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Lecture 1.1: Introduction to Reinforced Concrete

Lecture outline:
1. Definition of structural engineering
2. Design of concrete structures in Canada
3. Use of reinforced concrete in structures
4. Advantages and disadvantages of reinforced concrete
5. Concrete vs. Reinforced Concrete
6. Reinforced concrete building components and building types
7. Floor/roof structural systems and Framing options
8. Construction of reinforced concrete buildings
9. History of concrete as a building material

1. Definition of structural engineering

Definition of Structural Engineering:

The art of using materials …

[that have properties that can only be approximated]

….to build real structures …

[that can only be analyzed approximately]

… to resist forces …
[that are not precisely known]

… such that we satisfy our responsibilities regarding the safety of the public.

Design requirements:
A reinforced concrete structure as a whole and the various structural elements must be
designed and sized in to order to satisfy the following requirements:

 Structural safety
 Serviceability
 Durability
 Fire resistance

 While also considering: Economics, functional requirements, etc...

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2. Design of Concrete Structures in Canada

National Building Code of Canada (NBC)

 Part 4: Defines loads that must be considered in the design of concrete structures
 Defines applicable "design standards" for different structural materials
 Current edition: 2015
 Previous edition: 2010

NBCC 2010 NBCC 2015

CSA A23.3 Standard - Design of concrete structures

 Design of reinforced concrete structures in Canada is based on "CSA A23.3 - Design of
concrete structures"
 Published by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA)
 Current edition: 2014 (This is the 6th edition of this standard)
 Previous editions: 2004, 1994, 1984, 1977 (metric), and 1973 (imperial), 1959

Concrete Design Handbook (CDH)

 Published by the Cement Association of Canada (CAC)
 Part 1
 CSA A23.3-14—Design of Concrete Structures
 Explanatory Notes on CSA Standard A23.3-14
 Part 2
 Design Aids and examples
 Topics: (1) General, (2) Design for Flexure, (3) Development and Splices of
Reinforcement, (4) Shear and Torsion, (5) Slabs, (6) Deflections, (7)Short Columns,
(8) Slender Columns, (9) Foundations, (10) Prestressed Concrete, (11) Seismic, (12)
Concrete Anchorage, (13) Tilt-up Concrete Wall Panels

 Current edition: Fourth Edition of Handbook (is based on CSA A23.3-14)

 Previous edition: Third Edition of Handbook (was based on CSA A23.3-04)

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 Section 4.3 of Division B of the NBC lists the standards for structural design

 Scope of CSA A23.3-14:

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Changes in CSA23.3-14 vs. CSA A23.3-04

There are several important revisions in the 2014 edition (CSA A23.3-14) of the standard when
compared to the 2004 edition (CSA A23.3-04). The primary revisions are outlined in the
paragraphs below which are taken from the introductory notes to the CSA A23.3-14:
a) Clause 3.1 contains new definitions for conventional construction, moderately ductile wall systems, different types of tilt-up construction,
and gravity-load resisting frames.

b) Clause 7.4.3.1 contains new requirements for the clear distance between pretensioning wires or strands at the ends of members. Clause
7.6.5 contains new requirements for additional column ties in column-slab connections over the slab depth where the slab is discontinuous.
In Clause 7.6.4, the minimum diameter of spiral reinforced has been changed to 10 mm and the limit of one-sixth of the core diameter for
the clear spacing between successive turns in a spiral has been removed. Clause 7.7.3 has new requirements for column ties in beam-
column joints.

c) Clause 9.2.1.2 gives guidance on stiffnesses to be used in members of lateral load resisting systems for wind loading. Clause 9.8
provides cautionary notes on member minimum thickness requirements and accounting for construction stages and early loading in
computing deflections.

d) Clause 10.9.4 contains a new requirement for the required ratio of spiral reinforcement. Clause 10.10.4 has increased the maximum
factored axial load resistance of spirally reinforced columns and contains new provisions for the resistance of compression members as a
function of wall thickness. Clause 10.16.3 provides a new factor for determining the amplitude of sway moments.

e) Changes to the shear design provisions in Clause 11 include the following: the need to account for cover spalling for members subjected
to high shear stress; new requirement for sections near supports; definition of special member types; accounting for effect of bars
terminated in the flexural tension zone; and increased spacing limit for transverse reinforcement for special cases. Changes to the strut-
and-tie design provisions of Clause 11.4 include the following: introduction of refined strut-and-tie models; modelling of members subjected
to uniform loads; revised strut dimensions for struts anchored by reinforcement and for struts in narrow part of fanning compression regions;
simplified expression for limiting compressive stress in struts; new detailing requirements for anchorage of ties; and provisions accounting
for confinement of bearing in nodal regions.

