Reinforced Concrete Design I

Analysis and Design of T Beams

Reinforced concrete floor systems normally consist of slabs and beams that are placed monolithically. As a
result, the two parts act together to resist loads. In effect, the beams have extra widths at their tops, called
flanges, and the resulting T-shaped beams are called T beams. The part of a T beam below the slab is referred to
as the web or stem.
There is a problem involved in estimating how much of the
slab acts as part of the beam. Should the flanges of a T beam
be rather stocky and compact in cross section, bending
stresses will be fairly uniformly distributed across the
compression zone. If, however, the flanges are wide and thin,
bending stresses will vary quite a bit across the flange due to
shear deformations. The farther a particular part of the slab
or flange is away from the stem, the smaller will be its
bending stress.

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 Reinforced Concrete Design I

Analysis and Design of T Beams

The hatched area in Figure 5.1 shows the effective size of a
T beam. For T beams with flanges on both sides of the
web, the code states that the effective flange width may
not exceed one-fourth of the beam span, and the
overhanging width on each side may not exceed eight
times the slab thickness or one-half the clear distance to
the next web.

An isolated T beam must have a flange thickness no less than one-

half the web width, and its effective flange width may not be larger
than four times the web width (ACI 8.12.4). If there is a flange on
only one side of the web, the width of the overhanging flange
cannot exceed one-twelfth the span, 6hf , or half the clear distance
to the next web (ACI 8.12.3)

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 Reinforced Concrete Design I

Analysis and Design of T Beams

The analysis of T beams is quite similar to the analysis of rectangular beams in that
the specifications relating to the strains in the reinforcing are identical. To repeat
briefly, it is desirable to have εt values ≥ 0.005, and they may not be less than 0.004
unless the member is subjected to an axial load ≥ 0.10fcAg. You will learn that εt
values are always much larger than 0.005 in T beams because of their very large
compression flanges.
The neutral axis (N.A.) for T beams can fall either in the flange or in the stem,
depending on the proportions of the slabs and stems. If it falls in the flange, and it
almost always does for positive moments, the rectangular beam formulas apply, as
can be seen in Figure 5.2(a). The concrete below the neutral axis is assumed to be
cracked, and its shape has no effect on the flexure calculations (other than weight).
The section above the neutral axis is rectangular. If the neutral axis is below the
flange, however, as shown for the beam of Figure 5.2(b), the compression concrete
above the neutral axis no longer consists of a single rectangle, and thus the normal
rectangular beam expressions do not apply.

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 Reinforced Concrete Design I

Analysis and Design of T Beams

If the neutral axis is assumed to fall within the flange,
the value of a can be computed as it was for rectangular
beams.

The distance to the neutral axis, c, equals a/β1. If the
computed value of a is equal to or less than the flange
thickness, the section for all practical purposes can be
assumed to be rectangular, even though the computed value
of c is actually greater than the flange thickness.
1. Check As min as per ACI Section 10.5.1 using bw as
the web width.
2. Compute T = Asfy .
3. Determine the area of the concrete in
compression (Ac ) stressed to 0.85f’c .

The calculation of the design strengths of T beams is

illustrated in Examples 5.1 and 5.2. In the first of these
problems, the neutral axis falls in the flange, while for the
second, it is in the web. The procedure used for both 4. Calculate a, c, and εt.
examples involves the following steps: 5. Calculate φMn.

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 Reinforced Concrete Design I

Analysis of T Beams

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 Reinforced Concrete Design I

Analysis of T Beams

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 Reinforced Concrete Design I

Analysis of T Beams

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 Reinforced Concrete Design I

