Chapter 1:

Introduction to Reinforced
Concrete Design
 1.
Concrete and Reinforced Concrete
 Concrete and Reinforced Concrete
Concrete is a mixture of sand, gravel, crushed rock, or other aggregates
held together in a rocklike mass with a paste of cement and water.
Sometimes one or more admixtures are added to change certain
characteristics of the concrete such as its workability, durability, and
time of hardening.

As with most rocklike substances, concrete has a high compressive

strength and a very low tensile strength. Reinforced concrete is a
combination of concrete and steel wherein the steel reinforcement
provides the tensile strength lacking in the concrete. Steel reinforcing is
also capable of resisting compression forces and is used in columns as
well as in other situations.
 2.
Pros and Cons of Reinforced Concrete
as a Structural Material
 Pros of Reinforced Concrete as a Structural Material

Reinforced concrete may be the most important

material available for construction. It is used in
one form or another for almost all structures,
great or small—buildings, bridges, pavements,
dams, retaining walls, tunnels, drainage and
irrigation facilities, tanks, and so on.

NCNB Tower in Charlotte,

North Carolina, completed 1991.
 Pros of Reinforced Concrete as a Structural Material

The tremendous success of this universal construction material can be

understood quite easily if its numerous advantages are considered.
These include the following:
1. It has considerable compressive strength per unit cost compared
with most other materials;

2. Reinforced concrete has great resistance to the actions of fire and

water and, in fact, is the best structural material available for
situations where water is present. During fires of average intensity,
members with a satisfactory cover of concrete over the reinforcing
bars suffer only surface damage without failure;
 Pros of Reinforced Concrete as a Structural Material

3. Reinforced concrete structures are very rigid;

4. It is a low-maintenance material;

5. As compared with other materials, it has a very long service life. Under
proper conditions, reinforced concrete structures can be used indefinitely
without reduction of their load-carrying abilities. This can be explained by
the fact that the strength of concrete does not decrease with time but
actually increases over a very long period, measured in years, because of the
lengthy process of the solidification of the cement paste;

6. It is usually the only economical material available for footings, floor slabs,
basement walls, piers, and similar applications;
 Pros of Reinforced Concrete as a Structural Material

7. A special feature of concrete is its ability to be cast into an extraordinary

variety of shapes from simple slabs, beams, and columns to great arches
and shells;

8. In most areas, concrete takes advantage of inexpensive local materials

(sand, gravel, and water) and requires relatively small amounts of cement
and reinforcing steel, which may have to be shipped from other parts of the
country;

9. A lower grade of skilled labor is required for erection as compared with other
materials such as structural steel.
 Cons of Reinforced Concrete as a Structural Material

To use concrete successfully, the designer must be completely familiar with its
weak points as well as its strong ones. Among its disadvantages are the
following:
1. Concrete has a very low tensile strength, requiring the use of tensile
reinforcing;

2. Forms are required to hold the concrete in place until it hardens sufficiently.
In addition, falsework or shoring may be necessary to keep the forms in
place for roofs, walls, floors, and similar structures until the concrete
members gain sufficient strength to support themselves. Formwork is very
expensive.
 Cons of Reinforced Concrete as a Structural Material

3. The low strength per unit of weight of concrete leads to heavy members. This
becomes an increasingly important matter for long-span structures, where
concrete’s large dead weight has a great effect on bending moments.
Lightweight aggregates can be used to reduce concrete weight, but the cost
of the concrete is increased;
4. Similarly, the low strength per unit of volume of concrete means members
will be relatively large, an important consideration for tall buildings and
long-span structures;
5. The properties of concrete vary widely because of variations in its
proportioning and mixing. Furthermore, the placing and curing of concrete
is not as carefully controlled as is the production of other materials, such as
structural steel and laminated wood.
 3.
Types of Portland Cement
Types of Portland Cement

Concretes made with normal Portland cement require

about 2 weeks to achieve a sufficient strength to permit
the removal of forms and the application of moderate
loads. Such concretes reach their design strengths after
about 28 days and continue to gain strength at a slower
rate thereafter.

On many occasions it is desirable to speed up

construction by using high-early-strength cements,
which, although more expensive, enable us to obtain
desired strengths in 3 to 7 days rather than the normal
28 days.
 Types of Portland Cement

The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) recognizes five types of
portland cement. These different cements are manufactured from just about the
same raw materials, but their properties are changed by using various blends of
those materials.
 Type I is a common, all-purpose cement used for general construction work;

 Type II is a modified cement that has a lower heat of hydration than does
Type I cement and that can withstand some exposure to sulfate attack.

