Chapter 1

Concrete Structures and Design Methods

1.1 Introduction to Reinforced Concrete Structures

Concrete is any solid mass made with the use of a cementing medium where the
ingredients consist of cement, sand, gravel and water. Any desired shape can be obtained by
mixing together of above ingredients forming a solid mass.

The popularity of concrete is due to easily available ingredient materials and easy work
and to meet the demands of any particular situation. It is highly durable and resistant to water,
easy to cast into variety of shape and size and easily available material. The advanced concrete
technology helps to use locally available materials in proper workmanship, so as to produce
concrete satisfying performance requirements.

Limitation of Cement Concrete

The main limitation of concrete is that it is strong in compression but it is weak in
tension. Its tensile strength is approximately one tenth of its compressive strength. So the use
of the plain concrete is limited to situation where the tensile strength is not developed like in
block wall construction, dam construction. If situation is developed to use in tensile part also,
concrete is strengthened by steel bars forming a composite construction called Reinforced
Cement Concrete. The concrete without steel bars (reinforcement) is called plain concrete or
simply concrete.

Good concrete must always satisfy three properties:

1) Strength: Concrete must be able to bear the desired stresses within the permissible
factor of safety. But on the other hand, it should not be uneconomical which means it
should not be stronger than required.

2) Workability: It is the property which determines the ease and homogeneity with which
it can be mixed, placed compacted and finished. A workable concrete should not show
any segregation or bleeding.

3) Durability: It is the resistance of aggregates to chemically disintegrating forces.

Concrete must be durable with respect to temperature, humidity variations, chemical
attack and action of atmospheric gases.

1
Reinforced Cement Concrete

When the structures need to resist tensile stress, Reinforced Concrete Structure (RCC)
needs to be introduced. Reinforced concrete is one of the most widely used modern building
materials. The use of RC construction in the modern world stems from the wide availability of
its ingredients – reinforcing steel as well as concrete. Except for the production of steel and
cement, the production of concrete does not require expensive manufacturing mills. But,
construction with concrete does require a certain level of technology, expertise and
workmanship, particularly in the field during construction. Despite this need for sophistication
and professional inputs, a large number of single-family houses or low-rise residential buildings
across the world have been and are being constructed using RC without any engineering
assistance. Such buildings, in seismic areas, are potential death traps.

A reinforced concrete structure is composed of building components such as footings,

columns, beams, slabs, staircase etc. These components are reinforced with steel that give
stability to the structure.

1.2 Design Methods of Reinforced Concrete Structure

Basically there are three methods for the design of RC structure and they are:
1. Working Stress Method
2. Ultimate Load Method
3. Limit State Method

Working Stress Method

Working Stress Method (WSM) is the traditional method of design not only for
reinforced concrete but also for structural steel and timber design. The conceptual basis of
WSM is simple. The working stress method is based on the behavior of structure at the working
load.

The basic principle of working stress method is based on the fact that the sections are
designed in accordance with the elastic theory of bending with the assumption that both
materials obey Hooke’s law. The elastic theory assumes a linear variation of stress and strain
from zero at the neutral axis to the maximum at the extreme fiber.

2
 b ct cb
C
Nd
Nd
Neutral
Neutral
d D Axis
axis
LEVER ARM
Lever arm
jd
At jd

T
 st st
Section
SECTION Strain
STRAIN STRESS
Stress

Fig. 1.1 Stress -strain curve in working stress design

Where,
At = area of tension steel
b = width of section
C= total force of compression
D= depth of the section
d= effective depth of the section, defined as the depth from extreme compression fibre to the
centre of gravity of tension steel
jd= lever arm defined as the distance between the point of application of force of compression
and force of tension
Nd= depth of neutral axis
T=total force of tension
 cb  permissible compressive stress in concrete in bending
 st = permissible tensile stress in steel
c= compressive strain in concrete
st=tensile strain in steel

The permissible stresses are prescribed by a building code to provide suitable factor of
safety to allow for uncertainties in the estimations of working loads and variations in the
properties of materials. IS: 456-2000 uses a factor of safety equal to 3 on the 28 days cube
strength to obtain the permissible compressive stress in bending in concrete and equal to 1.78
on the yield strength of steel in tension to obtain the permissible tensile stress in
reinforcement. The working stress method gives:

3
 RL
Where,
 = inverse of factor of safety which is less than unity
R=resistance of the structural elements
L=working loads on the structural elements

