Chapter 3

Design in reinforced
concrete to BS 8110

This chapter is concerned with the detailed design of the recommendations given in various documents
reinforced concrete elements to British Standard 8110. including BS 5400: Part 4: Code of practice for
A general discussion of the different types of commonly design of concrete bridges, BS 8007: Code of prac-
occurring beams, slabs, walls, foundations and col- tice for the design of concrete structures for retaining
umns is given together with a number of fully worked aqueous liquids and BS 8110: Structural use of con-
examples covering the design of the following elements: crete. Since the primary aim of this book is to give
singly and doubly reinforced beams, continuous beams, guidance on the design of structural elements, this
one-way and two-way spanning solid slabs, pad founda- is best illustrated by considering the contents of
tion, cantilever retaining wall and short braced columns BS 8110.
supporting axial loads and uni-axial or bi-axial bend- BS 8110 is divided into the following three parts:
ing. The section which deals with singly reinforced beams
is, perhaps, the most important since it introduces the Part 1: Code of practice for design and construction.
design procedures and equations which are common to Part 2: Code of practice for special circumstances.
the design of the other elements mentioned above, with Part 3: Design charts for singly reinforced beams, doubly
the possible exception of columns. reinforced beams and rectangular columns.
Part 1 covers most of the material required for
everyday design. Since most of this chapter is
3.1 Introduction concerned with the contents of Part 1, it should
Reinforced concrete is one of the principal materials be assumed that all references to BS 8110 refer to
used in structural design. It is a composite material, Part 1 exclusively. Part 2 covers subjects such as
consisting of steel reinforcing bars embedded in torsional resistance, calculation of deflections and
concrete. These two materials have complementary estimation of crack widths. These aspects of design
properties. Concrete, on the one hand, has high are beyond the scope of this book and Part 2, there-
compressive strength but low tensile strength. Steel fore, is not discussed here. Part 3 of BS 8110 con-
bars, on the other, can resist high tensile stresses tains charts for use in the design of singly reinforced
but will buckle when subjected to comparatively beams, doubly reinforced beams and rectangular
low compressive stresses. Steel is much more columns. A number of design examples illustrating
expensive than concrete. By providing steel bars the use of these charts are included in the relevant
predominantly in those zones within a concrete sections of this chapter.
member which will be subjected to tensile stresses,
an economical structural material can be produced
which is both strong in compression and strong 3.2 Objectives and scope
in tension. In addition, the concrete provides cor-
rosion protection and fire resistance to the more All reinforced concrete building structures are
vulnerable embedded steel reinforcing bars. composed of various categories of elements includ-
Reinforced concrete is used in many civil ing slabs, beams, columns, walls and foundations
engineering applications such as the construction (Fig. 3.1). Within each category is a range of ele-
of structural frames, foundations, retaining walls, ment types. The aim of this chapter is to describe
water retaining structures, highways and bridges. the element types and, for selected elements, to
They are normally designed in accordance with give guidance on their design.
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 Design in reinforced concrete to BS 8110

Roof 3. material properties

4. loading
5. stress–strain relationships
6. durability and fire resistance.
2nd Floor Walls
The detailed design of beams, slabs, foundations,
Beams
retaining walls and columns will be discussed in
Floor slabs
1st Floor
sections 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, 3.12 and 3.13, respectively.

