ACI 318.1R-83 Building Code Requirements for Structural Plain Concrete (ACI 318.1-83) and Commentary american concrete institute BOX 19150, REDFORD STATION DETROIT, MICHIGAN 48219AGT ENGINEERING LIBRARY JUN = = 2004 First printing, September 1983 ACI Manual of Concrete Practice Most ACI Standards and committee reports are gathered together in the annually revised ACI Manual of Concrete Practice. The several volumes are ar- ranged to group related material together and may be purchased individually or in sets. ACI Committees prepare standards and reports in the general areas of materials and properties of con- crete, construction practices and inspection, pave- ments and slabs, structural design and analysis, structural specifications, and special products and processes. A complete catalog of all ACI publications is avail- able without charge. American Concrete Institute Box 19150, Redford Station Detroit, Mich. 48219Building Code Requirements for Structural Plain Concrete (ACI 318.1-83) Reported by ACI Committee 318 This code covers the proper design and construction of structural members of plain concrete, and is written in such form that it may be adopted by relerence in a general building code. This code supplements ACI Standard 318 “Building Code Requirements for Rein- forced Concrete. Among the subjects covered are: permits and araw- ings: inspection: materials: concrete quality: formwork; conirol joints: analysis and design (permissible stresses): and structural members (walls, footing, and pedestals). structural design: walls. CONTENTS Chapter 1 — General requirements, page 128 14° Scope 12 = Limitations 1. Permits and ravings 44 inspection Chapter 2 — Definitions, page 130 Chapter 3 — Materials, page 130 Materials tor Concrete 32 = Meta Asintoreomont 3.3 = Tests of Matenals 34 = Storage of Materials ‘Adopted 28 2 standard of the Ametican Concrete Insitute in Sep oe Wi 18 rece AGI 32872" accordance wih the neues ‘Copyright "ees American Concrete Institute Al rights inctudinginants ot repros in any teim of By any means cing the making of copes by any pot process, or bya ie. Chapter 4 — Concrete quality, page 130 '4.0— Notation 41 — General 42 = Minimum Strengin 43 — Selection of Concrete Proportions 444 — Mixing and Placing Concrete 45 — Evaluation and Acceptance of Concrete Chapter 5 — Formwork and joints, page 131 5.1 — Formwork 52 = Joints Chapter 6 — Analysis and design, page 131 6.0 — Notation 6.1 — Design Meinoa 6.2 — Permissible Stresses 6.3 — Design Chapter 7 — Plain concrete members, page 132 7.0 — Notation 7.1 — Walls 7.2 — Footings 73 — Pedestals 74 = Precast Members CHAPTER 1 — GENERAL REQUIREMENTS 4.1 — Scope 1.1.1 — This code provides minimum require- ments for design and construction of structural plain concrete members (cast-in-place or precast) of any structure erected under requirements of the general building code of which this code forms a part. 310.14118.12 1.1.2 — This code supplements the general build- ing code and “Building Code Requirements for Reinforced Concrete (ACI 318-77)"" and shall govern in all matters pertaining to structural plain conerete design and construction wherever this code is in conllict with requirements in the gen- eral building code and ACI 318. 1.1.3 — All applicable provisions of ACI 318 not in conflict with provisions of this code shall apply to plain concrete. 1.1.4 — This code shall govern in all matters per- laining to design, construction, and material properties wherever this code is in conflict with requirements contained in other specitications referenced in this code or recommended prac- tices relerenced in this code. 1.1.5 — For special structures. such as arches. underground ulility structures. gravity walls. and shielding walls, provisions of this code shall gov- ern where applicable. 1.2 — Limitations 1.2.1 — Provisions of this code shall apply for de- sign of plain concrete members. defined as either unreintorced or containing less reinforce- ment than the minimum amount specified in ACI 318 for reinforced concrete. See section 2.1 1.2.2 — Use of plain concrete shall be limited to members thal are continuously supported by soil or supported by other structural members capa- ble of providing continuous vertical support, or where arch action assures compression under all, conditions of loading. 1.2.3 — Plain concrete shall not be used for structural members where special design consid- erations are required for earthquake or blast, un- less explicitly permitted by the general building code. 1.2.4 — Plain concrete for compression mem- bers, other than arches or walls. shall be limited to pedestals. See Section 7.3, 1.3 — Permits and drawings 1.3.1 — Copies of design drawings, typical de- tails, and specifications for all structural plain concrete construction shall bear the seal of a registered engineer or architect and shall be filed with the building department as a permanent record before a permil to construct such work will be issued. These drawings. details, and specifi- cations shall show: (a) Name and date of issue of code to which design conforms ACI STANDARD (b} Live load and other loads used in design {c) Specified: strength of concrete at stated ages or stages of construction (0) Size and location of all structural members and any reinforcement {e) Details and location of all control joints 1.3.2 — Calculations pertinent to design shall be filed with the drawings when required by the Building Official. When automatic data process- ing is used, design assumptions and identified input and output data may be submitted in lieu of, calculations. Calculations may be supplemented by model analysis. 1.3.3 — Building Official means the officer or other designated authority charged with the ad- ministration and enforcement of this code, or his duly authorized representative 1.4 — Inspection 1.4.1 — Concrete construction shall be inspected throughout the various work stages by a com- petent engineer or architect, or by a competent represenlative responsible to that engineer or ar- chitect. 