4.

0 Design
4.1 Structural Elements
A complete building structure can be broken down into the following elements:
i. Beams: these are horizontal members carrying lateral loads.
ii. Slabs: these are horizontal plate elements carrying lateral loads.
iii. Columns: vertical members carrying primarily axial loads and also moments.
iv. Walls: vertical plate elements resisting vertical, lateral or in-plane loads.
v. Bases and foundations: these are pads or strips supported directly on the ground that spread the
loads from columns or walls so that they can be supported by the ground without excessive
settlement. Alternatively, bases may be supported on piles.

Figure 4.1: An RCC Building

4.2 Structural Design

The first function in design is carried out by the architect to determine the arrangement and layout of the
building to suit the client’s need. The Structural Engineer then determines the best structural systems to
support the building. Construction with different materials and different arrangements may require
investigation to determine the most economical solution. Once the building’s form and structural
arrangement have been finalized, the design problem will then consist of:
i. Idealization of the structure into load bearing frames and elements for Analysis and Design.

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 1

 ii. Estimation of loads.
iii. Analysis to determine the maximum moments, thrusts and shears for design.
iv. Design of sections and reinforcement arrangement for slabs, beams, column, walls and bases
using results from analysis.
v. Production of arrangement and detail drawings and bar schedules.

4.3 Design Standards

The following design standards are adopted for use in Kenya:
i. BS 8110 (Parts 1, 2 & 3) – Structural Use of Concrete.
ii. BS 6399 (Parts 1 & 2) – Design Loadings for Buildings.

Apart from British Standards, other design codes that may be used for design include the Eurocodes and
the American Standards. In this module, we shall design using British Standards manually. Design
standards have also been incorporated in design software such as Prokon® that enable computer-aided
design which is faster and accurate.

4.4 Calculations, Design Aids and Computing

Calculations from the major part of the design process. They are needed to be carried out to determine
the loadings on the elements and structure and to carry out analysis and design of the elements.

4.5 Detailing
General arrangement drawings give the overall layout and principal dimension of the structure. The
output of the design calculations are sketches giving sizes of members and the sizes and arrangements of
reinforcing bars.
4.6 Limit State Design and Structural Analysis
BS 8110 (2.1.1) states the aim of design being the achievement of an acceptable probability that the
structure will perform satisfactorily in its projected useful life. It must carry loads safely and not deform
excessively and have adequate durability. It must also resist the effects of misuse and fire.

4.6.1 Criteria for a safe design – limit states

The criterion for design is that a structure should not become unfit for use. This is done by designing the
structure to ensure it does not reach:
i. The ultimate limit state – the entire structure and its elements should not collapse, overturn or
buckle when subjected to design loads.
ii. Serviceability limit state – the structure should not become unfit for use due to excessive
deflection or cracking or vibration.

For reinforced concrete, the norm is to design of ultimate limit state, check for serviceability and take all
the necessary precautions to ensure the durability of the structure.

4.6.2 Ultimate Limit State – BS 8110 (2.2.2)

Ultimate limit state is divided into the following:
i. Strength: the structure must be designed to carry the most severe combination of loads.

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 2

 ii. Stability: BS 8110 (2.2.2.2) states that planning and design should be such that damage to a small
area or failure of a single element should not cause collapse of a major part of a structure. The
following precautions are necessary to be taken into account:
a) The structure should be able to resist notional horizontal loads applied at the roof level and at
each floor level.
b) All structures to be provided with effective horizontal ties.
c) For building greater than 5 storeys, key elements to be identified, failure of which would cause
more than a limited amount of damage.
d) For buildings greater than 5 storeys, it must be possible to remove any vertical load bearing
element other than a key element without causing more than a limited amount of damage.

4.6.3 Serviceability Limit State – BS (2.2.3)

Serviceability limit state is divided into the following:
i. Deflection: the deformation of the structure should not adversely affect its efficiency or
appearance.
ii. Cracking: cracking should be kept to a reasonable limit by correct detailing.
iii. Vibration: excessive vibrations cause discomfort or alarm to occupants, structural damage, and
interfere with the proper functioning of the structure. These should be avoided.

4.7 Characteristic and Design Loads

Characteristic or service loads are the actual loads that the structure is designed to carry. These are
normally thought of as the maximum loads which will not be exceeded during the lifetime of the structure.
The characteristic loads used in design are defined in BS 8110 (2.4.1) and are as follows:
i. Characteristic dead load (𝐺𝑘 ) is the self-weight of the structure and weight of
finishes/ceilings/services and partitions.
ii. Characteristic imposed load (𝑄𝑘 ) is weight of people/furniture/equipment e.t.c. on floors and
snow on roofs. Characteristic imposed load for various types of buildings are given in BS 6399-1.
iii. Wind load (𝑊𝑘 ) is dependent on location/shape/dimension of building. These are estimated using
BS 6999-2.
The code states that the nominal earth loads are to be obtained in accordance to normal practice.
Reference should be made to BS 8004-2015 Code of Practice for Foundations and textbooks on
geotechnics.

4.8 Materials – Properties and Design Strengths

Characteristic strengths/grades of materials are as follows:
i. Concrete 𝑓𝑐𝑢 is the 28-day cube strength in 𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 .
ii. Reinforcement 𝑓𝑦 is the yield stress in 𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 .
Minimum grades for reinforced concrete are in Table 3.3 of the code. These are grades 30, 35, 40, 45, 50
in 𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 . The specified characteristic strengths of reinforcement given in Table 3.1 in the code are:
i. Hot rolled mild steel - 𝑓𝑦 = 250𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 .
ii. High yield steel, hot rolled or cold worked - 𝑓𝑦 = 460𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 . BS 8110 (3.1.7.4) states that a lower
value may be used to reduce deflection and control cracking. The resistance of sections to applied
stresses is based on the design strength which is defined as:

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑓𝑘
=
𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑓𝑒𝑡𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝛾𝑚

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 3

The values of 𝛾𝑚 for the ultimate limit state are given as:
i. Reinforcement = 1.15
ii. Concrete (flexure/axial load) = 1.5
iii. Shear strength without shear reinforcement = 1.25
iv. Bond strength = 1.4
v. Others e.g. bearing strength ≥ 1.5

The factor 𝛾𝑚 takes account of the following:

i. Uncertainties in the strength of materials in the structure.
ii. Uncertainties in the methods used to predict behavior of members.
iii. Variations in member sizes and building dimensions.

4.9 Bending Theory

4.9.1 Assumptions
1. Strains in concrete and reinforcing steel are directly proportional to the distance from the Neutral
Axis, at which strain is zero.

Figure 4.2

𝑏 = 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚
ℎ = 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚
𝑑 = 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
𝐴𝑠𝑡 = 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛
𝑥 = 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ 𝑡𝑜 𝑁𝑒𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑥𝑖𝑠

2. Ultimate limit state of collapse is reached when concrete strain at the extreme compression value
reaches a specified value of 𝜀𝑐𝑢 = 0.0035.
3. Tensile strength of concrete is ignored.
4. Stresses in reinforcement and concrete is derived from the appropriate stress/strain diagram.

𝜀𝑠𝑡 𝑑 − 𝑥
∴ 𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛 = =
𝜀𝑐 𝑥

The actual stress-strain distribution in concrete which is parabolic may pose some problems in derivation
of equations hence it is simplified or idealized into a rectangular stress block (simplified stress block)

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 4

Figure 4.3

𝐶 = 𝑇 (𝑛𝑜 𝑛𝑒𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 − 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛)

𝐶 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑇 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑝𝑙𝑒, 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑙𝑎 𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑝𝑙𝑒
𝑀 = 𝐶𝑙𝑎 = 𝑇𝑙𝑎 … (𝑖) 𝑁𝐵: 𝑙𝑎 = 𝑧

𝐸𝑥𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 = 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠

𝑀𝑎𝑝𝑝 = 𝑀𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑝𝑙𝑒
𝐶 = 0.45𝑓𝑐𝑢 × 0.9𝑥 × 𝑏
= 0.405𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑥 … (𝑖𝑖)
𝑇 = 𝑓𝑠𝑡 × 𝐴𝑠𝑡

𝐴𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑝𝑠𝑒, 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡; 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙

𝑓𝑦
𝑇 𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑝𝑠𝑒 = × 𝐴𝑠𝑡 [1.15 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙]
1.15
𝑇 = 0.87𝑓𝑠𝑡 𝐴𝑠𝑡 … (𝑖𝑖𝑖)
𝑙𝑎 = 𝑑 − 0.45𝑥 … (𝑖𝑣)

𝑀 = 𝐶 × 𝑙𝑎 = 0.405𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑥(𝑑 − 0.45𝑥)

𝑀 = 𝑇 × 𝑙𝑎 = 0.87𝑓𝑦 𝐴𝑠𝑡 (𝑑 − 0.45𝑥) … (𝑣)

One additional condition to limit the amount of concrete that can go into compression is that the
maximum value of 𝑥 i.e. zone in compression is 0.5𝑑. This means that 𝑥 ≯ 0.5𝑑. At the limit when 𝑥 =
0.5𝑑,

𝑀𝑢𝑙𝑡 = 𝐶 × 𝑙𝑎 = 0.405𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏(0.5𝑑)(𝑑 − 0.45(0.5𝑑))

𝑀𝑢𝑙𝑡 = 𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2 (0.405 × 0.5 × 0.775)
𝑀𝑢𝑙𝑡 = 0.156𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2 … (𝑣𝑖)

𝑀𝑢𝑙𝑡 is the moment capacity of the concrete section. If we consider the steel;

𝑀𝑢𝑙𝑡 = 𝑇 × 𝑙𝑎 = 0.87𝑓𝑦 𝐴𝑠𝑡 (𝑑 − 0.45(0.5𝑑))

𝑀𝑢𝑙𝑡 = 0.87𝑓𝑦 𝐴𝑠𝑡 𝑑(0.775)
𝑀𝑢𝑙𝑡 = 0.67𝑓𝑦 𝐴𝑠𝑡 𝑑 … (𝑣𝑖𝑖)

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 5

4.9.2 Design Procedure Flow Chart (BS 8110-1)

𝑀𝑎𝑝𝑝
START
(BMD)
)

Choose section size

(dimensions of the beam b,d)

Material specifications 𝑓𝑐𝑢 , 𝑓𝑦

Evaluate 𝑀𝑢𝑙𝑡 = 0.156𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2

YES Is
𝑀𝑎𝑝𝑝 >
𝑀𝑢𝑙𝑡 ?