Columns 3.3 Symbols

For the purpose of this book, the following sym-
Foundations bols have been used. These have largely been taken
from BS 8110. Note that in one or two cases the
Fig. 3.1 Some elements of a structure. same symbol is differently defined. Where this
occurs the reader should use the definition most
A great deal of emphasis has been placed in the appropriate to the element being designed.
text to highlight the similarities in structural beha- Geometric properties:
viour and, hence, design of the various categories of
elements. Thus, certain slabs can be regarded for b width of section
design purposes as a series of transversely connected d effective depth of the tension reinforcement
beams. Columns may support slabs and beams h overall depth of section
but columns may also be supported by (ground x depth to neutral axis
bearing) slabs and beams, in which case the latter z lever arm
are more commonly referred to as foundations. d′ depth to the compression reinforcement
Cantilever retaining walls are usually designed as b effective span
if they consist of three cantilever beams as shown c nominal cover to reinforcement
in Fig. 3.2. Columns are different in that they are Bending:
primarily compression members rather than beams
and slabs which predominantly resist bending. Fk characteristic load
Therefore columns are dealt with separately at the g k, G k characteristic dead load
end of the chapter. qk, Qk characteristic imposed load
Irrespective of the element being designed, the wk, Wk characteristic wind load
designer will need a basic understanding of the fol- fk characteristic strength
lowing aspects which are discussed next: fcu characteristic compressive cube strength
of concrete
1. symbols fy characteristic tensile strength of
2. basis of design reinforcement
γf partial safety factor for load
γm partial safety factor for material
strengths
Deflected Wall K coefficient given by M/fcubd 2
shape of Horizontal K′ coefficient given by Mu/fcubd 2 = 0.156 when
wall pressure redistribution does not exceed 10 per cent
M design ultimate moment
Mu design ultimate moment of resistance
Pressure As area of tension reinforcement
As′ area of compression reinforcement
Φ diameter of main steel
Φ′ diameter of links
Deflected shape Shear:
at base
f yv characteristic strength of links
Fig. 3.2 Cantilever retaining wall. sv spacing of links along the member
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 Material properties

V design shear force due to ultimate For steel, however, it is its tensile strength capacity
loads which is important.
v design shear stress
vc design concrete shear stress 3.5.1 CHARACTERISTIC COMPRESSIVE
A sv total cross-sectional area of shear STRENGTH OF CONCRETE, fcu
reinforcement Concrete is a mixture of water, coarse and fine
aggregate and a cementitious binder (normally Port-
Compression: land cement) which hardens to a stone like mass.
As can be appreciated, it is difficult to produce a
b width of column
homogeneous material from these components.
h depth of column
Furthermore, its strength and other properties may
bo clear height between end restraints
vary considerably due to operations such as trans-
be effective height
portation, compaction and curing.
bex effective height in respect of x-x axis
The compressive strength of concrete is usually
bey effective height in respect of y-y axis
determined by carrying out compression tests on
N design ultimate axial load
28-day-old, 100 mm cubes which have been pre-
Ac net cross-sectional area of concrete in
pared using a standard procedure laid down in BS
a column
EN 12390-1 (2000). An alternative approach is to
A sc area of longitudinal reinforcement
use 100 mm diameter by 200 mm long cylinders.
Irrespective of the shape of the test specimen, if
a large number of compression tests were carried
3.4 Basis of design out on samples made from the same mix it would
be found that a plot of crushing strength against
The design of reinforced concrete elements to frequency of occurrence would approximate to a
BS 8110 is based on the limit state method. As normal distribution (Fig. 3.3).
discussed in Chapter 1, the two principal categories For design purposes it is necessary to assume a
of limit states normally considered in design are: unique value for the strength of the mix. However,
(i) ultimate limit state choosing too high a value will result in a high prob-
(ii) serviceability limit state. ability that most of the structure will be constructed
with concrete having a strength below this value.
The ultimate limit state models the behaviour Conversely, too low a value will result in inefficient
of the element at failure due to a variety of mech- use of the material. As a compromise between
anisms including excessive bending, shear and economy and safety, BS 8110 refers to the charac-
compression or tension. The serviceability limit state teristic strength ( fcu) which is defined as the value
models the behaviour of the member at working below which not more than 5 per cent of the test
loads and in the context of reinforced concrete results fall.
design is principally concerned with the limit states
of deflection and cracking.
Having identified the relevant limit states, the
design process simply involves basing the design Mean
on the most critical one and then checking for the strength
remaining limit states. This requires an understand-
Number of results

ing of
1. material properties
2. loadings.
1.64 s.d.

3.5 Material properties Strength

fcu fm
The two materials whose properties must be known
5% of
are concrete and steel reinforcement. In the case results
of concrete, the property with which the designer
is primarily concerned is its compressive strength. Fig. 3.3 Normal frequency distribution of strengths.

