Reinforced Concrete Principles and Design

Lecture Series No. 1; Part 1

INTRODUCTION
(Concrete, Steel and Reinforced Concrete )
Dr. Ernesto T. Anacta, BSCE, MSCE, Ph.D.CE

ABOUT THIS LECTURE

This lecture is the first of three parts of Lecture steel) with totally different properties, while
concrete itself is also composed of several
Series No. 1 (Introduction). Your Sir Anacta ingredients (cement, sand, water and/or
believes that, for you to be able to have a thorough admixtures) which are likewise made up of
understanding on the course, you should be able different properties and steel (called
to picture out its totality. In other words, before we reinforcement) is also classified into different types
will go into designing reinforced concrete (RC) and grades, the scope of this course becomes
structures, we should be able to know first and very broad and complicated wherein a thorough
foremost what ―reinforced concrete‖ is all about. study on each material will be relevant.
Recognizing the fact that reinforced concrete is This Lecture will cover these topics.
made up of two different materials (concrete and

CONTENTS OF THIS LECTURE

This lecture contains the following topics: 7. Properties of Concrete and Their
1. Historical Background Significance
2. Components of Modern Concrete 8. Reinforcing Steel for Concrete
3. Concrete as a Structural Material 9. Some Structural Concrete Applications
4. Types of Concrete Other related topics will be covered in Parts 2 and
5. Advantages of Concrete 3 of Lecture Series No. 1.
6. Disadvantages of Concrete

LECTURE OBJECTIVES

After going through this lecture, you will be able 5. Compare the advantages and disadvantages
to: of using concrete;
1. Discern the historical background of 7. Know the properties of concrete and their
concrete; significance; and
2. Identify the components of modern concrete; 8 Familiarize the types of reinforcing steel used
3. Describe concrete as a structural material; with concrete.
4. Distinguish the different types of concrete;

DISCUSSION OF CONTENTS

1. Historical Background Arab people) used a precursor of modern-day

concrete to build structures in their small empire
located in and around Syria and Jordan. Some of
The first known use of concrete dates back to
the remains of their concrete structures still stand
6500 BC when the Nabataeans (ancient today.
The Assyrians and Babylonians used clay as the tanks and bridges, and four years later, he
bonding substance or cement, the Egyptians used registered another patent to use it in beams and
lime and gypsum cement and the Romans used a columns.
cement called pozzolana made of large deposits of
a sandy volcanic ash near Mt. Vesuvius and in 1870: W. E.Ward, an American and a mechanical
other places in Italy. When they mixed this material engineer build the first cast-in-place reinforced
with quicklime and water as well as sand and concrete house known as Ward’s Castle, near Port
gravel, it hardened into a rocklike substance and Chester, New York. It used reinforced concrete for
was used as a building material. Some of the walls, beams, slabs, and staircases.
Roman concrete structures are still in existence
today. One example is the Pantheon, a former 1877: Thaddeus Hyatt of the United States
Roman temple dedicated to all gods. conducted flexural tests on 50 beams that
contained iron bars as tension reinforcement and
published the results in 1877. He found that both
Here is some of the chronological events that
concrete and steel can be assumed to behave in a
transpired into the use and manufacture of modern
homogeneous manner for all practical purposes.
cement and concrete that we are using now.
This assumption was important for the design of
1760: John Smeaton (1724 – 1792), an English reinforced concrete members using elastic theory.
Civil Engineer used stones filled with concrete in He used prefabricated slabs in his experiments
the first lock on the river Calder. and considered prefabricated units to be best cast
in T-sections and placed side by side to form a
1796: James Parker of England discovered floor slab. Hyatt is generally credited with
Roman natural cement, and 15 years later Vicat developing the principles upon which the analysis
burned a mixture of clay and lime to produce and design of reinforced concrete are now based.
cement.
1877: P. B. Write, an American wrote in the
1824: Joseph Aspdin (1778 – 1885), a bricklayer American Architect and Building News in 1877
from Leeds, England invented Portland cement describing the applications of reinforced concrete
and obtained its patent in 1824. He rmanufactured in Ward’s house as a new method in building
Portland cement in Wakefield, Britain. It was called construction.
Portland cement because when it hardened it
resembled stone from the quarries of the Isle of 1884: E. L. Ransome, head of the Concrete Steel
Portland, England. Company in San Francisco, used reinforced
concrete and deformed bars for the first time in
1832: François Marte Le Brun of France built a 1884. During 1889 to 1891, he built the two-story
concrete house in 1832 in Moissac in which he Leland Stanford Museum in San Francisco using
used concrete arches of 18-ft span. He used reinforced concrete. He also built a reinforced
concrete to build a school in St. Aignan in 1834 concrete bridge in San Francisco.
and a church in Corbarièce in 1835.
1900: The Ministry of Public Works in France
1848: Joseph Louis Lambot (1814 – 1887) of called for a committee headed by Armand
Montfort-sur-Argens, France built a boat made of Considére, chief engineer of roads and bridges, to
iron reinforced cement. He obtained the first patent establish specifications for reinforced concrete,
on the mixed use of iron and cement in 1851, and which were published in 1906.
in 1855, his boat was exhibited at the Paris
Exposition with great success. He invented ferro- 1928: Eugene Freyssinet established the practical
cement, which led to the development of technique of using prestressed concrete.
reinforced concrete. Reinforced concrete was further refined by
introducing some precompression in the tension
1854: William B. Wilkinson (1819 – 1902) of New zone to decrease the excessive cracks. This
Castle Upon Tyne, England, a plasterer and a refinement was the preliminary introduction of
concrete manufacturer. He obtained a patent for a partial and full prestressing.
concrete floor reinforced by twisted cables in 1854.
His works is considered as reinforced concrete in From 1915 to 1935, research was conducted on
the modern sense. axially loaded columns, modulus of elasticity and
creep effects on concrete; in 1940, eccentrically
1867: Joseph Monier (1823 – 1906) of Saint- loaded columns were investigated. Ultimate-
Quentin-la-Poterie, France, a gardener and strength design started to receive special attention,
inventor is one of the principal inventors of in addition to diagonal tension and prestressed
reinforced concrete. He made garden tubs and concrete. The American Concrete Institute Code
pots of concrete reinforced with iron mesh, which (ACI Code) specified the use of ultimate-strength
he exhibited in Paris in 1867. In 1873, he design in 1963 and included this method in all later
registered a patent to use reinforced concrete in codes. The method is called in the current ACI
code the strength design method. Building codes As with most rocklike substances, concrete has a
and specifications for the design of reinforced high compressive strength and a very low tensile
concrete structures are established in most strength.
countries, and research continues on developing
new applications and more economical designs.
3. Concrete as a Structural
In the Philippines, the Association of Structural Material
Engineers of the Philippines (ASEP) was
established in 1961 and the first edition of the Compared to steel and wood, concrete is
National Structural Code of the Philippines (NSCP) undoubtedly the most widely used construction
was printed in 1972. The National Building Code of material in the world today is concrete. Currently,
the Philippines (P.D. 1096) became into law in the world produces 4.4 billion tons of concrete
1977. annually, but that number is expected to rise to
over 5.5 billion tons by 2050 as poorer countries
2. Components of Modern rapidly urbanize, according to the Chatham House
Concrete report.

Concrete is a composite rocklike material Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for
Cement is estimated at 5 Billion Tons in the year
obtained by mixing appropriate amount cement, 2020 and is projected to reach a revised size of 5.
sand and gravel (called aggregates), and water. 8 Billion Tons by 2027.
Cement and water interact chemically (called
hydration) to bind the aggregate particles into a In the Philippines, Cement Manufacturers’
solid mass. An admixture is sometimes added to Association of the Philippines said that they
change certain characteristics of the concrete such currently have an installed an operating capacity of
as its workability, durability, and time of hardening. 34.5 million tons or about 862 million bags of
cement annually.
To produce concrete we will need cement, water,
and aggregates (which consist of fine aggregate or Following two years of modest decline, the total
sand and coarse aggregates or gravel). Admixture world cement consumption is estimated to have
may or may not be used. Figure 1 shows the expanded by 2.8 per cent to 4.08 billion tons in
ingredients used in concrete. 2019, according to The Global Cement Report TM,
13th Edition.

