1. Physical and Structural Properties of reinforced concrete.

Reinforced concrete is a strong durable building material that can be formed into many varied
shapes and sizes ranging from a simple rectangular column, to a slender curved dome or shell.
Its utility and versatility is achieved by combining the best features of concrete and steel.
Consider some of the widely differing properties of these two materials that are listed below.
Concrete Steel

strength in tension poor good

strength in compression good good, but slender bars will buckle

strength in shear fair good

durability good corrodes if unprotected

fire resistance good poor — suffers rapid loss of strength at high temperatures
It can be seen from this list that the materials are more or less complementary. Thus,
when they are combined, the steel is able to provide the tensile strength and probably
some of the shear strength while the concrete, strong in compression, protects the steel
to give durability and fire resistance.

2. Concrete
Concrete is one of the world’s most common material.
 Dams
 Roads
 Bridges
 Buildings

Concrete also is a building material which is a mixture of cement, water, coarse aggregate and
fine aggregate which is poured into molds to obtain stone like mass.

Properties on freshly mixed concrete

1. Workability
- Workability of concrete is defined as the ease with which the concrete can be mixed,
transported & placed in a position in homogenous state.
- Workability of concrete is affected by factors such as:
 Water- cement ratio
 Use of plasticizers
 Mix proportions
 Shape, size and texture of aggregates
2. Segregation
- Segregation is the separation of coarse aggregate from concrete mass.

Improper water- cement ratio, dumping concrete from a height, improper mixing are the
reasons for segregation of concrete.

Concrete should be free from segregation. Segregated concrete results into: honey
combing, decrease in density, loss of strength in hardened concrete.

3. Bleeding
- Separation of water from concrete mix is called as bleeding. Bleeding renders
concrete porous and reduces strength of hardened concrete

Properties of concrete in hardened state

1. Strength
- Hardened concrete should have high compressive strength to withstand heavy loads.
 Tensile strength of concrete is taken as 1/10th its compressive strength. Concrete
should have enough flexural strength to resist deformation due to loading.
2. Durability
- Concrete should resist the action of heat and rains.
3. Shrinkage
- Is defined as the contracting of a hardened concrete mixture due to the loss of
capillary water.
4. Creep
- Concrete undergoes to a continuous strain due to external loads.
5. Impermeability
- Concrete must be impermeable so as to resist the entry of water into the structure.
6. Thermal expansion
- Hardened concrete should have minimum thermal expansion

3. Steel Reinforcement

Reinforcing bars are referred to as plain or deformed. The deformed bars, which have
ribbed projections rolled onto their surfaces (patterns differing with different manufacturers) to
provide better bonding between the concrete and the steel, are used for almost all applications.
Instead of rolled-on deformations, deformed wire has indentations pressed into it. Plain bars are
not used very often except for wrapping around longitudinal bars, primarily in columns.

There are mainly 4 types of steel reinforcement used in concrete structures:

 Hot Rolled Deformed Bars: This is the most common type of

reinforcement for regular RCC structures. Hot rolling is done
in the mills which involves giving it deformations on the
surface i.e. ribs so that it can form bond with concrete. The
stress - strain curve shows a distinct yield point followed by a
plastic stage in which strain increases without increase in
stress. This is followed by a strain hardening stage. It has
typical tensile yield strength of 60,000 psi.
 Mild Steel Plain bars: These are plain bars and have no ribs
on them. These are used in small projects where economy is
the real concern. As plain bars cannot bind very well with
concrete hence hooks have to be provided at the ends. In this
type of steel too stress - strain curve shows a distinct yield
point followed by a plastic stage in which strain increases
without increase in stress. This is followed by a strain
hardening stage. Plastic stage in Mild Steel Bars is even more
pronounced than Hot Rolled Deformed Bars. Typical tensile
yield strength is 40,000 psi.
 Cold Worked Steel Reinforcement: When hot rolled steel bar
undergoes process of cold working, cold worked reinforcement
is produced. Cold working involves twisting or drawing the bars
at room temperature. This effectively eliminates the Plastic
Stage in the Stress-Strain curve, although it gives more control
over the size and tolerances of bars. Due to removal of plastic
stage it has lower ductility than Hot Rolled bars. Its use is specific
to projects where low tolerances and straightness are a major
concern. The stress – strain curve does not show a distinct yield
point as plastic stage is entirely eliminated. Yield point is
determined by drawing a line parallel to the Tangent Modulus at
 0.2% strain. Yield stress is the point where this line intersects the stress – strain curve.
This is known as 0.2% proof stress. If yield stress is determined at 0.1% strain it is called
0.1% proof stress. Typical tensile yield strength is 60,000 psi.
 Prestressing Steel: Prestressing steel is used in the
form of bars or tendons which are made up of
multiple strands, however, tendons / strands are
more frequently used as these can be laid in
various profiles, which is a primary requirement of
prestressing steel. Prestressing strands are, in turn,
made up of multiple wires (typical 2, 3 or 7 wire
strands). Typical seven wire strand consists of six
wires spun around the seventh wire which has a
slightly larger diameter, thus forming a helical
strand. These wires are cold drawn and have very high tensile ultimate strength (typically
250,000 - 270,000 psi). Their high tensile strength makes it possible to effectively
prestress concrete even after undergoing short term and long term losses. These are used
in prestressed concrete in bridges or prestressed slabs in buildings. Prestressing steel is
also available as non-bonded strands encased in PVC sheath. It is used in Post-Tensioning
of members. Prestressing strands are also available as Low Relaxation Strands which
exhibit low relaxation losses after prestressing. These are typically used in prestressing
members with large spans.

4. Working Stress Design

Working Stress Design Method is a method used for the reinforced concrete design
where concrete is assumed as elastic, steel and concrete act together elastically where the
relationship between loads and stresses is linear.

Assumptions of Working Stress Design Method

1. Plane Section before bending will remain plane after bending

2. Bond between steel and concrete is perfect with in elastic limit of steel

3. The steel and concrete behaves as linear elastic material

4. All tensile stresses are taken by reinforcement and none by concrete

5. The stresses in steel and concrete are related by a factor known as “modular ratio

6. The Stress-strain relationship of steel and concrete is a Straight line under working load

Limitations of working stress method:

1. The assumptions of linear elastic behavior and control of stresses within specially defined
permissible stresses are unrealistic due to several reasons viz., creep, shrinkage and other long
term effects, stress concentration and other secondary effects

2. