Haramaya University

Haramaya institute of Technology

Reinforced Concrete Structures I

Chapter 2 Limit State Design for Flexure

By Mekuria M. (MSc)
Academic year: 2020/21
 Presentation
1. Introduction Outline
2. Distribution of Stress and Strains in RC Sections Subjected to
Flexure
3. Ultimate Limit State for Flexure
4. Types of Flexural Failures
5. Analysis and Design of Rectangular Beams for Flexure
6. Analysis and Design of Flanged Beams for Flexure
7. Analysis and Design of One-Way Solid Slabs for Flexure
8. Analysis and Design of One-Way Ribbed Slabs for Flexure
9. Detailing Rules for Beams and Slabs According to ESEN
1992-1:2015
 1. Introduction
• Analysis Vs. Design
Two different types of problems arise in the study of reinforced concrete:
1 Analysis- Given a cross section, concrete strength, reinforcement size
and location, and yield strength, compute the resistance or strength.
• In analysis there should be one unique answer.
2 Design-Given a factored design moment, select a suitable cross
section, including dimensions, concrete strength, reinforcement, and so
on.
• In design there are many possible solutions.

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 Client(Project Manager) Architect • Determine the
arrangement and layout
of the structure to meet
The Design the clients’ requirement
Quantity Surveyor Process
• Produce architectural
• Prepare bill of drawings
quantities, specification
and contract documents Structural Engineer
• Determine the best structural
systems or forms to meet the
Contractor • Construct the structure architect’s concept into
under the supervision of being
engineers and • Analyze and design the
architectures structure
• Prepare structural drawings
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 Design Steps
i. Idealization of the structure into frames and elements
ii. Estimation of loads
iii. Analysis to determine the moments and forces
iv. Design of elements
v. Production of detail drawings and bar schedules

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 RC Building Elements
i. Beams horizontal elements carrying lateral or transversal loads and
mainly to bending and shear(one way shear or diagonal tension)
ii. Slabs are horizontal plate elements carrying lateral or transversal
loads and designed for bending and two way shear or punching shear
iii. Columns are vertical members carrying primarily axial loads but
generally subjected to axial load and moment
iv. Walls vertical plate elements resisting vertical, lateral or in plane
loads
v. Foundations pads or strips supported directly on the ground that
spread loads from columns or walls to the ground.
vi. Stairs are plate elements consisting of a flight of steps usually with
one or more landings provided b/n the floor levels 6
RC Building Elements

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 What is beam?
• Beams are horizontal structural elements used to support transverse
loads and can be defined according to
• Cross-section
• Position of Reinforcement
• Support Conditions

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 Types of Beams based on Cross-section
• T- and L- section beams are produced due to monolithic construction between
bema and slab. Part of the slab contributes to the resistance of the beam.
• Under certain conditions, T-and L-beams are more economical than rectangular
beams

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 Types of Beam Based on Position of Reinforcement

• Singly reinforced –reinforcement to resist tensile stresses

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Types of Beam Based on Support Condition

Simply Supported Cantilever beam Overhang beam

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 2. Statics of Beam Action
• A beam is a structural member that supports applied loads and its own weight
primarily by internal moments and shears.
• Figure below shows a simple beam that supports its own dead weight per unit
length, plus a concentrated load, P.
• If the axial applied load, N, is equal to zero, as shown, the member is referred to
as a beam. If N is a compressive force, the member is called a beam-column.
• In ULS bending is critical for moderately loaded medium span beams
• Shear is critical for heavily loaded short span beams
• In SLS, deflection will be considered
• There fore every beam must be design against bending moment resistance, shear
resistance and deflection

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Statics of Beam Action…

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2. Statics of Beam Action

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2. Statics of Beam Action

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 2. Statics of Beam Action

• The elastic beam theory described so far is not used in the design of reinforced
concrete beams, because the compressive stress-strain relationship for concrete
becomes nonlinear at higher strain values.
• What is even more important is that concrete cracks at low tensile stresses,
making it necessary to provide steel reinforcement to carry the tensile force, T.

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 3. Distribution of Strains and Stresses Across A Section in Bending
• The theory of bending for reinforced concrete assumes that the concrete will crack
in the regions of tensile strains and that, after cracking, all the tension is carried by
the reinforcement.
• It is also assumed that plane sections of a structural member remain plane after
straining, so that across the section there must be a linear distribution of strains.