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 Design in reinforced concrete to BS 8110

Table 3.1 Concrete compressive strength classes Table 3.2 Strength of reinforcement
(Table 3.1, BS 8110)
Concrete Designated Characteristic cube
strength classes concrete strength, fcu (Nmm−2) Reinforcement type Characteristic strength, fy
(Nmm−2)
C 20/25 RC 20/25 25
C 25/30 RC 25/30 30 Hot rolled mild steel 250
C 28/35 RC 28/35 35 High-yield steel (hot rolled 500
C 32/40 RC 32/40 40 or cold worked)
C 35/45 RC 35/45 45
C 40/50 RC 40/50 50
C 50/60 – 60
3.5.2 CHARACTERISTIC STRENGTH OF
REINFORCEMENT, fy
The characteristic and mean strength ( f m ) of a Concrete is strong in compression but weak in
sample are related by the expression: tension. Because of this it is normal practice to
provide steel reinforcement in those areas where
fcu = fm − 1.64 s.d. tensile stresses in the concrete are most likely to de-
where s.d. is the standard deviation. Thus assuming velop. Consequently, it is the tensile strength of the
that the mean strength is 35 Nmm−2 and standard reinforcement which most concerns the designer.
deviation is 3 Nmm−2, the characteristic strength of The tensile strength of steel reinforcement can
the mix is 35 − 1.64 × 3 = 30 Nmm−2. be determined using the procedure laid down in
The characteristic compressive strength of con- BS EN 10002: Part 1. The tensile strength will
crete can be identified by its ‘strength class’. Table also vary ‘normally’ with specimens of the same
3.1 shows typical compressive strength classes of composition. Using the same reasoning as above,
concrete commonly used in reinforced concrete de- BS 8110 recommends that design should be based
sign. Note that the strength class consists of the on the characteristic strength of the reinforcement
characteristic cylinder strength of the mix followed ( fy) and gives typical values for mild steel and high-
by its characteristic cube strength. For example, a yield steel reinforcement, the two reinforcement
class C25/30 concrete has a characteristic cylinder types available in the UK, of 250 Nmm−2 and 500
strength of 25 Nmm−2 and a characteristic cube Nmm−2 respectively (Table 3.2). High-yield rein-
strength of 30 Nmm−2. Nevertheless, like previous forcement is mostly used in practice nowadays.
editions of BS 8110, the design rules in the latest
edition are based on characteristic cube not cylin- 3.5.3 DESIGN STRENGTH
der strengths. In general, concrete strength classes Tests to determine the characteristic strengths of
in the range C20/25 and C50/60 can be designed concrete and steel reinforcement are carried out on
using BS 8110. near perfect specimens, which have been prepared
Table 3.1 also shows the two common approaches under laboratory conditions. Such conditions will
to the specification of concrete recommended in seldom exist in practice. Therefore it is undesirable
BS 8500, namely designed and designated. In many to use characteristic strengths to size members.
applications the most straightforward approach To take account of differences between actual
is to use a designated concrete which simply in- and laboratory values, local weaknesses and inac-
volves specifying the strength class, e.g. RC 20/25, curacies in assessment of the resistances of sections,
and the maximum aggregate size. However, this the characteristic strengths ( fk ) are divided by
approach may not be suitable for foundations, appropriate partial safety factor for strengths (γ m ),
for example if ground investigations indicate the obtained from Table 3.3. The resulting values are
concrete will be exposed to an aggressive chemical termed design strengths and it is the design strengths
environment. Under these circumstances a designed which are used to size members.
mix may be required and the designer will need fk
to specify not only the strength class, i.e. C20/25, Design strength = (3.1)
γm
and the maximum aggregate size but also the
maximum permissible water/cement ratio, minimum It should be noted that for the ultimate limit
cement content, permitted cement or combination state the partial safety factor for reinforcement (γms)
types, amongst other aspects. is always 1.15, but for concrete (γmc) assumes
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 Loading