1.4.2 — Inspector shall require compliance with design drawings and specilications and keep a record that shall cover: (a) Quality and proportions of concrete mate- rials (b) Construction and removal of forms. reshor- ing (c) Mixing, placing, and curing of concrete (0) Placing of any reinforcement {e) Any significant construction loadings on completed members. or walls {t) Sequence of erection and connection of pre- cast members (g) General progress of work 1.4.3 — When the ambient temperature falls be- low 40 F or rises above 95 F. a complete record shall be kept of concrete temperatures and of protection given to concrete during placement and curing. 1.4.4 — Records of inspection required in Sec- tions 1.4.2. and 1.4.3 shall be kept available to the Building Official during progress of work and for 2 years after completion of the project and shalt be preserved by inspecting engineer or architect for that purpose.PLAIN CONCRETE CODE CHAPTER 2 — DEFINITIONS 2.1 — The following terms are defined for general, use in this code. For other terms used in this code, reference is made to ACI 318 where such terms have already been defined. Specialized definitions appear in individual chapters. Control joint — Construction joint or partial joint (minimum 25 percent reduction of member thick- ness) used for the purpose of reducing buildup of internal stresses caused by restraint to move- ments due to creep. shrinkage. or temperature effects. Plain concrete — Concrete that is either unrein- forced or contains less reinforcement than the minimum amount specified in ACI 318 for rein- forced concrete. Precast concrete — Concrete member cast elsewhere than its final position in the structure. Structural plain concrete — Plain concrete used for structural purpuses. CHAPTER 3 — MATERIALS 3.1 — Materials for concrete All materials for concrete (cement, aggregate, water, and admixtures when used) shall conform to Chapter 3 of ACI 318. 3.2 — Metal reinforcement Reinforcement. if used. shall conform to Section 3.5 of ACI 318. 3.3 — Tests of materials 3.3.1 — Building Official shall have the right to order testing of any materials used in crete construction to determine if mat quality specified. 3.2.2 — Tests of materials and of concrete shall be made in accordance with standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials, listed in Section 3.8 of ACI 318. 3.3.3 — A complete record of tests of materials and of concrete shall be made available for in- spection during progress of work and for 2 years after completion of the project, and shall be pre- served by inspecting engineer or architect for that purpose. 3181-3 3.4 — Storage of materials 3.4.1 — Cement and aggregates shall be stored in such manner as to prevent deterioration or contamination from foreign matter. 3.4.2 — Any material that has deteriorated or has been contaminated shall not be used for con- crete. CHAPTER 4 — CONCRETE QUALITY 4.0 — Notation £¢ = specilied compressive strength of concrete. psi 4.1 — General 4.1.1 — Concrete shall be proportioned to pro- vide an average compressive strength as pre- scribed in Section 4.3.2 of ACI 318. Concrete shall be produced to minimize frequency of strengths below as prescribed in Section 4.7.2.3 of ACI 318. 4.1.2 — Requirements for f/ shall be based on tests of cylinders made and tested as prescribed in Section 4.7.2 of ACI 318. 4.1.3 — Unless otherwise specified, f/ shall be based on 28-day tests. If other than 28 days, test age for f; shall be as indicated in design draw- ings or specifications. 4.1.4 — Design drawings shall show specified compressive strength of concrete f for which each plain concrete member is designed. 4.2 — Minimum strength Specified compressive strength f; of plain con- crete to be used for structural purposes shall be not less than 2500 psi. 4.3 — Selection of concrete proportions Selection of concrete proportions shall conform to Section 4.2 of ACI 318. 4.4 — Mixing and placing concrete Mixing and placing of concrete shall conform to Chapter 5 of ACI 318. 4.5 — Evaluation and acceptance of concrete Evaluation and acceptance of concrete shall con- form to Section 4.7 of ACI 318.3181-4 CHAPTER 5 — FORMWORK AND JOINTS 5.1 — Formwork Design of formwork and removal of forms and shores shall conform to Chapter 6 of ACI 318, 5.2 — Joints 5.2.1 — In plain concrete construction. control joints shall be provided to divide a structural member into flexurally discontinuous elements Size of each element shall be limited to control buildup of excessive internal stresses within each element caused by restraint to movements, from creep. shrinkage. and temperature eflects. 5.2.2 — In determining the number and location of control joints. consideration shall be given to: influence of climatic conditions; selection and Proportioning of materials: mixing, placing. and curing of concrete: degree of restraint lo move- ment: stresses due to loads to which an element is subject; and construction techniques. 5.2.3 — Locations of control joints shall be indi- cated on the drawings or in the specifications, See Section 1.3.1 5.2.4 — Any reinforcement provided in a plain concrete member shall be terminated not less than 3 in. from a joint 5.2.5 — Interruptions of concrete placement shall be made only at joints. 