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3. Distribution of Strains and Stresses Across A Section in Bending

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 3. Distribution of Strains and Stresses Across A Section in Bending
1 The triangular stress distribution applies when the stresses are very nearly
proportional to the strains, which generally occurs at the loading levels encountered
under working conditions and is, therefore, used at the serviceability limit state.
2. The rectangular-parabolic stress block represents the distribution at failure
when the compressive strains are within the plastic range, and it is associated with
the design for the ultimate limit state.
3. The equivalent rectangular stress block is a simplified alternative to the
rectangular parabolic distribution.

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 3.1 Basic Assumptions for Flexure at the ULS
The theory of flexure for RC is based on the following basic assumptions
1. Sections perpendicular to the axis of bending that are plane before
bending remain plane after bending. Implies Linear strain profile
2. The strain in the reinforcement is equal to the strain in the concrete
at the same level.(Compatibility) perfect bond between the two
materials
3. The stresses in the concrete and reinforcement can be computed
from the strains by using stress-strain curves for concrete and steel.
(Constitutive)
4. The tensile strength of the concrete is ignored.

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3.2 Possible Range of Strain Distributions at ULS

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3.2 A more elaborative diagram for Ultimate Strain distributions

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 3.3 Limiting Compressive Strains at Uls
• It is universal to define failure of concrete in compression by means of
a limiting compressive strain.
• The formulation of the limit varies from code to code, for example the
American Concrete institute code, ACI 318, uses a limit of 0.003, while
the UK code BS 8110 uses 0.0035.
• For concrete strengths not exceeding 50MPa, the Eurocode adopts
values of 0.0035 for flexure and for combined bending and axial load
where the neutral axis remains within the section
• And a limit of between 0.0035 and 0.002 for sections loaded so that the
whole section is in compression.

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 3.3 Limiting Compressive Strains at Uls

• The strain is limited to in axial compression because

• In flexure, considerably higher strains can be reached before the maximum

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 4. Types of Flexural Failures
• There are three types of flexural failures of reinforced concrete sections:
A. Tension failures (under reinforced) or ductile failure
B. Compression failures (over reinforced) or brittle failure
C. Balanced failures
• As the applied moment on the beam section is increased beyond the linear elastic
phase, the concrete strains and stresses enter the non linear phase.
• The behavior of the beam in the nonlinear phase (when the maximum compressive
strain exceeds ec2 ) depends on the amount of reinforcing steel provided.
• The reinforcing steel can sustain very high tensile strains due to its ductile behavior,
following yielding (the ultimate strain can be in the range of 0.12 to 0.2).
• However, the concrete can accommodate compressive strains which are much lower
in compression (the ultimate compressive strain is 0.0035).
• So the final collapse of a normal beam at ULS is caused inevitably by the crushing of
concrete in compression regardless of whether the tension steel has yielded or26not.
 Types of Flexural Failures
• Depending on the amount of reinforcing steel provided, flexural failure may occur
in reinforced concrete sections in three ways.
A. Tension failures
B. Compression failures
C. Balanced failures
• These three types of failures may be discussed to choose the desirable type of
failure from the three, in case failure is imminent.

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 A. Tension Failure
• If the steel content As of the section is small, the steel will reach fyd before the
concrete reaches its maximum strain of εcu.
• With further increase in loading, the steel force remains constant at fyd As, but
results a large plastic deformation in the steel, wide cracking in the concrete and
large increase in compressive strain in the extreme fiber of concrete.
• With this increase in strain the stress distribution in the concrete becomes
distinctly non-linear resulting in increase of the mean stress.
• Because equilibrium of internal forces should be maintained, the depth of the N.A
decreases, which results in the increment of the lever arm z. The flexural strength
is reached when concrete strain reaches εcu.
• This type of failure is preferable and is used for design.

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 A. Tension Failure
• If Under reinforced (Ductile Failure mode ); steel content As of the section is
small, the steel will reach fyd before the concrete reaches its maximum strain of
εcu= 0.0035.
• With further increase in loading, the steel force remains constant at fydAs, but
results a large plastic deformation in the steel, wide cracking in the concrete and
large increase in compressive strain in the extreme fiber of concrete.
• With this increase in strain the stress distribution in the concrete becomes
distinctly non-linear resulting in increase of the mean stress.
• Because equilibrium of internal forces should be maintained, the depth of the N.A
decreases, which results in the increment of the lever arm z.
• The flexural strength is reached when concrete strain reaches εcu.
• This type of failure is preferable and is used for design.
• All beams, if overloaded, should be designed to fail in this manner
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 Modes of failure of RC beams in bending
• Balanced Failure : yielding of steel and crushing of concrete take
place at the same time
• Under reinforced (Ductile Failure mode ); Over reinforced(Brittle
Failure mode):
A. Tension Failure

