WATER INSTITUTE

WRU 07206
 DESIGN DETAILS OF BEAMS
OBJECTIVES
GENERAL OBJECTIVE

o To understand the principles in providing the

design details of reinforced concrete beams
according to BS 8110 requirements.
 OBJECTIVES CONT…….
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
o At the end of this unit you will be able to;
1. Determine the amount of nominal cover to
reinforcement.

2. Check whether the minimum and maximum

areas of reinforcement are within limits.
3. Determine the distance between bars.

4. Calculate anchorage lengths.

5. Calculate lap lengths.

6. Calculate the cut-off distance for

curtailments.
 INTRODUCTION
o Reinforced concrete structural elements are
designed so that they meet the requirements
of Ultimate Limit State (ULS) and Serviceability
Limit State(SLS).
o In addition to these requirements, they should
also satisfy other requirements such as the
concrete mix, nominal cover to reinforcement
and detailing of the reinforcements.
o These requirements if fulfilled will ensure that
the elements are durable; this is in
construction, economical and cost-effective.
 Concrete Cover
o Nominal cover is the thickness of concrete
which protects all reinforcements including
links from the surrounding environment in
which they are exposed to.
o Adequate cover should be provided in order
to protect the reinforcement from fire and
corrosion.
o The amount of cover to be provided is given in
Table 3.4 and 3.5, BS 8110.
o It can be seen that the nominal cover to be
provided depends on various affecting factors.
o They are as follows;
(1) Exposure conditions
(2) Grade of concrete and
(3)Fire resistance.
o The limits on water/cement ratio and cement
content will automatically be assured by
specifying the minimum grades of concrete
indicated in theTable3.3, BS8110.
o In actual structure, the nominal cover
dimension shown in the drawings can never
be maintained at 100%.
o Therefore, some tolerances must be provided.
o The actual cover to all reinforcements should
never be less than the nominal cover minus 5
mm.
o The nominal cover should also comply with
the recommendations for bar size, aggregate
size and concrete cast against uneven
surfaces.
o These are elaborated as follows;
(a)The nominal cover to a main bar should not
be less than the size of the main bar if it is a
single bar, or the equivalent size if they are in
pairs.
( b)The nominal cover should not be less than
the nominal maximum size of aggregates. This
is to facilitate the compaction of fresh
concrete
(c)Concrete cast directly against earth as in
foundations, the nominal cover should not be
less than 75 mm. If blinding is provided, the
nominal cover should not be less than 40 mm.
o In choosing the appropriate cover for a
particular structural element, we should take
the largest value derived from the following
factors;
(a) Bar size
(b) Environmental conditions
(c) Fire resistance
 Minimum and Maximum area
requirements
o BS 8110 recommends that the minimum crack
width should not exceed 0.3mm.
o This is to avoid corrosion of the
reinforcements.
o Observing the detailing rules regarding the
minimum areas of reinforcement and also the
maximum spacing of the bars will satisfy this
requirement.
o Minimum areas of reinforcement are given in
Table 3.27 of the code.
o Reference should also to be made to clause
3.12.5.3.
o The area of reinforcement provided must
exceed the minimum given in Table 3.27 to
ensure that the structural element will not be
under reinforced.
o The maximum area of reinforcement
requirement is to ensure that the structural
element will not be congested with too much
steel.
o Clause 3.12.6 of the code states that the
maximum area of reinforcement in a beam
should not exceed 4% of the gross concrete
sectional area.
 Spacing of Reinforcement
✓BS 8110 specifies the minimum and maximum
distances between tension reinforcement.
✓The minimum distance is based on the need
to achieve good compaction of the concrete
around the reinforcement.
✓The limit on the maximum distance is to
ensure that the maximum crack width is under
control to prevent corrosion of the embedded
bars.
✓For singly reinforced simply supported beams,
the clear horizontal distance between tension
bars, denoted as Sb must lie within the
following limits;
✓If the beam is provided with more than one
layer of reinforcement, the clear vertical
distance between bars should not be less than

✓This is shown diagrammatically in Figure 7.2

below;
 Anchorage of bars
✓Reinforcement bars subjected to direct tensile
force must be adequately anchored so that
they will not slip-out of the concrete.
✓ Bars subjected to bending should also be
provided with adequate anchorage to ensure
that the design stress (0.87 fy for mid-span)
will not be reduced.
✓Bars are anchored in the concrete in order to
develop this value.
✓Figure 7.3 gives some clarification on this
matter.
✓Anchorage is normally achieved by extending
bars beyond the point at which they are
theoretically no longer required.

