Hawasssa University, Institute of Technology, School of Civil Engineering

Reinforced concrete Structures I - Chapter one: - Introduction

Introduction to reinforced concrete

Reinforced concrete is a composed construction material made of concrete and
reinforcement bar. Concrete has a high compressive strength and week in tension, so we use
reinforcement (steel bar) to carry the tension.
Mechanics of reinforced concrete
Consider a simply supported beam with a vertically distributed load; the beam will deflect
downward which crate a tension in the bottom and compression on the top.

Beam and load

Deflection of the beam

Stress on plain concrete beam Stress reinforced concrete

Concrete is week in tension as a result, cracks will develop under load, or restrained
shrinkage or temperature changes. In the plain concrete beam the moment about O due to applied
loads are resisted by internal tension-compression couple involving tension in the concrete. Such
a beam fails very suddenly and completely when the crack forms. In a reinforced concrete beam,
steel bars are embedded in the concrete in such a way that the tension force needed for moment
equilibrium after the concrete cracks can be developed.

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 Hawasssa University, Institute of Technology, School of Civil Engineering
Reinforced concrete Structures I - Chapter one: - Introduction

Reinforced Concrete Members and Load Transfer

Reinforced concrete structure consists of a series of individual “members” that interact to
support the loads placed on the structures. Consider the second floor of a building in 1st Fig is
built of concrete joist-slab construction. A series of parallel ribs or joists support the load from
the top slab. The reactions supporting the joists apply loads to a beams, in which in turn are
supported by columns. Columns transfer the load in to the foundation, the foundation in to the
ground.

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 Hawasssa University, Institute of Technology, School of Civil Engineering
Reinforced concrete Structures I - Chapter one: - Introduction

Advantage of reinforced concrete structure

The choice of whether a structure should be built of concrete, steel, masonry, or timber
depends on the availability of material and on the number of value decisions
I. Economy
The overall cost of the structure is a function of the costs of the material and the
labor and the time necessary to erect them. Concrete floors are thinner than structural
steel system because the beam and the electrical, sanitation system are imbedded in the
slab as the result it will reduced the overall height of the building.
Any measure the design can take to standardize the design and forming will
generally pay off in reducing overall costs. For example, column sizes may be kept the
same for several floors to save money in formwork, while changing the concrete strength
or the percentage of the reinforcement to allow for changes in column loads.
II. Suitability of material for architectural and structural function
Reinforced concrete system allows the designer to combine the architectural and
structural functions. Concrete has the advantage of can be molded in to a desired shape
and some of this shape can serve as load-bearing elements like flat plates, shell, or arch.
III. Fire resistance
Reinforced concrete has a good fire resistance capacity and it need less fireproofing
compared to structural steel and timber. Structural steel or timber buildings must be
fireproofed.
IV. Rigidity
If a building that made of different materials which they are not combined will,
then under the wind load or as people wake by it will create disturbance like
vibration. Most of Concrete structure has a greater stiffness and each components are
rigid vibration is not a problem.
V. Low maintenance
If the concrete structure is built in high quality, then it requires less maintenance
than structural steel or timber members.
VI. Availability of materials
Sand, gravel, cement, and concrete mixing facilities are very widely available, and
reinforcing steel can be transported to most job sites more easily than structural steel.
As the result reinforced concrete is frequently used in remote areas.
Disadvantage of reinforced concrete structure
 Low tensile strength
Concrete has a low tensile strength which is result crack. If the crack not properly
managed by using reinforced steel or increasing concrete strength it may allow
penetration of water. This may couse a damage in the building .
 Forms and shoring
In concerte construction there are different stages and each of these stages needes a
labour and matraial which are not necessary in other forms of construction.
 Relatively low strength per unit of weight or volume
The compressive strength of concrete is roughly 5 to 10% of steel, while its unit
density is roughly 30% of steel. As the result, a concrete structure requires a larger
volume and a greater weight of material than does a comparable steel structure.
 Time-dependent volume change
Steel is a good conductor than concrete which is why steel structure is generally
more affected by temperature change. On the other hand, concrete undergoes drying
shrinkage, which may cause deflection if the member is constrained. Furthermore,
deflection will increase with time, due to creep of the concrete under sustained loads.

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 Hawasssa University, Institute of Technology, School of Civil Engineering
Reinforced concrete Structures I - Chapter one: - Introduction

Concrete
Is a construction material; that are composed of aggregate, cement and water. Ethiopian
building code standard 2 (EBCS-2) recommends a grade of concrete is based on a compressive
strength of plain concrete. A cube specimen of 150 mm sides or cylinder specimens of 150 mm
diameter and 300 mm depth at the age of 28 days is used for the test.