5.2.6 — Walls and similar members shall be keyed or dowelled to other intersecting members as required for lateral stability CHAPTER 6 — ANALYSIS AND DE- SIGN 6.0 — Notation A, = loaded area A, = maximum area of the portion of the sup- porting surtace that is geometrically sim- ilar to and concentric with the loaded area width of member, in. specified compressive strength of con- crete, psi. See Chapter 4 Vii = square root of specilied compressive strength of concrete, psi 1, = average splitting tensile strength of light- weight aggregate concrete psi. See Sec- tions 4.1.5 and 4.1.6 of ACI 318 overall thickness of member. in. effective length factor. See Section 7152 = ACI STANDARD 4 = vertical distance between supports. in. v, = shear stress due to factored shear force at section YM factored shear force at section B. = ratio of long side to short side of concen- trated load or reaction area # = strength reduction factor. See Section 6.2.2 6.1 — Design method 6.1.1 — Plain concrete members shall be de- signed for adequate strength in accordance with Provisions of this code. using load factors and permissible stresses. 6.1.2 — Factored loads and forces shall be in Such combinations as specified in Section 9.2 of ACI 318. 6.1.3 — Stresses due to factored loads and forces shall not exceed permissible stresses given in Section 6.2. 6.1.4 — Where permissible stresses are to be ex- ceeded. reinforcement shall be provided and the member designed as a reinforced concrete mem- ber in accordance with appropriate design re- quirements of ACI 318 for reinlorced concrete. 6.2 — Permissible stresses 6.2.1 — Maximum fiber stresses in plain concrete due to factored loads and moments shall not ex- ceed the following: (a) Flexure Extreme fiber stress in compression . $f; Extreme fiber stress in tension”....54V f° (b) Axial compressi ooo [1 (#4) ] ‘al compression 0.60 94;|1 ~ (204 (c) Shear Beam action 2K a Two-way action. (2+ a )we but not greater than 4 4V f; 0.85 4; (d) Bearing on loaded area’.....PLAIN CONCRETE CODE 6.2.2 — Strength reduction factor ¢ for flexure, compression, shear. and bearing of plain con- crete shall be 0.65. 6.3 — Design 6.3.1 — Strength design of plain concrete mem- bers for flexure and axial loads shall be based on a linear stress-strain relationship in both tension and compression. 6.3.2 — Tensile strength of concrete may be con- sidered in design of plain concrete members when provisions of Sections §.2.1 and 5.2.2 have been followed such that stresses will not exceed permissible stresses. See Section 6.2 6.3.3 — No strength shall be assigned to metal reinforcement that may be present. 6.3.4 — Tension shall not be transmitted through outside edges, construction joints. or control joints of an individual plain concrete element. No flexural continuity due to tension shall be as- sumed between adjacent plain concrete ele- ments. 6.3.5 — In computing stresses due to flexure. combined flexure and axial load, and shear, the entire cross section of a member shall be con- sidered in design, except for concrete cast against soil. overall thickness f shall be taken as 2 in, less that actual thickness. 6.3.6 — Members subject to combined flexure and axial load shall be proportioned such that the sum of the ratios of all calculated to permissible stresses in compression given in Sections 6.2.1(a) and (b) shall be less than or equal to one, Tensile stress resulting from combined flexure and axial load shall not exceed permissible stress in tension given in Section 6.2.1(a). 6.3.7 — Shear strength 6.3.7.1 — Shear stress ¥, for rectangular sections shall be computed by av, 2bn (6-1) where his overall thickness of member. See Sec- tion 6.3.5, 6.3.7.2 — Maximum shear stress y, shall be com- puted at a distance A from face of support, and sections located at a lesser distance may be de- signed for the same shear. 6.3.7.3 — Shear stress ¥, shall not exceed per- missible shear stress for beam action given in Section 6.2.1(c) CHAPTER 7 — PLAIN CONCRETE MEMBERS. 7.0 — Notation A, = gross area of section, sq in b, = perimeter of critical section for shear in footings. in. f= specified compressive strength of con- crete, psi. See Chapter 4 overall thickness of member, in. effective length factor vertical distance between supports, in. nominal axial load strength of wall de- signed by Section 7.1.5 v, = shear stress due to factored shear force al section vy, factored shear force at section 4 = strength reduction factor. See Section 6.2.2 7.1 — Walls 7.4.1 — Plain concrete walls shall be continu- ously supported by soil or supported by footings, foundation walls, grade beams, or other struc- tural members capable of providing continuous, vertical support. See Section 1.2.2. 7.1.2 — Plain concrete walls shall be designed for vertical, lateral, and other loads to which they are subjected. 7.1.3 — Plain concrete walls may be designed in accordance with Section 6.3.6 provided the wall is designed for an eccentricity corresponding to the maximum moment that can accompany the axial load but not less than 0.10h. Otherwise, plain concrete walls shall be designed under pro- visions of Section 7.1.5. 7.1.4 — Design for shear shall be in accordance with Section 6.3.7. 7.1.8 — Empirical design method 7.1.5.1 — Plain concrete walls of solid rectangu- lar cross section may be designed by Eq. (7-1) if resultant of all factored loads is located within the middle-third of the overall thickness of wall. 7.1.5.2 — Design axial load strength $P,. of a plain concrete wall satisfying limitations of Section 7.1.5.1 shall be computed by $P., = 0.45 $f A, [: ~ (a) ] ay318.1-6 where 4 = 0.65 and effective length factor k shail be: For walls braced top and bottom against lateral translation and (a) restrained against rotation at one or both ends (top and/or bottom) . 08 (b) unrestrained against rotation at both ends .. 1.0 7.1.6 — Limitations 7.4.6.1 — Unless demonstrated by a delailed analysis, horizontal length of wall to be consid: ered effective for each vertical concentrated load shall not exceed center-lo-center distance be- tween loads, nol width of bearing plus 4 times the wall thickness. 