TheStricturalenginecr | August or we‘TheStructuralengineer 29 ‘August 2012 Technical Technical Guidance Note Reading reinforced concrete drawings Introduction ICON LEGEND | Drawinaprincoes ‘This Technical Guidance Mote explains the way in which reinforced * conerete drawings should ie read. in many cases reinforced concrate ravings are more diagrammatic than thelr general arrangement counterparts and carry with them thelr onm unique sat of rules and «Aone pacon nomenclature, Note that the guidance provided here is based on European | codes of practice; for all other regions the readers directed to local | guilelines on reinforced concrete detailing methods. eB eeteed This technical guidance note does not cover the rules governing the detailing reinforced concrete. Thatis a far more complex subject whichis doait with in The Institution of Structural Engineers’ publication Standard Method! of Detailing Structural Concrete (3rd edition), | Wearosources ‘The purpose of reinforced concrete drawings is to communicate to the installer the layout of bars within concrete elements ‘of a structure. The only dimensions provided in them are those that reate to reinforcement whose placement cannot be fixed toa clear reference point. In some instances reinforced concrete drawings are not drawn to scale. However, with the ‘dominance of drawings that are developed using CAD, this is rarely he case. A tabulated approach is also sometimes adopted for ropeatable elements that have a ‘modicum of variety to them in toms of one (or two dimensions. Allrcinforced conerote drawings should ‘be readin conjunction with general arrangement drawings, as these provide {tho sotting out dimensions for the concrete clemants themselves in exclusion to the reinforcement within them. Reinforcoment drawing terminology Albars within reinforcement drawings have their dimensional information given on a separate document known as abar bending Schedule’. This schedula lists the quantity of 16-10- 07-200 me Bar ‘Typical bor cap the bar, its length, size and shape. In order toccorrlate the schedule against the bars located in the drawing, each bar is given a ‘mark that can be cross referenced against the schedule, Ths ‘bar mark’ is placed Within a label that is attributed to each ber In the drawing alongside other information concerning the size, steel grad, frequency and elevation within the concrete element. ‘An example barmark call-up is given in Figura ‘The steel designation/notaton defines the ‘grade ofthe reinforcement within abr cal-up andis typically designated with an "HE There are other grades: A, 8 & C that are steel reinforcing bars with varying degrees of ‘duct, with‘ having the highest ductity _and are denoted with a coresponding letter. (Grade A reinforcement bars are cold formed {and are drawn from cols. They are commonly used for shearclnks as thoy are easy to bend into shapes that feature tight bends. They cannot exceed t2mm in ameter however and this imitation does not apply to B & C grades. = 2 dey fetal] [2 [2 [2 [I # | # |2550|2/ \/000 | m0 | / \4 | |5500]0030 ‘TheStructuralEngineer Technical 1 August 2012 Techrical Guidance Note ae e| | ss ; ee [ a wees 7 pamel | at | as : 7 i rc 10 ft aya TY er - my ‘ pout? | | mow sess “7600-O4L =e eee aes | axa Figure 2 is an extract from the bar bending ‘schedule the bar mark is logged against. It is appended to the reinforcement drawing itis referring to. tis important to note that reinforcement drawing without a bar bending schedule is regarded as incomplete ‘as one cannot be read without the other “Taking each column in tut: © The member describes which element of the structure the bar is attributed to # Bar mark isthe unique identifier of each bar per oraving * Type and size isthe designation/notation and bar diameter ‘No, of membersis the number of elements this bar is located within + Total number is the numbor of bars denoted with this bar mark occurs within the structure ® Length of each bars the total length of the bar given in mm to the nearest 25mm # Shape code isa code given to certain bent shapes of bars as defined in Table S of BS 8666; 2005 Scheduling, cimensioning, bending and cutting of steel reinforcement ‘or concrete - Spectication ‘© Ato E aro cimonsions stated to the nearest Smm that need to be specified for shape codes in accordance with Table 3 of s.e666 * Rovision lettor isthe revision of tho bar bending schedule. Smee as \When determining the length of abar, it must be carried out in accordance with the shape code as defined in Table 3 of BS 8668.In the example in Fig. 2 there is @ U-Bar that is shape code 21, The length of such a bar is defined as: AsBsC 0 Where and B are lengths of sections of the U-Bar Cis the remaining length but isnot stated in the schedule ast is written in brackets +s the radius of bending as defined in Table 2 of BS 8660 {dis the diametor of the bar \When calculating the lengths of bars itis important to take into account tolerances and to allow for concrete cover. Clause 10.8.1 inthe National Specification of Concrete ‘Structures provides guidance on tis. In summary: tolerance of 10mm s alowed for when assessing distances between faces of conerate that are up to 150mm thick and ‘5mm for elements that are more than 400mm thick. In addition, itis necessary to assume a 10mm reduction inthe specified ‘concrete cover, which is the thickness of concrete to the surface of reinforcement. Beam reinforcement drawing ‘Beam reinforcement drawings are amongst the simplest of tho elements to create ‘drawings for. They provide much ofthe Fequired information diagrammatically and require litle in the way of unique terminology withia the bar mark call-ups. What does need to be shown clearly is the extent of the Bees d sab ‘bars and how they lap with one another. This | done by showing marker arrows with a bar ‘mark number showing how far one bar