Table 3.3 Values of γm for the ultimate limit 1. BS 648: Schedule of weights for building materials.
state (Table 2.2, BS 8110) 2. BS 6399: Design loadings for buildings, Part 1:
Code of practice for dead and imposed loads; Part
Material/Stress type Partial safety 2: Code of practice for wind loads; Part 3: Code of
factor, γ m practice for imposed roof loads

Reinforcement 1.15 3.6.2 DESIGN LOAD

Concrete in flexure or axial load 1.50 Variations in the characteristic loads may arise
Concrete shear strength without shear 1.25 due to a number of reasons such as errors in the
reinforcement analysis and design of the structure, constructional
Concrete bond strength 1.40 inaccuracies and possible unusual load increases.
Concrete, others (e.g. bearing stress) ≥ 1.50 In order to take account of these effects, the char-
acteristic loads (Fk ) are multiplied by the appropri-
ate partial safety factor for loads (γ f ), taken from
Table 3.4, to give the design loads acting on the
different values depending upon the stress type
structure:
under consideration. Furthermore, the partial safety
factors for concrete are all greater than that for rein- Design load = γf Fk (3.2)
forcement since concrete quality is less controllable.
Generally, the ‘adverse’ factors will be used to
derive the design loads acting on the structure. For
example, for single-span beams subject to only dead
3.6 Loading and imposed loads the appropriate values of γf are
In addition to the material properties, the designer generally 1.4 and 1.6 respectively (Fig. 3.4(a)). How-
needs to know the type and magnitude of the load- ever, for continuous beams, load cases must be ana-
ing to which the structure may be subject during lysed which should include maximum and minimum
its design life. design loads on alternate spans (Fig. 3.4(b)).
The loads acting on a structure are divided The design loads are used to calculate the
into three basic types: dead, imposed and wind distribution of bending moments and shear forces
(section 2.2). Associated with each type of loading in the structure usually using elastic analysis meth-
there are characteristic and design values which ods as discussed in Chapter 2. At no point should
must be assessed before the individual elements of they exceed the corresponding design strengths of
the structure can be designed. These aspects are the member, otherwise failure of the structure may
discussed next. arise.
The design strength is a function of the distribu-
3.6.1 CHARACTERISTIC LOAD tion of stresses in the member. Thus, for the simple
As noted in Chapter 2, it is not possible to apply case of a steel bar in direct tension the design
statistical principles to determine characteristic dead strength is equal to the cross-sectional area of the
(Gk ), imposed (Qk ) and wind (Wk ) loads simply bar multiplied by the average stress at failure
because there are insufficient data. Therefore, the (Fig 3.5). The distribution of stresses in reinforced
characteristic loads are taken to be those given in concrete members is usually more complicated, but
the following documents: can be estimated once the stress–strain behaviour

Table 3.4 Values of γ f for various load combinations (based on Table 2.1, BS 8110)

Load combination Load type

Dead, Gk Imposed, Q k Wind, Wk

Adverse Beneficial Adverse Beneficial

1. Dead and imposed 1.4 1.0 1.6 0 –

2. Dead and wind 1.4 1.0 – – 1.4
3. Dead and wind and imposed 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2

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 Design in reinforced concrete to BS 8110

1.4g k + 1.6q k

(a)

1.4g k + 1.6q k

1.4g k + 1.6q k 1.4g k + 1.6q k

1.0g k 1.0g k

(b)

Fig. 3.4 Ultimate design loads: (a) single span beam; (b) continuous beam.

A 0.67f cu
γm Parabolic curve
T σ T

Fig. 3.5 Design strength of the bar. Design strength,

T, = σ.A, where σ is the average stress at failure and Stress
A the cross-sectional area of the bar.
f cu
5.5 γm kN/mm2

Stress
Peak stress ≈ 0.8fcu Strain 0.0035
2.4 × 10−4 (f cu / γ m)

Fig. 3.7 Design stress–strain curve for concrete in

compression (Fig. 2.1, BS 8110).