7.1.6.2 — Thickness of bearing walls shall not be less than 1/24 the unsupported height or length, whichever is shorter. nor less than 5% in. 7.1.6.3 — Thickness of exterior basement walls and foundation walls shall not be less than 7% in. 7.1.6.4 — Walls shall be braced against lateral translation. See Sections 5.2. and 6.3.4. 7.1.8.5 — Not less than 2 #5 bars shall be pro- vided around all window and door openings. Such bars shall extend at least 24 in. beyond the cor- ners of openings. 7.2 — Footings 7.2.1 — Plain concrete footings shall be designed for factored loads and induced reactions in ac- cordance with appropriate design requirements of this code and as provided in Section 7.2 7.2.2 — Base area of footing shall be determined from unfactored forces and moments transmitted by footing to soil and permissible soil pressure selected through principles of soil mechanics. 7.2.3 — Plain concrete shall not be used for foot- ings on piles 7.2.4 — Thickness of plain concrete footings shall not be less than 8 in, See Section 6.3.5. 7.2.5 — Moment in plain concrete footings Maximum factored moment shall be computed at critical sections located as follows: (a) At face of column, pedestal. or wall, for footing supporting a concrete column, ped- estal. or wall. ACI STANDARD (b) Halfway between middle and edge of wall, for fgoting supporting a masonry wall (c) Halfway between face of column and edge of steel base plate. for footing sup- porting a column with steel base plate. 7 6 — Shear in plain concrete footings 7.2.6.1 — Maximum factored shear shall be com- puted in accordance with Section 7.2.6.2, with lo- Cation of critical section measured trom face of column, pedestal, or wall for footing supporting a column. pedestal. or wall. For footing supporting a column with steel base plates. the critical sec tion shall be measured from location defined in Section 7.2.5(c). 7.2.6.2 — Shear strength of plain concrete foot- ings in the vicinity of concentrated loads or re- actions shall be governed by the more severe of two conditions: (@) Beam action for footing. with a critical section extending in a plane across the en- tire width and located at a distance fh trom face of concentrated load or reaction area. For this condition, the footing shall be de- signed in accordance with Section 6.3.7. (b) Two-way action for footing, with a critical section perpendicular to plane of footing and located so that its perimeter b, is a min- imum, but need not approach closer than Ai 2 10 perimeter of concentrated load or re- action area. For this condition, the footing shall be designed in accordance with Sec- tions 7.2.6.3. and 7.2.6.4 7.2.6.3 — Shear stress v, shall be computed by BV, v ~ 7: on (7-2) where V, and b, shall be taken at the critical sec- tion defined in Section 7.2.6.2(b) and fis overall thickness of footing. See Section 6.3.5. 7.2.6.4 — Shear stress v, shall not exceed per- missible shear stress for two-way action given in Section 6.2.1(c). 7.2.7 — Circular or regular polygon shaped con- crete columns or pedestals may be treated as ‘square members with the same area for location of critical sections for moment and shear. 7.2.8 — Bearing stress on concrete at contact surface between supporting and supported mem- ber shall not exceed permissible bearing stress for either surface as given in Section 6.2.1(d).PLAIN CONCRETE CODE 7.3 — Pedestals 7.3.1 — Plain concrete pedestals shall be de- signed for vertical, lateral. and other loads to which they are subjected. 7.3.2 — Ratio of unsupported height to average least lateral dimension of plain concrete pedes- tals shall not exceed 3. 7.3.3 — Maximum compressive stress in plain concrete pedestals shall not exceed permissible bearing stress given in Section 6.2.1(d) 7.4 — Precast members 7.4.1 — Design of precast plain concrete mem- bers shail consider all loading conditions trom 3101-7 initial fabrication to completion of the structure, including form removal. storage. transportation. and erection. 7.4.2 — Limitations cited in Section 1.2 apply for precast members of structural plain concrete not only to the final condition but also during fabri- cation, transportation. and erection. 7.4.3 — Precast members shall be connected se- curely. to transfer all lateral forces into a struc- tural system capable of resisting such forces. 7.4.4 — Precast members shall be adequately braced and supported during erection to insure Proper alignment and structural integrity until permanent connections are completed. Chester P. Siess Chairman Claude J. Baker William C. Black Eugene H. Boeke. Jr. Kenneth 8. Bondy John €. Breen James R. Cagley T. Z. Chastain W. Gene Corley William D. Cromartie Noel J. Everard” Phil M. Ferguson Clifford L. Freyermuth Edward Cohen David E. Allen Jesus H. Arango Aibin Bao Cutberto Diaz-Gomez *Members of the Subcommit pared the document ACI Committee 318 Standard Building Code Harry Stavrides* Subcommittee Chairman Richard D. Gaynor Jacob Grossman C. Raymond Hays Edward S. Holfman* Eugene P. Holland Francis J. Jacques Daniel P. Jenny Ib Falk Jorgensen Fritz Kramrisch* James Letter James G. MacGregor Consulting Members William V. Wagner, Jr. Liaison Members Carlos E. Duvoy Cesar Hernandez Peter Lenkei 1¢ on Plain Concrete who pre: Gerald B. Neville Secretary Alan H. Mattock Edward O. Pfrang Clarkson W. Pinkham Stanley P Richard A. Ramsey Paul F. Rice Francisco Robles Charles G. Salmon Mete Sozen J. D. Sykes. Jr George Winter Loring A. Wyllie R. J. W. Milne Hajimi Okamura ‘Yes Saillard Mark D. TurnerTHE FOLLOWING REPORT OF COMMITTEE 318 IS PRESENTED AS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. IT IS NOT A PART OF ACI 318.1-83.Commentary on Buil ACI 318.1R-83 ig Code Requirements for Structural Plain Concrete (ACI 318.1-83) Reported by ACI Committee 318 ‘ACI Committee Reports, Guides, Standard Pi Commentaries are intended for guidance in d ‘ing, executing. or inspecting construction and in preparing