani, Creep Effects on Long Term Behaviour of R.C. and P.C. Cable-Stayed Bridges,
Proceedings of the Int. Symposium for Innovation in Cable-Stayed Bridges, Fukuoka, Japan, 1991
/11/ Mola, F., Pisani, M.A., Mapelli, M., “Time dependent analysis of launched bridges”, Intl. Journ.
Of Structural Eng. and Mechanics, Vol. 24, Dec. 2006
th
/12/ Mola, F., Pellegrini, L.M. “Effects of column shortening in R.C. tall buildings”, Proc. of. 35 Intl.
Conf. on ‘Our World in Concrete and Structures’, Singapore, 2010
/13/ Mola,F., Pellegrini, L.M., Giussani, F. , “Gli effetti dell’accorciamento delle colonne negli edifici
alti in c.a.”, Proc. Of. 26th ‘Convegno AICAP’, Padova, 2011 (in Italian)
/14/ Mola,F., Pisani, M.A.,Creeep Analysis of Non-Homogeneous Concrete Structures, Proceedings
of the Fifth Int. RILEM Symposium, Barcelona, Spain, 1993