Concrete is neither as strong nor as tough as

steel, but the reasons why it is the commonly used
+ + construction material are the following:

1. Concrete possesses excellent resistance to

water. Unlike wood and ordinary steel, the
Cement Sand Gravel
ability of concrete to withstand the action of
water without serious deterioration makes it an
ideal material for building structures to control,
store, and transport water. Some of these
+ + structures are aqueducts, retaining walls, dams,
canal linings, pavements and structural
elements exposed to moisture, such as piles,
Water Admixture (Optional) foundations, footings, floors, beams, columns,
roofs, exterior walls, and pipes.
=
2. The ease with which structural concrete
elements can be formed into a variety of
shapes and sizes. This is because freshly
made concrete is of a plastic consistency,
which enables the material to flow into
prefabricated formwork. After a number of
hours when the concrete has solidified and
hardened to a strong mass, the formwork can
Fresh Hardened be removed for reuse.
Concrete Concrete
3. Concrete is usually the cheapest and most
Figure 1 – The Ingredients of Concrete readily available material on the job. The
principal components for making concrete,
 namely aggregate, water, and Portland cement Concrete with compressive strength more
are relatively inexpensive and are commonly than more than 40 MPa and is used for
available in most parts of the world. special applications.

3. Other types of concrete.

4. Types of Concrete
a. Air Entrained Concrete.
Based on the current trend in technology and This is a form of plain concrete that contains
demand of the construction industry, there are microscopic air bubbles and typically
several types of concrete that are use today. We constitute between 4 and 7% of the total
will discuss them one by one here. volume of the concrete. The air bubbles
create chambers for water to expand when
1. Based on unit weight, concrete can be classified the concrete freezes, thereby relieving
into three broad categories: internal pressure on the concrete. It is
a. Normal-weight concrete. manufactured by introducing air-entraining
agents as the concrete is mixed, or by using
Also called Ordinary Concrete. This type of air-entraining Portland cement.
concrete contains natural sand and gravel or
crushed-rock aggregates and is the most b. Asphalt Concrete.
commonly used concrete for structural
Asphalt concrete is a combination of
purposes. Its density ranges from 2200m-
3 3 aggregates and asphalt. It is also known as
2500 kg/m (a value of 2400 kg/m is ideally
Asphalt. They are vastly used in the
chosen), compressive strength of 1.96 – 4.9
highways, airports, as well as in the
kPa, tensile strength of 0.49 – 0.98 kPa and
embankments. They can be hardened in just
with very satisfactory durability.
an hour.
b. Lightweight concrete.
c. Cast In-Place Concrete.
Concrete with higher strength-to-weight ratio
Also called in-situ concrete, this type of
which uses aggregates with lower bulk
concrete is, at its fresh stage, directly casted
density (e.g., pumice, scoria, perlite and
and allowed to harden into its place of
vermiculite). The term is used for concrete
3 deposit (normally forms). This type of
that weighs less than about 1800 kg/m .
concrete is commonly used in building
One important property of lightweight
construction.
concrete is its very low thermal conductivity.
This type of concrete are mostly used as d. Ferro Cement Concrete.
thermal insulators, for protecting steel
structures, long-span bridge decks and Ferro cement concrete uses Ferro cement
building blocks. and consists of closely spaced wire-meshes
which are impregnated with a rich mix of
c. Heavyweight concrete. cement mortar. Usually, 0.5 to 1.0 mm
diameter steel wires are formed into
Also called high-density concrete which uses meshes. Mortar 1:2 to 1:3 with a water-
heavy crushed rocks (e.g. Barites) as coarse cement ratio of 0.4 to 0.45 is poured into the
aggregates. Its unit weight ranges from 3000 form-work with fabricated steel by using
3
- 4000 kg/m and is primarily used for layers of the wire mesh. The steel content of
radiation shielding. this concrete will be as high as 300 to 500
3
2. Based on compressive strength: kg/m of mortar. As the material consists of a
large percentage of steel, it has high ductility
a. Low-strength concrete. and tensile strength.
Concrete with compressive strength less
e. Fiber Reinforced Concrete.
than 20 MPa.
This type of concrete utilizes steel fibers 10
b. Moderate-strength concrete. to 20 microns in diameter and 10 to 50 mm
Concrete with compressive strength ranging in length. Fiber increases resilience, tensile
from 20 to 40 MPa. This is also referred to strength, flexibility, and other qualities.
as ordinary or normal concrete and is used Other fiber include polymer, glass, carbon,
for most structural work. or even natural fibers like coconut fiber.
Since some fibers react with the cement;
c. High-strength concrete. special care should be taken before using
them. This type of concrete is used mostly
as overlays for pavements in bridges,
 airports, industrial floors and in places where
increased resistance to cracking is required. j. Polymer Concrete.
Polymer concrete is a type of concrete that
f. Fly Ash Concrete. uses thermoplastic polymers to replace lime-
This type of concrete uses fly ash as partial type cements as a binder. In some cases the
replace to fine aggregates or cement, or polymer is used in addition to Portland
both. The particles of fly ash should be finer cement to form Polymer Cement Concrete
than that of cement. Fly ash is obtained from (PCC) or Polymer Modified Concrete (PMC).
coals. Up to 30 percent replacement of fine Polymer concrete is also composed of
aggregates and 20 percent replacement of aggregates that include silica, quartz,
cement have been reported. Fly ash granite, limestone, and other high quality
improves workability in the fresh concrete material. The aggregate must be of good
and durability and strength in hardened quality, free of dust and other debris, and
concrete. dry. Otherwise, the bond strength between
the polymer binder and the aggregate will be
g. Green Concrete. reduced. Polymer concrete may be used for
This type of concrete is made from concrete new construction or repairing of old
wastes that are eco-friendly, thus uses less concrete. The adhesive properties of
energy and less carbon dioxide in its polymer concrete allow repair of both
production and deter environmental polymer and conventional cement-based
destruction. Green concrete leads to concretes. The corrosion resistance and low
increased lifespan of concrete permeability of polymer concrete allows it to
elements/structures, increased compressive be used in marine structures and other
strength for a minimum of 20% after 90 days structures that contain liquids or corrosive
of casting, sustainable concrete due to chemicals.
better resistance to salts or sulphate,
improved concrete workability as it reduces k. Precast Concrete.
the rate of concrete cracking, reduced This refers to numerous types of concrete
moisture and water permeability thus shapes that are cast into molds either in a
reduces the reinforcement rusting, improved factory or at the site. However, they are not
degree of thermal insulation and fire used in construction until they completely set
resistance and reduced amount of carbon and hardened in a controlled condition.
dioxide emission by 80%.
l. Prestressed Concrete.
h. Limecrete. Prestressed concrete is a structural material
Also known as lime concrete, limecrete is a that uses combined steels and concretes of
type of concrete where, instead of using very high strength. The steel, in the form of
cement in the mix, lime is replaced. Doing so wires, strands, or bars, is embedded in the
has certain benefits environmentally and concrete under high tension that is held in
health-wise. Environmentally, lime absorbs equilibrium by compressive stresses in the
carbon dioxide as it sets and allows natural concrete after hardening. Prestressing
products like wood, straw, and hemp to be greatly reduces both the deflections and the
used as fibers without fear of composting or tensile cracks at ordinary loads and enables
deterioration since limecrete controls these high strength materials to be used
moisture. effectively.

i. Permeable Concrete. m. Pumped Concrete.