specifications. Reference to these documents shall not be ‘made in the Projeet Documents. If items found in these doc- uments are desired to be part of the Project Documents, they should be phrased in mandatory language and incor: porated into the Project Documents. Because ACI Standard 318.1 is written as a legal doc- ment so that it may be adopted by relerence in a gen- eral building code. it cannot present background de- tails or suggestions for carrying out its requirements or intent. It is the function of this commentary to fill this need, The commentary discusses some of the considera- tions of the committee in developing the code require- mens with emphasis given to the explanation of pro- visions that may be unfamiliar to code users. The chapter and section numbering of the code are followed throughout. Keywords: building codes: compressive strength; control Joints: lexural steength: footings. inspection: plain conc recast concrete: shear strengin: specifications: stresses: Structural design: walls CONTENTS Introduction, page 135 Re! ences, page 136 Chapter 1 — General requirements, 114 = Inspection Chapter 2 — Definitions, page 137 Chapter 3 — Materials, page 137 Chapter 4 — Concrete quality, page 137 42 e Minimum strength Chapter 5 — Formwork and joints, page 137 82 — Joints Chapter 6 — Analysis and design, page 138 6.1 — Design method 62 — Permissible stresses 8. — Design Chapter 7 — Plain concrete members, page 139 ne 72 os 73 = Pevestals 7.4 = Precast members INTRODUCTION The original ACI standard for structural plain con- crete was prepared by ACI Committee 322 and published in 1972 as “Building Code Require- Copyright = 1982 American Concrete Institute. ll ight reserved Seon, oF receeaing, i knowledge ot o\ival ‘wating is obtalned trom the a18.tRe1318.12 ments for Structural Plain Concrete (ACI 322- 72)."""" ACI 322-72 has been withdrawn: the ma- terial formerly in thal standard has been revised and is presented as ACI 318.1. As with the orig- inal ACI 322 standard. ACI 318.1 is a companion standard to ACI 318. “Building Code Require- ments for Reinforced Concrete,” and is intended to govern where in conflict with ACI 318, Reter- ences 21.2 and 21.3 are earlier reports by ACI Committee 322. This commentary discusses some of the consid- eration of Committee 318 in developing the new and revised provisions of the original ACI 322 standard, Background information on the ACI 318 code provisions relerenced in ACI 318.1 is not contained in this commentary: for such discus- sion the code user is referred to the ACI 318 Commentary, References 21.1, ACI Committee 322. “Building Code Requirements for ‘Structural Plain Concrete (ACI 322-72), Amencan Concrete Institute, Detroit. 1972. 7 pp. Also. Proposed standard, ACI ours, Proceedings V. 6B. No. 8. May 1971, pp, 348-354 and discussion of proposed standard. ACI Jounva:. Proceed: Ings V. 68, No. 11, Nov, 1971, pp. 870872, 21.2. ACL Committee 322, “Structural Plain Concrete.” ACI Jouinat, Proceedings V. 64, No. 4, Apr. 1967, pp. 186-189, 21.3. ACI Committee 322. “Proposed Recommended Stresses, for Unreintorced Concrete.” ACI Journiat. Proceedings V 39. No, 2, Nov. 1942. pp. 92:95 CHAPTER 1 — GENERAL REQUIREMENTS. 1.1 — Scope The American Concrete Institute “Building Code Requirements for Structural Plain Concrete (ACI 318.1) provides minimum requirements for any structural plain concrete design and construction that is regulated by a general building code of which it forms a part. ACI 318.1 is intended as a supplement to the general building code and the ACI 318 code for reinforced concrete, and is i tended to govern for plain concrete when in con- Hlict with the requirements in those codes. Earlier editions of ACI 318 included design pro- visions for some uses of plain concrete. such as plain concrete footings: those provisions have been deleted from ACI 318 and are now con- tained exclusively in ACI 318.1 The design provisions of ACI 318.1 are empirical based on present practice and successtul expe- rience in the use of plain concrete and unrein- forced masonry for residential and light commer- ‘ACI COMMITTEE REPORT cial buildings. Three types of plain concrete structural members are specifically included in Chapter 7: walls (Section 7.1), footings (Section 7.2), and pedestals (Section 7.3.) 1.2 — Limitations 1.2.1 — By code definition, concrete that is either unreinforced or contains less reinforcement than the minimum amount specified for reinforced concrete is classified as plain concrete for design considerations. See definition of reinforced con- crete in Section 2.1 of ACI 318. 1.2.2 and 1.2.3 — Since the structural integrity of plain concrete members depends solely on the Properties of the concrete, use of plain concrete structural members should be limited to: mem- bers that are primarily in a state of compression: members that can tolerate random cracks without, detriment to their structural integrity: and mem- bers where ductility is not an essential feature of design. The tensile strength of concrete can be utilized in design of members when the buildup of tensile stresses due to restraint from shrink- age or temperature are considered and suffi- ciently reduced by construction techniques to avoid uncontrolled cracks or when uncontrolled cracks due lo such restraint effects can be antic- ipated to occur in such a manner that will not in- duce structural failure or collapse. It should be noted. however. that it is not withi the scope of this code to provide serviceability Fequirements for nonstructural members of plain concrete such as soil-supported slabs (slabs on grade), 1.2.4 — Since plain concrete lacks the necessary ductility that columns should possess and be- cause a random crack in an unreintorced column will most likely endanger ils structural integrity. the code does not permit use of plain concrete