✓ This length is equal to the greater of the:

(a) Effective depth of the member
(b) 12 times the bar size
✓In order to be effective, anchorage is also
dependent upon the bond strength between
bar, concrete and surface area in contact.
✓Anchorage length is calculated using the
following equation:
✓Sometimes it is not possible to use straight
bars when available space is limited.
✓ In this case, anchorage is provided using
hooks or bends.
✓The anchorage values of hooks and bends are
shown in Figure 7.4a and 7.4b that’s given in
the next page.
o It should be noted that the radius of the bend
is greater for high yield bars than for more
ductile mild steel bars.
o Bending is to be done in accordance to
BS4466.
o The reductions, which are made for bends and
hooks, are formed in accordance with the
standards for bar bending.
o Refer to Figure 7.4a and 7.4b.
 Curtailment of reinforcement
✓ Steel reinforcement can be cut-off or their
numbers can be reduced at suitable places in the
beams for various reasons.
✓ They are as follows;
(a) Bending moment decreases on either side at
mid-span. The corresponding area of bending
reinforcement will be reduced because smaller
bending moments require a smaller number and
hence smaller areas of reinforcement.
(b) The reduction in number of bars helps in
reducing cost and they are easier to handle
too.
(c) Congestion of bars can be avoided thus
enhancing the compaction of fresh concrete.

o Simplified rules for curtailment of bars are

given in Clause 3.12.10.2 of BS8110.
o These are shown diagrammatically in Figure
3.24 of the code for simply supported,
continuous and cantilever beams.
o The simplified rules are used when the
following conditions are met;
(a)The beams carry predominantly uniformly
distributed loads.
( b)In the case of continuous beams, the spans
are approximately equal.
 Laps in Reinforcement
✓Lapping of bars is necessary in order to
transfer stresses from a bar to another bar.
✓Bars that have been joined in this way acts as
a single length bar.
✓The lap should be sufficiently long.
✓ The minimum lap length should not be less
than15 times the bar diameter or 300 mm,
whichever is the greater, as stated in Clause
3.12.8.11.of BS8110.
✓For tension laps, it is normally equal to the
tension anchorage length, but will often need
to be increased as outlined in clause 3.12.8.13
of the code.
✓ The anchorage length, L, is calculated using
the following equation;
o Where ɸ is the diameter of the smaller bar
and LA is to be obtained from Table 3.29 of the
code.
o For compression laps, the lap length should be
at least 1.25 times the compression anchorage
length.
o Note that a longer lap length is required at the
top and corner of the beam section.
o This is because at the top of the section, fresh
concrete is less compact and contain more
water than at anywhere else in the section,
while at the corner of the section, bars are
less restrained.
 SUMMARY
o This unit should give you some understanding
of the design details of reinforced concrete
beams.
o The design details requirements that we have
discussed are as follows;
1. Minimum concrete cover
o This is given by clause 3.3.1 of BS 8110 and is
dependent on:
(a) Diameter of bar
(b) Type of structural member
(c) Exposure conditions of concrete
(d) Type of cement used
(e) Type of aggregate used
(f) Fire resistance required
2. Laps
o These may be required….
(a) To reduce bar handling length
(b) At construction joints
(c) In confined spaces
o The minimum length of bars is given by……….
(a) Concrete mix
(b) Type of bar
(c) Type of stress

o The position of laps must be:

(a) At points of minimum stress
(b) Staggered in adjacent bars
3. Hooks and Bends
o The minimum internal radius must be:
(a) Twice the bar diameter for mild steel
(b) Thrice the bar diameter for high yield steel
(c) The radius of the anchoring bar which is to
be bend round
o Hooks and bends must:
(a) Have a minimum straight length of four times
the bar diameter
(b) Be marked hook up or hook down when at
right angles to the plan of the detail drawing
(c) Not be positioned in tensile zones
(d) Not foul with other bars
4. Minimum and maximum areas of
reinforcement
o For rectangular beams with overall
dimensions b and h, the area of tension
reinforcement, As should lie within the
following limits;
0.24% ”As ,”4 % bh when fy = 250 N/mm2
0.13 % bh ”As, 4% bh when fy = 460 N/mm2
5. Arrangement of bars
(a) A minimum cover must satisfy clause 3.3.1 of
BS 8110
(b) Horizontal and vertical spacing must satisfy
clause 3.12.11 of BS 8110
(c) If different diameters, then the larger
diameter bars must be;
(i) In a single row placed outside
(ii) For two or more rows placed in the lower
row
(iii) Placed at the upper row on top over
supports
6. Curtailment of bars
(a) Theoretical cut-off position determined from
bending moment diagram
(b) Actual position allowed for bond length
(c) Cut-off bars in pairs symmetrical about beam
centre line
(d) 50% of bottom bars to be carried through to the
support
(e) Simplified curtailment rules must satisfy clause
3.121.10.2 of BS8110