NO

𝑀𝑎𝑝𝑝
Evaluate 𝑘 = 𝑓 2
𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑

YES
𝑧 = 0.95𝑑 Is 𝑧 > 𝑘
𝑧 = 𝑑 (0.5 + √0.25 − )
0.95𝑑? 0.9

NO
𝑀𝑎𝑝𝑝
𝐴𝑠𝑡 = END
Continue with value of z 0.87𝑓𝑦 𝑧

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 6

4.10 Design Tables
Areas of group of reinforcement bars (𝒎𝒎𝟐 )
Bar Number of Bars
Diameter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(mm)
6 28 57 85 113 141 170 198 226 254 283
8 50 101 151 201 251 302 352 402 452 503
10 79 157 236 314 393 471 550 628 707 785
12 113 226 339 452 565 679 792 905 1017 1131
16 201 402 603 804 1005 1206 1407 1608 1809 2011
20 314 628 942 1257 1571 1885 2199 2513 2827 3142
25 491 982 1473 1963 2454 2945 3436 3927 4418 4909
32 804 1608 2412 3216 4021 4825 5629 6433 7237 8042
40 1256 2513 3769 5026 6283 7539 8796 10050 11310 12570

Reinforcement-bar areas (𝒎𝒎𝟐 ) per metre width for various bar spacings
Bar Bar Spacing (mm)
Diameter 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300
(mm)
6 377 283 226 189 162 142 126 113 103 94
8 671 503 402 335 287 252 223 201 183 168
10 1047 785 628 523 449 393 349 314 286 262
12 1508 1131 905 754 646 566 503 452 411 377
16 2681 2011 1608 1340 1149 1005 894 804 731 670
20 4189 3142 2513 2094 1795 1571 1396 1257 1142 1047
25 6545 4909 3927 3272 2805 2454 2182 1963 1785 1636
32 - 8042 6434 5362 4596 4021 3574 3217 2925 2681
40 - - 10050 8378 7181 6283 5585 5027 4570 4189

Nominal cover to all reinforcement (including links) to meet durability requirements

Conditions of exposure Nominal cover (mm)
Mild 25 20 20 20 20
Moderate - 35 30 25 20
Severe - - 40 30 25
Very severe - - 50 40 30
Extreme - - - 60 50
Maximum free water/cement ratio 0.65 0.60 0.55 0.50 0.45
Minimum cement content (𝒌𝒈⁄𝒎𝟑 ) 275 300 325 350 400
Lowest concrete grade C30 C35 C40 C45 C50

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 7

Worked Example 1
Design the beam loaded as shown below. Take 𝑓𝑐𝑢 = 20𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 and 𝑓𝑦 = 415𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 .

𝑤𝑙 2 20𝑘𝑁/𝑚 × (5𝑚)2
𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟏: 𝑀𝑚𝑎𝑥 = = = 62.5𝑘𝑁𝑚
8 8

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟐: 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑠 𝑏 = 250𝑚𝑚; ℎ = 500𝑚𝑚

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟑: 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑓𝑐𝑢 = 20𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 ; 𝑓𝑦 = 415𝑁/𝑚𝑚2

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟒: 𝑀𝑢 = 0.156𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2

𝑑 = 500𝑚𝑚 − 25𝑚𝑚 − 8𝑚𝑚 = 467𝑚𝑚
𝑀𝑢 = 0.156 × 20𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 250𝑚𝑚 × 467𝑚𝑚2 = 170109420𝑁𝑚𝑚
= 170.1𝑘𝑁𝑚
∴ 𝑀𝑎𝑝𝑝 < 𝑀𝑢 𝑠𝑜 𝑤𝑒 ′ 𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝

𝑀𝑎𝑝𝑝 62.5 × 106 𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟓: 𝑘 = = = 0.0573
𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2 20𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 250𝑚𝑚 × (467𝑚𝑚)2

𝑘
𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟔: 𝑧 = 𝑑 (0.5 + √0.25 − )
0.9

0.0573
= 467𝑚𝑚 (0.5 + √0.25 − )
0.9
= 435.08𝑚𝑚
∴ 𝑧 ≯ 0.95𝑑 𝑠𝑜 𝑤𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑧

𝑀𝑎𝑝𝑝 62.5 × 106 𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟕: 𝐴𝑠𝑡 = = = 397.87𝑚𝑚2
0.87𝑓𝑦 𝑧 0.87 × 415𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 435.08𝑚𝑚
∴ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝟐𝑻𝟏𝟔 (𝟒𝟎𝟐𝒎𝒎𝟐 )

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 8

 Why are bars at the lower end?
If you encounter a scenario where
> , one option is to change the dimensions of
the beam. A second option is to place steel in the compression zone to assist the concrete to carry the
compression. This second option is referred to as doubly reinforced concrete.

Worked Example 2
Design the beam loaded as shown below. Take 𝑓𝑐𝑢 = 30𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 and 𝑓𝑦 = 460𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 .

𝑃𝐿 80𝑘𝑁 × 5𝑚
𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟏: 𝑀𝑚𝑎𝑥 = = = 100𝑘𝑁𝑚
4 4

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟐: 𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠, 𝑏 = 200𝑚𝑚; ℎ = 600𝑚𝑚

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟑: 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑓𝑐𝑢 = 20𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 ; 𝑓𝑦 = 415𝑁/𝑚𝑚2

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟒: 𝑀𝑢 = 0.156𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2

𝑑 = 600𝑚𝑚 − 25𝑚𝑚 − 8𝑚𝑚 = 567𝑚𝑚
𝑀𝑢 = 0.156 × 30𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 200𝑚𝑚 × 567𝑚𝑚2 = 300.9𝑘𝑁𝑚
∴ 𝑀𝑎𝑝𝑝 < 𝑀𝑢 𝑠𝑜 𝑤𝑒 ′ 𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝

𝑀𝑎𝑝𝑝 100 × 106 𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟓: 𝑘 = = = 0.0518
𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2 30𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 200𝑚𝑚 × (567𝑚𝑚)2

𝑘
𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟔: 𝑧 = 𝑑 (0.5 + √0.25 − )
0.9

0.0518
= 567𝑚𝑚 (0.5 + √0.25 − )
0.9
= 532.2𝑚𝑚

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 9

 ∴ 𝑧 ≯ 0.95𝑑 𝑠𝑜 𝑤𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑧

𝑀𝑎𝑝𝑝 100 × 106 𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟕: 𝐴𝑠𝑡 = = = 469.5𝑚𝑚2
0.87𝑓𝑦 𝑧 0.87 × 460𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 532.2𝑚𝑚
∴ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝟐𝑻𝟏𝟔 + 𝟏𝑻𝟏𝟎 (𝟒𝟖𝟎𝒎𝒎𝟐 )

Worked Example 3
A classroom slab is 150𝑚𝑚 thick. Plaster and screed are both 25𝑚𝑚 thick. The slab carries a live load of
3.5𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 . Assume a load factor of 1.4 for dead load and 1.6 for live load. The slab panel is as shown
below. Design beams 1 and 2 for flexural loading. Take 𝑓𝑐𝑢 = 25𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 and 𝑓𝑦 = 460𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 .

𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛: 𝐴1 = 0.5 × 4𝑚 × 2𝑚 = 4𝑚2 × 𝑛𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑏 = 4𝑛𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑏

𝐴2 = 0.5 × 2𝑚(6𝑚 + 2𝑚) = 8𝑚2 × 𝑛𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑏 = 8𝑛𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑏

4𝑛𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑏
𝐴𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑙𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑, 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 = = 𝑛𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑏 (𝑘𝑁/𝑚)
4
3
𝐸𝑥𝑡𝑟𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 − 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚 = 24𝑘𝑁/𝑚 × 0.25𝑚 × 0.4𝑚 × 1.4 = 3.36𝑘𝑁/𝑚
∴ 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚 = (𝑛𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑏 + 3.36)𝑘𝑁/𝑚

𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚 2, 𝐴1 = 4𝑚2

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 10

 Loading 𝑮𝒌 (𝒌𝑵/𝒎𝟐 ) 𝑸𝒌 (𝒌𝑵/𝒎𝟐 )
Live load 3.5
Dead load: Slab 𝟐𝟒𝒌𝑵/𝒎𝒎𝟑 × 3.6
𝟎. 𝟏𝟓𝒎
Dead load: Plaster + Screed 1.2
𝟐𝟒𝒌𝑵/𝒎𝒎𝟑 × 𝟎. 𝟎𝟓𝒎
Total 𝟒. 𝟖 𝟑. 𝟓

𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 = 1.4 × 4.8𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 + 1.6 × 3.5𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 = 12.32𝑘𝑁/𝑚2

