BEAM DESIGN-PART 1

LESSON OUTCOMES
Define and explain the need of beam sizing
Define and calculate load distribution for
analysis simply-supported beam
Illustrate the SFD and BMD
Design typical simply supported beam
Illustrate beam detailing

Contents:
Beam sizing
Simply-supported beam
Distribution of slab weight to beam

Introduction
Reinforced concrete beam design consists primarily of
producing member details which will adequately resist
the ultimate bending moments, shear forces & torsional
moments.
Serviceability requirements must be considered to
ensure that the member will behave satisfactorily under
working loads.
Both ultimate limit state (ULS) and serviceability limit
state (SLS) has to be taken into consideration.
Three (3) basic design stages:
Preliminary analysis & member sizing;
Detailed analysis & design of reinforcement;
Serviceability calculations

Steps in beam design

1. Determine design life
2. Determine preliminary size of beam
3. Determine nominal cover for durability, fire and bond
requirements
4. Calculate the effective depth, d
5. Estimate actions on beam
6. Analysis structure to obtain critical moments and
shear forces SFD & BMD
7. Design of flexural reinforcement
8. Design shear reinforcement
9. Verify deflection
10. Verify cracking
11. Produce detailing

Preliminary Analysis & Member Sizing

The layout & size of members are usually
controlled by architectural details & clearances
for machinery and equipment.
Role of engineer:
Check the beam sizes are adequate to carry the
loading or;
Decide on sizes that are adequate

Beam dimensions required are:

Cover to the reinforcement
Breadth (b)
Effective depth (d)
Overall depth (h)

Nominal cover, c
The concrete cover is necessary to provide:
safe transfer of bond forces
adequate durability (protect reinforcement
against corrosion and damage)
fire resistance

The value of Cmin is influenced by:

The exposure classification

Mix characteristics
Intended design life of the structure

Spacer Blocks

Determination of nominal cover

Determined based on the:
a) Durability requirement (EC2- 1-1)
b) Fire resistance requirement (EC2-1-2)

Effective depth, d
d = distance from the compression face to the
center of the tension reinforcement.
d = distance from the compression face to the
center of the compression reinforcement.

Design Load Calculation

At ultimate limit state:
(for reinforcement design)
Design load, wEd = 1.35 gk + 1.5 qk
At serviceability limit state:
Design load, wEd = 1.0 gk + 1.0 qk

Actions/Loads acting on beam

Permanent actions, gk (EC1 Table A1-A5)
a) Self-weight of the beam
= density of concrete x bw x d
= 2500 kg/m3 x bw x d
b) Finishes/building services
c) Self-weight of brickwall
d) Loading from slab
e) Loading from secondary beams

Variable actions, qk

= loads from slab

= can be obtained from EC1 (Table 6.1 & 6.2)

Moment and Shear Analysis

Compute and draw the shear force and bending moment
diagram of the beam.
The maximum values of the shear forces and bending
moment will be used in the design calculation.
There are two (2) types of beams:
i.
Simply-supported beam
ii. Continuous beam

Estimation of actions from slab

Actions that applied on a beam may consists of:
- beam self-weight
- dead & imposed loads from slabs
- actions from secondary beams
- other structural /non-structural members
supported by the beam
The distribution of slab actions on beams depends on the
slab dimension, supporting system & boundary
condition.

Estimation of actions from slab

Estimation of actions from slab

Estimation of actions from slab

Three (3) alternative methods:
1. Slab shear coefficient from Table 3.15 BS 8110
2. Yield line analysis
3. Table 6.3 Reinforced Concrete Designer
Handbook by Reynold

(i) Simply-supported beam

(ii) Continuous Beam

Consist of more than 1 span
Usually in cast in-site structures
Can be obtained from Table 3.5 (BS 8110)

Will be
given in the
design
appendix

(ii) Continuous Beam

Shear Force Diagram &

Bending Moment Diagram

Main reinforcement design

Design of Main Reinforcements

Covered in previous topics
Type of beam:
Rectangular beam
Flanged beam (T beam & L beam)