for columns. It does allow. however. its use for pedestals limited to a ratio of unsupported height to least lateral dimension of 3 or less (Section 7.3.2), Plain concrete walls are permitted (see Section 7.1) without an absolute maximum height limita- tion. However. for multistory construction and other major structures. ACI Committee 318 strongly encourages the use of walls designed as reinforced concrete members in accordance with ACI 318. See Commentary Section 7.1 This code does not govern the design and in- stallation of concrete piles and drilled piers fully embedded in ground. See also Code and Com: mentary Section 1.1.5 of ACI 318. ~PLAIN CONCRETE COMMENTARY 1.3 — Permits and drawings 1.3.1 — The provision for preparation of design drawings. specifications, and issuance of permits are, in general. consistent with those of most general building codes and are intended as sup- plements thereto. The code lists some of the more important items. of information that must be included in the design drawings. details. or specifications 1.4 — Inspection See Commentary Section 1.3 of ACI 318 for de- tailed discussion of inspection responsibility. CHAPTER 2 — DEFINITIONS 2.1 — The definitions given are for use in appl cation of this code only and do not always cor- respond to ordinary usage. By definition. plain concrete is concrete that con- lains less than the minimum reinforcement re- quired by the ACI 318 code for reinforced con- crete. The definition of control joint in this code is meant 10 serve the purpose of plain concrete construction only. See Commentary Section 5.2 for detailed discussion of jointing and the impor- tance of jointing in plain concrete construction. Soil-supported slabs, such as slabs on grade. are Aol considered to be structural slabs within the context of the definition for “structural” plain concrete. unless they transmit vertical loads from other paris of structure to the soil, CHAPTER 3 — MATERIALS See Commentary sections of ACI 318 for detailed discussion of applicable material requirements, CHAPTER 4 — CONCRETE QUALITY Quality control requirements for plain concrete are the same as for reinforced concrete: this code. however. imposes a minimum concrete strength for plain concrete construction (2500 psi) for reasons explained in Commentary Sec- tion 4.2. See applicable Commentary sections of ACI 318 for detailed discussion of concrete qual- ity requirements. 4.2 — Mimimum strength A minimum strength requirement for plain con- crete construction is considered necessary be- a10.18-3 cause safety is based solely on strength and quality of concrete treated as a homogeneous material. Lean concrete mixtures may not pro- duce adequately homogeneous material or well formed surfaces. CHAPTER 5 — FORMWORK AND JOINTS 5.2 — Joints Joints in plain concrete construction are an im- Portant design consideration. In reinforced con- crete. reinforcement is provided to absorb the stresses due to restraint of creep. shrinkage, and temperature effects. In plain concrete, joints are the only design means of controlling and thereby relieving the buildup of such tensile stresses, A plain concrete member, therefore, must be small enough or divided into smaller elements by joints to control the buildup of the internal stresses, The joints may be a construction joint, or a con- trol joint. The jointing must be such that no axial tension or flexural tension can be developed across a joint, a condition referred to by Code as flexural discontinuity. No exact rules for the number and location of joints can be made. Each construction must be Studied individually to determine where joints should be located, taking into account the re-~ quirements of the structural design. Where ran- dom cracking due to creep. shrinkage. and tem- perature effects will not affect the structural in- tegrity. and is otherwise acceptable, such as transverse cracks in a continuous wall footing, transverse control joints are not necessary. Con- trol joints may be provided at intermediate loca- tions between outside edges and construction joints to subdivide a large plain concrete member into smaller elements. Numerous ways have been devised for forming control joints depend- ing on the type of construction. Control joints may be made with sheet metal or sheet plastic inserts, water stop type rubber inserts or, formed, sawed or tooled grooves in the concrete surface to cause cracking at the predetermined location. The depth or thickness of the concrete section at these inserts or at formed, sawed, or tooled grooves should be reduced at least 25 per- cent to make the control joint effective with enough remaining section for some degree of ag- gregate interlock to hold the adjacent elements in line. Use of free sliding dowels is considered an acceptable practice to augment the aggregate interlock with special attention to alignment of such dowels and to protection {rom corrosion (which satisfies the intent of Section 5.2.4),31B.4Ra CHAPTER 6 — ANALYSIS AND DESIGN For plain concrete, the basic design concept that the member be proportioned to resist tensile stresses without the aid of reinforcement re- quires that an uncracked section be maintained for all loading conditions. The permissible tensile stress is set sulliciently low to provide an un- cracked section under factored loading condi- tions, 6.1 — Design method Plain concrete members are proportioned for ad- equate strength using factored loads and forces and keeping computed stresses within permis- sible stress limits. When computed stresses due to loads exceed the permissible stresses for the concrete strength specified. the section must be increased and/or the specified strength of con- crete increased, or the member designed as a reinforced concrete member in accordance ACI 318. The designer should note, however, that an increase in concrete section may have a det- fimental effect; stress due to load will decrease while stresses due to creep, shrinkage, and tem- perature effects may increase. 