∴ 𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚 2 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 12.32𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 × 4𝑚2 = 49.28𝑘𝑁
49.28𝑘𝑁
𝐼𝑓 𝑤𝑒 𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑠 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑙𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑑, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑑𝑙 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 = 12.32𝑘𝑁/𝑚
4𝑚
24𝑘𝑁
𝐴𝑑𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚: × 0.25𝑚 × 0.4𝑚 × 1.4 = 3.36𝑘𝑁/𝑚
𝑚3
∴ 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚 2 = 12.32𝑘𝑁/𝑚 + 3.36𝑘𝑁/𝑚 = 15.68𝑘𝑁/𝑚

𝑁𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑤𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒:

𝑤𝑙 2 15.68𝑘𝑁/𝑚 × (4𝑚)2
𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟏: 𝑀𝑚𝑎𝑥 = = = 31.36𝑘𝑁𝑚
8 8

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟐: 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠, 𝑏 = 250𝑚𝑚; ℎ = 400𝑚𝑚

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟑: 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑓𝑐𝑢 = 25𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 ; 𝑓𝑦 = 460𝑁/𝑚𝑚2

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟒: 𝑀𝑢 = 0.156𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2

𝑑 = 400𝑚𝑚 − 25𝑚𝑚 − 8𝑚𝑚 = 367𝑚𝑚
𝑀𝑢 = 0.156 × 25𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 250𝑚𝑚 × 367𝑚𝑚2 = 131.32𝑘𝑁𝑚
∴ 𝑀𝑎𝑝𝑝 < 𝑀𝑢 𝑠𝑜 𝑤𝑒 ′ 𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝

𝑀𝑎𝑝𝑝 31.36 × 106 𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟓: 𝑘 = = = 0.0373
𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2 25𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 250𝑚𝑚 × (367𝑚𝑚)2

𝑘
𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟔: 𝑧 = 𝑑 (0.5 + √0.25 − )
0.9

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 11

 0.0373
= 367𝑚𝑚 (0.5 + √0.25 − )
0.9
= 351.10𝑚𝑚
∴ 𝑧 > 0.95𝑑 𝑠𝑜 𝑤𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑧 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 = 0.95𝑑 = 348.65𝑚𝑚

𝑀𝑎𝑝𝑝 31.36 × 106 𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟕: 𝐴𝑠𝑡 = = = 224.75𝑚𝑚2
0.87𝑓𝑦 𝑧 0.87 × 460𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 348.65𝑚𝑚
∴ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝟐𝑻𝟏𝟐 (𝟐𝟐𝟔. 𝟐𝒎𝒎𝟐 )

𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚 1, 𝐴2 = 8𝑚2

Loading 𝑮𝒌 (𝒌𝑵/𝒎𝟐 ) 𝑸𝒌 (𝒌𝑵/𝒎𝟐 )

Live load 3.5
Dead load: Slab 𝟐𝟒𝒌𝑵/𝒎𝒎𝟑 × 3.6
𝟎. 𝟏𝟓𝒎
Dead load: Plaster + Screed 1.2
𝟐𝟒𝒌𝑵/𝒎𝒎𝟑 × 𝟎. 𝟎𝟓𝒎
Total 𝟒. 𝟖 𝟑. 𝟓

𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 = 1.4 × 4.8𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 + 1.6 × 3.5𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 = 12.32𝑘𝑁/𝑚2

∴ 𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚 1 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 12.32𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 × 8𝑚2 = 98.56𝑘𝑁
98.56𝑘𝑁
𝐼𝑓 𝑤𝑒 𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑠 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑙𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑑, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑑𝑙 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 = 16.43𝑘𝑁/𝑚
6𝑚
𝐴𝑑𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚: 24𝑘𝑁/𝑚3 × 0.25𝑚 × 0.4𝑚 × 1.4 = 3.36𝑘𝑁/𝑚
∴ 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚 2 = 16.43𝑘𝑁/𝑚 + 3.36𝑘𝑁/𝑚 = 19.79𝑘𝑁/𝑚

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 12

 𝑁𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑤𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒:

𝑤𝑙 2 19.79𝑘𝑁/𝑚 × (6𝑚)2
𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟏: 𝑀𝑚𝑎𝑥 = = = 89.06𝑘𝑁𝑚
8 8

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟐: 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠, 𝑏 = 250𝑚𝑚; ℎ = 400𝑚𝑚

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟑: 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑓𝑐𝑢 = 25𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 ; 𝑓𝑦 = 460𝑁/𝑚𝑚2

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟒: 𝑀𝑢 = 0.156𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2

𝑑 = 400𝑚𝑚 − 25𝑚𝑚 − 8𝑚𝑚 = 367𝑚𝑚
𝑀𝑢 = 0.156 × 25𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 250𝑚𝑚 × (367𝑚𝑚)2 = 131.32𝑘𝑁𝑚
∴ 𝑀𝑎𝑝𝑝 < 𝑀𝑢 𝑠𝑜 𝑤𝑒 ′ 𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝

𝑀𝑎𝑝𝑝 89.06 × 106 𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟓: 𝑘 = = = 0.106
𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2 25𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 250𝑚𝑚 × (367𝑚𝑚)2

𝑘
𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟔: 𝑧 = 𝑑 (0.5 + √0.25 − )
0.9

0.106
= 367𝑚𝑚 (0.5 + √0.25 − )
0.9
= 316.95𝑚𝑚
∴ 𝑧 ≯ 0.95𝑑 𝑠𝑜 𝑤𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑧

𝑀𝑎𝑝𝑝 89.06 × 106 𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟕: 𝐴𝑠𝑡 = = = 702.13𝑚𝑚2
0.87𝑓𝑦 𝑧 0.87 × 460𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 316.95𝑚𝑚
∴ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝟒𝑻𝟏𝟔 (𝟖𝟎𝟒. 𝟐𝒎𝒎𝟐 )

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 13

Worked Example 4 (Use of Design Charts provided in BS 8110-3:1985)
A simply supported rectangular beam of 8𝑚 span carries a design load of 17.8𝑘𝑁/𝑚. The beam
dimensions are breadth 250𝑚𝑚 and effective depth 400𝑚𝑚. Find the steel area required. Concrete is
grade 30 and steel is grade 460. Use the design chart provided.

𝑤𝑙 2 17.8𝑘𝑁/𝑚 × (8𝑚)2
𝐺𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑤 = 17.8𝑘𝑁/𝑚, 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑀𝑎𝑝𝑝 = = = 142.4𝑘𝑁𝑚
8 8

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 14

 𝑀 142.4 × 106
𝑊𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒 = = 3.56
𝑏𝑑2 250𝑚𝑚 × (400𝑚𝑚)2

100𝐴𝑠
𝑈𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑡, 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 1.05
𝑏𝑑

1.05 × 250𝑚𝑚 × 400𝑚𝑚

∴ 𝐴𝑠 = = 1050𝑚𝑚2
100
𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝟒𝑻𝟐𝟎 (𝟏𝟐𝟔𝟕𝒎𝒎𝟐 )

𝑆𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑐ℎ:

4.11 Doubly Reinforced Concrete

We know from eqns. (vi) and (v) that 𝑀𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 0.156𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2 = 𝑀𝑢 and 𝑀 = 0.405𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑥(𝑑 − 0.45𝑥)
𝑥
and that 𝑑 ≯ 0.5. If you encounter a scenario where 𝑀 > 𝑀𝑢 , one option is to change the dimensions of
the beam. A second option is to place steel in the compression zone to assist the concrete to carry the
compression. This second option is referred to as doubly reinforced concrete.

𝑥
𝐼𝑓 = 0.5, 𝑖. 𝑒. 𝑥 = 0.5𝑑 (𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡)
𝑑
∴ 𝑧 = 𝑑 − 0.45𝑥
= 𝑑 − 0.45(0.5𝑑)
= 𝑑 − 0.225𝑑
𝑧𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡 = 0.775𝑑

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 15

 𝐴𝑠𝑐 = 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑛
𝐴𝑠𝑡 = 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛
𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚, 𝑥 = 0.5𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑧 = 0.775𝑑
∑𝐹𝑥 = 0
𝑇=𝐶
0.87𝑓𝑦 𝐴𝑠𝑡 = 0.87𝑓𝑦 𝐴𝑠𝑐 + 0.405𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑥
0.87𝑓𝑦 𝐴𝑠𝑡 = 0.87𝑓𝑦 𝐴𝑠𝑐 + 0.405𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏(0.5𝑑)
0.87𝑓𝑦 𝐴𝑠𝑡 = 0.87𝑓𝑦 𝐴𝑠𝑐 + 0.2025𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑 … (𝑣𝑖𝑖𝑖)
∑𝑀 = 0
𝑀 = 𝑀1 + 𝑀2
𝑀1 = 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑑𝑢𝑒 𝑡𝑜 0.405𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑥
𝑀2 = 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑑𝑢𝑒 𝑡𝑜 0.87𝑓𝑦 𝐴𝑠𝑐

𝑀 = 0.156𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2 + 0.87𝑓𝑦 𝐴𝑠𝑐 (𝑑 − 𝑑′ ) {𝑅𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑒𝑞𝑛 (𝑣𝑖)}

𝑀 = 𝑀𝑢 + 0.87𝑓𝑦 𝐴𝑠𝑐 (𝑑 − 𝑑′ )
𝑀 − 𝑀𝑢
𝐴𝑠𝑐 = … (𝑖𝑥)
0.87𝑓𝑦 (𝑑 − 𝑑′)

Worked Example 5
Consider the following beam carrying a load. Evaluate:
i. The moment capacity (𝑀𝑢 ) of the beam;
ii. The beam is made to carry a bending moment of 500𝑘𝑁𝑚. design the beam. Take 𝑓𝑐𝑢 =
30𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 and 𝑓𝑦 = 460𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 .