 Type III is a high-early-strength cement that will produce in the first 24

hours a concrete with a strength about twice that of Type I cement. This
cement does have a much higher heat of hydration.
 Types of Portland Cement

 Type IV is a low-heat cement that

produces a concrete which
generates heat very slowly. It is
used for very large concrete
structures.

 Type V is a cement used for

concretes that are to be exposed to
high concentrations of sulfate.

Should the desired type of cement not be available, various admixtures may
be purchased with which the properties of Type I cement can be modified to
produce the desired effect.
 4.
Types of Admixtures
 Types of Admixtures

Admixtures are materials added to concrete during or before mixing. They are
used to improve the performance of concrete in certain situations as well as to
lower its cost.
Several of the most common types of admixtures includes:
 Air-entraining admixtures conforming to the requirements of ASTM C260 and
C618, are used primarily to increase concrete’s resistance to freezing and
thawing and provide better resistance to the deteriorating action of deicing
salts. The air-entraining agents cause the mixing water to foam, with the
result that billions of closely spaced air bubbles are incorporated into the
concrete. When concrete freezes, water moves into the air bubbles, relieving
the pressure in the concrete. When the concrete thaws, the water can move out
of the bubbles, with the result that there is less cracking than if air
entrainment had not been used.
 Types of Admixtures

Several of the most common types of admixtures includes:

 Accelerating admixtures, such as calcium chloride, cause concrete to
accelerate its early strength development. The results of such additions
(particularly useful in cold climates) are reduced times required for curing and
protection of the concrete and the earlier removal of forms. Other accelerating
admixtures that may be used include various soluble salts as well as some
other organic compounds.

 Retarding admixtures are used to slow the setting of the concrete and to
retard temperature increases. They consist of various acids or sugars or sugar
derivatives. Retarding admixtures are particularly useful for large pours where
significant temperature increases may occur.
 Types of Admixtures

Several of the most common types of admixtures includes:

 Retarding admixtures. They also prolong the plasticity of the concrete,
enabling better blending or bonding of successive pours. Retarders can also
slow the hydration of cement on exposed concrete surfaces or formed surfaces
to produce attractive exposed aggregate finishes.

 Superplasticizers are admixtures made from organic sulfonates. Their use

enables engineers to reduce the water content in concretes substantially while
at the same time increasing their slumps. Although superplasticizers can also
be used to keep water–cement ratios constant while using less cement, they
are more commonly used to produce workable concretes with considerably
higher strengths while using the same amount of cement.
 Types of Admixtures

Several of the most common types of admixtures includes:

 Waterproofing materials usually are applied to hardened concrete surfaces,

but they maybe added to concrete mixes. These admixtures generally consist
of some type of soap or petroleum products, as perhaps asphalt emulsions.
They may help retard the penetration of water into porous concretes but
probably don’t help dense, well-cured concretes very much.
 5.
Properties of Concrete
 5a.
Compressive Strength
 Properties of Concrete – Compressive Strength

Compressive Strength (c)

This is determined by testing to failure
28-day old 150mm Ø x 300 mm high
concrete cylinders at a specified rate of
loading. For 28-day period the cylinders are
usually kept under water or in a room with
constant temperature and 100% humidity.
Although concrete is available with 28-day
ultimate strengths from 15 MPa up to as
high as 70 MPa to 138 MPa, most of the
concrete used fall into the 20.70 to 48.50
MPa range.
Properties of Concrete – Compressive Strength

Example of Compression
Test on Concrete using
Universal Testing Machine
(UTM)
Properties of Concrete – Compressive Strength

Type of Concrete f’c (MPa)

Normal Concrete 20.70 – 34.50
Lightweight Concrete 15 – 20
High-strength Concrete 75 – 90
Precast/Prestressed Concrete 34.50 – 41.40

Table 1 : Typical Compressive Strengths of Concrete

 Properties of Concrete – Compressive Strength

It will be noted that field conditions are not the same as those in the curing
room, and the 28-day strengths describe here cannot be achieve in the field
unless almost perfect proportioning, mixture, vibration, and moisture
conditions are present. The result is that the same strength probably will not
be obtained in the field with the same mixes.

