19 December 2003

How to design leaflets for Eurocode 2

DESIGN OF COLUMNS AND WALLS

This leaflet is one of a series of leaflets produced by the Concrete Industry

and BRE aimed at making the transition to Eurocode 21 more straightforward2.
Other more comprehensive design aids are also available 3,4 as is a set of
excel based spreadsheets, which are mirrored by some of these leaflets.

This leaflet sets out in a logical order the steps involved in the design of
columns and walls. It is assumed that basic sizing has already been
undertaken as part of a scheme design and that the desired concrete grade,
cover and member size has been determined taking due account of fire,
durability and construction tolerance considerations.

For simplicity high yield strength (500N/mm2) ribbed bar of adequate ductility
has been assumed.

The ultimate moments and axial forces to be designed for should be arrived at
using the guidance contained within the basis of design leaflet where
appropriate. Attention is brought here to the additional minimum moment due
to imperfections which should be designed for (Clause 5.2).

Definitions

EC2 defines a column as a member for which the section depth does not
exceed four times its width and the height is at least three times the section
depth. Otherwise it should be considered as a wall.

Basic principles

For practical purposes, as with BS8110, the rectangular stress block used for
the design of beams (see companion leaflet) may also be used for the design
of columns and walls. However unlike with BS8110 the maximum
compressive strain when designing to EC2 will be less than 0.0035 if the
whole section is in compression and will fall to half this value (fck ≤ 50N/mm2)
if the section is subject to pure compression as illustrated below (Clause 6.1).
This will affect the steel strains and hence forces which the reinforcement can
carry.

LOGOS
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N-M interaction charts can be derived using these assumptions as illustrated

in Figure 1, which is based on a 300mmx300mm section. The horizontal cut-
off line on the EC2 curve has little practical effect, as it will normally fall within
the zone of minimum applied moment.

Figure 1: N-M Interaction charts for C35/45 concrete

d/h = 0.82 (alpha cc = 0.85)

40
35
30
N/bh (N/mm )
2

BS8110
25
4T32
20
15 EC2 4T32
10
5
0
0 2 4 6 8
M/bh2 (N/mm2)
19 December 2003

Flowchart

Calculate effective lengths l0 (in both directions for a column)

(Clause 5.8.3.2). For braced columns the values of β set out
in the table below may be used for simplicity (Table required
to be added).

Calculate slenderness ratio λ = l0/i (in both directions for a

column) where i is the radius of gyration of the uncracked
cross section (Clause 5.8.3.2). For a rectangular section
ignoring the reinforcement λ =3.464 l0/h where h is the depth
in the direction considered.

Calculate limiting slenderness λlim = 10.78 /√n (Derived from

Equation 5.13), where n is defined as the relative normal
force given by:

n = Ned/(Acfcd)

where:

Ned is the design ultimate axial force

Ac is the cross sectional area of the concrete
fcd is the design ultimate stress in the concrete calculated
from:

fcd = αccfck/γc = 0.57fck.

Yes
Is λ ≤ λlim in Member is short -
direction use N-M interaction
considered? charts directly

No

Member is slender
19 December 2003

Calculate additional moment to account for

second order effects (Equation 5.33)

Add on additional moment (Equation 5.31)

and use N-M interaction charts as for short
members

Watch points

Biaxial bending of columns

EC2 states that a separate design may initially be carried out in each principal
direction (Clause 5.8.9 (2)). Imperfections need be taken into account only in
the direction where they will have the most unfavourable effect.

No further check is necessary if:

λy / λx ≤ 2 and λx / λy ≤ 2 (Derived from Equation 5.38a)

and (ey/h)/(ex/b) ≤ 0.2 or (ex/b)/(ey/h) ≤ 0.2 (Derived from Equation 5.38b)

ex and ey are the effective total eccentricities including second order effects.

If biaxial bending needs to be considered, (i.e. the inequalities above are not
satisfied), the following simplified criterion may be used:

(MEdx/MRdx)a + (MEdy/MRdy)a ≤ 1.0 (Equation 5.39)

MEdx,y = Design moment of resistance in the respective direction including

second order effects

MRdx,y = Moment of resistance in the respective direction

a = exponent dependent on geometry. a=2 for circular and elliptical sections

and varies between 1 and 2 for rectangular sections depending on the ratio of
applied axial load to capacity (Clause 5.8.9 (4)).

Detailing issues relating to design

For columns and walls the maximum nominal reinforcement area in EC2
outside laps is 4% compared with 6% in BS8110 (Clause 9.5.2 (3)). However
this should not viewed as a hard and fast rule with the criterion being the ease
with which the concrete may be placed and compacted.
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Additional detailing issues for columns (Clause 9.5)

The recommended minimum diameter of longitudinal reinforcement in

columns is 12mm (Clause 9.5.2(1)).