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 16

 (𝑖) 𝑀𝑢 = 0.156𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2
𝑑 = 600𝑚𝑚 − 25𝑚𝑚 − 8𝑚𝑚 = 567𝑚𝑚
𝑀𝑢 = 0.156 × 30𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 250𝑚𝑚 × (567𝑚𝑚)2 × 10−6
𝑴𝒖 = 𝟑𝟕𝟔. 𝟏𝟒𝒌𝑵𝒎

(𝑖𝑖) 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑀 > 𝑀𝑢

𝑀 − 𝑀𝑢
𝐴𝑠𝑐 =
0.87𝑓𝑦 (𝑑 − 𝑑′ )

𝑑′ = 25𝑚𝑚 + 8𝑚𝑚 = 33𝑚𝑚

(500𝑘𝑁𝑚 − 376.14𝑘𝑁𝑚) × 106
𝐴𝑠𝑐 =
0.87 × 460𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × (576𝑚𝑚 − 33𝑚𝑚)

= 579.6𝑚𝑚2
𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝟑𝑻𝟏𝟔 (𝟔𝟎𝟑𝒎𝒎𝟐 )

𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑒𝑞𝑛. (𝑣𝑖𝑖𝑖), 0.87𝑓𝑦 𝐴𝑠𝑡 = 0.87𝑓𝑦 𝐴𝑠𝑐 + 0.2025𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑

0.156𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2 𝑀𝑢
0.2025𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑 = =
0.775𝑑 0.775𝑑

𝑀𝑢
∴ 𝐴𝑠𝑡 = 𝐴𝑠𝑐 + … (𝑥)
0.87𝑓𝑦 (0.775𝑑)

(376.14 × 106 )𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝐴𝑠𝑡 = 579.6𝑚𝑚2 +
0.87 × 460𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 0.775 × 567𝑚𝑚

= 2718.5𝑚𝑚2
𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝟑𝑻𝟑𝟐 + 𝟏𝑻𝟐𝟓

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 17

Worked Example 6: Use of Design Charts
A rectangular beam section 200𝑚𝑚 wide by 300𝑚𝑚 effective depth is subjected to an applied moment
of 123.3𝑘𝑁𝑚. The inset of the compression steel is 40𝑚𝑚. The materials are grade 30 concrete and
grade 460 reinforcement. Use the design chart provided to determine the areas of steel in compression
and tension for 𝑥 = 0.5𝑑.

𝑀 123.3 × 106 𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝐶𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒 = = 6.85
𝑏𝑑2 200𝑚𝑚 × (300𝑚𝑚)2

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 18

 100𝐴𝑠 100𝐴𝑠 ′
𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑡: = 2.14 𝑎𝑛𝑑 = 0.625 (𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦)
𝑏𝑑 𝑏𝑑

2.14 × 200𝑚𝑚 × 300𝑚𝑚

∴ 𝐴𝑠 = = 1284𝑚𝑚2 (𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝟐𝑻𝟐𝟓 + 𝟐𝑻𝟏𝟔(𝟏𝟑𝟖𝟒𝒎𝒎𝟐 ) )
100

0.625 × 200𝑚𝑚 × 300𝑚𝑚

𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦, 𝐴′𝑠 = = 375𝑚𝑚2 (𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝟐𝑻𝟏𝟔(𝟒𝟎𝟐𝒎𝒎𝟐 ))
100

𝑆𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑐ℎ:

𝑑𝑀
4.12 Shear ( = 𝑉)
𝑑𝑥
Bending moment is always accompanied by a shear force. Shear failures are abrupt and luck in ductility.
A typical concrete beam has some ability to resist shear due to the following:
i. Aggregate interlock: aggregate pieces resist moment along the failure plane.
ii. Dowel action: this is as a result of the reinforcement in the bottom (tension reinforcement).
iii. Concrete in compression zone: this concrete is under compression and minimum tension hence
it prevents cracks from progressing.

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 19

Figure 4.4

Figure 4.5

Shear cracks result in tensile forces developing in stirrups. The shear force V is causing the two parts of
the beam to separate from one another.

𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑟𝑟𝑢𝑝𝑠 = 0.87𝑓𝑦

𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑟𝑟𝑢𝑝𝑠 = 𝐴𝑠𝑣 (0.87𝑓𝑦 )
𝑑
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑟𝑢𝑝𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑛 =
𝑆𝑣
𝑑
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑟𝑟𝑢𝑝𝑠 = 𝐴𝑠𝑣 (0.87𝑓𝑦 ) = 𝑉 − 𝑉𝑐
𝑆𝑣
𝑉𝑐 = 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒
𝑉 = 𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑠 𝑉𝑐
𝑉 − 𝑉𝑐 = 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡

Shear force to be taken by the links is equated to the strength of the links, i.e.

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 20

 𝑑
𝐴𝑠𝑣 (0.87𝑓𝑦 ) = (𝑉 − 𝑉𝑐 )𝑏𝑑
𝑆𝑣
𝑏𝑆𝑣 (𝑉 − 𝑉𝑐 )
∴ 𝐴𝑠𝑣 =
0.87𝑓𝑦

4.11.1 Shear Design Procedure

Step 1: Calculate ѵ nominal shear stress. This is obtained from the Shear Force Diagram.
Step 2: Obtain the value of ѵ𝑐 from Table 3.8 in BS 8110.
Step 3: Compare ѵ and ѵ𝑐 .
a) If ѵ < 0.5ѵ𝑐 provide minimum links/nominal links.
0.4𝑏𝑆
b) If 0.5ѵ𝑐 < ѵ < ѵ𝑐 + 0.4 provide minimum links 𝐴𝑠𝑣 ≥ 0.95𝑓𝑣 (BS 8110: Table 3.7)
𝑦

c) If ѵ𝑐 + 0.4 < ѵ < 0.8√𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑜𝑟 5𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 provide links or links combined with bent-up bars
𝑏𝑆𝑣 (ѵ−ѵ𝑐 )
𝐴𝑠𝑣 ≥ 0.95𝑓𝑦
(BS 8110: Table 3.7)
d) If ѵ > 0.8√𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑜𝑟 5𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 then redesign the beam.

4.11.2 Shear Design Tables

The following tables, adapted from BS 8110, are used as design aids for shear design:

Values of design concrete shear stress, ѵ𝒄 (𝑵/𝒎𝒎𝟐 )

𝟏𝟎𝟎𝑨𝒔 Effective depth (d) (mm)
𝒃𝒅 125 150 175 200 225 250 300 ≥ 𝟒𝟎𝟎
≤ 𝟎. 𝟏𝟓 0.45 0.43 0.41 0.40 0.39 0.38 0.36 0.34
0.25 0.53 0.51 0.49 0.47 0.46 0.45 0.43 0.40
0.50 0.67 0.64 0.62 0.60 0.58 0.56 0.54 0.50
0.75 0.77 0.73 0.71 0.68 0.66 0.65 0.62 0.57
1.00 0.84 0.81 0.78 0.75 0.73 0.71 0.68 0.63
1.50 0.97 0.92 0.89 0.86 0.83 0.81 0.78 0.72
2.00 1.06 1.02 0.98 0.95 0.92 0.89 0.86 0.80
≥ 𝟑. 𝟎𝟎 1.22 1.16 1.12 1.08 1.05 1.02 0.98 0.91

𝑨𝒔𝒗
Values of , ѵ𝒄 (Diameter and spacing of links), (RC design BS-8110)
𝑺𝒗
Dia. Spacing of links (mm)
of 85 90 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300
links
(mm)
8 1.183 1.118 1.006 0.805 0.671 0.575 0.503 0.447 0.402 0.336 0.335
10 1.847 0.744 1.57 1.256 1.047 0.897 0.785 0.698 0.628 0.571 0.523
12 2.659 2.511 2.26 1.808 1.507 1.291 1.13 1.004 0.904 0.822 0.753
16 4.729 4.467 4.02 3.216 2.68 2.297 2.01 1.787 1.608 1.462 1.34

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 21

Form, area and spacing of links in beams
Values of ѵ (𝑵/𝒎𝒎𝟐) Area of shear reinforcement to be provided
ѵ < 𝟎. 𝟓ѵ𝒄 throughout the beam No links required but normal practice to
provide nominal links in members of
structural importance
𝟎. 𝟓ѵ𝒄 < ѵ < ѵ𝒄 + 𝟎. 𝟒 Nominal (or minimum) links for whole length
of beam
0.4𝑏𝑠𝑣
𝐴𝑠𝑣 ≥
0.87𝑓𝑦𝑣
(ѵ𝒄 + 𝟎. 𝟒) < ѵ < 𝟎. 𝟖√𝒇𝒄𝒖 Design links
𝑏𝑠𝑣 (ѵ − ѵ𝒄 )
𝐴𝑠𝑣 ≥
0.87𝑓𝑦𝑣

Worked Example 7
Design the beam in Worked Example 1 for shear. Take 𝑓𝑦𝑣 = 250𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 .