at failure is approximately 0.8 × characteristic cube

strength (i.e. 0.8fcu).
However, the actual behaviour is rather com-
plicated to model mathematically and, therefore,
BS 8110 uses the modified stress–strain curve
Strain
shown in Fig. 3.7 for design. This assumes that the
peak stress is only 0.67 (rather than 0.8) times the
Fig. 3.6 Actual stress–strain curve for concrete in characteristic strength and hence the design stress
compression. for concrete is given by
Design compressive 0.67 fcu
of the concrete and steel reinforcement is known. = ≈ 0.45 fcu (3.3)
stress for concrete γ mc
This aspect is discussed next.
In other words, the failure stress assumed in de-
sign is approximately 0.45/0.8 = 56 per cent of the
3.7 Stress-strain curves actual stress at failure when near perfect specimens
are tested.
3.7.1 STRESS-STRAIN CURVE FOR CONCRETE
Figure 3.6 shows a typical stress–strain curve for 3.7.2 STRESS–STRAIN CURVE FOR STEEL
a concrete cylinder under uniaxial compression. REINFORCEMENT
Note that the stress–strain behaviour is never truly A typical tensile stress–strain curve for steel rein-
linear and that the maximum compressive stress forcement is shown in Fig. 3.8. It can be divided
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 Durability and fire resistance

respect of durability and fire resistance since these

Stress
requirements are common to several of the ele-
fy
ments which will be subsequently discussed.

3.8 Durability and fire resistance

Apart from the need to ensure that the design is
structurally sound, the designer must also verify
Strain
the proper performance of the structure in service.
Principally this involves consideration of the two
Fig. 3.8 Actual stress–strain curve for reinforcement. limit states of (i) durability and (ii) fire resistance.
It should be noted that much of the detailed guid-
ance on durability design is given in BS 8500-1
not BS 8110.
fy /γm
Tension
3.8.1 DURABILITY
Stress

Many concrete structures are showing signs of

200 kN/mm2 severe deterioration after only a few years of ser-
Strain
vice. Repair of these structures is both difficult and
extremely costly. Therefore, over recent years, much
effort has been directed towards improving the
durability requirements, particularly with regard to
Compression
fy /γm
the protection of steel reinforcement in concrete
from corrosion caused by carbonation and chloride
Fig. 3.9 Design stress–strain curve for reinforcement attack (Table 3.5). The other main mechanisms
(Fig. 2.2, BS 8110). of concrete deterioration which are addressed in
BS 8500-1 are freeze/thaw attack, sulphate attack
and alkali/silica reaction.
In general, the durability of concrete structures
into two regions: (i) an elastic region where strain is largely achieved by imposing limits on:
is proportional to stress and (ii) a plastic region
where small increases in stress produce large 1. the minimum strength class of concrete;
increases in strain. The change from elastic to plastic 2. the minimum cover to reinforcement;
behaviour occurs at the yield stress and is signi- 3. the minimum cement content;
ficant since it defines the characteristic strength of 4. the maximum water/cement ratio;
reinforcement ( fy). 5. the cement type or combination;
Once again, the actual material behaviour is 6. the maximum allowable surface crack width.
rather complicated to model mathematically and Other measures may include the specification of
therefore BS 8110 modifies it to the form shown in particular types of admixtures, restrictions on the
Fig. 3.9 which also includes the idealised stress– use of certain types of aggregates, the use of details
strain relationship for reinforcement in compression. that ensure concrete surfaces are free draining and
The maximum design stress for reinforcement in good workmanship.
tension and compression is given by Generally speaking, the risk of freeze/thaw
fy attack and reinforcement corrosion decreases with
Design stress for reinforcement = (3.4) increasing compressive strength of concrete. In the
γ ms
case of freeze/thaw attack this is largely because
From the foregoing it is possible to determine of the concomitant increase in tensile capacity of
the distribution of stresses at a section and hence the concrete, which reduces the risk of cracking
calculate the design strength of the member. The and spalling when water in the concrete expands
latter is normally carried out using the equations on freezing. The use of an air entraining agent also
given in BS 8110. However, before considering enhances the frost resistance of concrete and is a
these in detail, it is useful to pause for a moment well-established method of achieving this require-
in order to introduce BS 8110’s requirements in ment in practice.
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