Ultimate Load Design

Here the working loads are increased by the suitable factors to obtain ultimate loads.
These factors are called load factors. A major defect of the modular ratio method(WSM) design
is that it does not give a true factor of safety against failure. To overcome this, ultimate load
method of design is introduced in RC design. This method was later modified as Load Factor
Method.
After the introduction of the load factor method, in order to make calculations comparable
with the modular ratio method, Indian codes are adopted. This method uses the ultimate load
principles for design but retains the allowable service stresses concept in the calculation.
Whitney‘s theory has been the most popular due to its simplicity. Whitney replaced the actual
parabolic stress diagram by the rectangular stress diagram such that the centre of gravity of
both diagrams lies at the same points and their areas are also equal.

b cu cu kcu

C C
a
xm xm
Neutral
d D Axis LEVER ARM
LeverZ arm
At

T
sy y y
Section
SECTION STRAIN
Strain ACTUAL STRESS Whitney’s
Actual stress WHITNEY'Sstress
STRESS
Stress -strain curve in ultimate load design

Fig. 1.2: Stress- strain curve in ultimate load design

4
Where,

a=depth of rectangular stress block

=0.537d in a accordance with Whitney

=0.43d in accordance with IS: 456-1964

xm=depth of neutral axis at failure

z=lever arm

σcu=ultimate compressive stress of concrete cubes at 28-days

kσcu=average stress

=0.85σcu in accordance with Whitney

=0.55σcu in accordance with IS: 456-1964

σy=yield stress in steel

 cu=ultimate strain in concrete

 sy=yield strain in steel

The ultimate load design of reinforced section is based on the following assumption in
accordance with IS: 456-1964:

1. A section which is plane before bending remains plane after bending.

2. At ultimate strength stresses and strains are not proportional and distribution of compressive
stresses is non-linear in a section subjected to bending. The compressive stress diagram may be
assumed as a rectangle, trapezoid, parabola or any other shape which gives ultimate strength in
reasonable agreement with test results.

3. Maximum fiber strength in concrete does not exceed 0.68σcu. The actual stress diagram can
be replaced by a rectangular stress block whose height ‘a’ is taken 0.43d and the average stress
is assumed to be 0.55  cu.

4. Tensile strength of concrete is ignored in section subjected to bending.

5
 The ultimate load design method can be expressed as:

R>λL

Where, R= resistance of the structural elements

L=working loads on the structural elements

λ = load factor which is more than unity.

IS: 456 – 1964 require that every member should be design to carry without failure the effects
of the following critical load conditions:

(a) For those structures in which the effects of wind and earthquake loads can be
neglected:

U=1.5D + 2.2L

(b) For those structures in which wind or earthquake loads should be considered:
U=1.5D+2.2L+0.5W

Or U= 1.5D + 0.5L +2.2W , whichever gives critical condition.

Where,

U=ultimate load

D= dead load

L= live load

W= wind or earthquake load

Coefficient of D, L and W represents load factors.

A major advantage of this method over the working stress method is that total safety
factor of a structure thus found is nearer to its actual value. Moreover, the structures designed
by the ultimate load method generally require less reinforcement than those designed by the
working stress method.

6
Limit State Method:
It is based on the principle that the safety of a structure when threatened by some form
of risk may be expressed in terms of the overall probability of failure, which is linked to a
particular reliability index.
The Limit State Method can be expressed by
RL
Where,
 = inverse of factor of safety which is less than unity
R=resistance of the structural elements

λ = load factor which is more than unity.

L=working loads on the structural elements

The two principal limit states are Limit State of Collapse and Limit State of Serviceability

a) Limit State of Collapse: It is reached when the structure collapses. It requires that the
structures must withstand the load for which it is designed with adequate factor of safety
without collapse. The limit state may corresponds to
1) Flexure
2) Compression
3) Shear
4) Torsion

b) Limit State of Serviceability: Serviceability limit states are those for deflection and
cracking. It requires that the appearance, durability and performance of the structure must
not be affected by deflection and cracking. So this limit states may corresponds to
1) Deflection
2) Cracking
3) Vibration

1.2.1 Merit and Demerits of Working Stress Method and Limit State Method

Merits of WSM

1) It is referred to as deterministic because it is presumed that the loads, permissible

stresses and factor of safety are known accurately.
2) The stresses in an element are obtained from working load and the members are
considered in working stress