Schematic representation of the stress-strain Parabolic-Rectangular Stress-Strain Diagram

relation for structural analysis for Concrete in Compression

Tensile strength of concrete: The tensile strength of plain concrete can be determined indirectly
by split tensile test. The test method consists of applying a diametrical compressive force along
the length of the cylindrical concrete specimen of 150 mm diameter and 300 mm length at a
prescribed rate of loading till failure occurs. Generally, the tensile strength of concrete is between
1/8th and 1/12th of cube compressive stress.

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 Hawasssa University, Institute of Technology, School of Civil Engineering
Reinforced concrete Structures I - Chapter one: - Introduction

Modulus of elasticity and Poisson’s ratio: Since concrete is an inelastic material the modulus
of elasticity which is the ratio of stress to strain with in the elastic limit, cannot be determined
uniquely. If the tangent to the curve is drawn at the origin, the slope of this line is known as initial
tangent modulus and corresponds to elastic deformation. As the stress-strain relationship of
concrete is not a straight line, this modulus is of not much importance. The slope of the tangent at
any point (say A) is called tangent modulus, which gives the rate of change of stress with strain at
that point. In practice it is of interest to know the stress corresponding to strain at a point or the
ratio of stress upon strain at a point. To obtain this ratio for the use in design, a straight line is
drawn from the origin to the desired point (say B) on the stress-strain curve. The slope of this line
which is the ratio of stress to strain at the point under consideration is called the secant modulus.
The short term static modulus of elasticity of concrete refers to secant modulus.

Stress-strain curve for concrete showing tangent modulus and secant modulus
Creep of concrete: Creep is defined as plastic deformation under constant load or stress.
Concrete under the action of constant load or stress continues to deform with time. This plastic
deformation grows rapidly and reaches highest intensity in the first three to four months after
application of load and then continues to increase gradually approaching the limiting value in a
period of five years. Since the creep increases at a faster rate in early stages the erection of walls
on newly formed concrete should be prolonged otherwise cracks develop in walls after a period of
6 to 12 months. The variation of creep deformation with time is schematically shown in figure

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 Hawasssa University, Institute of Technology, School of Civil Engineering
Reinforced concrete Structures I - Chapter one: - Introduction

below. It can be seen from the figure that at any time when the load is removed the elastic recovery
takes place immediately while part of creep deformation recovers at a slower rate leaving
permanent deformation locked inside the concrete material.

Factors influencing creep:

(a) Magnitude of stress: Creep grows with the increase of stress level in concrete specimen.
(b) Age at loading: Loading at an earlier age causes high creep strain.
(c) Rate of loading: Creep increases with increase in the rate of loading.
(d) Humidity: Creep is reduced with increase in humidity or moisture content of the
surrounding air.
(e) Composition of concrete: An increase in water-cement ratio and the amount of cement per
unit volume of concrete increases creep.
Shrinkage of concrete: The property of diminishing in volume of concrete during the process of
hardening is termed shrinkage. The factors affecting shrinkage are:
(a) Environmental condition (humidity and temperature)
(b) Water-cement ratio
(c) Duration of exposure (not duration of loading)
(d) Percentage of steel
Greater the percentage of steel lesser is the shrinkage, because the reinforcement restrains
the shrinkage. The shrinkage is also a time dependent process. For computational purpose it
may be assumed that 50% of ultimate shrinkage occurs in the first one month and the remaining
75% in six months from the commencement of drying. Creep and shrinkage occur
simultaneously, and jointly influence the behavior or reinforced concrete member. In limit
state method, it is necessary to assess deformations due to creep and shrinkage from
serviceability considerations.

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 Hawasssa University, Institute of Technology, School of Civil Engineering
Reinforced concrete Structures I - Chapter one: - Introduction

Steel
Is a construction material and it has a high tensile strength. The steel used in reinforced concrete
structures are of different types such as plain round bars of circular cross section

Steel has the same stress strain property under tension and compression

Classification of concrete works

Concrete works are classified as either Class l or II depending on the quality of workmanship
and the competence of the supervisors directing the works. Works carried out under the direction
of appropriately qualified supervisors ensuring the attainment of level of quality control as per
EBCS 2 (chapter 9) are classified as Class I works.
Works with a lower level of quality control are classified as Class II works. Class n works are
permissible only for single story structures.