Type of support:
i. Simply-supported
ii. Continuous

Design of shear reinforcement

Deflection check
Cracking check
Detailing

Already covered in previous topics

EXAMPLE 1
DESIGN TYPICAL SIMPLY-SUPPORTED BEAM
A simply-supported beam has the following characteristics:Breath, b = 300 mm, Length = 6000 mm
Effective depth, d = 540 mm
fck = 30 N/mm2
fyk = 500 N/mm2
Given permanent load, gk = 60 kN/m, including self weight
Variable load, qk = 18 kN/m
Design the simply-supported beam. Provide the main
reinforcement and shear link. Draw the beam detailing.

1. Ultimate Loading & Maximum Moment

Ultimate load, wu = (1.35 gk + 1.5 qk) kN/m
= (1.35 x 60 + 1.5 x 18)
= 108 kN/m
Hence, maximum design moment, M = wu L2/8
= 108 x 62/8
= 486 kNm
2. Bending Reinforcement
K = M/bd2fck = 486 x 106/300 x 5402 x30
=0.185 > Kbal =0.167
Therefore, compression reinforcement, As is required.
d/d = 50/540 = 0.092 < 0.171 (Table 7.1),
therefore, fsc = 0.87fyk

Compression steel, As = (K-Kbal)fckbd2

fsc(d-d)
= (0.185 0.167) x 30 x 300 x 5402
0.87 x 500 x (540 50)
= 222 mm2
Hence, provide 2 H16 bars, As = 402 mm2
Tension steel, As = 0.167 fckbd2
0.87fykzbal

+ As

*Refer Figure 7.5, Kbal = 0.167, la= z/d = 0.82

Thus, As = 0.167 x 30 x 300 x 5402
+ 222
0.87 x 500 x (0.82 x 540)
= 2275 + 222 = 2497 mm2
Hence, provide 2 H32 bars and 2 H25 bars , area = 2592 mm2

3. Check for minimum and maximum reinforcement area

As, min = 0.26 (fctm/fyk)bd > 0.0013bd
= 0.26 x (2.9/500) x 300 x 540 > 0.0013 (300 x 540)
= 244.3 > 210.6
= 244 mm2
As, max = 0.04Ac = 0.04 b x h
= 0.04 x 300 x 590 = 7080 mm2
Hence, As, min < As, prov < As, max
244 mm2 < 2592 mm2 < 7080 mm2

, OK !

4.

Shear Reinforcement

Variable Strut
Inclination Method

Ultimate load, wu = 108 kN/m

a) Check maximum shear at face of support
Maximum design shear = wu x effective span
2
= 108 kN/m x 6.0 m = 324 kN
2
Design shear at face of support, VEd = 324 (108 x0.15)
= 308 kN
Crushing strength, VRd,max of diagonal strut, assuming = 22, cot = 2.5
VRd,max = 0.124 bwd(1-fck/250) fck
= 0.124 x 300 x 540 (1-30/250) x 30 x 10-3
= 530 kN ( > VEd = 308 kN)
Therefore, angle = 22 and cot = 2.5 as assumed.

b) Shear links
At distance d from the face of support, VEd
= 308 wu.d
= 308 (108 x 0.54) = 250 kN
Asw =
VEd
=
250 x 103
s
0.78dfykcot
0.78 x 540 x 500 2.5
= 0.475
*Using Table A.4 in Appendix
Hence, provide 8 mm links at 200 mm centres, Asw/s = 0.503
c) Minimum links
Asw,min =
0.08fck0.5bw
= 0.08 x 30 x 3000.5 = 0.26
s
fyk
500
Hence, provide 8 mm links at 350 mm centres, Asw/s = 0.287
Shear resistance of minimum links:
Vmin =
Asw x 0.78dfykcot = 0.287 x 0.78 x 540 x 500 x 2.5 x 10 -3
s
= 151 kN

d) Extent of Shear links

Shear links are required at each end of the beam from the face of the support
to the point where the design shear force is Vmin = 151 kN
From the face of support,
Distance, x = VEd - Vmin = 308 -151 = 1.45 m
wu
108