f) Clause 13 on two-way slab systems has been revised to include the following: the use of dv in determining the one-way shear resistance;
new details for bottom bars in column strips of slabs with drop panels (see Figure 13.1); and a change in the definition of Vse for the design
of structural integrity reinforcement (see Clauses 13.10.6.1 and 3.2).

g) Clause 14 contains a new requirement to account for strong axis bending in bearing walls and new wall thickness requirements and
slenderness requirements for flexural shear walls.

h) Clause 18.3.1 permits a higher compressive stress limit in the concrete at transfer at the ends of simply supported members.

i) Clause 21 on special provisions for seismic design has a number of significant changes. This Clause has been reorganized so that all the
requirements for ductile frames are in Clause 21.3, while all the requirements for moderately ductile frames are in Clause 21.4. New
dimensional limitations for moderately ductile moment-resisting frames have been added in Clause 21.4.2. The requirements 17 for
moderately ductile shear walls have been spelled out in greater detail, and because of the significant overlap with the requirements for
ductile shear walls, the requirements for moderately ductile and ductile shear walls are presented together in Clause 21.5. All shear wall
design requirements that were redundant with Clause 14 have been removed from Clause 21. Thus, the designer of seismic shear walls
must look to Clause 14 for important requirements such as dimensional limitations, transfer of forces across construction joints, and many
other requirements. The requirements for strength and ductility over the height of shear walls in Clause 21.5.2 have been expanded. New
requirements have been added for the design for bending moment and shear force below the plastic hinge at the base, and for the
increased shear force in walls due to the inelastic effects of higher modes. New requirements have been added in Clause 21.5.5 for the
anchorage of horizontal reinforcement at the ends of walls depending on the level of ductility. New requirements have been added in
Clause 21.5.7 to ensure that walls have adequate ductility to tolerate some yielding near mid-height due to higher mode bending moments.
The design requirements for two new types of reinforced concrete SFRS - moderately ductile coupled walls and moderately ductile partially
coupled walls - have been added in Clause 21.5.8. The requirements for squat shear walls in Clause 21.5.10 have been relaxed where the
walls are longer than needed. The requirements for conventional construction shear walls in Clause 21.6.3 have been expanded. New
requirements for the design and detailing of tilt-up construction, including moderately ductile and limited ductility tilt-up walls and frames, are
presented in Clause 21.7. New requirements for the design of foundations are presented in Clause 21.10, including the requirement to
consider foundation movements. New requirements are presented in Clause 21.11 to ensure that all members not considered part of the
seismic-force-resisting system have adequate displacement capacity.

j) Clause 23.2.9 provides revised design provisions for structural integrity of tilt-up construction. The effective area of reinforcement used to
calculate the factored resisting moment has been modified.

k) Annex D on anchorage has been modified to include changes to the requirements specified in Appendix D of ACI 318M-11/318RM-11,
Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete and Commentary. Annex D provides new provisions for the bond strength of adhesive
anchors in tension; installation of horizontal and upwardly inclined adhesive anchors; the bond strength of adhesive anchors in tension; the
resistance of anchors for load cases involving earthquake effects; revised breakout resistance in shear for an anchor in cracked concrete;
and new requirements for the installation of anchors.

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3. Use of reinforced concrete in structures

Type of structure example

Burj Khalifa
High-rise Buildings
Petronas towers

Mid/Low rise buildings:

 Residential
 Commercial
 Parking structures
 Others

Stadiums/ theatres Sydney Opera House

Bridges
 Highway bridges Confederation Bridge
 Long span bridges

Tunnels The Channel Tunnel

Offshore platforms
Hibernia

Hoover dam
Dams

Telecommunications CN Tower

Other!

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4. Advantages and disadvantages of using reinforced concrete:
Advantages:
 Materials are readily available
 Relatively inexpensive
 Relatively easy to construct
 Fire-resistance
 Ability to shape into various forms
 Ability to redistribute forces if overloaded
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Disadvantages:
 Labour-intensive
 Requires formwork and shoring
 Longer construction schedule due to curing time
 Larger, heavier member sizes
 Quality control is of outmost importance
o Selection of materials and Mix design
o Reinforcement placement
o Concrete placement and Curing
 Difficult to modify once constructed
 Failures can be catastrophic
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5. Concrete vs. Reinforced Concrete

Concrete:
Concrete is a composite material that is made from two main materials:
 Cement paste (binder)
 Aggregates (filler)

Natural ingredients: Manufactured ingredients:

Cement Paste Water Portland cement
Air
Aggregates Natural sand
Gravel
Crushed stone
Supplementary ingredients Mineral admixtures
Chemical admixtures
Fibre reinforcement

As a result of a chemical reaction between the water and cement (hydration), the cement
paste glues the “aggregates” and hardens resulting in a stone like mass.

