Basis of Structural Design

Roles and Responsibilities of Designers

The designer has to take several factors into consideration while
designing the structure as follows:
1. Material to be used
2. Arrangement of structural system (e.g., gravitational and lateral
load resisting system)
3. Method of fabrication (cast in situ or prefabricated) and erection
4. Installation of services (lift, water supply, power, ventilation,
heating and cooling, etc.).
5. Safety, economy, and aesthetics
6. Required fire protection
7. Operating/Maintenance and life cycle costs
 Safety
Safety requirement is paramount to any structure-It ensures that the
collapse of the structure (partial or total) is acceptably low, not only
under the normal expected loads (service loads), but also under less-
frequent loads and accidental loads.

Collapse due to various possibilities such as exceeding the load-

bearing capacity, overturning, sliding, buckling, and fatigue fracture
should be prevented.

For better performance in earthquakes, one must adopt the strong

column–weak beam concept. Also beam rods should pass within column
cage without cranking. These two factors necessitate the column size to
be bigger than the beam size.
 Safety
The minimum and maximum limits on longitudinal and transverse
reinforcement ratios are often prescribed in the codes of practices for
RC flexural members and columns.

The minimum limit is prescribed to avoid sudden and brittle failure in

case of accidental overload or to take care of additional tensile forces
due to shrinkage, temperature, creep, or differential settlement.

The maximum limit is prescribed to avoid compression failure of

concrete before the tension failure of steel, thus ensuring sufficient
rotation capacity at the ultimate limit state.
 Design Considerations
Beam Column
S. No. Code B (min.), B/D B (min.), B/D
mm (min.) mm (min.)

1. ACI 318:11 250 0.30 300 0.4

2. EC 8:1998 200 0.25 250 0.4

3. IS 13920:1993 200* 0.3 200 0.4

4. Draft IS 13920 200* 0.3 300 or 0.4

15db
* 300 mm for beam when span > 5 m and column clear height > 4 m, d b = Largest longitudinal reinforcement bar
diameter of beam B, D = Breadth and depth of the member respectively
Table 4.1 Minimum size requirement for seismic beam and columns as per various codes
 Safety
Limits are prescribed on transverse reinforcement, as shear failures
are more catastrophic than flexural failures.
Shear reinforcements restrain the growth of inclined cracking and
increase the safety margin against failure. Ductility is also increased and
a warning of failure is provided.
Note that minimum shear reinforcement is also a function of concrete
strength

An upper limit to the shear reinforcement is also provided to avoid the
compression failure of concrete struts before the yielding of shear
stirrups.
Upper limit is also required to avoid congestion of reinforcement.
 Stability
For stability , concepts such as critical load and effective
length are utilised.
Concrete structures considered as braced frames (frames
that do not sway), when bracing such as shear walls,are
provided.
The structure as a whole should be stable under all
conditions.
Even if a portion of the structure is affected or collapses,
the remaining parts of the structure should be able to
redistribute the loads.
 Stability

Fig. 4.1 Buckling modes of braced and unbraced frames and the effective length concept
(a) Braced frame (b) Unbraced frame
 Serviceability
Serviceability requirements ensure that the structure performs
satisfactorily under service loads, without discomfort to the user due to
excessive deflection, cracking, vibration, and so forth.

Other considerations of serviceability are durability, impermeability,

and acoustic and thermal insulation.

A design that adequately satisfies the safety requirement need not

necessarily satisfy the serviceability requirement.
 Economy
For overall economy, the initial cost as well as the life cycle
cost and the long-term environmental effects have to be
considered.

Economy may not be achieved by minimizing the amount of

concrete or reinforcement alone. It is because a large part of
the construction cost involves cost of labour, formwork, and
falsework.
 Ways to Achieve Economy
1. Using repetitive member sizes and simple reinforcement detailing for
easy and fast construction
2. Regular-shaped buildings with rectangular or square columns and
uniform floor-to-floor height
3. Limiting column sizes and using consistent beam sizes, spacing, and
depth
4. The choice of the right floor framing system for a given bay
dimensions may be critical in economizing the cost.
5. Choice of a proper lateral load resisting system for high-rise buildings
6. Using precasting and prefabricating techniques
7. Avoiding transfer beams wherever possible and use of high-strength
concrete and steel reinforcement in columns
8. Use of waste materials like fly ash in concrete
 Durability