Therefore, the number of H8 links at 200 mm centres required at each end of

the beam is :
1 + (x/s) = 1 + (1450/200) = 9
spaced over a distance of (9-1) 200 = 1600 mm.

e) Additional longitudinal reinforcement

Ftd = 0.5VEdcot
= 0.5 x 308 x 2.5
= 385 kN
Additional longitudinal reinforcement,
As = Ftd /0.87fyk
= 385 x 103 /(0.87 x 500)
= 885 mm2
Hence, provide 2H25 bars = 982 mm2

5. Deflection
= 100As,req/bd
= (100 x 2497)/ (300 x 540)
= 1.54%.
Refer Table 6.10 or Fig. 6.3, basic span-effective depth ratio =14
Modification for steel area provided:
(l/d)allowable = Modified ratio = 14 x (2592/2497) = 14.5
(l/d)actual = Span-effective depth ratio provided
= 6000/540 = 11.1 < (l/d)allowable , OK!

6. Cracking (Table 6.7)

Limiting crack width, wmax = 0.3 mm
Steel stress, fs = fyk x Gk + 0.3Qk
.
1
1.15 (1.35Gk+1.5Qk)

= (500/1.15) x (60 +(0.3x18) . 1

108
= 263 N/mm2
Maximum allowable bar spacing = 150 mm
Bar spacing,
s = [300 2(50) -2(8) 32]/2
= 76 mm < 15mm, OK!
7. Draw Beam Detailing !

EXERCISE 1

8.0 m
20 kN/m

1. Estimate Beam Size

Overall depth, h = L/13 = 8000/13 = 615 mm
Width, b = 0.4h = 0.4 x 615 = 246 mm
Hence, provide b x h = 250 x 650 mm
2. Cover, Cnom = Cmin + Cdev
With regard to bond, Cmin,b = 20 mm
With regard to durability, C,dur = 15 mm (Refer to Table)
(Table 5.5 -Appendix)

asd = a +10

Cnom = Cmin, + Cdev = 22 mm + 10 mm = 32mm, Hence use 35 mm

3. Loading Analysis
Beam self-weight = (0.25 x 0.65) x 25 = 4.06 kN/m
Permanent load (excluding self-weight) = 20 kN/m
Characteristic permanent action, gk = 24.06 kN/m
Characteristic variable action, qk = 10 kN/m
Design action, wd = 1.35 gk + 1.5qk
= (1.35 x 24.06 + 1.5 x 10)
= 47.48 kN/m
Hence maximum shear force, V = wd L/2 = 190 kN
Hence, maximum design moment, M = wd L2/8
= 47.48 x 82/8
= 379.8 kNm
4. Main Reinforcement
Effective depth, d = h Cnom link bar = 587 mm
d = Cnom + link + bar/2 = 53 mm
K = M/bd2fck = 379.8 x 106/250 x 5872 x 20
=0.22 > Kbal =0.167
Therefore, compression reinforcement, As is required.
d/d = 53/587 = 0.09 < 0.171 (Table 7.1),
therefore, fsc = 0.87fyk

L =8m

OR

Calculate z

Compression steel, As = (K-Kbal)fckbd2

fsc(d-d)
= (0.22 0.167) x 20 x 250 x 5872
0.87 x 500 x (587 53)
As = 393 mm2
Hence, provide 2 H16 bars, As = 402 mm2
Tension steel, As = 0.167 fckbd2
0.87fykzbal

+ As

*Refer Figure 7.5, Kbal = 0.167, la= z/d = 0.82

Thus, As = 0.167 x 20 x 250 x 5872
+ 393
0.87 x 500 x (0.82 x 587)
= 1374 + 393 = 1767 mm2
Hence, provide 6 H20 bars , area As = 1890 mm2

5. Check for minimum and maximum reinforcement area

As, min = 0.26 (fctm/fyk)bd > 0.0013bd
= 0.26 x (2.2/500) x 250 x 587 > 0.0013 (250 x 587)
= 0.001bd < 0.0013bd
= 191 mm2
As, max = 0.04Ac = 0.04 b x h
= 0.04 x 250 x 650 = 6500 mm2
Hence, As, min < As, prov < As, max
191 mm2 < 1890 mm2 < 6500 mm2

, OK !