Also called pervious concrete and porous Pumped concrete uses finer materials for
concrete, this is a special type of concrete workability purposes. It is conveyed to the
with high porosity (about 15 to 20% voids to place of deposit using concrete pump. This
allow water from precipitation and other is commonly used in high rise buildings and
sources to pass directly through. This is underwater concreting.
made using large aggregates with little to no
fine aggregates. Pervious concrete is n. Rapid Hardening Concrete.
traditionally used in parking areas, areas This type of concrete is produced using a
with light traffic, residential streets, special purpose cement or admixture to
pedestrian walkways, and greenhouses. It is achieve a higher rate of early strength
an important application for sustainable development. As a result, concrete hardens
construction and is one of many low impact in just a few hours. This concrete is mostly
development techniques used by builders to used in underwater construction, urgent
protect water quality. repair and construction works.
o. Ready Mix Concrete. of high-performance and high-strength
This concrete type is prepared in concrete concrete.
plants and transported by the help of truck u. Smart Concrete.
mounted transit mixtures to the site of
deposit. The plant-to-site distance as well as This type of concrete contains self-sensing
possible delays during transport should be structural materials and is obtained from
considered so that the concrete can be composites of concrete and carbon fiber
supplied before its setting time. which modifies the electrical resistance of
the concrete in response to strain or stress.
p. Reinforced Concrete. Under applied deformations, this concrete
Reinforced concrete is a combination of senses the variations in the properties of the
concrete and steel wherein the steel concrete. Smart concrete is capable of
reinforcement provides the tensile strength sensing very small structural flaws and
lacking in the concrete. Steel reinforcing hence finds application in checking the
may also be used in resisting compression internal condition of structures, particularly
forces and is used in beams, slabs, columns after an earthquake.
as well as in other structural members. v. Stamped Concrete.
q. Roller Compacted Concrete. These is an ordinary concrete mostly used
for architectural purposes. A stamp of
This is a special blend of concrete which different shape and design is placed on the
uses lesser amount of cement than ordinary concrete structure during its plastic state to
concrete. It is a lean concrete with zero acquire an appealing look design. Pigments
slump and compacted with the help of roller are oftentimes used for colouring purposes
or other mechanical means. This type of to give it a more realistic and appealing look.
concrete is mostly used as filling material.
w. Vacuum Concrete.
r. Self-Consolidated Concrete.
In this type of concrete, more quantity of
Also called flowing concrete, these type of water is added to the concrete mix, and then
concrete is compacted by its own weight by the mixture is poured into the formwork. The
the process of self-consolidation. There is no excess water is then removed from the
need for using a vibrator or doing manual concrete with the help of a vacuum pump.
compaction. The workability of concrete is That is why it is called vacuum concrete.
always high in this type of concrete. This technique is used to attain the strength
s. Shotcrete. of concrete early. It will attain the
compressive strength within the period of 10
Also called sprayed concrete, shotcrete is a days as compared to 28 days of ordinary
concrete or mortar conveyed through a hose concrete.
and pneumatically projected at high velocity
onto a surface. It is typically reinforced by
conventional steel rods, steel mesh, or
5. Advantages of Concrete
fibers. With this technique, shotcrete is
placed compacted, and consolidated at the Concrete, as a structural material, is widely
same time, due to the force with which it is used in many types of structures. It is
ejected from the nozzle. It can be sprayed competitive with steel if economically designed
onto any type or shape of surface, including and executed. Its advantages are:
vertical or overhead areas.

t. Silica Fume Concrete. 1. High Compressive strength.

This is a concrete in which uses silica fume. Concrete has considerable compressive
Silica fume is a by-product of silica which strength which makes it suitable for use in
consist of very fine particles (actually, 6 compression members such as columns,
times finer than of cement particles). Since footings and walls;
an ordinary concrete with normal water- 2. Water Resistance.
cement ratio always contains micro-pores
which limits its strength, the role of silica Concrete possesses excellent resistance to
fume is to fill in and reduce these minute water. Unlike wood and ordinary steel, the
pore spaces, resulting in high-strength ability of concrete to withstand the action of
concrete. Thus, silica fume, along with water without serious deterioration makes it an
superplasticizers is a necessary component ideal material for building structures to control,
store, and transport water. Plain concrete is
used for dams, canal linings, and pavements,
 while reinforced concrete are extensively used As compared with other materials, concrete has
as piles, foundations, footings, floors, beams, a very long service life. Under proper
columns, roofs, exterior walls, and pipes; conditions, reinforced concrete structures can
be used indefinitely without reduction of their
3. Fire Resistance. load-carrying abilities. The strength of concrete
The fire resistance of concrete is most does not decrease with time but actually
important aspect of safety and, at the same increases over a very long period because of
time, the area in which the advantages of the lengthy process of the solidification of the
concrete are most evident. Inherently, concrete cement paste;
building has a 1- to 3-hour fire rating without
special fireproofing or other details. Since an 10. Resistance to Cyclic Loading.
adequate concrete cover on reinforcement or The fatigue strength of concrete is generally not
tendons is required for structural integrity in a problem since, in most codes, the allowable
reinforced and prestressed concrete structures, concrete stresses are limited to about 50
the protection against failure due to excessive percent of the ultimate strength. This enables
heat is provided at the same time. This will concrete structure to withstand cyclic or
allow occupants to evacuate and extinguish the repeated loading; and
fire;
11. Production and Installation.
4. Flexibility in Form and Shape. Concrete is relatively easy to produce, erect
Concrete can be easily formed into a variety of and install which can be done by an ordinary
shapes and sizes. This is because freshly skilled worker, unlike in the case of lumber and
made concrete is of a plastic consistency, steel.
which enables the material to flow into
prefabricated formwork. After a number of
hours when the concrete has solidified and 6. Disadvantages of Concrete
hardened to a strong mass, the formwork can
be removed for reuse; To use concrete successfully, the designer must
5. Availability and Affordability of Materials. be completely familiar with its weak points as well
as its strong ones. Among its disadvantages are
The primary ingredients of concrete (i.e., water, the following:
cement, sand and gravel) are readily available
in the locality and relatively affordable, unlike in 1. Composite Material
the case of structural steel and lumber; Concrete is a composite material made up of
6. Low Maintenance. several ingredients (cement, sand, water, sand
and gravel) which individually require stringent
Concrete members inherently require less quality control. Inferior quality of one material
maintenance. Concrete does not corrode, will affect the quality of the whole concrete.
needs no surface treatment, and its strength
increases with time. Steel structures, on the 2. Complex Production Process
other hand, are susceptible to rather heavy
Producing concrete needs batching,
corrosion in offshore environments, require
costly surface treatment and other methods of
proportioning, mixing, casting or depositing,
protection, and entail considerable and curing, all of which requires much
maintenance and repair costs. Lumber is manpower. In addition, the properties of
susceptible to environmental deterioration; concrete will vary widely if these operations
will not be carefully controlled.
7. Availability.
3. Low Tensile Strength.
In most areas, concrete takes advantage of
inexpensive local materials (sand, gravel, and Tensile strength of concrete is much lower than
water) and requires relatively small amounts of its compressive strength (about one-tenth of
cement and reinforcing steel, which may have its compressive strength); hence, concrete is
to be shipped from other parts of the country. subject to cracking when subjected to tensile
stresses. In structural uses, the cracking is
8. Economy. restrained by using reinforcement, to carry
In some types of structures, such as dams, tensile forces and limit crack widths to within
piers, and footings, it is the most economical acceptable values. Unless care is taken in
structural material. design and construction, however, these cracks
may be unsightly or may allow penetration of
9. Serviceability. water and other potentially harmful
 contaminants that will lead to early deterioration workmanship and quality control. Moreover,
of concrete. cracks develop in concrete due to creep,
shrinkage and the application of loads.
4. Forms and Shoring.
The construction of a cast-in-place or in situ 7. Properties of Concrete and
concrete structure involves (a) fabrication and their Significance
installation forms to hold the fresh concrete in
place until it harden sufficiently, (b) installation
of falseworks or shoring to support the weight A thorough knowledge on the properties of
of new concrete until its strength is adequate, concrete is necessary before proceeding with
and (c) the removal of forms and shoring until design reinforced concrete structures. Note that
the concrete members gain sufficient strength. concrete is made up of different constituents, each
This will entail a considerable cost in terms of one containing distinct properties. Some of the
material and/or labor; significant properties (arranged alphabetically) are
presented below.
5. Low strength per Unit Weight.
Concrete is a heavy material (normal weight 1. Absorption.
3
concrete weighs 2400 kg/m ) and has a low
Absorption (also called water sorptivity) is the
strength per unit of weight of concrete which
rate of ingress of water or other liquids into
results to large and heavy members. This unsaturated concrete.
becomes an increasingly important concern for
tall buildings and long-span structures, where Absorption is a measure of the total water
concrete’s large dead weight has a great effect required to fill all voids within the net volume of
on bending moments. Lightweight aggregates, concrete. It is determined from the weight-per-
however, can be used to reduce concrete unit-volume difference between saturated and
weight, but the cost of the concrete production oven-dry concrete masonry units.
will be increased.
The water absorption of a concrete surface
6. Low Strength per Unit Volume. depends on concrete mixture proportions, the
The low compressive strength per unit of presence of chemical admixtures and
volume of concrete will require relatively large supplementary cementitious materials, the
or bulky members which will lessen the floor composition and physical characteristics of the
space and increase story height in tall cementitious component and of the aggregates,
buildings; and the entrained air content, the type and duration
of curing, the degree of hydration or age, the
7. Quality Control Problem. presence of microcrack, the presence of
The properties of concrete vary widely because surface treatments such as sealers or form oil,
of variations in its proportioning and mixing, and placement method including consolidation
placing and curing. If not as carefully controlled, and finishing. Water absorption is also strongly
this will affect the strength of concrete structure. affected by the moisture condition of the
concrete at the time of testing.
8. Time-Dependent Volume Changes.
2. Bleeding.
Reinforced concrete is a composite material
made up of concrete and embedded steel. Bleeding is defined as a phenomenon whose
These two materials should act together in external manifestation is the appearance of
resisting loads and undergo approximately the water on the surface after a concrete mixture
same amount of thermal expansion and has been placed and compacted but before it
contraction. But steel is more susceptible to has set. Bleeding is a form of segregation
temperature changes than concrete; while because solids in suspension tend to move
concrete is more affected by drying shrinkage downward under the force of gravity. Bleeding
than steel which, if restrained, may cause results from the inability of the constituent
deflections or cracking. Furthermore, materials to hold all the mixing water in a
deflections in a concrete floor will tend to dispersed state as the relatively heavy solids
increase with time, possibly doubling, due to settle. Bleeding makes concrete porous and
creep of the concrete under sustained weak.
compression stress.
Bleeding can be reduced or avoided by adding
9. Development of Cracks and Defects more cement to your mix, using a more finely
ground type of cement, using the minimum
Honeycombs, voids and weak portions in quantity of water needed in a properly designed
concrete sections may develop due to poor
 mix, using more fine aggregate and using little shrinkage, because concrete is weak in
air entraining agent. tension. Crack width and crack spacing depend
on many factors, which include steel
3. Compressive Strength. percentage, its distribution in the concrete
section, steel flexural stress at service load,
Compressive strength is the ability of hardened concrete cover, and properties of the concrete
concrete to resist loads that tends to reduce its constituents. The study of crack formation,
size (called compressive load). It is one of the behaviour of cracks under increasing load, and
most important quantities needed in the design control of cracking is necessary for proper
of RC structural members because the other design of reinforced concrete structures.
concrete stresses are usually taken as a
percentage of the compressive strength a. Flexural cracks.
The compressive strength of concrete is Flexural cracks are vertical cracks that
determined by testing to failure 28-day-old 150 extend from the tension sides of beams up
mm diameter by 300 mm concrete cylinders in to the region of their neutral axes. Flexural
uniaxial compression using a universal testing cracks develop when the stress at the
machine at a specified rate of loading. The extreme tension fibers exceeds the modulus
cylinders are usually cured for 28 days under of rupture of concrete. In beams having very
water or in a room with constant temperature deep webs (more than 0.90 m or 1.20 m),
and 100% humidity. The modes of failure of the cracks will be very closely spaced, with
tested concrete cylinders is shown in Figure 2. some of them coming together above the
reinforcing and some disappearing there.
Although concretes are available with 28-day These cracks may be wider up in the middle
ultimate strengths from 17.24 MPa up to as of the beam than at the bottom.
high as 68.95 MPa to 137.89 MPa, most of the
concretes used fall into the 20.68 MPa to 48.25 b. Web-shear cracks.
MPa range. For ordinary applications, 20.67
MPa and 27.56 MPa concretes are used. For These are inclined cracks due to shear and
columns of the lower stories of high-rise develop in the webs of reinforced concrete
buildings, concretes with strengths up to 62.05 beams either as independent cracks or as
MPa or 68.95 MPa have been used and can be extensions of flexural cracks. In regions
furnished by ready-mix companies. As a result, where the bending moment is small and
the use of such high-strength concretes is shear forces are large, web-shear cracks will
becoming increasingly common. For form when the diagonal tension stress in the
prestressed construction, 34.47 MPa and 41.37 vicinity of the neutral axis exceeds the
MPa strengths are common. tensile strength of the concrete. These types
of cracks are rare.

