(EN) Let's find out the anchorage length, which is the basis of rebar placement

Table of Contents

A. Introduction
B. What is the development length?
B.1 Development Length
C. Design Criteria
D. Development Length in Design Practice
References

A. Introduction
I started my design career at a small startup company. One of the advantages of the startup company is the limited number of staff, so I was able to learn
the basic details of design from my team leader.

He didn't always give me the answers but asked me questions and pushed me to find the answers. One of those questions I still remember today is:
" Place the top reinforcement in the bottom slab of a box section."

What is the correct answer?

I immediately thought of CASE 1 and 2 and replied that it should be placed as CASE 1. After hearing my answer, the leader said, "Then explain why it
can't be CASE 2."

I couldn't think of a reason why it shouldn't be CASE 2 right away, so I said I didn't know.

Then the leader gave me the following answer.

" Reinforcement is a member that is placed under tension, and imagine that the top reinforcement is under tension.
In case 2, the bearing stress is generated inward where the reinforcement is bent.
This would be incorrect placement because this stress could destroy the concrete cover."

Reinforcement placement is one of the most important factors that allow reinforced concrete structures to function properly.

Therefore, we need to understand and know exactly how the forces flow when placing the reinforcement so that we can design the structure appropriately.

In other words, an engineer needs to be able to place the rebar properly before they can determine the strength of reinforced concrete mathematically.

B. What is the development length?

When considering the placement of reinforcement, the "development length" is a critical part of the design.
In ACI, it is called "Development Length" and in Eurocode, it is called "Anchorage Length".

Let's take a look at the basic concepts of development length, and how they are calculated.

B.1 Development Length

The length of reinforcement that must be embedded in the concrete to prevent it from being separated from the concrete under force is called the
development length.

Figure 1. What is the development length?

To express this mathematically, the force F can be expressed as the cross-sectional area and stress of the reinforcement.

Where,

As = cross-sectional area of the reinforcement

σs = stress in the reinforcement

Φ = diameter of the reinforcement

The force resisted by the development length is called R, which is expressed as the area of the rebar and the bond strength of the concrete.

Where,

Asuf = perimeter area of the reinforcement

σb = concrete bond strength

Since F = R, the anchorage length, lb, can be expressed as

B.2 Bond strength

Let's understand the concept of bond strength.

In general, the anchorage of reinforcement is referred as to deformed steel. There are several types of forces that the deformed steel resists in the concrete,
but the main one is the load acting on the RIB, which is expressed as follows.

Figure 2. Force on the reinforcement and RIB

This can be represented in terms of concrete as follows

Figure 3. Force acting on the concrete by the RIB of a deformed rebar

The force acting on each rib can be resolved into two forces, as shown in the figure below.

Figure 4. The forces acting on the rib

These forces dissipate radially around the perimeter of the reinforcement, causing cracks in the concrete.

Figure 5. Crack formation in concrete

These forces in the form of radials show different crack shapes depending on the position of the reinforcement about the surrounding reinforcement
subjected to the same force, as shown below.

Figure 6. Crack pattern depending on the reinforcement

Therefore, it can be understood that the bond strength affects the tensile strength of the concrete, the spacing of the rebar, and the thickness of the cover.

C. Design Criteria
C.1 Development length consideration in design criteria

EN1992-1-1:2004 (KDS 24 14 00)

ACI 318M-19 (KDS 14 20 00)

C.1-1 Anchorage length of EN1992-1-1:2004

Clauses 8.4.2 through 8.4.4 of EN1991-1-1 indicate that the anchorage length is calculated using the following three equations.

If the above expression is combined into a single equation, it is expressed as follows.

Where,
a1,a2,a3,a4,a5 : Coefficients
φ: diameter of the reinforcement
σsd: Design stress of the reinforcement
 fctd: Design tensile strength of the concrete
η1: Coefficient according to bonding condition
η2: Coefficient according to reinforcement diameter

C.1-2 Development length of ACI 318M-19

In ACI 318, the development length is based on the following equation.