6.2 — Permissible stresses 6.2.1 — The permissible stresses in flexural ten- sion. shear. and bearing are the same as permit- ted for plain concrete pedestals and footings in earlier editions of the ACI 318 code. The permis- sible stress values for flexural and axial compres- sion are new, modified from the original ACI 322- 72. Application of the frustrum to find A, for permis- sible bearing strength in sloped or stepped sup- ports is illustrated in Commentary Section 10.16 of ACI 318. 6.2.2 — The strength reduction factor $ for plain concrete design is made the same for all stress conditions. Since both flexural tension strength and shear strength for plain concrete depend on the tensile strength characteristics of the con- crete, with no reserve strength or ductility pos- sible due to the absence of reinforcement, equal understrength factors for both bending and shear are considered appropriate. 6.3 — Design 6.3.1 — The code assumes that plain concrete is a homogeneous material capable of maintaining essentially a linear distribution of strains and stresses for the full range of loading conditions, late. For design convenience, the ACI COMMITTEE REPORT code assumes a triangular stress distribution un- der flexure within the permissible fiber stresses. Stresses computed by the straight line theory are not actual stresses: as a resull, the permissible stresses are reduced to account for the differ- ence in actual behavior versus assumed behav- jor, 6.3.2 — Flexural tension may be considered in design of plain concrete members to sustain loads. provided the computed stress does not ex- ceed the permissible. and provided control joints are properly designed, spaced. and constructed to relieve the restraint and resulting tensile stresses due to creep. temperature, and shrink- age effects. 6.3.3 — Concrete members containing less rein- forcement than the minimum amount specified for reinforced concrete must be designed as plain concrete with strength based on the prop- erties of the concrete alone. This assumption is Rot intended to apply to reinforcing used for the purpose of transferring an external force to a plain concrete element. 6.3.4 — Each element of plain concrete bounded by every outside edge or joint (construction or control joint) is considered as a separate struc- tural element. Compressive and shear forces may be transferred to adjacent elements. Flexural continuity causing development of tensile stress between adjacent elements must be prevented. 6.3.5 — The reduced overall thickness A for con- crete cast against earth is to allow for uneven- ness of excavation and for some contamination of the concrete adjacent to the soil 6.3.6 — Plain concrete members subject to com- bined flexure and axial compressive load are pro- portioned such that on the compression face: Calculated Calculated axial stress bending stress TEN i fy apne [ (sen) ] and that on the tension face: Calculated axial stress Calculated bending stress ~ <5ive where the permissible stresses are as given in Section 6.2. 6.3.7 — Shear strength Proportions of plain concrete members will be controlled by tensile strength rather than shear ~ ~PLAIN CONCRETE COMMENTARY strength for the usual plain concrete members of practical proportions. Shear stress (as a substi- tute for principal tensile stress) rarely will con- trol. However. since it is difficult to foresee all possible conditions where shear may have to be investigated (e.g.. shear keys), Committee 318 decided to maintain the investigation of this basic stress condition as a part of the code require- ments. An experienced designer will soon rec- ‘ognize where shear is not critical for plain con- crete members and will adjust his design proce- dure accordingly. 6.3.7.1 — The shear requirements for plain con- crete assume an uncracked section. Shear failure in plain concrete will be a diagonal tension fail- ure, occurring when the principal tensile stress near the centroidal axis becomes equal to the tensile strength of the concrete. Since the major portion of the principal tensile stress comes from the shear, the code safeguards against tensile failure by limiting the permissible shear at the centroidial axis as calculated from the equation for a section of homogeneous material: v= VO/ Ib, where vand Vare the shear stress and shear force respectively at the section considered. Qis the statical moment of the area outside the sec- tion being considered about centroidal axis of the gross section. / is the moment of inertia of the Gross section, and b is the width where shear stress is being computed This equation recognizes the more homogeneous, nature of plain concrete and the concentration of shear stress near the centroidal axis. For a rect- angular section, the computed shear stress will be about 50 percent greater than that computed for reinforced concrete. For sections other than rectangular, v = VQ/Ib should be used in place of Eq. (6-1). In special cases, investigation for principal tensile stresses in a homogeneous ma- terial may be appropriate. CHAPTER 7 — PLAIN CONCRETE MEMBERS 7.1 — Walls Plain concrete walls are commonly used for basement wall construction for residential and light commercial buildings in low or nonseismic areas. Although the code imposes no absolute maximum height limitation on the use of plain concrete walls, designers are cautioned against extrapolating the experience with relatively minor structures and using plain concrete walls in mul- tistory construction and other major structures where differential settlement, wind, earthquake, or other unforeseen loading conditions require 318.185 the walls to possess some ductility and ability to maintain their