As a result, the National Structural Code of the Philippines (NSCP) requires

that the concrete compressive strength used as a basis for selecting the
concrete proportions must exceed the specified 28-day strengths.
 Properties of Concrete – Compressive Strength

The stress–strain curves in the figure

represent the results obtained from
compression tests of sets of 28-day-old
standard cylinders of varying strengths. The
following are some of the significant points
that can be derived from the figure:

a) The curves are roughly straight while the

load is increased from zero to about one-
third to one-half the concrete’s ultimate
strength;

Typical Concrete Stress-Strain Curve with

short-term loading
 Properties of Concrete – Compressive Strength

b) Beyond this range the behavior of

concrete is nonlinear. This lack of
linearity of concrete stress–strain curves
at higher stresses causes some problems
in the structural analysis of concrete
structures because their behavior is also
nonlinear at higher stresses;

c) Of particular importance is the fact that

regardless of strengths, all the concretes
reach their ultimate strengths at strains
of about 0.002;
Typical Concrete Stress-Strain Curve with
short-term loading
 Properties of Concrete – Compressive Strength

d) Concrete does not have a definite yield

strength; rather, the curves run smoothly
on to the point of rupture at strains of
from 0.003 to 0.004. It will be assumed
for the purpose of future calculations in
this text that concrete fails at 0.003 (ACI
10.2.3). This value, which is conservative
for normal-strength concretes, may not be
conservative for higher-strength
concretes;
Typical Concrete Stress-Strain Curve with
short-term loading
 Properties of Concrete – Compressive Strength

e) Many tests have clearly shown that

stress–strain curves of concrete cylinders
are almost identical to those for the
compression sides of beams; and

f) It should be further noticed that the

weaker grades of concrete are less brittle
than the stronger ones—that is, they will
take larger strains before breaking.

Typical Concrete Stress-Strain Curve with

short-term loading
 5b.
Modulus of Elasticity
 Properties of Concrete – Modulus of Elasticity

Concrete has no clear-cut modulus of elasticity. Its value varies with

different concrete strengths, concrete age, type of loading, and the
characteristics and proportions of the cement and aggregates.

NSCP Section 408.6.1 that:

The Modulus of elasticity, Ec (in MPa) for concrete shall be permitted to be
taken as:

for values of wc (weight of the concrete) between 1,500 and 2,500 kg/m3.

For normal weight concrete, Ec shall be permitted to be taken as:

Properties of Concrete – Modulus of Elasticity

Compressive Strength, f’c Modulus of Elasticity, Ec

(MPa) (MPa)
20.70 21,788
24.10 23,512
27.60 25,100
31.00 26,684
34.50 28,063
Table 2: Values of Modulus of Elasticity for
Normal-Weight Concrete
 5c.
Poisson’s Ratio and
Shear Modulus of Elasticity
 Properties of Concrete – Poisson’s Ratio
and Shear Modulus of Elasticity
Poisson’s Ratio
As a concrete cylinder is subjected to compressive loads, it not only

expansion to the longitudinal shortening is referred to as Poisson’s ratio, c.

shortens in length but also expands laterally. The ratio of this lateral

0.11  nc  0.21
(average) nc = 0.16

Shear Modulus of Elasticity

From Poisson’s ratio and modulus of elasticity of concrete, the shear
modulus, Gc of concrete can now be calculated.
 5d.
Shrinkage
 Properties of Concrete – Shrinkage

When the materials for concrete are mixed, the paste consisting of cement
and water fills the voids between the aggregate and bonds the aggregate
together. This mixture needs to be sufficiently workable or fluid so that it can be
made to flow in between the reinforcing bars and all through the forms. To
achieve this desired workability, considerably more water is used than is
necessary for the cement and water to react (called hydration).

After the concrete has been cured and begins to dry, the extra mixing water
that was used begins to work its way out of the concrete to the surface, where it
evaporates. As a result, the concrete shrinks and cracks. The resulting cracks
may reduce the shear strength of the members and be detrimental to the
appearance of the structure.
 Properties of Concrete – Shrinkage

In addition, the cracks may permit the reinforcing to be exposed to the

atmosphere or chemicals, thereby increasing the possibility of corrosion.

Shrinkage continues for many years, but under ordinary conditions probably
about 90% of it occurs during the first year. The amount of moisture that is lost
varies with the distance from the surface. Furthermore, the larger the surface
area of a member in proportion to its volume, the larger the rate of shrinkage;
that is, members with small cross sections shrink more proportionately than do
those with large cross sections.

The amount of shrinkage is heavily dependent on the type of exposure. For

instance, if concrete is subjected to a considerable amount of wind during
curing, its shrinkage will be greater.
 Properties of Concrete – Shrinkage

To minimize shrinkage it is desirable to:

1. Keep the amount of mixing water to a minimum;

2. Cure the concrete well;
3. Place the concrete for walls, floors, and other large items in small sections,
thus allowing some of the shrinkage to take place before the next section is
placed;
4. Use construction joints to control the position of cracks;
5. Use shrinkage reinforcement; and
6. Use appropriate dense and nonporous aggregates.
 5e.
Creep
 Properties of Concrete – Creep

Under sustained compressive loads, concrete will continue to deform for long
period of time. This additional deformation is called Creep, or Plastic flow. If a
compressive load is applied to a concrete member, an immediate or
instantaneous or elastic shortening occurs. If the load is left in place for a long
time, the member will continue to shorten over a period of several years and the
final deformation will usually be 2 to 3 times the initial deformation. This means
that long-term deflections may also be as much as 2 or 3 times initial
deflections. Perhaps 75% of the total creep will occur during the first year.