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Why do we use reinforced concrete?

Concrete has a high compressive strength but a very low tensile strength. Because of this,
concrete is rarely used without the addition of steel reinforcement.

Consider the following simply supported:

 If the beam is made of a homogenous material (e.g. steel) the stress distribution
would vary linearly from zero stresses @ neutral axis, to a maximum tensile or
compressive stress @ the top and bottom.

 However, in a concrete beam, the stress distribution is not the same:

 Above the neutral axis, the concrete carries all the compression, below the neutral
axis, the concrete is not able to carry tension, and therefore the concrete beam
would fail after the concrete tensile capacity is reached
 (it is also noted that the stress distribution will generally be non-linear)

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Reinforced concrete
With reinforced concrete we use the best qualities of both materials:
 Concrete’s good compressive strength
 Steel’s high tensile strength

The main idea in reinforced concrete design is to place steel reinforcement at locations
where excessive tensile stresses exist.

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Flexural reinforcement in beams:
 placed in tension regions
Transverse reinforcement in columns
 shear, confinement, bar buckling
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Transverse reinforcement in beams (shear)
Flexural reinforcement in slabs and walls
 Two-way slabs
o flexural reinforcement in 2 directions
 One-way slabs
o primary flexural reinforcement
o secondary reinf. for crack control
 Walls:
o longitudinal bars - flexure
o horizontal bars - shear
o also used to control cracking
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6. Basic Structural components & General RC building types

Basic structural components found in RC buildings include:

1) Floor and roof slabs:

 The main horizontal structural component in a building
 Carry gravity loads and (and with beams) transfer loads to vertical
components (columns, walls)
 Act as horizontal diaphragms: transfer lateral loads to the vertical components

2) Beams
 Usually cast monolithically with the slabs (not always required)
 Transmit the gravity loads from slabs to the vertical components

3) Columns
 Vertical components that support a structural floor system
 Usually subjected to combined axial load and bending

4) Walls
 Provide the vertical enclosure of a building
 Bearing walls: carry gravity loads
 Shear walls: carry lateral loads due to wind and earthquakes
 Basement walls: subjected to lateral soil pressure in addition to gravity loads

5) Foundations
 Transmit weight of the superstructure to the supporting soil
 Different types: spread footings, strip footings, piles, raft foundations

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General RC building types:

The following figures describe general reinforced concrete building types used in
construction (defined based on the type of gravity and lateral load system).

(source: FEMA 547: Techniques for seismic rehabilitation of existing buildings, 2006)

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7. Floor/roof systems and Framing options

Floor/roof structural systems:

1) Slab-beam-and-girder system
 Slabs are supported by “secondary” beams
 Beams are supported by “primary” beams called “girders” (these are larger
beams that carry the loads from the beams)
 Beams around the outside edges are called “spandrel” beams

2) Slab with beams

 The beams frame into the columns and support the slabs
 Beams and columns provide moment interaction which is essential for
carrying lateral loads
 One-way or two-way system (one-way system if span ratio > 2.0)

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3) Slab band system

 Uniform slab with thickened slab portions along the column lines (left figure)

4) Joist-floor system (also called pan-joist)

 Closely spaced joists (small beams) topped by reinforced concrete slab
 Beams perpendicular to the joists
 Slab, joists, beams cast integrally together

5) Flat plate and flat slab systems

 Two-way slab systems
 Flat-plate: this is a system without beams; slab directly supported by columns
 Flat-slab: Similar to the flat plate system but with capitals/drop panels
 Drop panel = thickened slab in column region
 Capital = thickened cap around column (below the drop panel)

6) Waffle slab system

 Two-way slab system
 Waffles are hollow spaces between the joists

1) Slab on grade
 A form of slab construction where the slab is placed directly on the ground
with the slab being supported directly by the earth beneath it

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Framing options:
1) Moment-resistant frame system
 Beams and columns form a frame system
 Gravity loads resisted by slabs/beams/columns
 Lateral loads resisted by specially detailed moment frames

2) Bearing-wall system
 Bearing walls carry gravity loads
 Bearing walls also act as shear walls to resist lateral loads

3) Frame/shear-wall system
 3-D frame structure used to support gravity loads (called gravity frame), while
shear walls (and or moment-frames) used to resist lateral loads (called lateral
force resisting system - LFRS)