𝑉 = 50𝑘𝑁

𝑉 50 × 103
∴ѵ= = = 0.428𝑁/𝑚𝑚2
𝑏𝑑 250𝑚𝑚 × (500𝑚𝑚 − 25𝑚𝑚 − 8𝑚𝑚)

𝐴𝑠 (𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑒) = 402𝑚𝑚2

100𝐴𝑠 100 × 402𝑚𝑚2

∴ = = 0.344
𝑏𝑑 250𝑚𝑚 × 467𝑚𝑚

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 22

 ѵ𝑐 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑇𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 3.8 = 0.42

(𝟎. 𝟓ѵ𝒄 < ѵ < ѵ𝒄 + 𝟎. 𝟒) ∴ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒎 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒎
𝟐 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒔 𝑹𝟖 = 𝟏𝟎𝟏𝒎𝒎𝟐

0.4 × 250𝑚𝑚 × 𝑆𝑣
101𝑚𝑚2 ≥
0.95 × 250𝑁/𝑚𝑚2

239.9𝑚𝑚 ≥ 𝑆𝑣

∴ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑹𝟖 @ 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝒎𝒎 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 (𝟐 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒔)

𝑁𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑟𝑟𝑢𝑝𝑠 (𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙)

= 0.15%𝑏𝑑 = 0.15% × 250𝑚𝑚 × 467𝑚𝑚 = 175.1𝑚𝑚2

∴ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝟐𝑻𝟏𝟐 (𝟐𝟐𝟔𝒎𝒎𝟐 )

Worked Example 8
Design the beam in Worked Example 2 for shear. Take 𝑓𝑦𝑣 = 250𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 .

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 23

 𝑉 = 40𝑘𝑁

𝑉 40 × 103 𝑁
∴ѵ= = = 0.353𝑁/𝑚𝑚2
𝑏𝑑 200𝑚𝑚 × 567𝑚𝑚

𝐴𝑠 (𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑒) = 480𝑚𝑚2

100𝐴𝑠 100 × 480𝑚𝑚2

∴ = = 0.423
𝑏𝑑 200𝑚𝑚 × 567𝑚𝑚

ѵ𝑐 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑇𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 3.8 = 0.43

(𝟎. 𝟓ѵ𝒄 < ѵ < ѵ𝒄 + 𝟎. 𝟒) ∴ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒎 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒎
𝟐 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒔 𝑹𝟖 = 𝟏𝟎𝟏𝒎𝒎𝟐

0.4 × 200𝑚𝑚 × 𝑆𝑣
101𝑚𝑚2 ≥
0.95 × 250𝑁/𝑚𝑚2

299𝑚𝑚 ≥ 𝑆𝑣

∴ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑹𝟖 @ 𝟐𝟓𝟎𝒎𝒎 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 (𝟐 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒔)

𝑁𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑟𝑟𝑢𝑝𝑠 (𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙)

= 0.15%𝑏𝑑 = 0.15% × 200𝑚𝑚 × 567𝑚𝑚 = 170.1𝑚𝑚2

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 24

 ∴ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝟐𝑻𝟏𝟐 (𝟐𝟐𝟔𝒎𝒎𝟐 )

4.13 Design of Slabs

Slabs are horizontal plate elements forming floors and roofs in buildings. The overall depth/thickness of
slabs (h) is small compared to the width (b) and span (L). The bending behavior of slabs is generally
similar to that of beams therefore the design procedure of slabs is similar to that of beams which we
looked at in section 4.9.2. There are various types of reinforced concrete slabs such as solid slabs, ribbed
slabs, flat slabs and waffle slabs. These are shown in Figure 4.6 below:

Figure 4.6: Different types of slabs (L to R – Ribbed, Waffle, Flat)

Basically, slab design is easier as compared to beam design because:

(i) In the design calculation, slab width b is fixed to 1𝑚 or 1000𝑚𝑚.
(ii) The shear stress in slabs is very small unless the slab is subjected to a point load.
(iii) Compression reinforcement is not usually required.
(iv) Slabs usually support a udl.

When designing a slab, the length of the longer span is referred to as 𝑙𝑦 while the length of the shorter
span is referred to as 𝑙𝑥 as shown in Figure 4.7 below:

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 25

Figure 4.7

Each panel of a slab is described according to its boundary conditions. For example, in Figure 4.8, panel 1
is an interior panel in which all edges are continuous; panel 2 has one long edge being discontinuous;
panel 3 has two adjacent edges being discontinuous; and panel 4 has one short edge being
discontinuous.

Figure 4.8: Slab panels in a building floor plan

Let us consider the Bending Moment Diagram for a typical section of the slab in Figure 4.8.The typical
BMD for the section will be as shown in Figure 4.9. The moment distribution necessitates reinforcement
at the bottom and at mid-span is as shown also in Figure 4.9.

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 26

Figure 4.9

In BS 8110-1 Table 3.14, the bending unit coefficients for rectangular panels supported on 4 sides are
given as shown below:

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 27

4.13.1 Procedure of Design of Slabs
The following steps shall be used in the analysis and design of slabs:
(i) Obtain the loading on the slab.

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 28

 𝑙
(ii) Obtain 𝑙𝑦 and 𝑙𝑥 and calculate 𝑙𝑦 .
𝑥
(iii) Examine the boundary conditions of the slab and obtain the bending moment coefficients
𝛽𝑠𝑥 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝛽𝑠𝑦 from Table 3.14 .
(iv) Obtain the bending moments in the short span (both +ve and -ve).
(v) Obtain the bending moments in the long span (both +ve and -ve).
Note: Formula for bending moment = 𝛽 × 𝑛 × 𝑙𝑥 2.
(vi) Obtain the reinforcements required in the short span.
(vii) Obtain the reinforcements required in the long span.
Note: Use the same flow chart procedure as in beam design.
(viii) Detail the slab showing it in plan and cross-section.

Worked Example 9
The following slab is of a hospital building. The live load is 4.0 𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 . Assume the following additional
loadings, dimensions and material properties:
a) Partitions 4.0 𝑘𝑁/𝑚2
b) Slab: 150𝑚𝑚 thick.
c) Plaster: 25𝑚𝑚 thick.
d) Screed: 25𝑚𝑚 thick.
e) 𝑓𝑐𝑢 : 30𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 , 𝑓𝑦 : 415 𝑁/𝑚𝑚2

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟏: 𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈
𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈: 𝑮𝒌 (𝒌𝑵/𝒎𝟐 ) 𝑸𝒌 (𝒌𝑵/𝒎𝟐 )
𝑆𝑙𝑎𝑏 (24𝑘𝑁/𝑚3 × 0.15𝑚): 3.6
𝑆𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟 (24𝑘𝑁/𝑚3 × 0.05𝑚): 1.2
𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠: 4.0
𝐿𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑: 4.0
𝑻𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈: 𝟖. 𝟖 𝟒. 𝟎

𝑛𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 = 1.0 × 8.8𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 + 1.0 × 4.0𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 = 12.8𝑘𝑁/𝑚2

𝑛𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 = 1.4 × 8.8𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 + 1.6 × 4.0𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 = 18.72𝑘𝑁/𝑚2

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 29

 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟐: 𝑶𝒃𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒙
𝑙𝑦
𝑙𝒚 = 6.5𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑥 = 4.5𝑚; ∴ = 1.44
𝑙𝑥

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟑: 𝑶𝒃𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝜷 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑻𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝟑. 𝟏𝟒

𝐵𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑏: 𝑇𝑤𝑜 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑒𝑑𝑔𝑒𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑜𝑢𝑠
𝑙𝑦
𝑈𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 = 1.44 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑇𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 3.14 𝑤𝑒 𝑔𝑒𝑡:
𝑙𝑥
Type of panel and moments considered Short span coefficient 𝜷𝒔𝒙 Long span coefficient
𝑙 𝒍𝒚
Values of 𝑙𝑦 𝜷𝒔𝒚 for all values of 𝒍
𝑥 𝒙
1.5
Two adjacent edges discontinuous
Negative moment at continuous edge 0.074 0.045
Positive moment at mid-span 0.055 0.034

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟒: 𝑶𝒃𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒏

−𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑒𝑑𝑔𝑒: 0.074 × 18.72𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 × (4.5𝑚)2 = 28.05𝑘𝑁𝑚/𝑚
+𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑖𝑑 − 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑛: 0.055 × 18.72𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 × (4.5𝑚)2 = 20.85𝑘𝑁𝑚/𝑚

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟓: 𝑶𝒃𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒏

−𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑒𝑑𝑔𝑒: 0.045 × 18.72𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 × (4.5𝑚)2 = 17.06𝑘𝑁𝑚/𝑚
+𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑖𝑑 − 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑛: 0.034 × 18.72𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 × (4.5𝑚)2 = 12.89𝑘𝑁𝑚/𝑚

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟔: 𝑶𝒃𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒏

−𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡: 𝑀 = 28.05𝑘𝑁𝑚 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑏
𝑀𝑢 = 0.156𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2 = 0.156 × 30𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 1000𝑚𝑚 × (117𝑚𝑚)2
= 64064520𝑁𝑚𝑚 = 64.06𝑘𝑁𝑚

𝑀 < 𝑀𝑢 ∴ 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑜𝑘

𝑀 (28.05 × 106 )𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝑘= = = 0.0683
𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2 30𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 1000𝑚𝑚 × (117𝑚𝑚)2

𝑘 0.0683
𝑧 = 𝑑 (0.5 + √0.25 − ) = 117 (0.5 + √0.25 − ) = 107.32
0.9 0.9
𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑧 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 0.95𝑑
0.95𝑑 = 0.95 × 117 = 111.15
𝑧 < 0.95𝑑 ∴ 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑧 𝑜𝑓 107.32

𝑀 (28.05 × 106 )𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝐴𝑠𝑡 = = = 723.91𝑚𝑚2
0.87𝑓𝑦 𝑧 0.87 × 415𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 107.32𝑚𝑚

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 30

 ∴ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑻𝟏𝟎@𝟏𝟎𝟎𝒎𝒎 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 (𝟕𝟖𝟓𝒎𝒎𝟐 )

+𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡: 𝑀 = 20.85𝑘𝑁𝑚 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑏

𝑀𝑢 = 0.156𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2 = 0.156 × 30𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 1000𝑚𝑚 × (117𝑚𝑚)2
= 64064520𝑁𝑚𝑚 = 64.06. 𝑘𝑁𝑚