A durable concrete is one that will

continue to perform its intended
functions, that is, maintain its required
strength and serviceability in the
working environment during the
specified or traditionally expected
service life.
 Factors Affecting Durability
1. The environment
2. Temperature or humidity gradients
3. Abrasion and chemical attack
4. Permeability of concrete to the ingress of water, oxygen,
carbon dioxide, chloride, sulphate and other deleterious
substances
5. Alkali–aggregate reaction (chemical attack within the
concrete)
6. Chemical decomposition of hydrated cement
 Factors Affecting Durability
7. Corrosion of reinforcement
8. Concrete cover to the embedded steel
9. Quality and type of constituent materials
10. Cement content and water–cement ratio
11. Degree of compaction and curing of concrete
12. Shape and size of members
13. Presence of cracks
 S. Environment Exposure Conditions Allowable
No. Table 3 of Code IS 456 Maximum
Crack
Width (mm)
1. Mild Protected concrete surfaces, except those situated in 0.3
coastal area
2. Moderate Concrete surfaces sheltered from rain, continuously 0.25
under water, or in contact with non-aggressive soil or
groundwater
3. Severe Concrete surfaces exposed to severe rain, coastal 0.20
environment, alternate wetting and drying, or
completely immersed in sea water
4. Very severe Concrete surfaces exposed to sea water spray, corrosive 0.10
fumes, severe freezing conditions while wet, or in
contact with aggressive sub-soil or ground water

5. Extreme Concrete surface of members in tidal zone or in direct < 0.10

contact with aggressive chemicals

Table 4.2 Different exposure conditions for concrete

 Curing of Concrete
 Curing is the process of preventing loss of moisture from the surface
of concrete and maintaining satisfactory moisture content and
favourable temperature in the concrete during the hydration of
cementitious materials to achieve its targeted strength and durability.

 Curing primarily affects the concrete in the cover of the

reinforcement, and the cover
protects the reinforcement
from corrosion by the ingress of
aggressive agents.

 Many methods of curing exist.

Ponding with water is shown here.
 Cover
 Cover is the shortest distance between the surface of a concrete
member and the nearest surface of the reinforcing steel.

 The concrete cover protects the steel reinforcement against corrosion

in two ways—providing a barrier against the ingress of moisture and
other harmful substances and forming a passive protective (calcium
hydroxide) film on the steel surface.

 The cover provides corrosion resistance, fire resistance, and a

wearing surface and helps to develop the bond between
reinforcement and concrete.
 Cover
 It should exclude plaster and any other decorative finish. Too large a
cover reduces the effective depth and is prone to cracking, whereas
too less may lead to corrosion due to carbonation of concrete.

 Nominal cover is the design depth of cover

to all steel reinforcements including links.
Adequate cover, in thickness and in quality
transfers the forces in the reinforcement by
bond action, provides fire resistance to steel,
and provides an alkaline environment on the
surface of steel. Fig 4.2 Clear (cc) and nominal
(cn) covers to reinforcements
 Cover

Fig. 4.3 Heavy corrosion of rebars in a 4-star hotel in Chennai due to permeable or less than
nominal cover
 Supercover Concrete
Supercover concrete is a novel
method used for preventing
reinforcement corrosion in
concrete structures with thick
covers using glass fibre reinforced
plastic (GFRP) rebars. This method
involves using conventional steel
reinforcement together with
concrete covers in excess of 100 Fig. 4.4 Schematic diagram of supercover
concrete system
mm, with a limited amount of
GFRP rebars in cover zones.
 Cover
 A holistic approach to durability of concrete structures must consider
the following: component materials, mixture proportions, placement,
consolidation and curing, and structural design and detailing. Air-
entraining admixture has to be used under conditions of freezing and
thawing.

 The cover should be checked before and during concreting.

 Rebars should be tied together to prevent displacement of the bars
before or during concreting.
 The position of reinforcement may be checked in the hardened
concrete by cover meter.
 Aesthetics
Aesthetics is important not only for structures of high visibility but
also for all other structures, as it gives a sense of pride to the owner.

Aesthetic consideration may include selection of shape, geometrical

proportions, symmetry, surface texture, colour, and harmony. Aesthetics
is an art and cannot be objectively quantified or subjected to fixed rules.