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8. Construction of RC structures:

Concrete construction involves several activities including:

1. Structural design & Development of structural drawings
 The means of communication between the structural engineer and the
contractor

2. Construction estimating and tendering

 Estimating the amount of concrete, steel reinforcement, formwork, shoring
 Estimating amount of labour and time required for construction

3. Detailing of reinforcement and placing reinforcement

 The reinforcing contractor interprets the information on structural drawings
and produces reinforcing steel detail sheets
 These sheets used by the shop to cut and bends the rebar
 Other times cutting and bending is done on site
 Steel reinforcement is delivered to the site in bundles
 Rebar is placed

4. Installation of concrete formwork and shoring

 Formwork is a temporary structure (usually wood) that is constructed to form
the final shape of the structural members
 Formwork must be designed to carry weight of wet concrete and other
construction loads

5. Placing and curing of concrete

 Curing process is critical for fresh concrete to gain the required design
strength

6. Re-shoring and special construction procedures

 In some cases, formwork must be removed quickly (as little as 3 days) hence
proper shoring must be provided

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Construction methods:

1. Cast in place concrete

 Each element is built at the construction site by placing fresh concrete in
formwork

2. Precast concrete
 Concrete is cast in reusable forms at an industrial plant then transported to the
job site where the units are hoisted into place and connected in a manner
similar to structural steel (used primarily in bridges)

3. Tilt-up construction
 Precast wall panels are cast horizontally on the floor slab. Once the panels
have attained sufficient strength, a mobile crane sets them on footings
 This system is primarily used for single story structures

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9. History of concrete as a building material:

“Concrete” derives from latin verb “concrescrere” which means to “build together”.

The earliest applications of the use of concrete date back to the Roman era:
 The Romans used a special volcanic sand called “pozzuolana”, first found near
Pozzuoli in the bay of Naples, Italy. This substance was found to react with lime and
solidify into a rock-like mass
 From 300 B.C. to 476 A.D. this material was used in aqueducts, bridges and
impressive structures such as the Pantheon and Coliseum in Rome.

 1824: Joseph Aspdin, an English stone mason invented "Portland cement" by heating
a mixture of finely ground limestone and clay in his kitchen, creating a hydraulic
cement which strengthens with the addition of water. Aspidin named his product
“Portland cement” because it resembled the high quality stones quarried in the Isle of
Portland, off the coast of England

 1855: Joseph Lambot of France made a rowboat that consisted of wire framework
coated with cement mortar at an exhibition
o images on the right are from ASCE sponsored concrete canoe competition

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 1867: Joseph Monier, a French gardener, proposed the use of concrete with steel
reinforcement and patented his invention for flower pots!
o Later patented the use for reservoirs, pipes, slabs, staircases …
o Monier is often credited as being the inventor of reinforced concrete

 1860-1880: Francois Coignet, a builder in France, responsible for the first widespread
use of concrete in buildings (used for several large scale houses)

 1887: The first textbook on reinforced concrete was published under the title “The
Monier system”

 1892: Francois Hannebique (France), demonstrates the utility of stirrups to reinforce

beams against shear.

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 1890-1900, various investigators in Europe published theories and test results from
experiments conducted on reinforced concrete
 1900+: Progress is rapid due to research at universities worldwide.
 By the early 1900s: Basic theoretical principles of RC design are well understood.

 1930: The invention of prestressed concrete by the French engineer Eugene

Freyssinet (he is often called the father of “prestressing”)

American Concrete Institute (ACI):

 1905: National Association of Cement Users adopted a constitution and bylaws.
1913: name changed to American Concrete Institute (ACI).
 1910: "Standard Building Regulations for the Use of Reinforced Concrete" became
the association's first reinforced concrete building code.
 Now known as "ACI 318 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete"
 Note: Design of reinforced concrete structures in Canada is based on "CSA A23.3 -
Design of concrete structures", published by Canadian Standards Association (CSA)

Use of reinforced concrete in United States:

 1871: W. E. Ward builds the first reinforced concrete building in New York.
 1889: the 1st reinforced concrete bridge is built in California
 1902: The 1st concrete high-rise building:16-storey Ingalls building in Cincinnati

Use of reinforced concrete in Canada:

 1889: First concrete plant in Canada, in Hull
 1906: The 1st reinforced bridge in Canada in Massey, Ontario
 1976: Toronto’s CN Tower is built (550 m tall, for a long time was the tallest free-
standing structures in the world)
 1997: Confederation's Bridge ... at 12.9 km, one of world's longest concrete bridges

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