𝑀 < 𝑀𝑢 ∴ 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑜𝑘

𝑀 (20.85 × 106 )𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝑘= = = 0.0508
𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2 30𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 1000𝑚𝑚 × (117𝑚𝑚)2

𝑘 0.0508
𝑧 = 𝑑 (0.5 + √0.25 − ) = 117 (0.5 + √0.25 − ) = 109.97
0.9 0.9
𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑧 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 0.95𝑑
0.95𝑑 = 0.95 × 117 = 111.15
𝑧 < 0.95𝑑 ∴ 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑧 𝑜𝑓 109.97

𝑀 (20.85 × 106 )𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝐴𝑠𝑡 = = = 525.13𝑚𝑚2
0.87𝑓𝑦 𝑧 0.87 × 415𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 109.97𝑚𝑚
∴ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑻𝟏𝟎@𝟏𝟐𝟓𝒎𝒎 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 (𝟔𝟐𝟖𝒎𝒎𝟐 )

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟕: 𝑶𝒃𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒏

−𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡: 𝑀 = 17.06𝑘𝑁𝑚 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑏
𝑀𝑢 = 0.156𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2 = 0.156 × 30𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 1000𝑚𝑚 × (117𝑚𝑚)2
= 64064520𝑁𝑚𝑚 = 64.06𝑘𝑁𝑚

𝑀 < 𝑀𝑢 ∴ 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑜𝑘

𝑀 (17.06 × 106 )𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝑘= = = 0.0415
𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2 30𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 1000𝑚𝑚 × (117𝑚𝑚)2

𝑘 0.0415
𝑧 = 𝑑 (0.5 + √0.25 − ) = 117 (0.5 + √0.25 − ) = 111.33
0.9 0.9
𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑧 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 0.95𝑑
0.95𝑑 = 0.95 × 117 = 111.15
𝑧 > 0.95𝑑 ∴ 𝑤𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑧 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 111.15

𝑀 (17.06 × 106 )𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝐴𝑠𝑡 = = = 425.11𝑚𝑚2
0.87𝑓𝑦 𝑧 0.87 × 415𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 111.15𝑚𝑚
∴ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑻𝟏𝟎@𝟏𝟕𝟓𝒎𝒎 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 (𝟒𝟒𝟗𝒎𝒎𝟐 )

+𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡: 𝑀 = 12.89𝑘𝑁𝑚 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑏

𝑀𝑢 = 0.156𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2 = 0.156 × 30𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 1000𝑚𝑚 × (117𝑚𝑚)2
= 64064520𝑁𝑚𝑚 = 64.06𝑘𝑁𝑚

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 31

 𝑀 < 𝑀𝑢 ∴ 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑜𝑘

𝑀 (12.89 × 106 )𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝑘= = = 0.0314
𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2 30𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 1000𝑚𝑚 × (117𝑚𝑚)2

𝑘 0.0314
𝑧 = 𝑑 (0.5 + √0.25 − ) = 117 (0.5 + √0.25 − ) = 112.76
0.9 0.9
𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑧 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 0.95𝑑
0.95𝑑 = 0.95 × 117 = 111.15
𝑧 > 0.95𝑑 ∴ 𝑤𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑧 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 111.15

𝑀 (12.89 × 106 )𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝐴𝑠𝑡 = = = 321.20𝑚𝑚2
0.87𝑓𝑦 𝑧 0.87 × 415𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 111.15𝑚𝑚
∴ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑻𝟏𝟎@𝟐𝟐𝟓𝒎𝒎 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 (𝟑𝟒𝟗𝒎𝒎𝟐 )

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟖: 𝑫𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒃 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 − 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 32

Worked Example 10
A slab in an office building measuring 5𝑚 by 7.5𝑚 is simply supported at the edges. The slab is 175𝑚𝑚
thick and the total dead load including self-weight, plaster, screed, finishes, partitions etc. is 5𝑘𝑁/𝑚2.
The live load is 2.5𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 . Design the slab using grade 30 concrete and grade 415 reinforcement.

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟏: 𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈
𝑛𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 = 1.4 × 5𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 + 1.6 × 2.5𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 = 11𝑘𝑁/𝑚2

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟐: 𝑶𝒃𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒙

𝑙𝑦
𝑙𝒚 = 7.5𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑥 = 5𝑚; ∴ = 1.5
𝑙𝑥

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟑: 𝑶𝒃𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝜷 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑻𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝟑. 𝟏𝟒

𝐵𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑏: 𝐹𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑒𝑑𝑔𝑒𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑜𝑢𝑠
𝑙𝑦
𝑈𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 = 1.5 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑇𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 3.14 𝑤𝑒 𝑔𝑒𝑡:
𝑙𝑥
Type of panel and moments considered Short span coefficient 𝜷𝒔𝒙 Long span coefficient
𝑙 𝒍𝒚
Values of 𝑙𝑦 𝜷𝒔𝒚 for all values of 𝒍
𝑥 𝒙
1.5
Four edges discontinuous
Positive moment at mid-span 0.092 0.056

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟒: 𝑶𝒃𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒏

+𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑖𝑑 − 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑛: 0.092 × 11𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 × (5𝑚)2 = 25.3𝑘𝑁𝑚/𝑚

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟓: 𝑶𝒃𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒏

+𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑖𝑑 − 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑛: 0.056 × 11𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 × (5𝑚)2 = 15.4𝑘𝑁𝑚/𝑚

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟔: 𝑶𝒃𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒏

+𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡: 𝑀 = 25.3𝑘𝑁𝑚 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑏
𝑀𝑢 = 0.156𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2 = 0.156 × 30𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 1000𝑚𝑚 × (142𝑚𝑚)2
= 94367520𝑁𝑚𝑚 = 94.37𝑘𝑁𝑚

𝑀 < 𝑀𝑢 ∴ 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑜𝑘

𝑀 (25.3 × 106 )𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝑘= = = 0.0418
𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2 30𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 1000𝑚𝑚 × (142𝑚𝑚)2

𝑘 0.0418
𝑧 = 𝑑 (0.5 + √0.25 − ) = 142 (0.5 + √0.25 − ) = 135.07
0.9 0.9
𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑧 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 0.95𝑑

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 33

 0.95𝑑 = 0.95 × 142 = 134.9
𝑧 > 0.95𝑑 ∴ 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑧 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 134.9

𝑀 (25.3 × 106 )𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝐴𝑠𝑡 = = = 519.44𝑚𝑚2
0.87𝑓𝑦 𝑧 0.87 × 415𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 134.9𝑚𝑚
∴ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑻𝟏𝟎@𝟏𝟓𝟎𝒎𝒎 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 (𝟓𝟐𝟑𝒎𝒎𝟐 )

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟕: 𝑶𝒃𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒏

+𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡: 𝑀 = 15.4𝑘𝑁𝑚 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑏
𝑀𝑢 = 0.156𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2 = 0.156 × 30𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 1000𝑚𝑚 × (142𝑚𝑚)2
= 94367520𝑁𝑚𝑚 = 94.37𝑘𝑁𝑚

𝑀 < 𝑀𝑢 ∴ 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑜𝑘

𝑀 (15.4 × 106 )𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝑘= = = 0.0255
𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2 30𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 1000𝑚𝑚 × (142𝑚𝑚)2

𝑘 0.0255
𝑧 = 𝑑 (0.5 + √0.25 − ) = 142 (0.5 + √0.25 − ) = 137.86
0.9 0.9
𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑧 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 0.95𝑑
0.95𝑑 = 0.95 × 142 = 134.9
𝑧 > 0.95𝑑 ∴ 𝑤𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑧 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 134.9

𝑀 (15.4 × 106 )𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝐴𝑠𝑡 = = = 316.19𝑚𝑚2
0.87𝑓𝑦 𝑧 0.87 × 415𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 134.9𝑚𝑚
∴ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑻𝟏𝟎@𝟐𝟐𝟓𝒎𝒎 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 (𝟑𝟒𝟗𝒎𝒎𝟐 )

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟖: 𝑫𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒃 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 − 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 34

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 35
4.14 Design of Staircases
The most basic definition of a staircase is “a one way spanning, inclined slab”. A staircase consists of a
series of steps with rises and treads. Rises are the vertical edges of the steps and treads are the horizontal
edges where we step on. The part between the steps and the soffit of the staircase is known as the waist
of the staircase. These are illustrated in Figure 4.10.

Figure 4.10

The following formula is used to calculate the average thickness of the staircase in order to enable the
calculation of dead load:
ℎ√𝑇 2 + 𝑅 2 𝑅
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 = +
𝑇 2
𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒: ℎ = 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒
𝑇 = 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑
𝑅 = 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒
A staircase can either be a transverse spanning stair slab or more commonly a longitudinal spanning stair
slab. A transverse spanning stair slab spans between two walls; a wall and a beam; or between two beams.
A longitudinal spanning slab on the other hand spans between supports at the top and at the bottom of
the flight. The supports may be walls, beams or landing slabs. A common type of stair case is shown in
Figure 4.11.

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 36

Figure 4.11

The effective span, l, lies between the top landing beam and the centre of the support in the wall. The
typical arrangement of the reinforcement is shown in Figure 4.11. Secondary reinforcement runs
transversely across the stairs.

If the total design load on the staircase is 𝑊, then the positive moment at midspan and the negative
𝑊𝑙
moment above the supports are both taken as 10 .

The British Standards code requirements for loading on stairs are given in BS 6399-1:1996 Table 1 and the
design and detailing requirements are given in BS 8110-1:1997 in section 3.10.