c. Flexure-shear cracks.

Flexural shear cracking occurs in areas

where there is a high bending moment in
combination with a high shear force. The
usual type are the flexure-shear cracks are
of inclined shear cracks that commonly
develop in both prestressed and
Shear Failure Splitting Failure Combination nonprestressed beams. It is more common
for flexure-shear cracks to form at locations
Figure 2 – The modes of compression failure where both the bending moment and the
of standard concrete cylinders. shear force are large. Once the load that
causes the formation of these diagonal
cracks is reached, it is possible for the
4. Cracking. cracks to immediately propagate to the
compression face of the member, thereby
Cracking of concrete is a random process, causing splitting failure.
highly variable and influenced by many factors.
A crack is formed in concrete when a narrow d. Shear Cracks or Diagonal Tension
opening of indefinite dimension has developed Cracks.
in the concrete as the result of internal tensile These inclined cracks are due to flexure and
stresses. Cracking is certainly more prevalent shear and develops toward the ends of the
in beams than in columns. Concrete beams member where shear forces are relatively
crack under working loads is due to restrained large. Thus, in addition to flexural tension,
 diagonal tension due to combined flexure severe enough to result in eventual failure of
and shear must be considered in the design the structure.
of a flexural member.
j. Shrinkage Cracks.
e. Tension Cracks.
Shrinkage cracks occur when concrete
In the absence of insufficient flexural members undergo restrained volumetric
reinforcement in beams, a tension crack will changes (shrinkage) as a result of either
form at its bottom at the location of drying, autogenous shrinkage or thermal
maximum bending moment once the load effects. Shrinkage cracks are difficult to
will be large enough so that the tensile control. Once tensile strength of the
stress exceeded the tensile strength of the concrete is exceeded, a crack will develop.
concrete. This crack would immediately The number and width of shrinkage cracks
propagate to the top of the section, causing that develop are influenced by the amount of
the beam to fail. The size and length of shrinkage that occurs, the amount of
cracks is dependent on the magnitude of the restraint present and the amount and
bending moment. spacing of reinforcement provided.

f. Torsion Cracks. k. Tension Cracks.

Torsion cracks are quite similar to shear Concrete members may be put into tension
cracks except that they spiral around the by applied loads. This is most common in
beam. Should a plain concrete member be concrete beams where a transversely
subjected to pure torsion, it will crack and fail applied load will put one surface into
along 45 spiral lines due to the diagonal compression and the opposite surface into
tension corresponding to the torsional tension due to induced bending. The portion
stresses. Although torsion stresses are very of the beam that is in tension may crack.
similar to shear stresses, they will occur on The size and length of cracks is dependent
all faces of a member. As a result, they add on the magnitude of the bending moment
to the shear stresses on one side and and the design of the reinforcing in the beam
subtract from them on the other. at the point under consideration.

g. Secondary Cracks. 5. Creep.