Where,
ψt,ψe,ψs,ψg : Coefficients
db: Diameter of the reinforcement
CB: Distance between the center of the reinforcement and the concrete surface closest to it and half of the reinforcement center spacing, whichever is
less.
Ktr : Contribution of confining reinforcement
fy: Design tensile strength of reinforcement
f’c : Design compressive strength of concrete

C.2 Comparison

To compare the Eurocode and ACI anchorage lengths, let's change each expression to a similar form.

Now, let’s compare the coefficients for increasing and decreasing the development length.

C.2-1 Location of reinforcement

 Descriptions(EN/ACI) Eurocode 2 ACI 318

Good Conditions/ η1 = 1.0 ψt = 1.0

Others

Poor Conditions (Top 300mm)/ η1 = 0.7 ψt = 1.3

More than 300 mm of fresh concrete (1/η1 = 1.43)
placed the below horizontal
reinforcement

The positions described in each case are similar, and the coefficient value is not significantly different.

Considering concrete bleeding, it appears that the development length of the reinforcing bars placed at the top of the member is increased.

C.2-2 Diameter of reinforcement bars

Descriptions(EN/ACI) Eurocode 2 ACI 318

Φ≤32mm/ η2 = 1.0 ψs = 0.8

No. 19 and smaller bars and deformed
wires

Φ>32mm/ η2= (132-Φ)/100 ψs = 1.0

No. 22 and larger bars =(132-50)/100 = 0.82
(1/η2 = 1.2)

The diameters of the standard reinforcement bar are different for Eurocode and ACI. In Eurocode, a reference value of 1 is assigned to small-diameter
reinforcement bars, while in ACI, the reference value of 1 is assigned to large-diameter reinforcement bars.

C.2-3 Reinforcement Surface

 Descriptions Eurocode 2 ACI 318

Uncoated or zinc-coated (galvanized) - ψe = 1.0

reinforcement

Epoxy-coated or zinc and epoxy dual- - ψe = 1.2

coated reinforcement for all other
conditions

Epoxy-coated or zinc and epoxy dual- - ψe = 1.5

coated reinforcement with clear cover
less than 3db or clear spacing less
than 6db

ACI considers a longer development length for epoxy- or zinc-coded reinforcement, which is less than 1.7 when multiplied by a factor (ψt) based on the
location of the reinforcement.

The Eurocode does not have a coefficient for this, but Clause 8.1. (1) it states that

"They may not be sufficient for elements incorporating specially painted, epoxy or zinc-coated bars."

In other words, the code itself indicates that it does not apply to bars that are epoxy or zinc-coated.

C.2-4 Grade of Reinforcing Steel

Descriptions Eurocode 2 ACI 318

Grade 280 or Grade 420 - ψg = 1.0

Grade 550 - ψg = 1.15

Grade 690 - ψg = 1.3

The ACI considers the increase in the development length as the grade of the reinforcement increases, but there is no such consideration in EUROCODE.

C.2-5 Types of reinforcement

 Descriptions Eurocode 2 ACI 318

Straight α1 = 1.0 -

Other than straight α1 = 0.7 if cd>3Φ -

otherwise α1 = 1.0

Eurocode uses a coefficient of α1 to account for both straight and hooked shapes in a single equation.

ACI provides a similar but different equation for hooked shapes, with different coefficients.

C.2-6 Rebar spacing, cover thickness, and transverse reinforcement

The Eurocode specifies the coefficient for these as follows.

Descriptions Type of anchorage factor

Concrete cover Straight α2 = 1-0.15(cd -Φ)/Φ

≥0.7 and ≤1.0

Other than straight α2 = 1-0.15(cd -3Φ)/Φ

≥0.7 and ≤1.0

Confinement by transverse All types α3 = 1-Kλ

reinforcement not welded to main ≥0.7 and ≤1.0
reinforcement λ = (ΣAst - ΣAst,min)/As
K = 0.1, 0.05, 0

Confinement by welded transverse All types, positions, and sizes as α4 = 0.7

reinforcement specified in Figure 8.1 (e)

Confinement by transverse pressure All types α5 = 1-0.04p

≥0.7 and ≤1.0

Where:

cd =
 λ = (ΣAst - ΣAst,min)/As

ΣAst = cross-sectional area of the transverse reinforcement along the design anchorage length lbd

ΣAst,min = cross-sectional area of the minimum transverse reinforcement

As = Area of a single anchored bar with maximum bar diameter

K=

p = transverse pressure at ultimate limit state along lbd

The product (α2α3α5) ≥ 0.7

α2 is determined by cover/spacing/diameter, the larger the cover and spacing and the smaller the diameter, the shorter the development length can be used.