integrity when cracked. For such conditions, ACI Committee 318 strongly encour- ages the use of walls designed as reinforced concrete members in accordance with ACI 318 for reinforced concrete. The provisions for plain concrete walls are appli- cable only for walls laterally supported in such a manner as to prohibit relative lateral displace- ment at top and bottom of individual wall ele- ments (see Section 7.1.6.4). This code does not cover walls where there is no horizontal support to prohibit relative displacement at top and bot- tom of wall elements. Such laterally unsupported walls must be designed as reinforced concrete members in accordance with ACI 318. Plain concrete walls as structural members are subject to the limitations of Section 1.2.2 and the jointing requirements of Section 5.2. which Greatly affect their design. Plain concrete walls must be designed to resist all loads to which they are subjected. including eccentric axial loads and lateral forces. In general, the provisions apply to walls spanning vertically. Also. the empirical de- sign method of Section 7.1.5 applies only to walls of solid rectangular cross sections; other shapes must be designed according to Section 6.3.6. Plain concrete walls must be designed for com- bined flexure and axial load according to Section 6.3.6, considering the wall to be a compression member with flexure, unless meeting the require- ments of Section 7.1.5. For some cases. shear strength may also need to be investigated. 7.1.5 — Empirical design method When the resultant toad falls within the middle third of the wall thickness (kern of wall section), plain concrete walls may be designed using the simplified Eq. (7-1). Eccentric loads and lateral forces are used to determine the total eccentric- ity of the factored load P, If the eccentricity does not exceed h/6, Eq. (7-1) may be applied, and de- sign performed considering P, as a concentric load. The factored axial load P, must be less than the design axial load strength $P,,, computed by Eq. (7-1), or P, < # Pry. Eq. (7-1) is presented to reflect the general range of braced and re- strained end conditions encountered in wall de- sign. The limitations of Section 7.1.6 apply whether the wall is proportioned by Section 6.3.6 or by the empirical method of Section 7.1.5. 7.2 — Footings 7.2.4 — Thickness of plain concrete footings will be controlled by flexural strength (extreme fiber18.1 slress in tension not greater than § 4 Vf) rather than shear strength for the usual proportions of plain concrete footings. Shear rarely will control; see Commentary Section 6.3.7. For footings cast against soil, overall thickness f used for strength computations must be laken as 2 in. less than ac- tual thickness to allow for unevenness of exca- vation and contamination of the concrete adja- cent to soil as required by Section 6.3.5. Thus, for a minimum footing thickness of 8 in., calcu- lations for flexural and shear stresses must be based on an overall thickness of 6 in. 7.2.7 — Shear in plain concrete footings 7.2.1.3 — As for beam action shear. shear stress for two-way action for plain concrete footings is calculated using the equation for a section of ho- mogeneous material (v= VQ/Ib) since the critical principal tensile stress near mid-depth of the footing will approximate this value. 7.3 — Pedestals ‘The height-thickness limitation for plain concrete pedestals does not apply for portions of pedes- 6 ACI COMMITTEE REPORT: lals embedded in soil capable of providing lateral restraint, 7.4 — Precast members Precast structural members are subject to all lim- ilations and provisions for cast-in-place concrete contained in this code. ‘The approach to control joints is expected to be somewhat different than for cast-in-place con- crete since the major portion of the internal stresses due to shrinkage takes place prior to erection. To assure stability, precast members should be connected to other members. Connec- tion must be such that no tension will be trans- ferred from one member to the other. This report was submitted to letter ballot of the committee uihich consists of 38 eligible members. For the eepor the coordinating changes to ACI 318.77. 35 members their ballots, all of whom voted allirmatively. Fe rating changes to ACI 318R-77, 35 members ballots. of whom 35 voted allirmatively and 1 voted negatively. The report has been processed in accordance with the Ins tute procedure and is approved lor publication. ACI Committee 318 Standard Building Code Chester P. Siess Chairman Claude J. Baker William C. Black Eugene H. Boeke, Jr. Kenneth 8. Bondy Jonn E. Breen James R. Cagley T. Z. Chastain W. Gene Corley William D. Cromartie Noel J. Everard Phil M. Ferguson Clifford L. Freyermuth James Lelter Harry Stavrides* Subcommittee Chairman Richard D. Gaynor Jacob Grossman C. Raymond Hays Edward S. Hoffman’ Eugene P. Holland Francis J. Jacques Daniel P. Jenny Ib Falk Jorgensen Fritz Kramrisch* James G. MacGregor Gerald B. Neville* Secretary Alan H. Mattock Edward ©. Plrang Clarkson W. Pinkham Stanley Pritl Richard A. Ramsey Paul F. Rice Francisco Robles Charles G. Salmon Mete Sozen J.D. Sykes, Jr George Winter Loring A. Wyllie Consulting Members, Edward Cohen William V. Wagner, Jr. Liaison Members David E. Allen Jesus H. Arango Aibin Bao Cutberto Diaz-Gomez “Members of the Subcommittee on Plain Concrete who pre- pared the document. Carlos E. Duvoy Cesar Hernandez Peter Lenkei R. J. W. Milne Hajimi Okamura Yves Saillard Mark D. TurnerThe AMERICAN CONCRETE INSTITUTE was founded in 1905 as @ nonprofit membership organization dedicated to public service and to representing user interests in the field of concrete. It gathers and distributes information on the improvement of design, construc- tion, and maintenance of concrete products and structures. 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