STRUCTURAL

DESIGN 1 (CVE 362)

LECTURE MATERIAL 1

OUTLINE
A. Reinforced Concrete
B. Basic Structural elements
C. Structural Analysis and Design
D. Limit State Design Philosophy
E. Loads and Loading
Combinations according to
Eurocode 2
F. The Design Process

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 INTRODUCTION TO STRUCTURAL DESIGN
The aim of every structural design is to ensure that
an acceptable probability that the structure will
perform satisfactorily during its useful life is
achieved. Structural engineers design buildings to
be economical to construct, maintain and service
all the loads and deformations of normal
construction and when in use in its permanent
One Za’abeel, UAE: the world’s state.
longest cantilevered building
Structures must be able to withstand adverse
loading conditions like fire and impact loadings.
Structural design is not only about calculations to
Burj Khalifa, UAE: World’s tallest
building
produce safe, useable structures. It entails
ensuring that the suitable materials are used in
construction, the structural form is the most
economical, quality is controlled and assured
during construction.

Petronas Twin Towers, Malaysia

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A. Introduction to Reinforced Concrete.
Reinforced concrete is a composite structural material made
up of concrete and steel (commonly called ‘rebar’ or
‘reinforcement’). Reinforced concrete employs the
complementary strength of both materials to produce a strong,
durable and inert building material that can be formed into
different shapes and sizes. Concrete and steel are more or less
complementary in properties, most noticeably in their strength
in compression and tension. Concrete has high compressive
strength and poor tensile strength. Concrete tensile strength
is about a tenth of its compressive strength, hence cracks
develop in the tension zone of a structural element. Steel has
high tensile strength and a moderate compressive strength.
By embedding steel in concrete, a strong durable material is
formed.

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i. Concrete
Concrete is a very durable , chemically inert material
composed of cement, fine aggregates (sand) and
coarse aggregates (granite, gravel) that when mixed
with water, gains strength with time.
Aggregates are from naturally occurring sources e.g
rocks, weathered materials, etc.
Cement serves as the binding agent. Portland cement
is made from mixing limestone, clay or shale and iron
ore. This mixture is heated in a kiln. An elevated
temperatures of about 1600 degree Celsius, this
mixture breaks down and combine to form new
compounds which reacts with water in a process called
“hydration”.
Cement and water react together to form a hardened
cement paste, binding the aggregates to form concrete.
Concrete generally increases in strength per time with
its ultimate strength achieved after 28 days with
adequate curing. After 28 days, increase in strength is
minimal. Good concrete is like fine wine, it gets better
with age. 4
Compressive strength of Concrete
Concrete is in grades or strength class. Most common in Nigeria are C20,
C25 and C30; the numbers defining their characteristic cube strength as
28 days. C20 concrete means that upon testing the concrete batch
samples at 28 days, they should have a mean strength approximately
20N/mm2. It is also called characteristic strength of concrete denoted
by fck.
Commonly written as C28/35, this means a cylinder strength of 28N/mm2
or a cube strength of 35N/mm2. Some countries used the cylinder values.
However, the cube strength is adopted in Nigeria. Higher strength classes
are used in special structures like nuclear reactors, silos, skyscrapers,
marine structures. These strength classes are usually achieved by adding
admixtures or plasticizers.
In conclusion, concrete has the advantage of
• high compressive strength compared to other building materials,
• Flexibility: can be formed into different shapes
• Availability: Raw materials are readily available locally.
• Fire resistance and thermal properties: can absorb and store heat
(insulation and reduce need for air-conditioning) and possess high
degree of fire resistance (poor thermal conductivity) 5
ii. Reinforcement (Rebars)
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon with
improved strength, bending and fracture
resistance compared to other forms of iron.
Because of its tensile strength and low cost,
it is one of the most commonly
manufactured materials in the world
(Wikipedia)
Steel comes in two grades: Mild steel and high yield steel.
Mild steel has smooth surface and are mostly used as
shear rebars or links or stirrups. High yield steel is
manufactured with a ribbed surface. Their tensile strength
also differs often referred to as “characteristic strength of
steel” denoted by fyk. For mild steel, it is 250N/mm2 and
460N/mm2 for high yield steel. Steel is usually
incorporated in the tension zone of concrete either within
the span or at the supports of a structural member or in
both top and bottom in case of a doubly reinforced beam.
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Other structural materials
There are several structural materials apart from
concrete and reinforced concrete which are used in
civil engineering. These include
• Timber: There is a surge in the use of timber in the
last two decades with the introduction of glulam
and Cross Laminated Timber (CLT).Timber is a
renewable, sustainable material with lower carbon
footprint. Timber is limited to low-rise buildings.
• Structural steel/stainless steel: Iconic structures
around the world like the Eiffel tower, Golden state
Bridge, The Shard etc are made largely of structural
steel.
• Masonry: Bricks or blocks from clay and concrete
for walls and partitions.