Analysis of T Beams

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Design of T Beams
For the design of T beams, the flange has normally
already been selected in the slab design, as it is for the
slab. The size of the web is normally not selected on the
basis of moment requirements but probably is given an
area based on shear requirements; that is, a sufficient
area is used so as to provide a certain minimum shear
capacity, as will be described in Chapter 8. It is also
possible that the width of the web may be selected on
the basis of the width estimated to be needed to put in
the reinforcing bars.
Sizes may also have been preselected, as previously
described in Section 4.5, to simplify formwork for
architectural requirements or for deflection reasons. For
the examples that follow (5.4 and 5.5), the values of hf ,
d, and bw are given.
Dr. Faris Matalkah
Reinforced Concrete Design I
The flanges of most T beams are usually so large that the
neutral axis probably falls within the flange, and thus the
rectangular beam formulas apply. Should the neutral axis
fall within the web, a trial-and-error process is often used
for the design. In this process, a lever arm from the
center of gravity of the compression block to the center
of gravity of the steel is estimated to equal the larger of
0.9d or d − (hf /2), and from this value, called z, a trial
steel area is calculated (As = Mn /fy z).
Then by the process used in next example, the value of
the estimated lever arm is checked. If there is much
difference, the estimated value of z is revised and a new
As determined. This process is continued until the change
in As is quite small. T beams are designed in next two
examples by this process.
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Design of T Beams

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Design of T Beams

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Design of T Beams

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 Reinforced Concrete Design I

Design of T Beams

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 Reinforced Concrete Design I

Design of T Beams for Negative Moments

When T beams are resisting negative moments, their flanges will be in
tension and the bottom of their stems will be in compression, as shown in
Figure 5.12. Obviously, for such situations, the rectangular beam design
formulas will be used. Section 10.6.6 of the ACI Code requires that part of
the flexural steel in the top of the beam in the negative-moment region
be distributed over the effective width of the flange or over a width equal
to one-tenth of the beam span, whichever is smaller.
Should the effective width be greater than one-tenth of the span length,
the code requires that some additional longitudinal steel be placed in the
outer portions of the flange.
The intention of this part of the code is to minimize the sizes of the flexural cracks that will occur in the top
surface of the flange perpendicular to the stem of a T beam subject to negative moments.

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 Reinforced Concrete Design I

Design of T Beams for Negative Moments

In Section 3.8, it was stated that if a rectangular section had a very small amount of tensile reinforcing, its design-
resisting moment, φMn , might very well be less than its cracking moment. If this were the case, the beam might
fail without warning when the first crack occurred. The same situation applies to T beams with a very small amount
of tensile reinforcing.
When the flange of a T beam is in tension, the amount of
tensile reinforcing needed to make its ultimate resisting
moment equal to its cracking moment is about twice that of a
rectangular section or that of a T section with its flange in
compression. As a result, ACI Section 10.5.1 states that the
minimum amount of reinforcing required equals the larger of
the two values that follow.

For statically determinate members with their flanges in tension, bw in the above expression is to be replaced with
either 2bw or the width of the flange, whichever is smaller.

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 Reinforced Concrete Design I

Compression Steel
The steel that is occasionally used on the compression
sides of beams is called compression steel, and beams
with both tensile and compressive steel are referred to as
doubly reinforced beams. Compression steel is not
normally required in sections designed by the strength
method because use of the full compressive strength of
the concrete decidedly decreases the need for such
reinforcement, as compared to designs made with the
working-stress design method.

Occasionally, however, space or aesthetic requirements limit beams to such small sizes that compression steel is
needed in addition to tensile steel. To increase the moment capacity of a beam beyond that of a tensilely
reinforced beam with the maximum percentage of steel [when εt = 0.005], it is necessary to introduce another
resisting couple in the beam. This is done by adding steel in both the compression and tensile sides of the beam.

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 Reinforced Concrete Design I

Compression Steel
Compressive steel increases not only the resisting moments of
concrete sections but also the amount of curvature that a
member can take before flexural failure. This means that the
ductility of such sections will be appreciably increased.
Though expensive, compression steel makes beams tough and
ductile, enabling them to withstand large moments,
deformations, and stress reversals such as might occur during
earthquakes. As a result, many building codes for earthquake
zones require that certain minimum amounts of compression
steel be included in flexural members.
Compression steel is very effective in reducing long-term deflections due to shrinkage and plastic flow. In this
regard you should note the effect of compression steel on the long-term deflection expression in Section 9.5.2.5
of the code (to be discussed in Chapter 6). Continuous compression bars are also helpful for positioning stirrups
(by tying them to the compression bars) and keeping them in place during concrete placement and vibration.