laps. ‘with another. Some bars nood to be set out from a common point, typicay the centreline ‘of a support in order to locate them along the length of a beam. This is because such bars are installed to resist bending moments in the top section of a beam and therefore ‘must be placedin such a way to cover the ‘extent ofthe tension in the upper section of the beam. Figure 3is an annotated drawing ‘of a continuous reinforced concrete beam. Column reinforcementdrawing ‘Column reinforcement can be more ae vera 1 25s STUB, en | wares = - e ir I? 254 x/wb STUB ad Tie = ita $5}: oboe & ston WS Pu/teer ee Lien 1570100 Fe Spe 2st 708 ahr Va eal vrangoment pi ‘As well as connection forces and their design intont, itis required that the design engineer specifies the steal gracios and sub-grades from vihich the structural steelwork is to be formed, For building structures those are typically $275J0 or '5355J0 for example. Drawings should also highlight any assumptions regarding the sequence of erection, temporary stability and other unique aspects that would affect construction, Furthermore, there ‘should also be an indication of any shear studs required for composite beams that are designed to work in conjunction with the floor siab. Finally, drawings should show foundations indicatively (and note them as such) so that the fabricator understands the interface between the steel superstructure and the sub-structure that supports it. This will alow them to ompiete the design of the base plate to ‘columns along with their corresponding holding down bolts. ASHI 167 0B 20006 209203-1000E Delimiter dott of bao coum snmection "Note that the dimensions for _these sections are not the actual ‘There are some terms used on steelwork ‘general arrangements that designate the relevant lovel of the elements shown on them, The term TOS stands for Top of Stee! {ands the level al wich the top surface of the stool is olovatod. SSL is Structural Sk dimensions of the iauciienertarnr acer | element but the is ho upper mostewlot teoveal er — SErial SIZE" structure, Itis only indicated on steelwork ‘general arrangements as a navigational aid. |i ‘August 2012 TheStructuralEngineer | Technical Technical Guidence Note ate 8 40 +P swez0d. ues SNLLG HOLES KX E143 LALACNLALA Stool fabrication general arrangement drawing protocol Generel arrangements developed by ‘stool fabricators are based on the design ‘general arrangements and only show the steelwork elements of the structure. The beams are drawn to scale in plan and rather than label the size of elements in the frame the fabricators instead give them a unique marker. These markers are used to designate tho components of the structure, which the fabricator refers to when constructing the frame. Figure 4 is an ‘example ofthe same beam shown in Fis + asit would appear ina stee! fabrication ‘general arrangement. Steel fabrication shop drawings Every element in a steel frame has a {abrication drawing produced for it These show what needs to be done to the stool Clement in order for it to be installed within the frame. This includes bolt holes, fin plates, Welds and stifonors that are developed bbased on the connection design that is typically carried out by the fabricator. In ‘some instances these cravings show the ‘connection data draw to scale, but the length ofthe element s not. Instead the clement’ length is Gefined but highlighted as boing not to scale. This isa form of shorthand So that the elements can be drawn toa largor ‘and easier to read scale without having to ie 75) draw the whole length of them Figure Sis a ‘drawing of the steel beam first soon in Fig. 1 drawn as a steel fabrication element Welding has a unique set of symbots that are defined in BS EN 22553:1995 Welded, brazed and soidered joints - Symbolic representation on drawings. This system is used throughout shop dravings to indicate the type of weld, its thickness, length and location. Figure 6 is an annotated example of one of these weld labels, ‘The introduction of CAD packages has had 2 significant impact on how steel members {are presented. In many cases viewers are used to inspect 3D computer models, which tenable the design engineer to pan and zoom around the mode! and view the properties ‘of each member, including length, section size, steel grade and connection details. The basic concepts of labeling elements however remain the same, no matter how they are presented. | Tks [Rear Evert let wed abel ‘The applicable codes of practice or structural steelwork drawings are as follows: BS EN 1993-1-1: Eurocode 2: Design of Steel Structures. Part 11 General Pules and ules for Buildings BS EN 1993-1-: Eurocode 2: UK National ‘Annex to Design of Stool Structures. Part 11 General Rules and Rules for Buildings BS 4 Part 12005: Structural stool sections ~ Part t Specification for hot-olled Sections BS EN 22653:1995; Welded, brazed and soldered joints ~ Symbolic representation on drawings dimensioned drawing ofthe stee! framed + structure and other structural elements. Designintont - Design information provided by the design engineer to the fabricator to indicate the preterred form of the structural element. Fabrication general arrangement uly dimensioned drawing of the steel elaments of a structure, developed by the fabricator. ther Reading BOSA & SCI (2007) 208/07 National ‘Structural Stoolwork Specification for Building Construction (Sth ed) London BCSA ‘Simmons, CH, Maguie, DE. and Phelps (2012) Manual ef Enginaering Drawing: Technical Product Specification and Documentation to {xitish and international Standards th ec. ‘Oxford: Butterworth-Heinomann ‘Tata Stee! Interactive ‘Blue Book’ wovtatasteelconstruction.com/en/design. ‘uidance/the. blue book/ | The British Constructional Steetwork © Association: ‘wumu.steelconstruction.org/ ‘The institution of Structural Engineers library: wwwistructe.org/resources-contre/library