NUST Institute of Civil Engineering

CE 806

Reinforced Concrete Members

Alternate Design Method (Working

Stress Method)
Dr. Wasim Khaliq

Advantages of Reinforced Concrete as a

Structural Material

It has considerable compressive strength per unit cost compared with most
other materials.
Reinforced concrete has great resistance to the actions of fire and water.
Reinforced concrete structures are very rigid.
It is a low-maintenance material.
It has a very long service life. Under proper conditions, reinforced concrete
structures can be used indefinitely without reduction of their load carrying
abilities.
A special feature of concrete is its ability to be cast into an extraordinary variety
of shapes from simple slabs, beams, and columns to great arches and shells.
In most areas, concrete takes advantage of inexpensive local materials (sand,
gravel, and water) and requires relatively small amounts of cement and
reinforcing steel.
A lower grade of skilled labor is required for erection as compared with other
materials such as structural steel.

Disadvantages of Reinforced Concrete as a

Structural Material

Concrete has a very low tensile strength, requiring the use of tensile reinforcing.
Forms are required to hold the concrete in place until it hardens sufficiently. In
addition, false-work or shoring may be necessary to keep the forms in place for
roofs, walls, floors, and similar structures until the concrete members gain
sufficient strength to support themselves.
The low strength per unit of weight of concrete leads to heavy members. This
becomes an increasingly important matter for long-span structures, where
concretes large dead weight has a great effect on bending moments.
Lightweight aggregates can be used to reduce concrete weight, but the cost of
the concrete is increased.
The low strength per unit of volume of concrete means members will be
relatively large, an important consideration for tall buildings and long-span
structures.
The properties of concrete vary widely because of variations in its proportioning
and mixing.

Reinforced Concrete Beam Behavior

Plain concrete beams are inefficient as flexural members because the

tensile strength (modulus of rupture) is a small fraction of the compressive
strength.
Such beams fail on the tension side at low loads long before the strength of
the concrete on the compression side has been fully utilized.
To cater for, steel reinforcing bars are placed on the tension side as close to
the extreme tension fiber as is compatible with proper fire and corrosion
protection of the steel.
In such a reinforced concrete beam, the tension caused by the bending
moments is chiefly resisted by the steel reinforcement, while the concrete
alone is usually capable of resisting the corresponding compression.
Such joint action of the two materials is ensured if relative slip is prevented.

Reinforced Concrete Beam Behavior

Rectangular beams fail in compression

when the concrete strains reach
values of about 0.003 to 0.004

Design Basis

Elastic Behavior
At low stresses (fc/2) concrete is seen close to near elastic (stressstrain is close to proportional) with strain of about .005
Steel is elastic upto yield point with large strain of .002
Two strains being equal in reinforced concrete

Axial Capacity

or

Transformed Section

or
or

Stresses Elastic and Section Uncracked

Example 3.1

Stresses Elastic and Section Cracked

Stresses Elastic and Section Cracked

= 0

(1)

implies

Example 3.2

22.3 ksi
1.39 ksi
0.48 ksi
2.8 ksi

Stresses Elastic and Section Cracked

Stresses Elastic and Section Cracked