Worked Example 11
A reinforced concrete staircase for office use is shown in the figure below. It is connected to a landing at
the upper part and supported by a beam at the end of the landing. At the lower end, the stair is supported
by a beam and continuous with the floor slab. Design the stair case using grade 25 concrete and grade

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 37

415 steel. The imposed load is 2.5𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 and finishes is 0.5𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 . Nominal cover is 25𝑚𝑚 and the
width of the stair case is 1500𝑚𝑚. The thickness of the landing is 150𝑚𝑚 thd the thickness of the waist
is 150𝑚𝑚. Design the reinforcement of the staircase.

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟏: 𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈
ℎ√𝑇 2 + 𝑅 2 𝑅
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑦: +
𝑇 2
150𝑚𝑚√(250𝑚𝑚)2 + (170𝑚𝑚)2 170𝑚𝑚
= +
250𝑚𝑚 2
= 266.39𝑚𝑚
𝐷𝐿 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑠 = (24𝑘𝑁/𝑚3 × 0.266𝑚) + 0.5𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 = 6.88𝑘𝑁/𝑚2
𝐿𝐿 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑠 = 2.5𝑘𝑁/𝑚2
∴ 𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 = 1.4 × 6.88𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 + 1.6 × 2.5𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 = 13.62𝑘𝑁/𝑚2

𝐷𝐿 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 = (24𝑘𝑁/𝑚3 × 0.15𝑚) + 0.5𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 = 4.1𝑘𝑁/𝑚2

𝐿𝐿 𝑜𝑛 𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 = 2.5𝑘𝑁/𝑚2
∴ 𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 = 1.4 × 4.1𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 + 1.6 × 2.5𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 = 9.74𝑘𝑁/𝑚2

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 (𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑡ℎ) = 13.62𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 × 3.02𝑚2 + 9.74𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 × 1.4𝑚2

= 54.77𝑘𝑁

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟐:
𝑂𝑢𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑖𝑑𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑦:
𝑊𝑙
10
54.77𝑘𝑁 × 3.9𝑚
∴ 𝑀𝑎𝑝𝑝 = = 21.36𝑘𝑁𝑚
10

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟑:

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 38

 𝑀𝑢 = 0.156𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2
= 0.156 × 25𝑁/𝑚𝑚 × 1000𝑚𝑚 × (150𝑚𝑚 − 25𝑚𝑚 − 8𝑚𝑚)2
2

= 53387100𝑁𝑚𝑚
= 53.39𝑘𝑁𝑚

𝑀𝑎𝑝𝑝 < 𝑀𝑢 ∴ 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑜𝑘

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟒:
𝑀
𝑘=
𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝑏𝑑2

(21.36 × 106 )𝑁𝑚𝑚

=
25𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 1000𝑚𝑚 × 1172
= 0.0624

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟓:
𝑘
𝑧 = 𝑑 (0.5 + √0.25 − )
0.9

0.0624
= 117𝑚𝑚 (0.5 + √0.25 − )
0.9
= 108.23𝑚𝑚

0.95𝑑 = 0.95 × 117 = 111.15

𝑧 < 0.95𝑑 ∴ 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑧

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟔:
𝑀
𝐴𝑠𝑡 =
0.87𝑓𝑦 𝑧

(21.36 × 106 )𝑁𝑚𝑚

=
0.87 × 415𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 108.23𝑚𝑚
= 546.62𝑚𝑚2

𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑻𝟏𝟎@𝟏𝟐𝟓𝒎𝒎 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 (𝟔𝟐𝟖𝒎𝒎𝟐 )

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟕: 𝑺𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒄𝒉

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 39

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 40
4.15 Design of Columns
Columns are structural elements in buildings that carry roof and floor loads to the foundations. A column
stack in a multistory building is shown in Figure 4.12. Columns primarily carry axial loads but most columns
will be subjected to both axial loads and a moment. Referring to Figure 4.13, the internal column A is
designed for axial loads and the edge column B and corner column C are designed for both axial loads and
bending moments.

Figure 4.12: Column Stack Figure 4.13: Floor Plan of a Building

Most columns are termed as short and will fail when the material reaches its ultimate capacity under
applied loads and moments. Slender columns buckle and the additional moments caused by deflection
must be taken into account for design purposes. In BS 8110-1:1997, columns are covered in section 3.8.

4.15.1 Short Braced Axially Loaded Columns

In these types of columns, both the longitudinal steel and the concrete assist in carrying the load. The
links prevent the longitudinal bars from buckling. BS 8110-1:1997 clause 3.8.4.3 gives the following
expression for the ultimate load 𝑁 that a short braced axially loaded column can support:
𝑁 = 0.4𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝐴𝑐 + 0.8𝐴𝑠𝑐 𝑓𝑦

𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒: 𝑁 = 𝑈𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑

𝑓𝑐𝑢 = 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑒
𝐴𝑐 = 𝑁𝑒𝑡 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 − 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑛
𝐴𝑠𝑐 = 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
𝑓𝑦 = 𝑅𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑒

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 41

Worked Example 12
A short braced column has to carry an axial load of 1366𝑘𝑁. The column size is 250𝑚𝑚 square. Find the
steel area required for the longitudinal reinforcement and select suitable bars. The materials are grade
30 concrete and grade 460 reinforcement.

𝑆𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑:

𝑁 = 0.4𝑓𝑐𝑢 𝐴𝑐 + 0.8𝐴𝑠𝑐 𝑓𝑦
1366000𝑁 = (0.4 × 30𝑁/𝑚𝑚 × ((250𝑚𝑚 × 250𝑚𝑚) − 𝐴𝑠𝑐 )) + (0.8𝐴𝑠𝑐 × 460𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 )
2

𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝐴𝑠𝑐 = 1730.3𝑚𝑚2

𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝟒𝑻𝟐𝟓 (𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟑. 𝟓𝒎𝒎𝟐 )

𝐿𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 6𝑚𝑚 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑟 1⁄4 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑠;
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 12 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑠.
∴ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑹𝟖@𝟑𝟎𝟎𝒎𝒎 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒔

𝑆𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑐ℎ:

4.15.2 Short Columns subjected to axial load and bending about one axis
A symmetrically reinforced column subjected to the ultimate axial load N and ultimate moment M is
shown in Figure 4.14.

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 42

Figure 4.14
𝑀
The moment is equivalent to the axial load acting at an eccentricity e, i.e. = 𝑒. Depending on the
𝑁
relative values of M and N, the following two main cases occur for analysis:
(i) Compression over the whole section where the neutral axis lies at the edge or outside the
section with both rows of steel bars in compression.
(ii) Compression on one side of the concrete and steel bars and tension on the other side of the
concrete and steel bars with the neutral axis lying in between the two rows of steel bars.
Solution of design problems involving axial load and moment can be either by calculation or by design
charts. Design charts are found in BS 8110 Part 3. Design curves can be drawn for a given grade of
100𝐴𝑠𝑐⁄
concrete and steel for a section with a given percentage of reinforcement, 𝑏ℎ symmetrically
placed at a given location 𝑑⁄ℎ. The curve is formed by plotting values of 𝑁⁄𝑏ℎ against 𝑀⁄ 2 for various
𝑏ℎ
positions of the neutral axis 𝑥. The family of curves forms the design charts for various combinations of
materials and steel location.

Worked Example 13
A short braced column is subjected to an ultimate load of 1480𝑘𝑁 and an ultimate moment of 54𝑘𝑁𝑚.
The column section is 300𝑚𝑚 square. Determine the area of steel required. The materials are grade 30
concrete and grade 460 reinforcement. Assume 25𝑚𝑚 diameter main bars and 8𝑚𝑚 diameter links.
The cover to the links is 25𝑚𝑚. Use the chart provided.

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 43

 𝑑 = 300𝑚𝑚 − 25𝑚𝑚 − 8𝑚𝑚 − 12.5𝑚𝑚 = 254.5𝑚𝑚
𝑑 254.5𝑚𝑚
= ≈ 0.85
ℎ 300𝑚𝑚

𝑁 1480000𝑁
= = 16.4𝑁/𝑚𝑚2
𝑏ℎ 300𝑚 × 300𝑚𝑚

𝑀 54 × 106 𝑁𝑚𝑚
= = 2.0
𝑏ℎ2 300𝑚𝑚 × (300𝑚𝑚)2

𝑁 𝑀 100𝐴𝑠𝑐
𝑈𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑑 2
, 𝑤𝑒 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 ≈2
𝑏ℎ 𝑏ℎ 𝑏ℎ

∴ 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝐴𝑠𝑐 𝑎𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑤:

100𝐴𝑠𝑐
=2
300𝑚𝑚 × 300𝑚𝑚

∴ 𝐴𝑠𝑐 = 1800𝑚𝑚2
𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝟒𝑻𝟐𝟓(𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟑. 𝟓𝒎𝒎𝟐 )

𝐿𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 6𝑚𝑚 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑟 1⁄4 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑠;
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 12 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑠.
∴ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑹𝟖@𝟑𝟎𝟎𝒎𝒎 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒔

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 44

 𝑆𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑐ℎ:

4.15.3 Short Columns subjected to axial load and bending about both axes
The method of design is given in BS 8110-1:1997 clause 3.8.4.5. The method is derived from the failure
surface theory and consists in designing a section subjected to biaxial bending for an increased moment
about one axis. The main design axis depends on the relative values of the moments and the column
section dimensions. The amount of increase depends on the ratio of the axial load to the capacity under
the axial load only. The following terms are defined:

𝑀𝑥 − 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑋𝑋 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠

𝑀𝑥′ − 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑋𝑋 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠
𝑀𝑦 − 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑌𝑌 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠
𝑀𝑦′ − 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑌𝑌 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠
ℎ − 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑋𝑋 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠
ℎ′ − 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑋𝑋 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠
𝑏 − 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑌𝑌 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠
𝑏 ′ − 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑌𝑌 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠

The applied moment and dimensions are shown in Figure 4.15.