Secondary cracks are very small cracks that Creep is defined as the slow, plastic
develop in the first stage of cracking and deformation of a material over considerable
produced by the internal expansion and lengths of time at constant load or stress. It is
contraction of the concrete constituents and the gradual increase in strain with time under a
by low flexural tension stresses. sustained stress. Concrete structures being
subjected to continuous dead loads are prone
h. Secondary Flexural Cracks. to creep. Short-duration forces (such as wind or
earthquakes) do not cause creep. Creep
Usually secondary flexural cracks are widely deformations for a given concrete are
spaced, and one crack does not influence practically proportional to the magnitude of the
the formation of others. They are expected applied stress. At any given stress, and even at
to occur under low loads, such as dead the same ratio of stress to compressive
loads. When a load is applied gradually on a strength, high-strength concretes show less
simple beam, tensile stress develops at the creep than lower-strength concretes.
bottom fibers, and when it exceeds the
flexural tensile stress of concrete, cracks Creep can sometimes reduce the amount of
start to develop. cracking that occurs in a concrete structure or
element, but it also must be controlled.
i. Corrosion Secondary Cracks.
Creep in concrete is measured by its creep
Corrosion secondary cracks form when coefficient which is defined as the ratio of
moisture containing deleterious agents such ultimate creep strain to elastic strain at various
as sodium chloride, carbon dioxide, and ages of loadings. Typical creep curve for
dissolved oxygen penetrates the concrete concrete is shown in Figure 3, while its creep
surface, corroding the steel reinforcement. parameters are listed in Table 1.
The oxide compounds formed by
deterioration of steel bars occupy a larger
volume than the steel and exert mechanical
pressure that perpetuates extensive
cracking. This type of cracking may be
 internal agents, such as faults within the
concrete.

Causes can be categorized as physical,

mechanical and chemical. Physical cause
arises from the action of frost and from
differences between the thermal properties of
aggregate and of the cement paste, while
mechanical causes are associated mainly with
absorption.

8. Fire Resistance.
Fire resistance of a material is its ability to
resist fire for a certain time without serious loss
of strength, distortion, or collapse]. In the case
Figure 3 – Typical creep curve (concrete of concrete, fire resistance depends on the
loaded to 4.14 MPa at age 28 days). thickness, type of construction, type and size of
aggregates, and cement content. It is important
Table 1 – Typical creep parameters. to consider the effect of fire on tall buildings
more than on low or single-story buildings
Specific because occupants need more time to escape.
Compressive Creep
Creep, cu
Strength –6 Coefficient,
(10 per Concrete has good properties with respect to
(MPa) Ccu
MPa) fire resistance; that is, concrete is non-
20.7 145 3.1 combustible, the period of time under fire during
which concrete continues to perform
27.6 116 2.9
satisfactorily is relatively high, and no toxic
41.4 80 2.4 fumes are emitted. The relevant criteria of
performance are: load-carrying capacity,
55.2 58 2.0
resistance to flame penetration, and resistance
68.9 41 1.6 to heat transfer when concrete is used as a
protective material for steel.
82.7 33 1.4
Concrete with a low thermal conductivity has a
better fire resistance so that, for instance,
6. Ductility.
lightweight concrete stands up better to fire
Ductility is defined by the degree to which a than ordinary concrete.
material can sustain plastic deformation under
9. Flexural Strength.
tensile stress before failure. In the case of
concrete structures, ductility is the ability of to Flexural strength of concrete (usually in beams
undergo considerable deflection prior to failure. and slabs) is the ability to resist tension failure
This characteristic is crucial as it provides signs in bending. Flexural strength of concrete is
of failure and prevents total collapse. This is expressed in terms of the modulus of rupture
especially significant in seismic areas. (fr), which is the maximum tensile stress of
concrete in bending. It is assumed to be about
7. Durability.
12 to 20% of compressive strength and a value
Durability is defined as the service life of of 15% can be assumed for strengths of about
concrete without deterioration under given 28 MPa. The modulus of rupture can be
environmental condition. Generally, watertight measured by loading an unreinforced beam
concrete structures endure for a long time. It is measuring 150 × 150 × 700 mm, supported on
essential that every concrete structure should a 600-mm span and loaded to rupture by
continue to perform its intended functions to midpoint load or third-point loads.
maintain its required strength and serviceability,
10. Impact Resistance. Fatigue.
during its expected service life.
Impact resistance represents the ability of
In general, there is a relationship between
concrete to withstand repeated blows and
strength and durability when low strength is
absorb energy without adverse effect to
associated with high porosity and high
cracking and spalling.
permeability.
Plain concrete when subjected to flexure,
Lack of durability can be caused by external
exhibits fatigue. The flexure resisting ability of
agents arising from the environment or by
 concrete of a given quality is indicated by an elastic deformation, having limited value and
endurance limit whose value depends upon the cannot be determined with accuracy;
number of repetitions of stress. tangent modulus which is the slope of a
tangent to the curve at some point along the
11. Permeability. curve—for instance, at 50% of the ultimate
strength of the concrete; and secant
Permeability has an important bearing on the modulus which is the slope of a line drawn
vulnerability of concrete to water and frost. from the origin to a point on the curve
Permeable concretes are less durable. somewhere between 25% and 50% of its
Permeability of concrete depends not only on ultimate compressive strength.
mix proportions, compaction, and curing, but
also on microcracks caused by the ambient Geometrically, the tangent modulus of
temperature and humidity cycles. In the case of elasticity of concrete, Ec, is the slope of the
reinforced cement concrete, the penetration of tangent to the stress–strain curve at a given
moisture and air will result in the corrosion of stress. Under long-time action of load and
steel. This leads to an increase in the volume of due to the development of plastic
the steel, resulting in cracking and spalling of deformation, the stress-to-total-strain ratio
the concrete. becomes a variable nonlinear quantity.
These are shown in Figure 4.
12. Modular Ratio.
b. Apparent Modulus of Elasticity.
The modular ratio n is the ratio of the modulus
of elasticity of steel to the modulus of elasticity This is a long-term modulus, determined by
of concrete: n = Es/Ec. Some of these values are using the stresses and strains obtained after
shown in Table 2. the load has been applied for a certain
length of time.
Table 2 – Some Values of Modular Ratio
c. Dynamic Modulus of Elasticity.
Compressive Creep
Strength Coefficient, This corresponds to very small
(MPa) Ccu instantaneous strains and is usually
obtained by sonic tests. It is generally 20%
17.5 10
to 40% higher than the static modulus and is
20.7 9 approximately equal to the initial modulus.
When structures are being analysed for
27.6 8
seismic or impact loads, the use of the
55.2 7 dynamic modulus seems appropriate.

13. Modulus of Elasticity.

The modulus of elasticity or elastic modulus is

defined as the ratio between the stress and the
reversible strain. In homogeneous materials,
the elastic modulus is a measure of the
interatomic bonding forces and is unaffected by
microstructural changes.

The modulus of elasticity (defined as the ratio

of the unit stress to unit strain) is a measure of
stiffness, or the resistance of the material to
deformation. Its value varies with different
concrete strengths, concrete age, type of
loading, and the characteristics and proportions
of the cement and aggregates. For concrete its
value varies from 14  10 to 40  10 MPa.
3 3

Modulus of elasticity of concrete is further

classified into: Figure 4 – The Stress–strain curve and
modulus of elasticity of concrete. Lines a–
a. Static Modulus of Elasticity. d represent (a) initial tangent modulus, (b)
This consist of initial tangent modulus tangent modulus at a stress, fc, (c) secant
which is represented by the slope of the modulus at a stress, fc, and (d) secant
tangent to the curve at the origin under modulus at a stress f′c ∕2.
14. Poisson’s Ratio. 18. Shrinkage.
Poisson ratio is the ratio of lateral strain and Shrinkage is defined as the decrease of
longitudinal strain. When a uniaxial load is hardened concrete volume with time. The
applied to a concrete it produces a longitudinal decrease in volume can be attributed to
strain in the direction of the applied load and, at changes in moisture content, proportions and
the same time, a lateral strain of opposite sign. ingredients used in the concrete mix,
The sign of the ratio is ignored. environmental conditions (humidity and
For an isotropic and linear-elastic material, temperature) and chemical changes, which
Poisson’s ratio is constant but, in concrete, occur without the presence of external loading
Poisson’s ratio may be influenced by specific on the concrete. Shrinkage strains can be
conditions. However, for stresses for which the detrimental to concrete because, when
relation between the applied stress and the restrained, they manifest into tensile stress
longitudinal strain is linear, the value of which results to the surface cracks. The three
Poisson’s ratio for concrete is approximately main types of shrinkage are the following:
constant. Depending on the properties of the a. Drying Shrinkage.
aggregate used, Poisson’s ratio of concrete lies
generally in the range of 0.15 to 0.22 when Drying shrinkage is due to moisture loss in
determined from strain measurements under a concrete due to the heat generated by
compressive load. cement hydration, and exposure to the
ambient humidity and temperature. Any
15. Rigidity. workable concrete mixture contains more
The property of concrete that renders it water than is needed for hydration. The
inflexible, stiff, or nonpliable. Concrete is a excess water (commonly referred to as free
tough material and cannot be easily bent, water) evaporates with time, which leads to
stretched, or twisted. gradual shortening of a concrete member.

