Chapter 1

Introduction to Reinforced
Concrete

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 Acknowledgement
This Powerpoint presentation was
prepared by Dr. Terry Weigel,
University of Louisville. This work
and other contributions to the text
by Dr. Weigel are gratefully
acknowledged.

2
Concrete and Reinforced
Concrete
Concrete – a mixture of fine aggregate (sand),
coarse aggregate (eg, limestone), cement,
water, air and admixtures.
Admixtures are materials, other than cement,
aggregate and water, that are added to
concrete either before or during its mixing
to alter its properties, such as workability,
curing temperature range, set time or
color.
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Concrete and Reinforced
Concrete
Concrete has high compressive strength and
low tensile strength

Reinforced concrete is a combination of

concrete and steel. The reinforcing steel
is used to resist tension

Reinforcing steel can also be used to resist

compression (columns)

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Advantages of Reinforced
Concrete
High compressive strength relative to unit
cost

High resistance to effects of fire and water

Reinforced concrete structures have high

stiffness

Low maintenance cost

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Advantages of Reinforced
Concrete
Reinforced concrete structures have a long
service life

Reinforced concrete is often the only

economical material for footings, floor
slabs, basement walls and piers

Reinforced concrete offers architectural

flexibility
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Advantages of Reinforced
Concrete
Reinforced concrete uses local materials for
aggregate, and only small amounts of
cement and steel, which are items that
may not be available locally

Labor skills are not as high for reinforced

concrete construction, when compared to
some other common materials, such as
structural steel

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Disadvantages of Reinforced
Concrete
Concrete has a low tensile strength, requiring
use of reinforcing steel

Forms are required to hold the concrete until

it hardens. In addition, falsework may be
necessary. Formwork and falsework are
expensive

Concrete has relatively low strength when

compared to its unit weight
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Disadvantages of Reinforced
Concrete
High unit weight translates into large dead
load and corresponding increase in bending
moment
Concrete beams are relatively large, which
leads to, for example, larger story heights
and taller buildings
Concrete properties can vary widely
depending on proportioning, mixing and
curing
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Codes
Building Code Requirements for Structural
Concrete (ACI 318-14)

10
Portland Cement
Type I – common, all-purpose cement
Type II – low heat of hydration and some
resistance to sulfates
Type III – high, early strength; high heat of
hydration
Type IV – low heat of hydration
Type V – used for concrete with exposure to
high concentration of sulfates

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Portland Cement
Concrete made with Type I portland cement
must cure about two weeks to achieve
sufficient strength to permit removal of
forms and application of small loads
Concrete made with Type I portland cement
reaches design strength in about 28 days
Concrete made with Type III portland
cement reaches design strength in three
to seven days
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Portland Cement
Concrete made with Type III portland
cement produces high heat of hydration;
more likely to cause cracking

Concrete used in seawater or some soils may

be subjected to attack by chlorides or
sulfates

13
Air-Entraining Admixtures
Air-entraining admixtures for concrete must
conform to either ASTM C260 or ASTM
C618
Air-entraining admixtures produce small air
bubbles in the concrete

When water in concrete begins to freeze it

expands
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 Air-Entraining Admixtures
The expanding water moves into the space in
the air bubbles
In the air bubbles the water has room to
expand without creating internal pressure
in the concrete
Concrete without entrained air will
deteriorate due to freeze-thaw cycles
Important for bridge decks and other concrete
members exposed to freeze-thaw cycles
15
Other Admixtures
Accelerating admixtures, such as calcium
chloride, reduce curing time
Calcium chloride can cause corrosion in reinforcing
steel, aluminum and other materials
Retarding admixtures slow the rate of set of
concrete and reduce temperature increase
Retarding admixtures are useful when a large
amount of concrete is to be placed and it
is important to reduce temperature
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Other Admixtures
Retarding admixtures prolong the plasticity
of the concrete, increasing the bond
between successive pours

Superplasticizers are made from organic

sulfates
Superplasticizers maintain workability with
reduced water/cement ratio (usually using
less cement)

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Other Admixtures

Superplasticizers are used to produce self-

consolidating concrete (SCC)
With SCC, vibration is not required to get
concrete to flow around reinforcing bars
and in congested areas

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Properties of Reinforced
Concrete

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Compressive Strength

The specified compressive strength

'
of concrete
is denoted by the symbol c f

Compressive strength is determined by testing

a 6x12 in cylinder at an age of 28 days

For most applications, the range of concrete

strength is 3,000 to 4,000 psi

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Compressive Strength

For prestressed concrete, the range of

concrete strength is 5,000 to 6,000 psi

For columns with high axial loads (lower

stories of tall buildings), concrete with
strength in the range 9,000 to 10,000 psi
may be used

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Compression Test Setup for f’c
Concrete Stress-Strain

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 Concrete Stress-Strain

The relationship between stress and strain is

roughly linear at stress levels equal to
about one-third to one-half the ultimate
strength.
Beyond this
range the
relationship
is non-linear

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 Concrete Stress-Strain
Regardless of compressive strength, all
concretes
reach
their
maximum
strength
at a strain
of about
0.002

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 Concrete Stress-Strain

Concrete does not have a well-define yield

point.

