UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING

FCE 332: STRENGTH OF MATERIALS LABORATORY

EXPERIMENT 1: ULTIMATE STRENGTH OF REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAMS

OBJECT
To cast, test and study the failure mechanism of a reinforced concrete beam.

THEORY
Symbols
fcd design strength of concrete.
fcu characteristic cube strength of concrete in N/mm2.
fck characteristic cylinder strength of concrete in N/mm2.
fyd design strength of reinforcement.
fy characteristic strength of reinforcement in N/mm2 (250 and 500 N/mm2 for round mild steel
and deformed bars, respectively).
γm partial factor of safety for material strength to account for variations (BS 8110-1).
γc partial factor of safety for concrete strength to account for variations (EN 1992-1-1).
γs partial factor of safety for reinforcement strength to account for variations (EN 1992-1-1).
αcc coefficient to account for the relationship between the cylinder strength and the compression
strength in a reinforced concrete member. In BS 8110-1, 0.67 is a similar coefficient relating
to cube strength.
Assumptions
The codes of practice for design and construction of concrete, BS8110 - 1: 1997 and EN 1992-1-1
(EC2), give recommendations for analysis and design of reinforced concrete structures. In the
analysis and design of beams, the following assumptions are made for the ultimate limit state of
collapse:
a) Strain distributions in concrete in compression and strains in reinforcement (whether in
compression or tension) are derived from the assumptions that plane sections remain plane after
bending and are proportional to the distance from the neutral axis.
b) Stresses in concrete in compression may be derived from the stress-strain curve shown in figure
1, with γm or γc = 1.5 for bending. Alternatively, the simplified stress block illustrated in figure 2
may be used.
c) The tensile strength of concrete is ignored.
d) The compression strain of concrete at ultimate failure, εcu or εcu2 = 0.0035 for normal concrete.
e) The stresses in reinforcement are derived from the stress-strain curve shown in figure 3, with
γm or γs = 1.15.
f) Where a section is designed to resist bending only, the lever arm should not be assumed greater
than 0.95 times the effective depth.

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 stress

θ
0 strain
Figure 1 Short-term design stress-strain curve for concrete.

λ
x λx

N A
strain stress

Figure 2 – Simplified stress block for concrete at ultimate limit state.

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 stress
tension

φ
0 strain

compression

Figure 3 Short-term design stress-strain curve for reinforcement

reinforcement.
DESIGN FORMULAE FOR RECTANGULAR BEAMS (BS 8110-1:1997)
Symbols
As area of tension reinforcement
Aʹs area of compression reinforcement
b width of section
d effective depth of section
dʹ depth to compression reinforcement
M design ultimate moment of resistance
x depth to neutral axis
z lever arm

x 0.9x Fc
d
h N A
z
As 0.87fy Fs

Cross-section Ultimate stresses / forces

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Ultimate Moment of Resistance
a) Based on concrete compression force and substituting γm=1.5 for concrete,

where .
Thus
..........................................................................................(1)
where .
When n = 0.5, K = Kʹ = 0.156 and the moment capacity of the section is
..........................................................................................(2)
If K ≤ Kʹ, compression steel is not required and

............................................................(3)

.............................................................................(4)
b) Based on reinforcement tension force and substituting γm=1.15 for steel,

Thus
............................................................................(5)

If K >Kʹ, compression steel is required and lever arm is obtained from equation (3) with

x is obtained from equation (4) and the compression reinforcement area is

............................................................................(7)

The tension reinforcement area is

...........................................................................(8)

If (for fy = 500 N/mm2) the compression stress will be less than 0.87fy and should be
obtained from figure 3.

(A similar set of equations as above may be developed using EC2 parameters).

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PROCEDURE
Concrete Materials
Quantities of materials to make a batch of one cubic meter of concrete will be provided.
Calculate the quantities required to make a batch enough for the following specimens: one beam of
dimensions100 x 180 x 2000mm; three standard cubes 150 x 150 x 150mm; and two cylinders of
150mm diameter by 300mm height.
Reinforcement Material
The following reinforcement shall be tied up together with steel wire to form a cage: 2R12 at the
bottom as the tensile reinforcement; 2R6 at the top as stirrup hangers; and R6@150mm as stirrups.
NB: R denotes mild steel round bars, fy = 250 N/mm2.
Casting
When the concrete mix is ready, carry out the workability tests and thereafter cast the test specimens
in moulds mounted on a vibrating table.
Testing
Obtain the yield stress of the reinforcement bars by tension testing.
The concrete specimens will be tested at the age of 14 days.
Prior to testing, record the exterior dimensions, span and loading arrangement for the beam.
Apply the load on the beam gradually in regular increments, recording the deflection at the free end
and the strain readings at the demec points for each load increment. Note the load value at which any
distinct crack occurs. Finally, record the failure load and sketch the crack pattern at failure.
Obtain the concrete strength by cube and cylinder tests. Prior to crushing the cubes, estimate the
strength using the Schmidt hammer by taking at least five readings on at least two sides.
Results
Present the results from tests and the observations recorded. Plot the load-central deflection curve.
Plot the strain distributions for all load increments and, assuming a linear strain variation, obtain the
neutral axis depth for each value of the load. Hence plot a graph showing the variation of the neutral
axis depth with load.

DISCUSSION
a) Describe and explain clearly the theoretical variation of the neutral axis depth with increasing
bending moment for a reinforced beam. Compare the theoretical values of neutral axis depth with
the observed values and comment on the results.
b) Describe carefully the manner of failure of “under-reinforced” and “over-reinforced” concrete
beams. Which type is preferred in practice and why?
c) Describe the failure mode for the beam tested and estimate the failure loads from theoretical
calculations, using both BS 8110-1 and EC2. Compare the theoretical failure loads with the
observed value and comment on the differences in results (if any).

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d) Suggest the reinforcement arrangement that would improve the flexural behaviour and capacity
of the beam, with due regard to the observed failure mode.

CONCLUSION
On the basis of the experimental results, explain whether the theoretical calculations give an
acceptable qualitative and quantitative indication of the expected failure mode and strength of a
reinforced concrete beam.

References
1) BS8110 - 1: 1997. The Structural Use of Concrete – Code of Practice for Design and
Construction.
2) EN 1992-1-1: 2004. Eurocode 2: Design of Concrete Structures Part 1-1 - General Rules for
Buildings.
3) Kong F.K., Evans R.H. Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete – 3rd Edition. 1987(reprinted
1998).
4) MacGinley T.J., Choo B.S. Reinforced Concrete: Design Theory and Examples – 3rd Edition.
2006.
5) Mosley W.H., Bungey J.H. Reinforced Concrete Design – 6thEdition. 2007.
6) Neville A.M. Properties of Concrete – 4thEdition. 1995 (reprinted 2007).

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