16. Segregation. b. Autogenous Shrinkage.

Fresh concrete is prone to segregation, i.e., Autogenous shrinkage is caused by the

separation of coarse aggregates of a fresh hydration reactions taking place inside the
concrete mixture from the rest of the concrete cement matrix. It is typically neglected
mass. Segregation can be minimized by except for high-strength concrete mixtures
addition of little air-entraining agents in the mix, where the water/cement ratio is less than
restricting the amount of water to the smallest 0.40.
possible amount, all the operations like c. Carbonation Shrinkage.
handling, placing and consolidation must be
carefully done. Most importantly, concrete Carbonation shrinkage is caused by the
should not be moved over too long a distance reaction of calcium hydroxide in the cement
during the placement into forms. matrix with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
(e.g., the atmosphere that can be present in
17. Shear Strength. a parking garage). This type of shrinkage
can be of the same order of magnitude as
The shear strength of concrete is its ability to that of drying shrinkage under certain
resist shear force or load that cause the environmental conditions.
material's internal structure to slide against
itself along a plane that is parallel to the d. Thermal Shrinkage.
direction of the force.
Thermal shrinkage occurs during cooling of
Pure shear is seldom encountered in concrete massive concrete elements where
members because it is usually accompanied by considerable rise in temperature occurs due
the action of normal forces. An element to poor dissipation of heat.
subjected to pure shear breaks transversely
into two parts. Therefore, the concrete element 19. Stiffness.
must be strong enough to resist the applied
shear forces. Shear strength may be Stiffness is an elastic characteristic of concrete
considered as 20 to 30% greater than the which describes its resistance to deformation.
tensile strength of concrete, or about 12% of its Stiffness of concrete is primarily influenced by
compressive strength. aggregate porosity.
20. Tensile Strength. also, very high-strength materials usually fail in
a brittle manner (i.e., without undergoing any
Tensile strength of concrete is its ability to significant plastic strain).
resist stretching or breaking when being pulled
apart. Concrete has relatively high compressive 24. Unit Weight. Mass Density.
strength, but significantly lower tensile strength.
Typically, the tensile strength is of 10 percent of The term unit weight is the weight of concrete
the compressive strength which is attributed to per unit volume (expressed in pounds per cubic
the heterogeneous and complex microstructure feet or pcf), while mass density of concrete is
of concrete. its mass per unit volume (expressed in kilogram
3
per cubic meter or kg/m ). Note that the sooner
Concrete structures will crack to some extent, is in English unit while the latter is in SI unit.
due to poor slump, shrinkage, creep and This property depends on the concrete mix,
tension leaving unsightly and dangerous gaps maximum size and grading of aggregates,
in the structure. As a remedy, materials such as water–cement ratio, and strength of concrete.
rebar and reinforcing mesh are used to prevent
the concrete from spreading apart. For normal-weight or ordinary concrete. Its
3
density ranges from 2200m - 2500 kg/m (we
3
Tests in tensile strength of concrete include will ue a value of 2400 kg/m in this course), for
3
splitting tension test, flexural test, biaxial lightweight concrete 320 t0 1440 kg/m , and for
tension test, biaxial compression-tension test heavyweight (or high-density concrete), the
3
and triaxial stress test. value ranges from 3000 - 4000 kg/m .

21. Thermal Conductivity. 25. Workability.

Concrete has moderate thermal conductivity, Workability is a complex property of concrete.

much lower than metals, but significantly higher The workability of freshly mixed concrete
than other building materials such as wood, and determines the ease and homogeneity with
is a poor insulator. which it can be mixed, placed, compacted and
finished. A good workable concrete should not
A layer of concrete is frequently used for show any segregation and bleeding after
'fireproofing' of steel structures. However, the compaction.
term fireproof is inappropriate, for high
temperature fires can be hot enough to induce The factors affecting the workability of concrete
chemical changes in concrete, which in the are water content, mix proportions, size of
extreme can cause considerable structural aggregates, shape of aggregates, grading of
damage to the concrete. aggregates, surface texture of aggregates, use
of admixtures, use of supplementary
22. Thermal Expansion. cementitious materials, time and temperature.
Concrete has a very low coefficient of thermal
expansion. However, if no provision is made for Usually, Slump test is done to indirectly
expansion, very large forces can be created, determine the workability of a concrete mix.
causing cracks in parts of the structure not
capable of withstanding the force or the 8. Reinforcing Steel for Concrete
repeated cycles of expansion and contraction.
The coefficient of thermal expansion of Portland
cement concrete is 0.000009 to 0.000012 (per Reinforcing steel (or simply reinforcement) is
degree Celsius) (8 to 12 microstrains/°C)(8-12 utilized in concrete members to resist primarily
1/MK).[5] tensile forces caused by externally applied loads
or volume changes and to complement concrete in
23. Toughness.
resisting shear, compressive and tension forces.
Toughness is referred as the capability of Steel is used in two different ways in concrete
concrete structure to absorb energy and deform structures: as reinforcing steel and as prestressing
plastically during impact without any fracture. steel. Reinforcing steel is placed in the forms prior
The contrast between toughness and strength to casting of the concrete. Stresses in the steel, as
should be noted; the former is a measure of in the hardened concrete, are caused only by the
energy, whereas the latter is a measure of the loads on the structure, except for possible parasitic
stress required to fracture the material. Thus, stresses from shrinkage or similar causes. In
two materials may have identical strength but contrast, in prestressed concrete structures, large
different values of toughness. In general, tension forces are applied to the reinforcement
however, when the strength of a material goes prior to letting it act jointly with the concrete in
up, the ductility and the toughness go down; resisting external loads. The steels for these two
uses are very different and will be discussed Carbon-steel reinforcing bars conforming to
separately. the requirements of ASTM A615 / A615M –
20 are the most commonly specified type of
Comparing the useful strengths of an ordinary reinforcing bar and can be used in a wide
reinforcing steel and common concrete, steel is variety of applications where there are no
about 15 times stronger in compression and over special performance requirements. Other
100 times in tension than concrete. But in terms of types belonging to this group include Low-
cost, steel is very much expensive than concrete. alloy steel bars (ASTM A706 / A706M – 16)
Therefore, these two materials should be optimally which are specified in situations where
used where concrete and steel will be made to enhanced weldability and ductility are
resist compressive and steel tensile stresses, needed; Stainless steel (ASTM A955 /
respectively. In RC beams, for instance, the A615M – 20c), Galvanized or Zinc-coated
concrete should be made resist the compressive reinforcing bars (ASTM A767 / A767M – 19),
force while the steel bars will be placed and Epoxy-coated reinforcing bars (ASTM
longitudinally close to its tension face to resist the A775 / A775M – 19) which are usually used
tension force. Additional steel bars are separately in applications where high corrosion
provided to resist shear force. In RC columns, resistance is needed and low magnetic
however, reinforcements are used primarily in permeability is required (for stainless steel);
resisting compressive forces in order to reduce Low-carbon chromium bars (ASTM A1035 /
their cross-sectional dimensions. Reinforcements A1035M – 20) which are permitted to be
are also used to resist accidental loads, shrinkage used only as spiral reinforcement in
and temperature effects to avoid cracking, as well accordance with ACI Code 20.2.1.4 or
as a mere holder of longitudinal or primary transverse reinforcement in columns of
reinforcements (e.g. stirrups in beams and ties or special moment frames. These limitations
spirals in columns). We will characterize the steel are imposed because the chromium steel
used in concrete. used to manufacture reinforcing bars has
low ductility and a relatively large minimum
For most effective reinforcing action, it is essential yield strength of 80,000 psi (552 MPa); Rail
that steel and concrete deform together, that is, steel and Axle deformed bars (ASTM
that there be a sufficiently strong bond between A996/A996M –16) which has three types
the two materials to ensure that no relative designated with a ―rail symbol,‖ and an ―R‖
movements (or slip) of the steel bars and the for bars made of rail-steel and with an ―A‖ for
surrounding concrete occur. bars made of axle-steel; and Bar mats
(ASTM A184/A184M-19), which are
1. Types of Reinforcements Used in Concrete. fabricated from deformed steel bars and
Reinforcements used for concrete structures made from two layers of bars that are
may be in the form of bars, wires, studs and assembled by welding the intersections at
prestressing steel. We will discuss them here. right angles to each other.

b. Plain Reinforcement.
a. Deformed Steel Bars.
Plain reinforcement (Figure 6) are those in
Deformed steel bars (or DSB), shown in which there are no ribs on the surface of the
Figure 5, are circular rods with deformations bars hence, they don't provide sufficient
rolled into the surface. The purpose of the friction between concrete and steel and
deformations (commonly referred to as ribs) hence they don't provide good bond strength
is to enhance the bond between the
between concrete and steel. Plain
concrete and the steel bar for an RC
member perform its designed purpose. It is reinforcement are further classified as Plain
essential that a strong bond exist between bars (ASTM A615/A615M – 20,) and Plain
concrete and reinforcing bars. wires (ASTM A706/A706M – 16).

