Reinforced Concrete Design to EC2

Bill Mosley
John Bungey
&
Ray Hulse

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 Properties of Reinforced Concrete

1.2 COMPOSITE ACTION

Concrete strong in compression and weak in
tension
Load A

Compression

Tension
Cracking Strain Section A-A
Distribution
Reinforcement A

1.3: Composite action

Figure 1.1:

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 Properties of Reinforced Concrete

1.3 STRESS-STRAIN RELATIONSHIPS

1.3.1 Concrete
Assumed stressstrain relationship up to 50 N/mm2 cylinder strength

Stress

0.0035
Strain

1.4: Stress-strain curve for concrete in compression

Figure 1.2:

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 Properties of Reinforced Concrete

Estimated concrete strength development with age

40

2
Compressive strength N/mm
30

20

10

0
1 7 28 3 1 5
day days days months year years
Age of concrete (log scale)

1.5: Increase of concrete strength w ith age. Typical curve for a

Figure 1.3:
concrete made w ith a Class 42.5 Portland Cement w ith 28 day
compressive strength of 30 N/mm 2

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 Properties of Reinforced Concrete

Alternative elastic moduli for concrete

[Secant generally used in design]
0.4f cm
Stress

Tangent or dynamic modulus

Secant or static modulus

Strain

1.6: Moduli of elasticity of concrete

Figure 1.4:

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 Properties of Reinforced Concrete

1.3.2 Steel
Reinforcing steel characteristics 3 ductility classes - no mild steel

Yield stress 0.2% proof stress

Stress

Stress
Strain 0.002 Strain
(a) Hot rolled steel (b) Cold w orked steel
1.7 Stress-strain curves for high-yield reinforcing steel
Figure 1.5:

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 Properties of Reinforced Concrete

Effect of loading reinforcement into plastic range

B
Stress

A C Strain

1.8: Strain hardening

Figure 1.6:

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 Properties of Reinforced Concrete

1.4 SHRINKAGE AND THERMAL MOVEMENT

Effects of internal and external restraint on concrete shrinkage

Original member -
as cast

s h
Plain concrete -
unrestrained

c t

Reinforced concrete -
unrestrained
s c

c t
Reinforced concrete -
fully restrained

1.9: Shrinkage strains

Figure 1.7:
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 Properties of Reinforced Concrete

Reinforcement restrains shrinkage movement and

generates tension in concrete

Ac fct
As fst
As fsc

1.10 Shrinkage forces adjacent to a crack

Figure 1.8:

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 Properties of Reinforced Concrete

1.5 CONCRETE CREEP

Development of creep deformation with time
affects deflections and crack widths
Deformation

Creep

Short-term elastic

1 2 3 4 5
Time - years

1.11 Typical increase of deformation w ith time for concrete

Figure 1.9:

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 Properties of Reinforced Concrete
1.6 DURABILITY
The durability of the concrete is influenced by
(1) the exposure conditions
(2) the cement type
(3) the concrete quality
(4) the cover to the reinforcement
(5) the width of any cracks

Adequate cover is essential to prevent corrosive agents

reaching the reinforcement through cracks and pervious
concrete.
The thickness of cover required depends on the severity of
the exposure and the quality of the concrete
The cover is also necessary to protect the reinforcement
against a rapid rise in temperature and subsequent loss of
strength during a fire.

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 Properties of Reinforced Concrete

1.7 SPECIFICATION OF MATERIALS

Concrete
The concrete strength is assessed by measuring the crushing
strength of cubes or cylinders of concrete made from the mix.

Concrete of a given strength is identified by its class a

Class 25/30 concrete has a characteristic cylinder crushing
strength (fck) of 25 N/mm2 and cube strength of 30 N/mm2.

Exposure conditions and durability can also effect the choice

of the mix design and the class of concrete.

The concrete mix may either be classified as designed or

designated.

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 Properties of Reinforced Concrete

Strength classes of concrete

Class fck Normal lowest class for use as
2
(N/mm ) specified
C16/20 16 Plain concrete
C20/25 20 Reinforced concrete
C25/30 25
BS8500 C28/35 28 Prestressed Concrete/ Reinforced Concrete
classes not subject to chlorides
EC2 C30/37 30 Reinforced Concrete in Foundations
C32/40 32
C35/45 35
C40/50 40
C45/55 45
C50/60 50
C55/67 55
C60/75 60
C70/85 70
C80/95 80
14 C90/105 90
 Properties of Reinforced Concrete
Reinforcing Steel
Grade 500 (500N/mm2 characteristic strength) has
replaced Grade 250 and Grade 460 reinforcing steel
throughout Europe. EC2 permits use of up to Grade 600
Strength of reinforcement
Designation Normal sizes Specified
(mm) characteristic
strength
2
f (N/mm )
yk

Hot-rolled high All sizes 500

yield (BS4449) Up to and 500
Cold-worked high including 12
yield (BS4449)

*Note that BS4449 should be used in conjunction with BS EN10080. EN10080

provides the performance characteristics and testing methods but does not specify
the material properties. These are given in Annex C of EC2

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 Properties of Reinforced Concrete

Grade 250 bars are hot-rolled mild-steel bars - not now

recognised in the European Union and they are no longer
available for general use in the UK.

The ductility of reinforcing steel is also classified for design

purposes. Ribbed high yield bars may be classified as:
Class A which is normally associated with small diameter
( 12 mm) cold-worked bars used in mesh and fabric. This
is the lowest ductility category
Class B which is most commonly used for reinforcing
bars.
Class C high ductility which may be used in earthquake
design or similar situations.

The bar types are commonly identified by the following codes:

H for high yield steel, irrespective of ductility class or HA, HB,
16 HC where a specific ductility class is required
 Properties of Reinforced Concrete

End of chapter 1

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