𝑀𝑥 𝑀𝑦 ℎ′
𝐼𝑓 ≥ 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑀𝑥′ = 𝑀𝑥 + 𝛽 𝑀𝑦
ℎ′ 𝑏′ 𝑏′

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 45

 𝑀𝑥 𝑀𝑦 𝑏′
𝐼𝑓 < 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑀𝑦′ = 𝑀𝑦 + 𝛽 𝑀𝑥
ℎ′ 𝑏′ ℎ′

𝛽 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑏𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑇𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 3.22 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑑𝑒

Worked Example 14
Design the reinforcement for the column shown in the figure below, which is subject to the following
actions:
𝑈𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑁 = 950𝑘𝑁
𝑀𝑥 = 95𝑘𝑁𝑚
𝑀𝑦 = 65𝑘𝑁𝑚
The materials are grade 30 concrete and grade 460 reinforcement. Assume cover is 25𝑚𝑚, links are
8𝑚𝑚 in diameter and main bars are 32𝑚𝑚 in diameter.

ℎ′ = 400𝑚𝑚 − 25𝑚𝑚 − 8𝑚𝑚 − 16𝑚𝑚 = 351𝑚𝑚

𝑏 ′ = 300𝑚𝑚 − 25𝑚𝑚 − 8𝑚𝑚 − 16𝑚𝑚 = 251𝑚𝑚

𝑀𝑥 95 × 106 𝑁𝑚𝑚
= = 270655.3𝑁
ℎ′ 351𝑚𝑚

𝑀𝑦 65 × 106 𝑁𝑚𝑚
= = 258964.14𝑁
𝑏′ 251𝑚𝑚

𝑀𝑥 𝑀𝑦
𝑆𝑜 > ′ ∴ 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑋𝑋 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑
ℎ′ 𝑏
ℎ′
𝑤𝑒 ′ 𝑙𝑙 𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑀𝑥′ = 𝑀𝑥 + 𝛽 𝑀𝑦
𝑏′

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 46

 𝑁 950000𝑁
= = 0.2639
𝑏ℎ𝑓𝑐𝑢 300𝑚𝑚 × 400𝑚𝑚 × 30𝑁/𝑚𝑚2

∴ 𝛽 = 0.693

351𝑚𝑚
𝑀𝑥′ = 95 × 106 𝑁𝑚𝑚 + (0.693 × × 65 × 106 𝑁𝑚𝑚)
251𝑚𝑚
= 157991215.1𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝑁𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑤𝑒 ′ 𝑙𝑙 𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑡 28 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝐵𝑆 8110 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑡 3 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
𝑑 350𝑚𝑚
𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 0.85, 𝑖. 𝑒
ℎ 400𝑚𝑚

𝑁 950000𝑁
= = 7.92𝑁/𝑚𝑚2
𝑏ℎ 300𝑚 × 400𝑚𝑚

𝑀𝑥′ 157991215.1𝑁𝑚𝑚
2
= = 3.29
𝑏ℎ 300𝑚𝑚 × (400𝑚𝑚)2

𝑁 𝑀𝑥′ 100𝐴𝑠𝑐
𝑈𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑑 2
, 𝑤𝑒 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 ≈ 1.4
𝑏ℎ 𝑏ℎ 𝑏ℎ

∴ 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝐴𝑠𝑐 𝑎𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑤:

100𝐴𝑠𝑐
= 1.4
300𝑚𝑚 × 400𝑚𝑚

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 47

 ∴ 𝐴𝑠𝑐 = 1680𝑚𝑚2
𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝟒𝑻𝟐𝟓(𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟑. 𝟓𝒎𝒎𝟐 )

𝐿𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 6𝑚𝑚 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑟 1⁄4 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑠;
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 12 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑠.
∴ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑹𝟖@𝟑𝟎𝟎𝒎𝒎 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒔

𝑆𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑐ℎ:

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 48

4.16 Design of Foundations
Foundations transfer loads from the building or individual columns to the earth. The following are the
main types of foundations:
(i) Isolated bases for individual columns.
(ii) Combined bases for several columns.
(iii) Rafts for whole buildings which may incorporate basements.

All the above foundations may bear directly on the ground or be supported by piles. An example of
isolated bases for individual columns is shown in Figure 4.15 and an example of pile foundation is shown
in Figure 4.16. The type of foundation to be used depends on a number of factors such as:
(i) The soil properties and conditions.
(ii) The type of structure and loading.
(iii) The permissible amount of differential settlement.

Figure 4.15: Isolated Bases Figure 4.16: Steel Piles

The size of a foundation bearing directly on the ground depends on the safe bearing pressure of the soil,
which is taken to mean the bearing pressure that can be imposed without causing excessive settlement.
Generally, site load tests and laboratory tests on soil samples should be carried out to determine soil
properties for foundation design. Bases are covered in section 3.11 of BS 8110 Part 1.

4.16.1 Isolated bases for individual columns

Isolated pad bases are square or rectangular slabs provided under individual columns. They spread the
concentrated column load safely to the ground and may be axially or eccentrically loaded. Normally, a
reinforced base is required though at times, in cases of light foundations, mass concrete bases may be
used. We shall discuss by way of example.
Worked Example 15
A column 400𝑚𝑚 × 400𝑚𝑚 carries a dead load of 800𝑘𝑁 and an imposed load of 300𝑘𝑁. The safe
bearing pressure is 200𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 . Design a square base to resist the load. The concrete is grade 35 and the
reinforcement is grade 460. The condition of exposure is moderate for non-aggressive soil and the
nominal cover is 40𝑚𝑚 for concrete cast against blinding.

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 49

 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟏: 𝑺𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆

𝐴𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑠 80𝑘𝑁.

𝑆𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 = 800𝑘𝑁 + 300𝑘𝑁 + 80𝑘𝑁 = 1180𝑘𝑁.
𝑆𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 1180𝑘𝑁
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒 = = = 5.9𝑚2
𝑆𝑎𝑓𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 200𝑘𝑁/𝑚2

∴ 𝑆𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒 = √5.9𝑚2 = 2.43𝑚

𝑆𝑜 𝑤𝑒 ′ 𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 2.5𝑚 × 2.5𝑚

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟐: 𝑴𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒍

𝑈𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 = (1.4 × 800𝑘𝑁) + (1.6 × 300𝑘𝑁) = 1600𝑘𝑁

𝑈𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 1600𝑘𝑁
𝑈𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 = = = 256𝑘𝑁/𝑚2
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒 6.25𝑚2
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑌𝑌 𝑎𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑤:

𝑀𝑌𝑌 = 256𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 × 1.05𝑚 × 2.5𝑚 × 0.525𝑚 = 352.8𝑘𝑁𝑚

𝑇𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 500𝑚𝑚 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 20𝑚𝑚 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑠

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 500𝑚𝑚 − 40𝑚𝑚 − 10𝑚𝑚 = 450𝑚𝑚
𝑁𝑜𝑡𝑒: 𝑊𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑏 𝑜𝑓 1000𝑚𝑚 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑤𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑏 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛.

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟑: 𝑼𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑨𝒔𝒕 :

𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 352.8𝑘𝑁𝑚

𝑀𝑢 = 0.156 × 35𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 1000𝑚𝑚 × (450𝑚𝑚)2 = 1105.65𝑘𝑁𝑚
𝑀𝑎𝑝𝑝 < 𝑀𝑢 ∴ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑘

352.8 × 106 𝑁𝑚𝑚

𝑘= = 0.0581
30𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 1000𝑚𝑚 × (450𝑚𝑚)2

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 50

 0.0581
𝑧 = 450𝑚𝑚 (0.5 + √0.25 − ) = 308.45𝑚𝑚
0.9

0.95𝑑 = 0.95 × 450𝑚𝑚 = 427.5𝑚𝑚

𝑧 < 0.95𝑑 𝑠𝑜 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑧

352.8 × 106
𝐴𝑠𝑡 = = 2858𝑚𝑚2 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒
0.87 × 460𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 × 308.45𝑚𝑚

𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑻𝟐𝟎@𝟏𝟎𝟎𝒎𝒎 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 (𝟑𝟏𝟒𝟐𝒎𝒎𝟐 )

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟒: 𝑪𝒉𝒆𝒄𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓

𝑃𝑢𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑠. 𝑃𝑢𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝑎 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓
1.5𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒; 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒 1.5 × 450𝑚𝑚 = 675𝑚𝑚

∴ 𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 4 × 1750𝑚𝑚 = 7000𝑚𝑚 (𝑆𝑒𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑤)

𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑉 = 𝑈𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 × 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟

= 256𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 × ((2.5𝑚)2 − (1.75𝑚)2 ) = 816𝑘𝑁

𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 816 × 1000𝑁

𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 ѵ = = = 0.26𝑁/𝑚𝑚2
𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 × 𝑑 7000𝑚𝑚 × 450𝑚𝑚

ѵ𝑐 𝑖𝑠 0.34𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑇𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 3.8 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑑𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 100𝐴𝑠 ⁄𝑏𝑑 ≤ 0.15
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑠𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒
𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 90° 𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠.

𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑛:

𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑉 = 𝑈𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 × 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 51

 = 256𝑘𝑁/𝑚2 × ((2.5𝑚)2 − (0.4𝑚)2 )) = 1559.04𝑘𝑁

𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 1559.04 × 1000𝑁

𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 ѵ = = = 2.17𝑁/𝑚𝑚2
𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 × 𝑑 (4 × 400𝑚𝑚) × 450𝑚𝑚

2.17𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 < 0.8√𝑓𝑐𝑢 (𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 3.4.5.2) 𝑠𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑠𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟓: 𝑺𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒄𝒉:

STRUCTURES II: By Alexander Akhubi pg. 52