6. Shear Reinforcement
Design shear force, VEd = 190 kN
Crushing strength, VRd,max of diagonal strut, assuming = 22, cot
= 2.5
VRd,max = 0.124 bwd(1-fck/250) fck
= 0.124 x 250 x 587 (1-20/250) x 20 x 10-3
= 335 kN ( > VEd = 190 kN)
Therefore, angle = 22 and cot = 2.5 as assumed.

b) Shear links
Asw =
VEd
=
190 x 103
s
0.78dfykcot
0.78 x 587 x 500 x 2.5
= 0.332
*Using Table A.4 in Appendix
Hence, provide 8 mm links at 300 mm centres, Asw/s = 0.335
OR

Try H8 , Asw = 2 x x (82/4) = 101 mm2

Spacing, s = 101/0.332 = 304 mm
Max spacing, smax = 0.75d = 0.75 x 587 = 440 mm
c) Minimum links
Asw,min =
0.08fck0.5bw
=
0.08 x 200.5 x 250 = 0.179
s
fyk
500
Try H8 , Asw = 2 x x (82/4) = 101 mm2
Spacing, s = 101/0.179 = 564 mm
Max spacing, smax = 0.75d = 0.75 x 587 = 440 mm; s > smax, Hence, Use H8-425
Shear resistance of minimum links:
Vmin =
Asw x 0.78dfykcot = (101/425) x 0.78 x 587 x 500 x 2.5 x 10 -3
s
= 136 kN

190kN
136kN

x = [(190 -136) / 47.48] = 1.14 m

x

x
136kN

190 kN
Minimum links

H8 300
1.14 m

H8 425
5.72 m

H8 300
1.14 m

e) Additional longitudinal reinforcement

Ftd = 0.5VEdcot
= 0.5 x 190 x 2.5
= 237.5 kN
Additional longitudinal reinforcement,
As = Ftd /0.87fyk
= 238 x 103 /(0.87 x 500)
= 547 mm2
Hence, provide 2H20 bars = 628 mm2

7. Deflection
= 100As,req/bd
= (100 x 1890)/ (250 x 587)
= 1.29%.

Texbook Section
6.2

(l/d)actual = Span-effective depth ratio provided

= 8000/587 = 13.6 < (l/d)allowable , OK!

8. Cracking (Table 6.7)

Limiting crack width, wmax = 0.3 mm
Steel stress, fs = fyk x Gk + 0.3Qk
.
1
1.15 (1.35Gk+1.5Qk)

= (500/1.15) x (24.06 +(0.3x10) . 1

47.48
= 248 N/mm2
Maximum allowable bar spacing = 150 mm
Bar spacing,
s = [250 2(35) -2(8) 20]/2
= 72 mm < 150 mm, OK!

9. Provide beam detailing

EXERCISE 2
This figure shows part of the first floor plan of a reinforced concrete office building.
During construction, slab and beam are cast together. The overall thickness of the slab is
125 mm and the dimensions of the beams are as given in the diagram. The finishes,
ceiling and services form a characteristic permanent action of 1.5 kN/m2. The
characteristic variable action is 3.0 kN/m2. Three metre high brickwall weighing 2.6
kN/m2 is placed over the entire span of all beams. The construction materials consist of
Grade C25 concrete and grade 500 steel reinforcement. For durability consideration, a
nominal cover of 30 mm is required. Based on the information provided, (a) Calculate
the design action carried by beam 2/B-C, (b) Sketch the bending moment and shear
force diagrams of beam 2/B-C, (c) design the beam for ultimate and serviceability limit
state.