Structural and Materials Division

Faculty of Civil Engineering

Universiti Teknologi MARA Pahang

Chapter 3
Structural Member Design
Design of Beams

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, students should be
able to:
Develop a complete design procedure for a
reinforced concrete beam.
Combine all the design principles discussed
in previous lectures.

Complete Beam Design Steps

Determine preliminary size of beam
1. Determination of nominal cover

Estimate actions
on beam

2. Calculation of the effective depth, d.

3. Design load calculation.
4. Moment & shear analysis SFD and BMD
5. Design of main reinforcements.
6. Design of shear reinforcements.
7. Deflection check.
8. Crack check.
9. Detailing.

Preliminary Size of Beam

Span to overall depth ratio of 13 to 18 are generally found to
be economical in the case of simply supported and
continuous beams.
The recommended ratio of width to overall depth in
rectangular beam section is in the range of 0.3 to 0.6.
However, there are other structural, economic and
architectural considerations that come into play in the
selection of beams sizes.

Estimation of Actions
Brick
wall

Slab
Beam
Actions that applied on a beam may consist of beams self-weight,
permanent and variable loads from slabs, actions from secondary beams
and other structural and non-structural supported by the beam.
Gk = Brick wall + Finishes + Slab + Beam
Qk = Slab + others (if any)

Estimation of Actions - Slab

Estimation of Actions - Slab

Estimation of Actions Continuous Beams

Estimation of Actions Continuous Beams

Load Arrangements

Estimation of Actions Continuous Beams

Load Arrangements

Estimation of Actions Continuous Beams

Load Arrangements

Estimation of Actions Continuous Beams

Load Arrangements - Example

Load Case 1

Load Case 2

Load Case 3

Load Case 4

Estimation of Actions Continuous Beams

Bending Moment Diagram
(kNm) for every load case.

Estimation of Actions Continuous Beams

Shear Force Diagram (kN)
for every load case.

Estimation of Actions Continuous Beams

Bending Moment and Shear Force Envelopes

Method of Analysis Continuous Beams

Method 1: Tabulated moment and shear coefficient
Method is limited and adequate for continuous beams having
approximately equal spans and uniformly distributed loads.
Approximate general solutions for the maximum bending moments and
shearing forces in uniformly loaded beams of three or more spans.

Method of Analysis Continuous Beams

Method 2: Elastic analysis using Method of Moment Distribution
The beam is analysed for the various load cases to get the most adverse
conditions at any section along the beam.
The shear force and bending moment diagrams are drawn for these
cases and the maximum shear and bending moment envelopes are
constructed.
This method can be used for two span beams and beams with
concentrated loads not covered by the first method.

Until we meet again in the next class..