Should the long-term load be removed, the member will recover most of its
elastic strain and a little of its creep strain. If the total load is replaced, both the
elastic and creep strains will again be developed.
 Properties of Concrete – Creep

The amount of creep is very dependent on the amount of stress. It is almost

directly proportional to stress as long as the sustained stress is not greater than
about one-half of c. Beyond this level, creep will increase rapidly.

Long-term loads not only cause creep but also can adversely affect the
strength of the concrete. For loads maintained on concentrically loaded
specimens for a year longer, there may be a strength reduction of perhaps 15% to
25%. Thus a member loaded with a sustained load of say 85% of its ultimate
compression strength c may very well be satisfactory for a while but may fail
later.
 5f.
Tensile Strength
 Properties of Concrete – Tensile Strength

The Tensile Strength of concrete varies from about 8% to 15% of its

compressive strength.
0.08 f’c  ft  0.15 f’c
A major reason for this small strength is the fact that concrete is filled with
fine cracks. The cracks have little effect when concrete is subjected to
compression loads because the loads cause the crack to close and permit
compression transfer. This is not the case for tensile loads.

Although tensile strength is normally neglected in design calculations, it is

nevertheless an important property that affects the sizes and extent of the
cracks that occur. Furthermore, the tensile strength of concrete members has a
definite reduction effect on their deflections.
 Properties of Concrete – Tensile Strength

Due to the small tensile strength of concrete, very little effort has been made
to determine its tensile modulus of elasticity. Based on this limited information,
however, it seems that its value is equal to its compression modulus.

The generally accepted value for the tensile strength of concrete is

 Properties of Concrete – Tensile Strength

Two indirect tests to measure the concrete’s tensile strength:

1. Modulus of Rupture Test

The tensile strength of concrete in flexure is quite important when considering
beam cracks and deflections. For these considerations, the tensile strengths
obtained with the modulus of rupture test have long been used. The Modulus of
Rupture (which is defined as the flexural tensile strength of concrete) is usually
measured by loading a 150mm × 150mm × 750mm plain rectangular beam
(with simple supports placed 24 in. on center) to failure with equal concentrated
loads at its one-third points as per ASTM C78-2002.

The load is increased until failure occurs by cracking on the tensile face of the
beam.
 Properties of Concrete – Tensile Strength

1. Modulus of Rupture Test

The modulus of rupture, fr, is then
determined from the flexure formula. In
the following expressions, b is the beam
width, h is its depth, and M is PL/6, which
is the maximum computed moment:

Modulus of Rupture Test

 Properties of Concrete – Tensile Strength
Split-Cylinder Test
2. Split-Cylinder Test
A cylinder is placed on its side in the testing machine,
and a compressive load is applied uniformly along the
length of the cylinder, with support supplied along the
bottom for the cylinder’s full length. The cylinder will split
in half from end to end when its tensile strength is
reached. The tensile strength at which splitting occurs is
referred to as the split-cylinder strength and can be
calculated with the following expression, in which P is the
maximum compressive force, L is the length, and D is the
diameter of the cylinder:
 Properties of Concrete – Tensile Strength

Table 3 shows the ranges of the direct tensile test, the modulus of rupture
test, the splitting tensile test.

Normal Concrete, Lightweight Concrete,

Tensile Test
MPa MPa
Direct 0.25 – 0.42 0.17 – 0.25
Split-Cylinder 0.50 – 0.67 0.33 – 0.50
Modulus of Rupture 0.67 – 1.00 0.50 – 0.67
Table 3: Tensile Strength Ranges for Concrete
 5g.
Shear Strength and Other Properties
 Properties of Concrete – Shear Strength
and Other Properties
Shear Strength
It is extremely difficult in testing to obtain pure shear failures unaffected by
other stresses. As a result, the tests of concrete shearing strengths through the
years have yielded values all the way from one-third to three-fourths of the
ultimate compressive strengths.
1/3f’c  fv  3/4f’c
Other Properties
Coefficient of thermal expansion, ac:
0.00007/C  ac  0.00015/C
(average) ac = 0.00010/C

Specific Gravity, GS(conc):

GS(conc) = 2.40
 6.
Steel Reinforcement
 Steel Reinforcement

The two chief numerical characteristics that determine the character of bar
reinforcement are the yield point/yield stress (generally identical in tension and
compression) and its modulus of elasticity, Es (NSCP 408.6.2).

The latter is practically the same for all reinforcing steels (but not for
prestressing steels).
Es = 200,000 MPa
Any questions?