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 Reinforced Concrete Design I

Compression Steel
Tests of doubly reinforced concrete beams have shown that even if the compression concrete crushes, the
beam may very well not collapse if the compression steel is enclosed by stirrups. Once the compression
concrete reaches its crushing strain, the concrete cover spalls or splits off the bars, much as in columns (see
Chapter 9). If the compression bars are confined by closely spaced stirrups, the bars will not buckle until
additional moment is applied. This additional moment cannot be considered in practice because beams are not
practically useful after part of their concrete breaks off. (Would you like to use a building after some parts of the
concrete beams have fallen on the floor?)
For doubly reinforced beams, an initial assumption is made that the compression steel yields as well as the tensile
steel. (The tensile steel is always assumed to yield because of the ductile requirements of the ACI Code.) If the
strain at the extreme fiber of the compression concrete is assumed to equal 0.003 and the compression steel, A’s, is
located two-thirds of the distance from the neutral axis to the extreme concrete fiber, then the strain in the
compression steel equals 2/3 × 0.003 = 0.002. If this is greater than the strain in the steel at yield, as say 50,000/(29
× 106) = 0.00172 for 50,000-psi steel, the steel has yielded. It should be noted that actually the creep and shrinkage
occurring in the compression concrete help the compression steel to yield.

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 Reinforced Concrete Design I

Compression Steel
As a matter of fact, in some beams with low steel
percentages, the neutral axis may be right at the
compression steel. For such cases, the addition of
compression steel adds little, if any, moment capacity to
the beam. It can, however, make the beam more ductile.
When compression steel is used, the nominal resisting
moment of the beam is assumed to consist of two parts:
the part due to the resistance of the compression concrete
and the balancing tensile reinforcing, and the part due to
the nominal moment capacity of the compression steel and
the balancing amount of the additional tensile steel.
This situation is illustrated in Figure 5.13, the effect of the concrete in compression, which is replaced by the
compressive steel, A’s, is neglected. This omission will cause us to overestimate Mn by a very small and negligible
amount (less than 1%). The first of the two resisting moments is illustrated in Figure 5.13(b).

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 Reinforced Concrete Design I

Compression Steel
The second resisting moment is that produced by the additional
tensile and compressive steel (As2 and A’s), which is presented
in Figure 5.13(c)

The value of c determined enables us to compute the strains in

both the compression and tensile steels and thus their stresses.
Even though the writing and solving of this equation are not
too tedious, use of the Excel spreadsheet for beams with
compression steel makes short work of the whole business.

Examples 5.7 and 5.8 illustrate the computation of the design moment strength of doubly reinforced beams. In the first
of these examples, the compression steel yields, while in the second, it does not

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 Reinforced Concrete Design I

Compression Steel
Condition I: Tension &Compression Steel Yield Condition II: Compression Steel Below Yield

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 Reinforced Concrete Design I

Compression Steel (Analysis)

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 Reinforced Concrete Design I

Compression Steel (Analysis)

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 Reinforced Concrete Design I

Design of Doubly Reinforced Beams

Sufficient tensile steel can be placed in most beams so that Assuming maximum possible tensile steel with no compression steel
compression steel is not needed. But if it is needed, the design and computing beam’s nominal moment strength.
is usually quite straightforward.

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Design of Doubly Reinforced Beams
If we had been able to select bars with exactly the
same areas as calculated here, εt would have remained
= 0.005 as originally assumed and φ = 0.90, but such
was not the case. From the equation for c in Section
5.7, c is found to equal 11.24 in. and a = β1c = 9.55 in.
using actual, not theoretical, bar areas for As and A’s.
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Reinforced Concrete Design I
The beam does not have sufficient capacity because of the variable φ. This can
be avoided if you are careful in picking bars. Note that the actual value of A’s is
the same as the theoretical value. The actual value of As, however, is higher
than the theoretical value by 10.12 − 9.6 = 0.52 in.2. If a new bar selection for
A’s is made whereby the actual A’s exceeds the theoretical value by about this
much (0.52 in.2), the design will be adequate. Select 3#8 bars (A s = 2.36 in.2)
and repeat the steps. Note that the actual steel areas are used below, not the
theoretical ones. As a result, the values of c, a, s, and f’s must be recalculated.
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 Reinforced Concrete Design I

Design of Doubly Reinforced Beams

Note that eight #10 bars will not fit in a single layer in this beam. If they
were placed in two layers, the centroid would have to be more than 3
in. from the bottom of the section. It would be necessary to increase
the beam depth, h, in order to provide for two layers or to use bundled
bars (Section 7.4).

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