7
Demerits of WSM

1) The main assumption of linear elastic behaviour and the assumption that the stresses
under working loads can be kept within the permissible stresses are not found to be
realistic.
2) WSM does not provide a realistic measure of the actual factor of safety underlying a
design.
3) WSM also fails to discriminate between different types of load that act simultaneously,
but having different degree of uncertainty which is a very conservative design
4) It is difficult to account for shrinkage and creep effects by using WSM

Merits of Limit State Method

1) LSM philosophy uses a multiple safety factors format which attempts to provide
adequate safety at ultimate load as well as adequate serviceability at service loads by
considering all possible limit states.
2) LSM is the more than a simple extension of WSM and ULM. It represents a new
paradigm i.e. a modern philosophy.

Demerits of Limit State Design

1) Parameters that involve the element of prediction are referred as non deterministic and
there is no guarantee that they will actually occur. This forms the basis of limit state
design.

1.3 Characteristic Strengths and Loads

1.3.1 Characteristic Strength

Characteristic strength is defined as the strength of material below which not more
than 5 percent of the test result are expected to fall. The strength of concrete is variable; cube
specimens that are taken from the same mix give different values of compressive strength in
laboratory tests. This may be attributed largely to the non-homogeneous nature of concrete.
Statistically, it is measured in terms of either the ‘standard deviation’ (σ) or the coefficient of
variation (cov), which is the ratio of the standard deviation, to the mean strength.

The probability distribution of concrete strength is found to be approximately normal

(Gaussian) according to experimental studies. The coefficient of variation is generally in the
range of 0.01 to 0.02, which is expected to reduce with increasing grade of concrete, in view of
the need for increased quality control. Due to the variable compressive strength, it is necessary
to ensure that the designer has a reasonable assurance of a certain minimum strength of
concrete. Thus, the code has defined the characteristic strength, which is applicable to any

8
material. The same definition is used for both concrete and reinforcing steel. It has been found
that this criteria is satisfied if,

fk = 𝑥̅ - 1.64𝜎

where fk is characteristic strength usually represented by 28 days cube strength fck of

concrete and the yield or 0.2% proof stress fy of reinforcement. Similarly, characteristic
strength of other materials is also defined.
Frequency

Characteristic
strength 1.64

1.64
mean
strength

5 % of results fk x Strength

Fig. 1.3 Definition curve for characteristic strength

1.3. Characteristic Load

The characteristic load is defined as the load that has a 5 % probability of being
exceeded during the life of the structure. (IS 456 Cl. 36.2). But, if the statistical data regarding
loads are not available, the nominal values specified for dead, live and wind loads are taken
from IS 875 (1-3): 1987 and the values for ‘seismic loads’ (earthquake loads) from IS 1893 (Part
I): 2002.

9
 Frequency
Characteristic load

1.64

5 % of results

x fl Loads

Fig 1.4 Definition curve for characteristic load

Characteristic load = mean load ( 𝑥̅ ) + 1.64 𝜎

This would mean that not more than 5 % of the loads for a given load condition would
exceed the characteristic load.

1.4 Design Process and Basis for Design

Stages of Design Process:

1) Structural Planning
It is generally done by the architect where the layout of the building and the
suitability and functional requirement is kept into consideration. Also the structural
engineer needs to be consulted.

2) Preliminary Design
Here the calculation is done manually and approximate value is found out.

3) Modeling of the Structure and loads

Model of the components of structure (beam, column, slab etc) is made
manually or by the help of the different software like SAP, STAADPRO, ETABS etc. After
model is made, loads like dead load, live load, earthquake load etc are assigned to the
structure.

10
 4) Analysis of Structures, Design and Detailing of Structure
Structure is analyzed and a design criterion is checked out. Structural analysis of
the determination of the stress resultant (member forces) and displacement induce by
various load combinations is done. Actual proportion like member size, reinforcement
detail and grade of material required for safety and serviceability under the calculated
member force is found out.

Objective of Design:
1) To have knowledge of the structural performance of different materials and geometries.
2) Design utilizes a number of simple structural elements to build complex structural systems
3) To satisfy a set of requirements subject to constraints, using a set of primitive components
But on the other hand, the three main objective of structural design are

1. Stability to prevent overturning, sliding or buckling of the structure.

2. Strength to resist safety, the stresses induced by the loads.
3. Serviceability to ensure satisfactory performance under service load conditions.

11