The minimum area of longitudinal reinforcement in columns is given by:

As,min = 0.10Ned/fyd ≥ 0.002Ac (Equation 9.12N)

where Ned is the design axial force.

The diameter of the transverse reinforcement should not be less than 6mm or
one quarter of the maximum diameter of the longitudinal bars (Clause
9.5.3(1)).

The maximum spacing of transverse reinforcement in columns (Clause

9.5.3(1)) should not be less than:

1. 20 times the minimum diameter of the longitudinal bars

2. the lesser dimension of the column
3. 400mm

This spacing should be reduced by 40% for a distance equal to the larger
dimension of the column above and below beams and slabs and at laps
(Clause 9.5.3(4)).

Additional detailing issues for walls (Clause 9.6)

The minimum area of longitudinal reinforcement in walls is given by:

As,min = 0.002Ac (Clause 9.6.2(1))

The distance between two adjacent vertical bars should not exceed 3 times
the wall thickness or 400mm if less (Clause 9.6.2(3)).

The minimum area of horizontal reinforcement in walls is 25% of vertical

reinforcement or 0.001 Ac if more (Clause 9.6.3(1)).

Design aids

In general it is suggested that the design of columns is not tackled by hand,

and that reliance is placed on N-M interaction charts which may be derived.
Such interaction charts are for example automatically generated using two
RCC spreadsheets RCCen52 and RCCen53. The first of these deals with
bending about one axis for symmetrically reinforced rectangular columns and
the second allows biaxial bending to be considered. Nevertheless to aid
understanding of the principles the following example is presented which
relates to a very simple column design. This example can be seen in
spreadsheet form in RCCen11 available from the Reinforced Concrete
Council (setting αcc = 0.85 and altering the existing example).
19 December 2003

Consider a braced internal rectangular column with 3600mm clear floor to

ceiling height connected monolithically at either end to a flat slab shallower
than the overall dimension of the column in the direction being considered.
Design as symmetrically reinforced to carry an axial load of 500kN and an
initial moment of 165kNm in a specific direction.

Appropriate value of β from Table … is … . Effective length of column is

therefore 0.85 x 3600 = 3060mm.

Try h=400mm, b=400mm

Calculate slenderness ratio λ = 3.464 x 3060/400 = 26.5 in direction

considered.

Compare with allowable slenderness ratio.

Ac = 400 x 400 = 160,000mm2

Assume fck=35N/mm2.

fcd = αccfck/γc = 0.57fck = 20.0N/mm2

n = Ned/(Acfcd) = 500x1000/(160,000x20) = 0.156

Limiting slenderness ratio = 10.78 /√n = 27.3 OK. Hence column is short.

To be added on to the initial moment is an allowance for imperfections, which

may be calculated from:

Mimp = θI N l0/2 (Derived from Equation 5.2)

Where:
θI = (2/3≤2/√l≤1)/200 (Derived from Equation 5.1)

In this example 2/√l = 2/√3.6 = 1.05.

Hence θI = 1/200 and Mimp = 500/400x3.06 = 3.83kNm

Equate axial forces:

N = As (σsc - σst) + 0.57 fck b dc

Take moments about centroid of section:

M= As (σsc + σst) (h/2-d2) + 0.57 fck b dc (h/2-dc/2)

19 December 2003

Where:

As = steel area required top and bottom

σsc and σst are the stresses in the compression and tension steel respectively
derived from the strain diagram for the section. (An effective stress may be
calculated by making an adjustment for the corresponding design
compressive strength of the concrete 0.57 fck).
dc = depth of concrete section assumed in compression (= 0.8x or h if whole
section in compression)

In the particular example considered:

0.57 fck = 19.8N/mm2

By iteration:

x = 88mm
As = 630mm2
dc = 0.8x = 70mm
Strain at top fibre = 0.0035
Strain at bottom fibre = -(400-88)/88 x 0.0035 = -0.0124
σsc = E x strain = 200 x103 x 0.0018 = 360N/mm2 (340N/mm2 effective)
σst = E x strain = -435N/mm2 (steel yielded).

Hence the design is valid and the actual steel to be provided can be
determined.

Strain diagram Stress diagram

19.8 N/mm²
0.00350
359
0.00180

Notes
Stresses in N/mm2
-0.01066
Compression +ve
-435
-0.01236 - - - Neutral axis
19 December 2003

References

1. Full EC2 reference

2. Moss R.M. and Webster R, EC2 and BS8110 compared
3. Worked examples
4. Concise EC2

How to design leaflets in this series

• Basis of design
• Solid slabs and beams
• Columns and walls
• Flat slabs
• Calculation of deflections
• Approaches to design for fire
• Design for durability
• Foundations
• Detailing

These leaflets are available for downloading free at www.eurocode2.info