The structural engineer must work in close coordination with the

architects, planners, and other design professionals to design aesthetic
structures that are elegant and at the same time economical and
functional.
 Aesthetics

Fig. 4.7 Examples of aesthetic concrete structures (a) Replica of the Parthenon (b) The Marina City
complex (c) Bahá’í Lotus Temple
 Environment Friendliness
The construction industry consumes 40 per cent of the total energy
and about one-half of the world’s major resources. Hence, it is
imperative to regulate the use of materials and energy in this industry.

CO2 is a major by-product in the manufacturing of the two most

important materials of construction—Portland cement and steel. Thus,
while selecting the material and system for the structure, the designer
has to consider the long-term environmental effects.
 Environment Friendliness
By simultaneously using the following three tools, major reductions in
concrete consumption and carbon emissions can be achieved:

1. Consuming less concrete by rehabilitating old buildings

2. Consuming less cement in concrete mixtures

3. Minimizing the quantity of cement in a concrete mix

 Functional Requirements
A structure must always be designed to serve its intended function as
specified by the owner and architect.

Constructability is a major part of the functional requirement and is

also related to safety and durability.
During the planning and design stages, it is important and crucial to
consider constructability, meaning, all the elements on the drawing
board can be constructed practically.
 Ductility
Ductility is more commonly defined as the ability of the materials or
structures to absorb energy by deforming into an inelastic range upon
the application of a tensile force, or as the ability of a material to
withstand plastic deformation without rupture. Ductile materials show
large deformation before fracture.

This capacity of the structure to absorb energy, with acceptable

deformations and without failure, is a very desirable characteristic in
any earthquake-resistant design.
 Analysis and Design
In the structural design process, the term analysis means the
determination of the axial forces, bending moments, shears, and
torsional moments acting on the different members of a structure, due
to the applied loads and their combinations (static or dynamic).

The term design means the selection of sizes of members to safely

and economically resist the forces and moments found in the analysis
phase. In the design phase, one will normally design not only the
members but also its connections and the foundations, so that the loads
are transmitted to the soil.
 Analysis Procedure
For statically indeterminate structures, the analysis procedure is rather
complex as follows:
1. In these methods, assumptions are usually made regarding the
distribution of applied load among the members according to the
relative stiffness of connecting members, the response and
behaviour of members and structures to the applied loads, the
rigidity of joints, and so forth.
2. To perform the analysis, the proportions of various structural
elements should be known in advance, which generally requires a
preliminary design. Thus, in these types of structures, analysis
and design are interactive processes.
3. For complex structures, several cycles of analysis and design may
be required.
 Analysis and Design
Various computer programs are available for the analysis and design
of different types of structures. They include ADINA, ANSYS, SAP2000,
STAAD III and STAAD PRO, ETABS, and STRUDS.

These programs are quite general in terms of loading, geometric

configurations, and support conditions. With these programs, it is now
possible to analyse any structure with any complicated geometry
subjected to any pattern of loading (static or dynamic) and having any
boundary condition or discontinuity.

While using these programs, the designer should be aware of the

assumptions used and the limitations of these programs.
 Analysis and Design
Clause 22.1 of code IS 456 suggests the use of linear elastic (first-
order) analysis to calculate the internal actions produced by design
loads. The code allows for moment redistribution and suggests to
consider the effects of deflections on moments and forces in frames
with slender columns. The code also states that plastic methods such as
yield-line analysis may be used for the analysis of two-way slabs.

The code also gives the moment and shear coefficients for continuous
beams of uniform cross section and supporting uniformly distributed
loads. When such coefficients are used, redistribution of moments is not
permitted by the code.
 Conditions to Satisfy Redistribution of
Moments
1. Equilibrium is maintained at all times between the internal forces and
external loads.

2. The ultimate moment of resistance provided at any section is not less

than 70 per cent of the maximum elastic moment obtained using
elastic analysis for all appropriate load combinations.

3. The redistribution at any section should not be more than 30 per cent
of the numerically largest elastic moment obtained using elastic
analysis for all appropriate load combinations.
 Codes and Specifications
Project specifications along with the design drawings are given to the
builder by the architect or project manager. These specifications and the
way in which the drawings are prepared and presented vary from
organization to organization.

