CVEN3304
CONCRETE STRUCTURES
Week 5
Introduction to Reinforced Concrete
ALI AMIN
Concrete
Concrete is one of the most widely used construction
materials in the world!
Concrete is the name given to a mixture of particles of
sand and gravel (the aggregate) bound together with
cement (the matrix), and possibly other cementitious
materials such as fly ash and slag
The fine aggregate (sand) and coarse aggregate
(gravel) are combined in combinations to reduce the
voids between the particles (particle packing)
Cement is manufactured by firing a mixture of clay
and limestone at high temperatures (~1200C) at which
the lime and clay fuse to form clinker.
The clinker is ground with the addition with a little
gypsum (to avoid flash set) into a fine powder of
cement
Water
Cement
0-4mm
4-8mm
8-16mm
16-32mm
Concrete
w/c ratios of
around 0.4-0.6
Materials - Concrete
Cement powder reacts with water and its composition gradually
changes
The particles of cement bind together and adhere strongly to
materials with which they are mixed
Depending on ambient conditions, cement will harden gradually
after it is mixed with water
Around 30 minutes to an hour after mixing, the concrete is no longer
plastic, and it is said that the initial set has occurred
About 10 hours after mixing with water, the cement will solidify and
it increasingly hardens to a dense solid mass after 7 days
Concrete will reach full maturity at around 28 days
Materials - Concrete
Properly designed and constructed, concrete structures compare
favourably with regard to economy, durability and functionally with
other materials such as timber and steel
One of the main advantages of concrete is that it is readily moulded
into virtually any required shape.
The compressive strength of concrete usually falls in the range of
30-50MPa; although high performance concretes, with strengths
extending up to 100MPa are being increasingly used in building
construction.
The tensile strength of concrete is very low, in the order of 3-5MPa.
In most load-bearing structural elements, large tensile stresses
develop as a result of external load and other factors (eg
temperature), which precludes the use of plain concrete
Concrete Compressive Stress Strain Curve
Highly non linear behaviour!
Increasingly brittle with increase
of strength
Elastic Modulus
Ecm 1.5 0.043 f cm MPa
f cm 40MPa
Ecm 1.5 0.024 f cm 0.12 MPa f cm 40MPa
Concrete Characteristic Compressive Stress
Concrete is a very
heterogeneous mix of
materials and its strength is
subject to spatial variability
cm
f'
c
In AS3600 the characteristic
strength of concrete in
compressions is defined as
the strength attained at 18
days by 95% of the concrete
f c' f cm 1.64s
Characteristic
Mean
Concrete Uniaxial Tensile Strength
The tensile strength of concrete is
much lower than its compressive
strength
P
Universal
joint
125
125
R145
200
The uniaxial tensile strength of
concrete is quite tricky to obtain it
is usually determined indirectly
125
125
215
16 mm dia.
threaded rod
f ct 0.5
f c'
0.3 f cm
23
DR AS5100.5
(2014)
Concrete Uniaxial Post Cracking Strength
The softening response of concrete in
tension is attributed to aggregate
interlock
Tensile Stress (MPa)
The stress strain relationship of
concrete in tension is approximately
linear up to fct and its slope Et ~ Ec
5
4
3
f cm = 60 MPa
f ct = 4.29 MPa
2
1
0
5.0 10 -5
1.0 10 -4
1.5 10 -4
Strain (mm/mm)
fct
Plain
concrete
Et
1
0
Walraven (1981)
cr
0
Time Dependent Deformation
Concrete undergoes 3 main types of volume change, which may
cause stresses, cracking or deflections that affect the in-service
behaviour of reinforced concrete structures:
Shrinkage, Creep and Thermal expansion/contraction
Shrinkage is the decrease of volume of concrete during hardening
and drying under constant temperature
The amount of Shrinkage increases with time and is heavily
dependent on the relative humidity of the environment (Arid/
Temperate / Tropical) and the quality of the aggregates
The design values of Shrinkage in AS3600 range from ~340 E-6 to
990 E-6 depending on the cross sectional area of the member and
environmental exposure.
Time Dependent Deformation
t=
Load removed
Load
applied
Elastic Recovery
cr
Creep Recovery
e
t0
Permanent
Deformation
t=
Creep
If the load is removed a portion of the
strain is recovered elastically and
another portion by creep, but a
residual strain remains
Strain
This change occurs rapidly at first,
slowing down with time
*
sh
If this load remains on the member,
creep strains develop with time.
These occur because the adsorbed
water layers tend to become thinner
between gel particles transmitting
compressive stress
Shrinkage
Shrinkage
Strain
When concrete is loaded in
compression, an instantaneous
elastic strain develops
Reinforcing Steel
Because concrete is weak in tension, it is reinforced with steel bars
that resist tensile stress. The most common type of reinforcement for
non prestressed members are hot rolled deformed bars with a nominal
yield stress of fsy = 500 MPa
Common bar sizes and grades are R10, N10, N12, N16, N20, N24, N28,
N32, N36
Deformed bar
Mesh
Reinforcing Steel - Protection
Unprotected steel is subject to accelerated weathering and performs
poorly in fire Durability
135 degree
hook
Stirrups in beams
mostly made from
R10, N10, N12 or
N16 bars
Closed
Stirrup
Cover
Axis
distance,
as
Durability
AS3600 Chapter 4 defines Climate Zones, Exposure Classification and
the minimum required cover
Durability
AS3600 Chapter 4 defines Climate Zones, Exposure Classification and
the minimum required cover
Durability
Other considerations to include when designing for Durability:
AS3600:
Clause 4.4: Minimum strength and curing requirements
(including at time of stripping of formwork) for
exposure classifications A, B and C
Clause 4.5: Minimum requirements for exposure
classification U
Clause 4.6: Abrasion
Clause 4.7: Freezing and Thawing
Clause 4.8: Aggressive soils (sulphate and acid sulphate soils;
saline soils)
Fire
When a concrete member is exposed to high temperatures such as
occurs in a building fire, it will behave satisfactorily for a considerable
period of time
During a fire, high thermal gradients occur and as a result, the surface
layers expand and eventually crack or spall off the cooler, interior part
of the concrete
The spalling is aggravated if water from fire hoses suddenly cools the
surface
The building code of Australia gives the fire resistance period (AS3600
Chapter 5) for a particular member
30 60 90 120 180 240
Fire
Loss of strength in steel
and concrete. Eg. at 500C
the yield strength of steel
is reduced by 55%.
Loss of stiffness of steel
and concrete (because of
reduced E).
Effect on support
conditions due to loss of
strength/stiffness of
adjacent members
Decrease in Strength with Temperature
Fire
Calculate the minimum beam
width for a 2hr fire rating for
a continuous beam used in a
floor system with A1 exposure
conditions, 28 mm diameter
bars for the longitudinal reo.
and 10 mm diameter stirrups.
For durability we calculate
that we require a cover to the
fitment of 20 mm and, hence,
the axis distance is:
as = 20 + 10 + 28/2 = 44 mm
b (min) = 200mm
Decrease in Strength with Temperature