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B. BASIC STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS.
The members that make up a reinforced concrete structure
consist of but are not limited to the following:
a. Slab b. Beam c. Column
d. Foundation e. Stairs f. Shear walls
• Slabs are plate-like or flat in shape, horizontal structural
members and can either be solid slabs, ribbed slabs,
waffle slabs or flat slabs. Our focus in this training will be
on solid slabs. Suspended slabs may be designed to span in
either one way or two ways (or directions as some may call
it) depending on how they are supported at the edges.
Details will be discussed under slab design. The most
commonly used suspended slabs are those used for the
floors and roofs of building. Sloping slabs can be used for
ramps and staircases are just a form of cranked slab. Focus
of slab design is mainly on bending and deflection.

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• Beams are horizontal structural members that
carry loads from slabs, masonry walls and their own
self weight. They are generally designed for bending,
shear, deflection and cracking. Beams can be simply
supported (one span and two supports), continuous
(two or more spans) or cantilever (one support) or a
combination of any two. It can be rectangular or
flanged (T-beam or L-beam) in section
• Columns are vertical members that carry loads
from the beams and from upper columns. Their
design is very critical because if it fails, it can lead to
the collapse of the entire structure. It can be axial or
eccentrically loaded. It can also be braced or
unbraced.
• Foundations are load-transmitting members. The
loads from the columns are transferred safely to the
supporting ground through the foundation.
Foundations can be strip, pad (isolated) footings, raft
(mat) or pile or a combination of any two.
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C. STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS AND DESIGN.
A reinforced concrete structure is a combination of beams, columns, slabs, walls and
foundations rigidly connected to form a monolithic structure. Each member must be capable
of resisting the forces acting on it from the load and this is the essential process we must
undertake before structural design. These forces can be determined by the following
methods: applying moment and shear coefficients, manual calculations and computer
methods.
Structural analysis involves the analysis of the loads and loading conditions and their
dispersal or distribution through the structure by applying the principles of structural
mechanics. The purpose of structural analysis is to establish the distribution of either internal
forces, stresses, strains and displacements, over the whole or part of the structure.
Structural design involves determining the size needed for each member in relation to the
material and its particular structural capacity. The total design of a structure does depend on
the analysis and design of the individual member sections. It is achieved more by deciding on
a practical overall layout of the structure, careful attention to details and sound construction
practice.
The aim of every structural design is to ensure that
• the structure is safe under the worst assumed loading and
• that under normal working condition, no deformations distorts its appearance, durability
or performance of the structure resulting from cracking, deflection or fatigue.

The purpose of every design is to ensure that under acceptable probabilities the structure will
not be unfit for its intended use.
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CODES OF PRACTICE
In the civil engineering practice, it is important there is a document that standards and procedures
for the design of structural elements using different materials are specified. The objective is to
harmonize technical specifications for design in construction and to promote public health and
safety.
Before the Eurocodes came into force in 2010, the British Standards Institution (BSI) issued
different codes e.g BS 8110 for the design of concrete, BS 5950 for steel, BS 6399 for loadings or
actions on structures, etc which are all based on the limit state philosophy of design (to be
considered later). Before the BS codes, were the obsolete CP 110 and CP 112 which are based on
the permissible stress design. BS 8110 have been withdrawn but may still be used but they will no
longer be updated.
The Eurocodes (EN, abbreviation) covers design principles and procedures on the loading of
structures, design of different materials, geotechnical design and earthquake resistance design
using the limit state design.
The Eurocodes are the ten European standards specifying how structural design should be
conducted within the European Union.

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EUROCODES AND THEIR USES
The Eurocodes are the ten European standards specifying how structural
design should be conducted within the European Union. The regulatory
bodies for the practice of engineering has adopted the Eurocodes for use
in civil engineering.
• EN 1990 Eurocode: Basis of Structural design
• EN 1991 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures
• EN 1992 Eurocode 2: Design of concrete structures
• EN 1993 Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures
• EN 1994 Eurocode 4: Design of composite steel and concrete structures
• EN 1995 Eurocode 5: Design of timber structures
• EN 1996 Eurocode 6: Design of masonry structures
• EN 1997 Eurocode 7: Geotechnical design
• EN 1998 Eurocode 8: Design of structures for earthquake resistance
• EN 1999 Eurocode 9: Design of aluminium structures

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D. LIMIT STATE DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
The statement below was extracted from BS EN 1990, abbreviated as EC0.
“The structure shall be designed and executed in such a way that it will, during its intended
life, with appropriate degrees of reliability and in an economical way:
-sustain all actions and influences likely to occur during it execution and use
-Remain fit for the use for which it is required”
The limit state method multiplies the estimated loads by the factor of safety and also
divides the materials’ ultimate strengths by a further partial factors of safety. First, we
multiply our estimated load by a factor of safety to ensure that our loading assumption is
safe and we divide the material strength (fck and fy) by another factor of safety to take care
of any strength deficiency. Limit state philosophy acknowledge the fact that there can be
variations in both the loads and the materials strength.
There are two categories of limit state: the ultimate limit state (ULS) and the serviceability
limit state (SLS).
a. The Ultimate limit state requires that the structure must be able to withstand the loads
for which it is designed after adopting an adequate factor of safety. If the ULS is reached,
failure of a structural member or collapse of the entire structure is inevitable.
b. The serviceability limit state requires that the structure does not deflect or sag
(deflection affects the appearance or efficiency of a structural member), crack (cracking
can cause the steel to be exposed leading to corrosion and/ reduced strength and reduce Leaning Tower Of Pisa
durability) or damage under vibration or cause discomfort to its occupants. Other
serviceability considerations are durability, fatigue, fire resistance and lightning.