They include the following items:

1. Materials that must be used in the structure
2. Sizes of structural members
3. Joint details
4. Expected quality and tolerance
5. Instructions on how the construction work is to be done
 Working Stress Method
This was the traditional method of design not only for RC but also for
structural steel and timber design. The conceptual basis of the WSM
assumes that the structural material behaves in a linear elastic manner
and that adequate safety can be ensured by suitably restricting the
stresses in the material due to the expected working loads (service
loads) on the structure.

WSM also assumes that both the steel reinforcement and concrete act
together and are perfectly elastic at all stages, and hence the modular
ratio can be used to determine the stresses in steel and concrete.
 Working Stress Method
The stresses under the working loads are obtained by applying the
methods of ‘strength of materials’ like the simple bending theory. The
limitations due to non-linearity and buckling are neglected.

The stresses caused by the ‘characteristic’ or service loads are checked

against the permissible (allowable) stress, which is a fraction of the
ultimate or yield stress. The permissible stress may be defined in terms
of a factor of safety, which takes care of the overload or other unknown
factors.
Permissible (allowable) stress = Ultimate or yield stress/Factor of
safety
Thus, in WSM,
Working stress ≤ Permissible stress
 Ultimate Load Design
This method is also referred to as the load factor method or the
ultimate strength method. The shortcomings of WSM led to the
development of the ultimate load design.

In this method, the non-linear stress–strain curves of concrete and

steel and the stress condition just before collapse are considered.
Sufficient safety is achieved by the use of a load factor, which is defined
as the ratio of the ultimate load (design load) to the working load.
 Ultimate Load Design
In this method of design, different types of loads are assigned with
different load factors under combined loading conditions, thereby
overcoming the related shortcomings of WSM.

It should be noted that even though non-linear stress–strain

behaviour is considered in the design, the analysis is still based on linear
elastic theory.

One of the disadvantages of this method is that the performance at

the normal service loads is not considered.
Principles of Limit States Design

•Limit States Design is a design approach

that combines the best features of the
ultimate strength design and working stress
design.
• Will result in better structural performance
in strength and serviceability.
•Principles behind this method are explained
in the following slides.
 Uncertainties in Design
1. To safeguard against the risk of failure (collapse or unserviceability), safety margins
are normally provided in the design. These are based on reliability-based design
methods.

2. The variables such as loads, material strength, and member dimensions are subject
to varying degrees of uncertainty and randomness. Hence, the design should take
into account the possibility of overload or under strength.

3. There are also several unforeseen factors that influence the prediction of strength
and serviceability. They include construction methods, workmanship and quality
control, intended service life of the structure, human errors, possible future change
of use, and frequency of loading. In order to provide reliable safety margins, the
design must be based on the probabilistic methods of design.
 Uncertainties in Design

Fig. 4.12 Typical variation in compressive strength of concrete cubes

 Limit States

•In the limit states design, the term ‘limit

states’ is preferably used instead of the
term ‘failure’.
•Thus, a limit state is a state of impeding
failure, beyond which a structure ceases
to perform its intended function
satisfactorily.
 Types of Limit States
1. Ultimate (safety) limit states, which correspond to the maximum
load carrying capacity and are concerned with the following:

(a)Loss of equilibrium (collapse) of a part or the whole structure

when considered as a rigid body
(b)Progressive collapse
(c)Transformation of the structure into a plastic mechanism collapse
(d)Rupture of critical sections due to the stress exceeding material
strength or by deformations
(e)Loss of stability (buckling, overturning, or sliding)
(f) Fracture due to fatigue
 Characteristic Load and Characteristic
Strength
In normal design calculations, a single value is usually used for each
load and for each material property, with a margin to take care of all
uncertainties. Such a value is termed the characteristic strength (or
resistance) or characteristic load.

The characteristic strength of a material is defined as the value of

strength below which more than a prescribed percentage of test results
will fall. This prescribed percentage is normally taken as 95.

The characteristic load, Qc, is load that is not expected to be exceeded

with more than five per cent probability during the lifespan of a
structure.
Characteristic Load and Characteristic
Strength

Fig. 4.15 Normal frequency distribution of concrete strengths

Performance-based Design

Fig. 4.17 Flow diagram of performance-based design