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 Hawasssa University, Institute of Technology, School of Civil Engineering
Reinforced concrete Structures I - Chapter one: - Introduction

Data on concrete and steel

(As per EBCS 2, chapter two)
Characteristic compressive strength of concrete
The compressive strength of a concrete member at one location may vary from that at another
location in the same member, due to many reasons like differences in extent of compaction, time
of placement, batch of concrete etc. Likewise, the strength of different specimens can also vary
from one another. In order to assess the strength of one particular mix proportion of concrete,
EBCS 2 specifies the use of characteristic compressive strength values. Characteristic
compressive strength of concrete is defined as that strength below which 5% of all possible
strength measurements may be expected to fall. It means that the characteristic strength has 95%
reliability or there is only 5% probability of actual strength being less than the characteristic
strength. Thus concrete is graded in terms of its characteristic compressive cube strength.
Table 2.1 of EBCS 2 gives the permissible grades of concrete for the two classes of concrete works
as shown below. The numbers in the grade designation denote the specified characteristic
compressive strength in MPa.
Table 2.1. Permissible grades of concrete
Class Permissible Grades of Concrete
I C5 C15 C20 C25 C30 C40 C50 C60
II C5 C15 C20
Grade C5 shall be used only as lean concrete
As per EBCS 2, compressive strength of concrete is determined from tests on 150 mm cubes at the
age of 28 days in accordance with Ethiopian Standards. Cylindrical or cubical specimens of other
sizes may also be used with conversion factors determined from a comprehensive series of tests.
In the absence of such tests, the conversion factors given in Table 2.2 (of EBCS 2) may be applied
to obtain the equivalent characteristic strength on the basis of 150 mm cubes.
Table 2.2 Conversion factors for strength
Size and type of test specimen Conversion factor
Cube (200 mm) 1.05
Cylinder (150 mm diameter, 300 mm height) 1.25

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 Hawasssa University, Institute of Technology, School of Civil Engineering
Reinforced concrete Structures I - Chapter one: - Introduction

In table 2.3 the characteristic cylinder compressive strength fck are given for the different grades of
concrete.
Table 2.3 Characteristic cylinder compressive strength of concrete
Grades of concrete C15 C20 C25 C30 C40 C50 C60
fck 12 16 20 24 32 40 48

Characteristic tensile strength (fctk)

The characteristic tensile strength refers to the axial tensile strength as determined by tests in
accordance with standards issued or approved by Ethiopian Standards.
In the absence of more accurate data, the characteristic tensile strength may also be determined
from the characteristic cylinder compressive strength according to the following equations.
fctk = 0.7 fctm, where fctm is the mean value given by fctm = 0.3 fck2/3
The corresponding values of fctk and fctm for different grades of concrete are given in the table 2.4.
Table 2.4 Grades of concrete and values of fctk and fctm
Grades of concrete C15 C20 C25 C30 C40 C50 C60
fctm 1.6 1.9 2.2 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
fctk 1.1 1.3 1.5 1.7 2.1 2.5 2.8

Modulus of Elasticity
In the absence of more accurate data, or in cases where great accuracy is not required, an estimate
of the mean value of the secant modulus Ecm can be obtained from Table 2.5 for a given concrete
grade.

Table 2.5 Values of the secant modulus of elasticity Ecm in GPa

Grades of concrete C15 C20 C25 C30 C40 C50 C60
Ecm 26 27 29 32 35 37 39

The values given in table 2.5 are based on the following equation:
Ecm = 9.5 (fck + 8)1/3
Poisson’s Ratio
Any value between 0 and 0.2 can be adopted for Poisson’s ratio.

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 Hawasssa University, Institute of Technology, School of Civil Engineering
Reinforced concrete Structures I - Chapter one: - Introduction

Characteristic strength of reinforcing steel

The characteristic strength fyk is defined as the 5% fractile of the proof stress fy or 0.2% offset
strength, denoted as f0.2.
If the steel supplier guarantees a minimum value for fy or f0.2 , that value may be taken as the
characteristic strength.
(In Ethiopian Iron and Steel Factory, Akaki, deformed bars and round bars of yield strength fy =
420 MPa are being produced. Diameters: 8mm, 10mm, 12mm, 14mm, 16mm, 20mm, 24mm,
30mm, 32mm. Round bars of 6mm dia are also produced)

Classification of reinforcing steel

Reinforcing steel shall be classified according to:
(a) Grade, denoting the value of the specified characteristic yield stress fyk in MPa
(b) Class, indicating the ductility characteristics
(c) Size
(d) Surface characteristics
(e) Weldability

In EBCS 2, two classes of ductility are defined. Class A refers to high ductility with εuk > 5% and

with value of (ft / fy)k > 1.08 and Class B refers to normal ductility with εuk > 2.5% and with value

of (ft / fy)k > 1.05, where, εuk denotes the characteristic value of the elongation at maximum load,

ftk = Characteristic tensile strength of reinforcement

fyk = Characteristic yield strength of reinforcement
Two shapes of surface characteristics are defined: (a) Ribbed bars, resulting in high bond action,
(b) Plain, smooth bars (round bars), resulting in low bond action.
Physical properties of reinforcing steel
(a) Density 7850 kg/m3
(b) Coefficient of thermal expansion 10 x 10-6 per ◦C

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