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 Concrete Stress-Strain

Ultimate strain achieved is on the order of

0.003 to 0.004. Lower strength concrete
achieves
higher
ultimate
strains than
does higher
strength
concrete

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Static Modulus of Elasticity

Concrete does not have a single modulus of

elasticity
The particular value varies with concrete
strength, age, type of loading and
proportions of aggregate and cement
ACI Code Section c
E  33w1.5
c f c
'

19.2.2.1 For concrete weighing about 145 lb/ft 3

Ec  57,000 f c'
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Static Modulus of Elasticity
High-strength concrete (> 6,000 psi)
1.5
 6   wc 
Ec  40,000 f c  10 
'
   145 
Dynamic modulus is about 20 to 40 percent
higher than the static modulus

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Poisson’s Ratio

About 0.11 for high strength concrete

About 0.21 for low strength concrete

Average value is about 0.16

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Shrinkage
Workable concrete requires more water than
is necessary to fully hydrate the cement
As concrete cures, water not used in
hydration begins to evaporate
The effect of evaporating water is shrinkage
and cracking of the concrete
Shrinkage occurs for many years, but about
90 percent occurs within the first year
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Shrinkage
The amount of moisture lost depends on
distance from the point in the concrete to
the surface
Members with large surface area have a
higher rate of shrinkage
The amount of shrinkage depends on exposure
of the member

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Shrinkage
Keep mixing water to a minimum
Cure thoroughly
Place concrete in small sections
Use construction joints
Use shrinkage reinforcement
Use dense, non-porous aggregate

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Creep
Creep is deformation under sustained load

Creep is also called plastic flow

Creep deformations may be two to three

times as large as instantaneous
deformation

75 percent of creep occurs during the first

year
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Creep
The amount of creep is dependent on the
stress present
Creep can also cause concrete strength
reduction of 15 to 25 percent
The longer concrete cures before load is
applied, the smaller the creep
High strength concrete experiences less
creep than low strength concrete
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Creep
Creep increases with increasing temperature
The higher the humidity, the smaller the
creep
The higher w/c, the higher the creep
The presence of compression steel reduces
creep
Large members creep less than small
members
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Tensile Strength
Tensile strength of concrete is about eight to
15 percent of its compressive strength

Tensile strength varies with the square root

of the compressive strength

Concrete is filled with micro-cracks

Micro-cracks affect tensile strength, but not

compressive strength
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Tensile Strength

Tensile strength is measured indirectly, using

either the modulus of rupture or split
cylinder test

While tensile strength is small, it

nevertheless has a significant impact on
deflections, bond strength, shear strength
and torsional strength

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Modulus of Rupture Test

ASTM C78

6-in x 6-in x 30-in unreinforced concrete

specimen

Tested as a simple beam on a 24-in span

Loaded at third-points with two concentrated

loads

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Modulus of Rupture Test
Flexural formula for
fr (modulus of rupture) fr 
Mc
P/2 P/2 I
PL
M
6
bh3
I
12
 PL  h 
L/3 L/3    PL
fr    2  
6
bh3 bh 2
12

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ACI Value for fr

ACI Code Section 19.2.3.1

f r  7.5 f c'
 is a parameter to account for lightweight
concrete:
= 1 for normal weight concrete
= 0.85 for sand-lightweight concrete
= 0.75 for all-lightweight concrete

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Split Cylinder Test
Split Cylinder Test

ASTM C496

2P
fr 
 LD
L  length of specimen
D  diameter of specimen

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Aggregates
Aggregates occupy about three-quarters of
the concrete volume
Aggregate is relatively inexpensive and
economical concrete uses as much
aggregate as possible, relative to the
other components
Concrete aggregate consists of a fine
component (sand) and a coarse component

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Aggregates
Aggregate that passes a No 4 sieve is
considered to be fine aggregate
Aggregate not passing a No 4 sieve is considered
to be coarse aggregate (3/4 in. most common)
ACI Code Section 3.3.2 limits aggregate size:
one-fifth narrowest dimension between
sides of forms; one-third the depth of
slabs; three-quarters of the minimum clear
space between reinforcement
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 Aggregates