α3 to α5 are determined by the number, position, and stress of transverse reinforcement present in the development length and whether it is welded to the
main reinforcement or not.

This means that shorter development lengths can be used in a design where the transverse bars are capable of transferring a large amount of load from the
main bars.

in ACI it is represented by a single equation.

The formula has a range of 1 to 2.5, and the contribution of confining reinforcement (Ktr) is determined by the number of reinforcement, spacing, and
number of transverse reinforcement bars in the development length.

Two simplified methods are provided to determine this.

The first method considers Ktr = 0 and allows only the reinforcement spacing/cover (cb) and its diameter (db) to be calculated.

The second method uses a value of 1.5 if the spacing/cover of the reinforcement meets certain conditions, and 1 otherwise, where only one of the
following two conditions needs to be met
The clear spacing is not less than db, the net cover is at minimum db, and the amount of stirrups or ties placed in the LD is at least the minimum
value of the design criteria.
The clear spacing is not less than 2 db and the net cover is at minimum db.
This is determined by the number of reinforcement, spacing, number of transverse bars, the diameter, and cover/spacing of the reinforcing bars.

In summary, for both cases, the development length can be reduced by the following values depending on the condition of the transverse reinforcement
and the main reinforcement.

EN1992-1-1 : 0.49~1.00
ACI 318M-19 : 0.40 ~1.00

C.2-6 Strength of Concrete and Reinforcement

Looking further into the strength of concrete and rebar,

Partial safety factor/ Strength reduction factor

EN1992-1-1: The partial safety factors for concrete and rebar are 1.5 and 1.15, respectively, according to 2.4.2.4.
ACI 318M-19: R25.4.13 explains the strength reduction factor, which is included in the equation

Lightweight concrete factor

EN1992-1-1: According to EN1992-1-1 11.8.2, the flctd for lightweight concrete should be applied separately when calculating the bond strength.
ACI 318M-19: The lightweight concrete factor (λ) should be 0.75 for lightweight and 1.0 for normal.

Assuming normal concrete conditions, and substituting coefficient value, we get the following equation.

Calculating these values, we can see that the ACI coefficient value is roughly 2.0-2.5 times larger depending on the strength of the concrete,

If the coefficients are similar, the ACI development length will be greater.

C.3 Comparison of Development Lengths

The development length is a function of concrete strength and can be determined under the following assumptions.

The tensile reinforcement bars are straight.

The effect of transverse reinforcement is ignored.
Consideration is given to small diameter bars (Eurocode: 32 or less, ACI: 22 or less).

Eurocde limits the maximum bond strength to 60 MPa, therefore only consider up to 60 MPa.
 The tensile strength of the rebar shall be 420 MPa.
The rebar surface is not coated.

Development length

The development length consideration of ACI is more conservative, with a difference of approximately 1.5 to 2.0 times.

D. Development Length in Design Practice

As we have seen, it is more complicated than expected to properly consider the development length.

In practice, it is not always economical to consider and use these things individually. (Efficiency, time)

Therefore, the reduction due to transverse reinforcement is usually not considered,

The strength of the concrete to be applied, the thickness of the cover, and the minimum spacing are determined for each member,

For each member, the development length according to the diameter is calculated and used for drawing.

In fact, for beams, columns, and slabs, one table is prepared in advance and used.

Below is a link to a website where you can find out how to calculate the development length.

Table of reinforcement anchorage length & lap length - Eurocode 2 (eurocodeapplied.com)

Rebar Development Length Calculator to ACI 318 — Structural Calc

References
Eurcode 2: Design of concrete structure - Part 1-1: General rules and rules for buildings(BS-EN1992-1-1:2004)

Building Code Requirements for Structure Concrete (ACI 318-19 SI)