Tension Failure 31
 A. Tension Failure

Reinforcement has yielded prior to

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 B. Compression Failure
• If the steel content As is large, the concrete may reach its capacity before steel
yields.
• In such a case the N.A depth increases considerably causing an increase in
compressive force.
• Again the flexural strength of the section is reached εcu.
• Because concrete is a fairly brittle material, it fails in an explosive manner without
any significant residual load bearing capacity.
• The section fails suddenly in a brittle fashion.
• This is not a desirable type of failure and should be avoided in design
•

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B. Compression Failure

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B. Compression Failure

Concrete has crushed prior to yielding

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 C. Balanced Failure
• Yielding of steel and crushing of concrete take place at the same time
i.e. the steel reaches fyd and the concrete reaches a strain of εcu
simultaneously.
• It gives little warning sign for the occupants
• This is not a desirable mode of failure

Concrete has crushed and reinforcement has

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 5. Analysis of Beams for Flexure at the ULS
• Two requirements are satisfied throughout the flexural analysis and design of
reinforced concrete beams and columns:
1. Stress and strain compatibility: The stress at any point in a member must
correspond to the strain at that point
2. Equilibrium: Internal forces must balance the external load effects

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 5.1.Analysis of Singly Reinforced Beam Sections
• The general procedure of analysis of singly reinforced concrete beams for its
flexural resistance according to EN 1992-1-1-2004 is as follows.
Step 1: Assume the type of failure (compression failure, tension failure
and balanced failure)
Step 2: Draw the strain profile corresponding to the type of failure
Step 3: Take any of the three possible stress strain relationships for concrete
described in chapter 1 to define the stress block

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5.2 Analysis of Singly Reinforced Beam Sections

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5.2 Analysis of Singly Reinforced Beam Sections

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5.2 Analysis of Singly Reinforced Beam Sections

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 5.2 Analysis of Singly Reinforced Beam Sections
Step 4: Apply condition of equilibrium to the given stress block and conditions of
compatibility to the strain profile to estimate the neutral axis depth
Step 5: Calculate the unknown strain and check if the assumed type of failure is
correct
Step 6: If the assumption is correct, apply the moment equilibrium to the stress
block and estimate the moment capacity
Step 7: If it is not correct, assume another type of failure and repeat steps 2 to step
6 until the assumption is proven to be true

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Simplified equations for moment and force equilibrium from stress – strain relationship
• Assumptions to use the simplified equations
1. The section is rectangular with width b and effective depth d
2. Cylindrical compressive strength of the concrete is less than 50 MPa
3. Stresses are in ‰ ( )
4. kx= x/d
5. is the compression strain at the ultimate fiber in the compressed region of
the section
6. d is effective depth of the cross section defined as the distance from the center
of the tensile reinforcement bars to the top most compressed fiber

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 1. Using Parabolic rectangular stress – strain relationship

Force equilibrium Moment Equilibrium

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2. Using Bi-Linear stress – strain relationship

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Examples on the Design of Singly Reinforced Beams

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 Analysis of Doubly Reinforced Beam Sections
• Occasionally, beam sections are designed to have both tension reinforcement and
compression reinforcement.
• These are referred to as doubly reinforced sections.
• Two cases where compression reinforcement is used frequently are
• The negative bending region of continuous beams and
• Mid-span regions of long-span or heavily loaded beams where deflections
need to be controlled.

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 Necessity of Doubly Reinforced Beam Sections
• There are four primary reasons for using compression reinforcement in beams:
1. Reduced sustained-load deflections. First and most important, the addition of
compression reinforcement reduces the long-term deflections of a beam subjected
to sustained loads.
• Creep of the concrete in the compression zone transfers load from the concrete to
the compression steel, reducing the stress in the concrete.
• Because of the lower compression stress in the concrete, it creeps less, leading to
a reduction in sustained-load deflections.
2. Increased ductility. The addition of compression reinforcement causes a
reduction in the depth of the compression stress block and the strain in the tension
reinforcement at failure increases resulting in more ductile behavior.

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 Necessity of Doubly Reinforced Beam Sections
3. Change of mode of failure from compression to tension.
• When enough compression steel is added to a beam, the compression zone is
strengthened sufficiently to allow the tension steel to yield before the concrete
crushes.
• The beam then displays a ductile mode of failure.
4. Fabrication ease. When assembling the reinforcing cage for a beam, it is
customary to provide small bars in the corner of the stirrups to hold the stirrups in
place in the form and also to help anchor the stirrups.
• If developed properly, these bars in effect are compression reinforcement,
although they generally are disregarded in design, because they have only a small
effect on the moment strength.

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