Cement
Reinforcing Steel
Bars or welded wire fabric (WWF)

Bars can be plain or deformed

Plain bars are rarely used

Deformed bars come in these sizes: No 3 to

No 11, No 14 and No 18

The diameter of the bar is the bar’s number

divided by 8 (up to #8)
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Reinforcing Steel
Bar No Diameter Area (in2)
(in)
3 0.375 0.11
4 0.500 0.20
5 0.625 0.31
6 0.750 0.44
7 0.875 0.60
8 1.00 0.79
9 1.13 1.00
10 1.27 1.27
11 1.41 1.41
14 1.70 2.25
18 2.26 4.0 49
WWF
See text Appendices A.3(a) and A.3(b)

Both smooth and deformed wires – W smooth

wire – D deformed wire

Area of wire follows W or D –> W4 – 0.04 in2

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Welded Wire Fabric (WWF)
WWF

Example - > WWF6 x 12-W16 x 8

6 x 12 – 6 in longitudinal and 12 in transverse

spacing wire spacing

16 x 8 – longitudinal and transverse wire

areas, respectively, in hundredths of
square in per foot of length

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ASTM Reinforcing Steel
Standards
ASTM A615 – deformed or plain billet steel –
most commonly used

ASTM A706 – low alloy deformed or plain

bars – properties intended to enhance
weldability or bendability

ASTM A996 – deformed rail steel or axle

steel bars – very limited availability
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Grades of Reinforcing Steel
Grade 40, 50, 60, 75 or 80

Grade 60 -> 60 ksi specified minimum yield

stress
Grade 60 most commonly used

Grades 40 and 50 intended to be Grade 60

but does not have adequate yield strength

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Reinforcing Steel Identification

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Deformed Rebars
Deformed Rebar

Ribs
Loads and Load Effects

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Loads and Load Effects
Types of loads encountered when designing
reinforced concrete: dead, live, roof live,
snow and ice, rain, wind and seismic

Loads produce load effects (axial force,

shear, moment and torsion)

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ACI 318 Load Combinations
ACI Code Section 5.3.1 gives the load
combinations to be used in reinforced
concrete design

The ACI load combinations deal with load

effects, not loads

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ACI 318 Load Combinations
(a) U  1.4 D
(b) U  1.2 D  1.6 L  0.5  Lr or S or R 
(c) U  1.2 D  1.6  Lr or S or R    L or 0.5W 
(d) U  1.2 D  1.0W  L  0.5  Lr or S or R 
(e) U  1.2 D  1.0 E  L  0.2 S
(f) U  0.9 D  1.0W
(g) U  0.9 D  1.0 E

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ACI 318 Load Combinations
D -> dead load
L -> live load
Lr -> roof live load
F -> weight or pressure created by fluids
T -> temperature, creep, shrinkage, differential
settlement
S -> snow load
W -> wind load
E -> seismic load
H -> lateral earth pressure, groundwater pressure or
pressure from bulk materials
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Example 4.1
The compressive gravity axial load for a building
column are: L = 300 k, D = 150 k and Lr = 60 k.
The compressive axial force in the column due to
other loads are: wind = 112 k, seismic = 50 k.
Tensile axial force in the column due to other
loads are: wind = 96 k, seismic = 40 k. Determine
the critical design loads based on the ACI load
combinations . Compressive loads are positive
(this is an arbitrary choice).

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 Example 4.1
 5.3.1a  U  1.4  150 k   210 k

(5.3.1b) U  1.2  150 k   1.6  300 k   0.5  60 k   690 k

 5.3.1c  U  1.2  150 k   1.6  60 k  +1.0  300 k   576 k

 5.3.1c  U  1.2  150 k   1.6  60 k  +0.5  112 k   332 k
 5.3.1c  U  1.2  150 k   1.6  60 k  +0.5  96 k   228 k

 5.3.1d  U  1.2  150 k   1.0  112 k  +1.0  300 k   0.5  60 k   622 k

 5.3.1d  U  1.2  150 k   1.0  96 k  +1.0  300 k   0.5  60 k   414 k

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 Example 4.1
 5.3.1e  U  1.2  150 k   1.0  50 k   1.0  300 k   0.2  0 k   530 k
 5.3.1e  U  1.2  150 k   1.0  40 k   1.0  300 k   0.2  0 k   440 k

 5.3.1 f  U  0.9  150 k   1.0  112 k   247 k

 5.3.1 f  U  0.9  150 k   1.0  96 k   39 k

 5.3.1g  U  0.9  150 k   1.0  50 k   185 k

 5.3.1g  U  0.9  150 k   1.0  40 k   95 k

Ans: Largest U = 690 kips (Load combination 5.3.1b)

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