ACI Press Release - ACI 318-08 Release Page 1 of 3

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ACI Press Release

AMERICAN CONCRETE INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF

ACI 318-08
Updated building code highlights major revisions
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (Jan. 28, 2008) - The American Concrete Institute is pleased to announce the release of ACI
318-08, “Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete and Commentary.”

ACI 318 is a must-have standard for all concrete design, construction, inspection, repair, and research professionals. It
contains the latest code requirements for concrete building design and construction alongside the corresponding commentary,
and includes several improvements and changes from the 2005 edition.

“Everyone from engineers, architects, contractors, specifiers, and building officials, to students and professors, regularly use
ACI 318,” said William R. Tolley, executive vice president of the American Concrete Institute. “Members of ACI Committee
318 have volunteered thousands of hours to ensure that necessary updates have been made to this 2008 edition, dedicated
to enhancing the safety of concrete structures.”

ACI 318 is a leading concrete design reference for building codes worldwide. It is expected that the updated Code will be
adopted in the 2009 International Building Code (IBC). ACI 318-08 is also deemed to satisfy the requirements of ISO
19338:2007, “Performance and Assessment Requirements for Design Standards on Structural Concrete.”

This fall, the American Concrete Institute and the Portland Cement Association (PCA) will offer in-depth seminars to highlight
and explain the changes in the 2008 Code. Details of the seminars, including dates and locations, will be available this spring
at www.concrete.org.

The following is a summary of changes in ACI 318-08:

Chapter 1—General Requirements

• Design requirements for earthquake-resistant structures were changed to correlate with the Seismic Design Categories used
by the 2005 ASCE/SEI 7 and the 2006 International Building Code.

Chapter 3—Materials
• New requirements for headed shear stud reinforcement, headed deformed bars, and stainless steel bars were given with
appropriate references to ASTM standards.

Chapter 4—Durability Requirements

• Exposure categories and classes were adopted to replace the many tables of durability requirements in Chapter 4, making it
easier to clearly specify the intended application.

Chapter 5—Concrete Quality, Mixing, and Placing

• The use of three 4 x 8 in. cylinders was adopted as equivalent to the use of two 6 x 12 in. cylinders for determining concrete
compressive strength;
• Due to concern that material properties may change with time, a 12-month limit was set on historical data used to qualify
mixture proportions; and
• Flexural test performance criteria were added to qualify the use of steel fiber-reinforced concrete as a replacement for
minimum shear reinforcement.

Chapter 7—Details of Reinforcement

• To avoid the misconception that there is no minus tolerance on cover values given in the Code, “minimum cover” was
replaced with “specified cover” throughout Chapter 7;

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• Class B lap splices are now required for structural integrity reinforcement;
• Continuous top and bottom structural integrity reinforcement were required to pass through the column core; and
• Requirements for transverse reinforcement confining structural integrity reinforcement in perimeter beams were clarified.

Chapter 8—Analysis and Design—General Considerations

• Provisions were modified to allow redistribution of positive moments; and
• A simple modeling procedure for evaluation of lateral displacements was added.

Chapter 9—Strength and Serviceability Requirements

• Strength reduction factors for spirally reinforced columns and plain concrete were raised from 0.70 to 0.75 and from 0.55 to
0.60, respectively.

Chapter 10—Flexure and Axial Loads

• The section on slenderness effects was reorganized to recognize computer analysis techniques as the primary method of
evaluating second-order effects.

Chapter 11—Shear and Torsion

• Code requirements were added to permit the use of headed stud assemblies as shear reinforcement for slabs and footings.
The nominal shear strength was permitted to be larger for headed stud assemblies than for other forms of slab and footing
shear reinforcement;
• More stringent limits have been placed on the depths of beams that are exempted from the requirement for minimum shear
reinforcement;
• A new limit on the depth of hollow core units for which minimum shear reinforcement could be waived was established;
• Steel fiber-reinforced concrete was added as an alternative to minimum shear reinforcement; and
• The upper limit on shear friction strength was significantly increased for monolithically placed concrete and concrete placed
against intentionally roughened concrete.

Chapter 12—Development and Splices of Reinforcement

• Provisions were added for the development length of headed deformed bars;
• Splice length when splicing bars with different sizes was addressed; and
• A coating factor of 1.0 for galvanized reinforcement was added.

Chapter 13—Two-Way Slab Systems

• Dimension limits were added for the use of shear caps; and
• Alternative corner reinforcement arrangement was added for two-way slabs supported by edge beams or walls.

Chapter 14—Walls
• Design provisions for slender wall panels were modified to be more consistent with the methods used in design practice.

Chapter 18—Prestressed Concrete

• The allowable concrete compression stress immediately after prestress transfer was increased; and
• Requirements for structural integrity steel in two-way unbonded post-tensioned slab systems were modified.

Chapter 20—Strength Evaluation of Existing Structures

• Load factors for determining the required test load were modified to reflect typical modern load combinations.

Chapter 21—Earthquake-Resistant Structures

• The entire chapter was reorganized to present requirements in order of increasing Seismic Design Category;
• New design requirements were added for most Seismic Design Categories;
• New detailing option was added for diagonally reinforced coupling beams;
• Design yield strength for confinement reinforcement was raised to 100 ksi to help reduce congestion; and
• Boundary element confinement requirements were relaxed.

Appendix D—Anchoring to Concrete

• Use of reinforcement in the vicinity of anchors was clarified; and
• Ductility requirements for anchors in seismic zones were clarified.

All ACI publications, including 318-08, can be ordered by calling 248-848-3800 or online at www.concrete.org.

Publisher: American Concrete Institute

Publishing date: Jan. 2008
ISBN: 978-0-87031-264-9
Number of pages: 467
Price: $167.50 (ACI members $101.00)

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For more information, contact:

Sara Steptoe
Marketing Communications Specialist
248-848-3148
Sara.steptoe@concrete.org

Advancing concrete knowledge – Founded in 1904 and headquartered in Farmington Hills, Mich., U.S.A., members of the
American Concrete Institute advance concrete knowledge by producing consensus, concrete-related codes, specifications,
guides and reports; creating and administering certification programs that support individuals in the concrete industry;
delivering seminars and distance learning opportunities; publishing Concrete International magazine; and producing two peer-
reviewed technical journals. For additional information, visit www.concrete.org.

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