HKUST Spring 2022 Chapter 1 – Lecture 01a

Reinforced Concrete Design

[CIVL 3320]

Dr. Elias DIMITRAKOPOULOS

Associate Professor

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
 reinforced concrete design
motivation

structural engineering
reinforced concrete

4-point beam test

(Structural Engineering laboratory

at Reykjavik University)
source: YouTube

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 reinforced concrete design
motivation
the middle L/3 is under pure bending:
N = V = 0 and M =PL/3 for x = L/3 to 2L/3

1 2 3
compressio M    ydA
n A

P P
y M

tension σ : normal
L/3 L/3 L/3 stresses

[N]
kN
direction of the cracks → explained
P P
(+)
[V] 3
kN (-) P
1
P
[M]
kNm (+)
PL/3 2
3
 reinforced concrete design
motivation

• statics & structural analysis →

1 2 3 internal forces diagrams (M, V, N)

P P • mechanics of materials →
stresses, material failure, cracks

• RC design → select/decide
L/3 L/3 L/3 cross-section, steel reinforcement
[N]
kN
P P
(+)
[V]
kN
P (-) P

[M]
kNm (+)
PL/3
4
 outline

introduction
limit state design
analysis of the structure
these presentation slides are largely based on:
• the lecture notes of Professor Jun Shang KUANG
• the presentation slides of Professor Andreas KAPPOS
many thanks to both!
 reinforced concrete design
concrete & reinforced concrete

• concrete is a mixture of sand, gravel, crushed rock,

or other aggregates held together in a rock-like
mass with a paste of cement and water

• as with most rock-like substances, concrete has

a high compressive strength and
a very low tensile strength

• reinforced concrete (R/C) is a combination

of concrete and steel → concrete is reinforced by
steel reinforcement, which provides the concrete
extra strength, in particular the tensile strength
lacking in the concrete

• without steel reinforcement, many concrete

buildings and structures would not be possible

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 reinforced concrete design
concrete & reinforced concrete

tall buildings
• Central Plaza
and
• Burj Khalifa
(829 m
built 2009)

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 reinforced concrete design
concrete & reinforced concrete

concrete bridges

• reinforced concrete is used in

buildings of all sorts, bridges, water
thanks, dams, offshore oil exploration
and production structures, etc.

• reinforced concrete is a dominant

structural material in engineering
construction and widely used in every
country

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 reinforced concrete design
main methods of reinforcing concrete

• conventional steel reinforcement:

Reinforced concrete (R/C)

• prestressing tendons (steel):

Prestressed concrete (PC)

• R/C structures consist of a series of

‘structural members’ that interact to support
the loads placed on the structure

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 reinforced concrete design
main methods of reinforcing concrete

• R/C structural members can be

formed into many varied shapes
and sizes, and can encompass
many types of structures and
components, including beams,
slabs, columns, shear walls, beam-
column joints, etc.

terminology

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 reinforced concrete design
comparison of structural properties
• concrete structures vs steel structures

structural
R/C and P/C steel structures timber masonry
properties
good except in
strength excellent excellent fair
tension
poor against
durability excellent poor* excellent
corrosion*
appearance fair fair excellent excellent
poor fire
safety excellent good excellent
resistance*
speed of very fast but
slow for in-situ very fast very fast
erection labour intensive
on-site excellent for in situ
poor fair very good
versatility RC, poor otherwise
* unless protected

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 reinforced concrete design
design standards (design codes 設計規範)
building codes
the state/municipal bylaws for the design and construction of building structures

British standard (British code)

• BS 8110 Structural Use of Concrete: is a British Standard for the design and
construction of R/C and prestressed concrete structures.
This code is based on limit state design principles.
Although used for most civil engineering and building structures, bridges and water-
retaining structures are covered by separate standards (BS 5400 and BS 8007)
• 1st version → published in 1985 (BS 8110:1985)
• 2nd version of Part 1 (BS 8110-1:1997) → published in 1997
• 31 Mar 2010, BSI (British Standard Institution) withdrew the UK Standards which
conflict with the Eurocodes as required under the agreement between National
Standards Bodies and CEN (European Committee for Standardization)
• BS 8110 was superseded by Eurocode 2 (BS EN 1992), though parts
of the code have been retained in the National Annex of the Eurocode

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 reinforced concrete design
design standards (design codes 設計規範)

Eurocode 2 (European code)

• Eurocode 2 (EC2) is the abbreviation for EN 1992 EC2:

Design of Concrete Structures
• EC2 covers the design of buildings and civil engineering works constructed in plain,
R/C, prestressed and precast concrete. There are 3 parts to BS EN 1992:
1. BS EN 1992-1-1:2004, Part 1-1 general rules and rules for buildings;
BS EN 1992-1-2:2004, Part 1-2 general rules – structural fire design
2. BS EN 1992-2:2005, Part 2: concrete bridges – design and detailing rules
3. BS EN 1992-3:2006, Part 3: liquid retaining and containment structures
(by EC2, most people in the UK and Hong Kong mean BS EN 1992-1-1:2004,
Part 1-1: General rules and rules for buildings)
• BS NA EN 1992-1-1:2004, UK National Annex to EC 2
Design of concrete structures. General rules and rules for buildings

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 reinforced concrete design
design standards (design codes 設計規範)
the Eurocode system

structural safety,
EN 1990 serviceability and durability

EN 1991 actions on structures

EN 1992 EN 1993 EN 1994 design and detailing

EN 1995 EN 1996 EN 1999 (different materials)

EN 1997 EN 1998 geotechnical and

Seismic design

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 reinforced concrete design
design standards (design codes 設計規範)

Hong Kong building regulations (by Buildings Department 屋宇署)

• code of Practice for Structural Use of Concrete 2013 →
based largely on BS 8110:1985
• building (Construction) Regulations 1990

American code
• ACI 318 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete and Commentary

Chinese code
• 混凝土結構設計規範 GB 50010-2010 (2011-07-01 實施)

• the course notes provide a straightforward introduction

to the principles and methods of design for R/C structures
• the course materials are written to conform to the Hong Kong Code of Practice for
Structural Use of Concrete 2013, while BS 8110 and EC2 are also referred when they
are appropriate

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 reinforced concrete design
design standards (design codes 設計規範)

for our CIVL 3320 course

• in December 2011, the HKSAR Government Development Bureau decided to migrate

from British standards to Eurocodes for the design of public works civil engineering
structures – mandatory adoption of Eurocodes in Hong Kong commences in 2015

• the HK Code is primarily based on the British Standard BS8110:1985 (Parts 1 and 2),
and the two codes are thus similar

• for our course we will need the Hong Kong Code, but we will make references to the
British Codes and Eurocodes whenever appropriate

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 reinforced concrete design
composite action

concrete (by Buildings Department 屋宇署)

• takes compression mainly (strong in compression)
• does not resist any tensile force (assumption)
tensile strength ≃ 1/10 compressive strength
an order of
steel magnitude smaller
• takes both tension and compression (columns, etc)

But wait, why can they work together well?

similar coefficients of thermal expansion:
• steel: 𝛼 = 10 × 10−6 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝐶 𝑜
• concrete: 𝛼 = 7~12 × 10−6 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝐶 𝑜
when temperature charges,
there is no significant relative movement
between the steel and the concrete

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 reinforced concrete design
composite action

property concrete steel

but, why can they work together well?
strength in
poor good • bond on the interface between
tension
the two materials good bond between
strength in good, but slender
good concrete and steel esp. ribbed bars
compression bars will buckle
strength in
fair good • similar coefficients of thermal
shear
expansion → when temperature
corrodes if charges, there is no significant relative
durability good
unprotected movement between the steel and the
fire concrete
good poor
resistance

suffers rapid loss of strength

at high temperatures
poll: concrete & steel
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 reinforced concrete design
mechanics of RC- plain concrete and RC beams

a plain concrete beam

compression
tension

compression M    ydA
A • stresses and neutral axis (NA)
---- of plain concrete beams
+++++ ++ y M
• when the applied load P is relatively
tension σ : normal small, the stress distribution of the
stresses cross-section is linear
• cracks occur at a low level of loading
as its low tensile strength
(≈ 10% of compressive strength)
• failure of a plain concrete beam

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 reinforced concrete design
mechanics of RC- plain concrete and RC beams

a reinforced concrete beam

• after cracks occur, steel reinforcement

will carry all the tensile forces

• assuming that concrete does not resist

any tensile force, concrete carries
compression only

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 reinforced concrete design
general load paths in buildings

vertical loads:
slabs →
beams →
columns / structural walls →
footings (foundations) 21
 reinforced concrete design
general load paths in buildings

horizontal loads
• wind, earthquake actions, etc.

• wind is the primary source of lateral

load for the building

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 outline

introduction
limit state design
analysis of the structure
 reinforced concrete design
Quiz

• where shall we place

1 2 3
the reinforcement bars?
• why?
P P

L/3 L/3 L/3

[N]
kN
P P
(+)
[V]
kN
P (-) P

[M]
kNm (+)
PL/3
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