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 E. LOADS AND LOADING COMBINATIONS
There are the basic loads that can be applicable to a structural member and
are defined as follows:
a. Dead loads, Gk: Dead loads are loads that are permanent and constant
during the life of the structure. They are the weight of the structure complete
with the finishes, fixtures and partitions, equipment and static machinery etc.
b. Live or Imposed loads, Qk: Live loads are part of the imposed loads in
addition to wind loads. Live loads are produced by the occupants and usage of
the building and are sometimes more difficult to estimate accurately. These
loads are but not limited to weight of furniture, moveable machinery or
equipment, snow, human and their movements etc.
c. Wind load, Wk: Wind load is also an imposed load acting on the structure
and can be obtained from BS EN 1991. Wind loads are usually disastrous for
high rise building which make them sway. Sometimes, shear walls are
incorporated in the core of the structure to provide extra rigidity.
The ultimate design load, w for the ultimate limit state design is the
summation of the relevant characteristic load combinations multiplied by their
respective partial factor of safety.
a. Dead load and imposed load: w = 1.35Gk + 1.50Qk
b. Dead load, imposed and wind load: w = 1.35Gk + 1.50Qk + 0.75Wk
c. Dead, imposed or wind load: w = 1.35Gk + 1.50Wk + 1.05Qk
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 Live (Imposed) Loadings According To BS EN 1991 (Eurocode 1)
The values for the live load on a structural member is picked from tables in BS EN 1991 (Actions on Structures) based on the purpose
of the structure. For example, in the design of an office floor, it falls under Category B on Table 6.1 and the imposed load ranges from
2.0 to 3.0kN/m2 on Table 6.2.

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Live (Imposed) Loadings According To BS EN 1991 (Eurocode 1)
(Cont’d)

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Exercises

a. Calculate the dead load (kN/m2) on the floor of an office building

in Figure 4.2

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b. (i) Calculate the self-weight (in kN/m) of the precast concrete beam
which is 10.5m long in Figure 4.1
(ii) Calculate the total weight of the beam

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Exercise:

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 LOAD TRANSFER
PATH
The load path is shown in the figure. The
floor comes in contact first with all
imposed loads and they are transferred
to the beams. The beams transfers the
loads to the columns, the columns to
the foundations and safely to the
ground.

Flat slabs however transfers the loads

directly to the columns as there is
usually no beams in such structures.

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Partial factors of safety for loads and materials.
In practice, the applied loads may be greater than the characteristic
loads for any of the following reasons:
(a) Material strength inconsistencies (b) Constructional inaccuracies (c)
Unforeseen increases in loads.
To allow for these likely variations, the respective characteristic loads
are multiplied by a partial safety factor to give the ultimate design load
appropriate to the limit state being considered.

Concrete cover
Concrete cover, in reinforced concrete is the least distance between the
surface of the embedded reinforcement and the outer surface of the
concrete. All reinforcement must be provided with sufficient cover to
avoid corrosion, guard against distortion in the event of fire and to give
the rebars sufficient embedding to enable them to be stressed without
slipping. The amount of cover necessary to protect reinforcement
against corrosion depends on both the exposure conditions and the
quality of concrete used. It usually ranges between 20 to 80mm
depending on the exposure and environmental conditions.

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F. THE DESIGN PROCESS

The design process includes the following stages followed in order.

• Scheme Design: The column, wall, floor panels and beams positions
are established from the plans of the architectural drawings. This is
reviewed for suitability, economy and robustness. Lateral stability
systems against wind loadings can be determined if required.
• Structural Analysis: The design loadings are calculated and used to
analyze the structure to determine the moments, shear forces and
deflections on the structural elements. The structural models are also
produced on CAD software, loads are applied and analyzed. If lateral
systems are required, the most efficient one is selected and analyzed.
• Design of elements: Here, the size of all the structural elements (slabs,
beams, columns, wall, staircases, bracings, connections, foundations,
retaining walls etc.) are determined based on the results from structural
analysis.
• Detailing of elements and preparation of structural drawings: Once
design is complete and approved, the GA’s (general arrangements)
drawings for the floors are produced. Structural members detailed
drawings are prepared for all the structural members on each
floor/level. Section view drawings and bar schedules (for each
structural elements) are also provided.
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