Figure 5 – Deformed Steel Bars Figure 6 – Plain Reinforcement

 c. Headed Shear Stud Reinforcement. deformed bars, with the largest size
deformed bars serving as ground anchors.
Headed shear studs (ASTM A1044/A1044M
–16ae1) are primarily used as punching Specific requirements for prestressing steels
shear reinforcement in slabs around column are found in ASTM A421 / M421 – 15, ASTM
heads. The studs (See Figure 6) are lengths A416 / M416 – 18 and ASTM A722 / 722M –
of high tensile steel with large heads forged 18.
on one or both ends. Generally the diameter
of the heads is three-times that of the shaft,
which will provide full anchorage; if the head
size is smaller, the stud may not be fully
anchored, reducing the capacity of the stud.
Stud assemblies consist of either single-
headed studs (Type 1) attached to a
structural steel base rail by structural
welding or stud welding, or double-headed
studs (Type 2) mechanically crimped into a Figure 8 – Prestressing Steel
non-structural steel shape or attached to a
steel plate by spot welding or tack welding. e. Welded Wire Reinforcement.
These stud assemblies are not intended for
use as shear connectors in steel-concrete Welded wire reinforcement shown in Figure
composite construction. 9, (WWR, also known as welded wire fabric)
is often used for reinforcing slabs and other
surfaces, such as shells, and for shear
reinforcement in thin beam webs, particularly
in prestressed beams. Welded wire
reinforcement consists of sets of longitudinal
and transverse cold-drawn steel wires
welded at right angles to each other and
welded together at all points of intersection.
The size and spacing of wires may be the
same in both directions or may be different,
depending on the requirements of the
design. Like reinforcing bars, the WWR
sheets are placed before the concrete is
Figure 7 – Headed Shear Stud Reinforcement cast, and no significant stress occurs in the
WWR until the structural member is
subjected to external loads. Welded wire
d. Prestressing Steel. reinforcement maybe deformed (ASTM
A497/A497M-07) or plain (ASTM
Prestressing steel is used in three forms: A185/A185M-07 Standard Specification for
round wires, strands, alloy steel bars or Steel Welded Wire Reinforcement, Plain, for
bundles of such elements. The steel is Concrete),
stressed under high-tension forces either
before the concrete is cast (pretensioned) or
after the concrete is cast and has hardened
(posttensioned). Prestressing wire (Figure 8)
ranges in diameter from 5 to 7 mm. It is
made by cold-drawing high-carbon steel
after which the wire is stress-relieved by
heat treatment to produce the prescribed
mechanical properties. Wires are normally
bundled in groups of up to about 50
individual wires to produce prestressing
tendons of the required strength. Strands,
are fabricated with six wires wound around a
seventh of slightly larger diameter. The pitch Figure 9 – Welded Wire Reinforcement
of the spiral winding is between 12 and 16
times the nominal diameter of the strand.
Strand diameters range from 6 to 18 mm. e. Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Reinforcement.
Alloy steel bars for prestressing are
available in diameters from 19 to 35 mm as One type of reinforcement that is not
plain round bars and from 16 to 76 mm as addressed in the Code is fiber-reinforced
 polymer (FRP) reinforcing bars. These bars longer the steel bars, the lesser the splicing
are made of composite materials that consist points which results to a more reliable
of high-strength fibers embedded in a resin design.
matrix. Fibers provide strength and stiffness
to the composite and generally carry most of b. Unit Weight and Total Weight.
the applied loads in tension. The matrix acts
to bond and protect the fibers and transfers The unit weight (or density) of steel is 7850
3
forces from fiber to fiber through shear. kg/m . Since steel bars have constant cross-
section, we can simply express their unit
The most common fibers are aramid, weight in terms of weight per meter of length
carbon, and glass. This type of (or kg/m). So, for a steel bar with diameter db
reinforcement is generally used in highly and cross-sectional area Ab, we have
3
Unit weight = 7850 k g m  Ab m = 7850Ab
2
corrosive environments or in structures that
house magnetic resonance imaging units or
kg/m. Since Ab =  d b 4 , we have
2
other equipment sensitive to electromagnetic
fields. 7 8 5 0db2 2
Unit weight = 2
= 0.006165db kg/m
4(1 0 0 )0
2. Properties of Deformed Steel Bars (DSB).
Note that the ―1000‖ in the denominator is a
a. Bar Sizes, Diameter, Areas, and Commercial conversion factor from mm into m.
Lengths.

Bar sizes in English units are designated by Example 1

bar numbers (#), which range from #3 to #18.
In SI system (which we are using), bars are Find the unit weight and total weight of a 20 x 6
specified by a common number and m DSB.
diameters (see Table 3).
Solution:
2
For instance, Bar #6 (in English units) has a Unit weight = 0.006165(20) = 2.47 kg/m
diameter of 0.075 in (or 6/8 in), which is Weight = 2.47 kg/m  6 m = 14.80 kg.
equivalent to #16 or 16 mm diameter DSB in
SI units. In practice, we simply use the SI  A 20 x 6 m DSB weights 2.47 kg/m and 14.8
units, hence we use the diameter designation kg per bar.
of bars (e.g., 10 mm diameter, 12 mm
diameter, 16 mm diameter, and so on.) In our Table 3 – Reinforcement Bar Sizes Diameters
course, however, we will be using the and Areas
notation ―dia. or ” to denote ―diameter‖. For
instance, ―16 mm dia. DSB‖ or ―16 DSB” to English System SI System
describe a ―16 mm diameter or #16‖ steel bar. Bar #
Nom.
Bar Dia* Area and Area
The nominal cross-sectional area Ab of reinforcing Wt.
# (in) (in2) Dia. (mm2)
bar is may be computed simply using the circle (kg/m)
(mm)
formula:
3 0.375 0.11 10 71 0.62
db2
Ab  4 0.500 0.20 12 129 0.89
4
5 0.625 0.31 16 200 1.58
where db is the diameter of steel bar.
6 0.750 0.44 20 284 2.47
For instance, getting the area of 16 DSB, we 8 1.000 0.79 25 510 3.85
have
9 1.128 1.00 28 645 4.83
db 2
 (1 6) 2 10 1.270 1.27 32 819 6.31
Ab  =
2
= 201 mm (close to the
4 4 11 1.410 1.56 36 1006 7.99
value given in Table 3.
14 1.693 2.25 42 1452 10.88
The commercial length of steel bars are 6.0 18 2.257 4.00 57 2581 20.03
m, 7.5 m, 9.0 m, 10.5 m, 12.0 m. Special
lengths of 13.5 m and 15.0 m are available * Diameter = Bar #  8
from factories on special orders. The correct
choice of lengths of steel bars is very
important in the design of structural
members for safety and economy. The
c. Bar Markings. forms. Bars with yield strengths of 75 and 80
ksi are often used in columns, and bars with
To allow bars of various grades and sizes to a yield strength of 100 ksi are allowed to be
be easily distinguished, which is necessary used as confining reinforcement. Table 4
to avoid accidental use of lower-strength or lists all presently available reinforcing steels,
smaller-size bars than called for in the their grade designations, the ASTM
design, all deformed bars are furnished with specifications that define their properties
rolled-in markings. These identify the (including deformations) in detail, and their
producing mill (usually with an initial), the two main minimum specified strength
bar size, the type of steel, and an additional values.
marking to identify higher-strength steels.
The identification marks are shown in Figure Table 4 – Strength requirements
10 for Grade 60 (420) bars. Reinforcing Bars
Min. Yield Min. Tensile
Grade Strength Strength
ksi
psi MPa psi MPa

A615 Carbon Steel

40 40000 280 60000 420
60 60000 420 90000 620
75 75000 520 100000 690
80 80000 550 105000 725

A706 Low Alloy Steel

60000 420
60 to to 80000 550
78000 540
Grade 60 Bars 80000 550
80 to to 100000 690
98000 680

The conversion to SI units described above

also applies to the strength grades. Thus,
Grade 40 is also designated as Grade 280
(for a yield strength of 280 MPa), Grade 60
is designated Grade 420, Grades 75 and 80
are designated Grades 520 and 550, and
Grades 100 and 120 are designated Grades
690 and 830. Grades based on SI units will
be used in this module.

Most reinforced concrete structures are

constructed using ASTM A615 (carbon steel
Bars). However, for structures designed for
seismic loading ASTM A706 (low-alloy steel
Grade 420 Bars bars) are usually specified because they are
Figure 10 – Bar Markings more ductile than A615 bars.

Welding of reinforcing bars in making

d. Grades and Strength.
splices, or for convenience in fabricating
In reinforced concrete, a long-term trend is reinforcing cages for placement in the forms,
evident toward the use of higher-strength may result in metallurgical changes that
materials, both steel and concrete. Grade 60 reduce both strength and ductility, and
reinforcing bars with yield strength 60 ksi or special restrictions must be placed both on
60,000 psi (420 MPa) are now widely used the type of steel used and the welding
because they are more economical and procedures. The provisions of ASTM A706
tends to reduce steel congestion in the relate to welding, as well as ductility.
e. Stress-Strength Curves.

The two chief numerical characteristics that

determine the character of bar reinforcement
are its yield point (generally identical in
tension and compression) and its modulus of
elasticity Es . The latter is practically the
same for all reinforcing steels (but not for
prestressing steels) and is taken as Es =
29,000,000 psi (200 GPa).

In addition, however, the shape of the

stress-strain curve, and particularly of its
initial portion, has significant influence on the
performance of reinforced concrete
members. Typical stress-strain curves for
some ASTM steels are shown in Fig. 11 and
its stress-strain curves magnified 10 times
are shown in Figure 12.

Figure 12 – Initial Portion of the Curves

magnified 10 Times

enter strain-hardening immediately without

any continued yielding at constant stress. In
the latter case, the yield stress fy is
determined using the 0.2 percent offset
method. Using this method, a line with a
strain intercept of 0.2 percent (or 0.002) is
drawn parallel to the initial elastic portion of
the stress-strain curve. The yield stress f y is
defined by the point at which this line
intercepts the stress-strain curve, as shown
in Fig. 2.18b. Low-alloy, high-strength steels
rarely show any yield plateau and usually
enter strain-hardening immediately upon
beginning to yield.

f. Fatigue Strength.

In some structures, both steel and concrete

Figure 11 – Complete Stress-Strain Curves are subject to large numbers of stress
fluctuations. Under such situation, steel, just
The graphs shows that low-carbon steels, like concrete is subject to fatigue. In metal
typified by the Grade 40 curve, show an fatigue, one or more microscopic cracks
elastic portion followed by a yield plateau, form after cyclic stress has been applied a
that is, a horizontal portion of the curve significant number of times. These fatigue
where strain continues to increase at cracks occur at points of stress
constant stress. For such steels, the yield concentrations or other discontinuities and
point is that stress at which the yield plateau gradually increase with increasing numbers
establishes itself. With further strains, the of stress fluctuations. This reduces the
stress begins to increase again, though at a remaining uncracked cross-sectional area of
slower rate, a process that is known as the bar until it becomes too small to resist
strain-hardening. The curve flattens out the applied force. At this point the bar fails in
when the tensile strength is reached; it then a sudden, brittle manner.
turns down until fracture occurs. Higher-
strength carbon steels, for example, those For reinforcing bars it has been found that
with 60 ksi yield stress or higher, either have the fatigue strength, that is, the stress at
a yield plateau of much shorter length or which a given stress fluctuation between
fmax and fmin can be applied 2 million times
 or more without causing failure, is practically
independent of the grade of steel. It has also 3. The fire resistance of unprotected steel is
been found that the stress range, that is, the impaired by its high thermal conductivity
algebraic difference between maximum and and by the fact that its strength
minimum stress, f1 = fmax – fmin , that can decreases sizably at high temperatures.
be sustained without fatigue failure depends Conversely, the thermal conductivity of
on fmin . Further, in deformed bars, the concrete is relatively low. Thus, damage
degree of stress concentration at the caused by even prolonged fire exposure,
location where the deformation joins the if any, is generally limited to the outer
main cylindrical body of the bar tends to layer of concrete, and a moderate
reduce the safe stress range. This stress amount of concrete cover provides
concentration depends on the ratio r / h, sufficient thermal insulation for the
where r is the base radius of the deformation embedded reinforcement.
and h its height. The radius r is the transition
radius from the surface of the bar to that of 9. Some Applications of
the deformation; it is a fairly uncertain Structural Concrete
quantity that changes with roll wear as bars
are being rolled.
Some of the massive structures made of
g. Coated Reinforcing Bars. structural concrete, reinforced concrete and
prestressed concrete are shown in Figures 13 to
Galvanized or epoxy-coated reinforcing bars 28 below. The purpose here is just to show you
are often specified to minimize corrosion of how these materials are formed together into
reinforcement and consequent spalling of massive and aesthetic structures.
concrete under severe environmental
conditions, such as in bridge decks or
parking garages subject to deicing
chemicals, port and marine structures, and
wastewater treatment plants.

Epoxy-coated bars, presently more widely

used than galvanized bars, are governed by
ASTM standards which includes
requirements for the coating material,
surface preparation prior to coating, method
of application, and limits on coating
thickness.

Coating as applied to straight bars, bent

bars which are bent to final shape prior to Figure 13 – Bottom of a pressure-controlled
coating, requirements for the zinc-coating water tank in Kusakabe, Japan.
material, the galvanizing process, the class
or weight of coating, finish and adherence of
the coating, and the method of fabrication
are likewise included in the standards.

h. Thermal Expansion.

1. The thermal expansion coefficients of the

two materials, about 6.5 × 10 - 6 per ˚ F
for steel vs. an average of 5.5 × 10 - 6
per ˚ F for concrete, are sufficiently close
to forestall cracking and other
undesirable effects of differential thermal
deformations. Figure 14 – A seawall in Yamada, Iwate
prefecture, Japan.
2. While the corrosion resistance of bare
steel is poor, the concrete that surrounds
the steel reinforcement provides excellent
corrosion protection, minimizing corrosion
problems and corresponding
maintenance costs.
Figure 15 –The Three Gorges Dam of China.

Figure 19 – Yale University’s Paul Rudolph

Hall, England.

Figure 20 – An auditorium in Santa Cruz de

Tenerife, Canary Islands.
Figure 16 –The National Museum of the
Republic, Brazil.

Figure 21 – The Hoover Dam & Bypass Bridge

Tour, Las Vegas.
Figure 17 – A Long-Span prestressed bridge.

Figure 18 – A housing complex in Kyoto, Figure 22 – An apartment building in Zurich,

Japan. Switzerland.
 Figure 26 – A massive prestressed concrete
structure.

Figure 23 – A massive RC Structure.

Figure 27 – Marina City Towers, Chicago.

Figure 24 –The Khalifa Tower in Dubai.

Figure 28 – Notre Dame du Haut in France.

To follow:

Lecture Series No. 1; Part 2

Lecture Series No. 1; Part 3
Figure 25 –The Danyang-Kunshan Grand
Bridge, China. Please start reading…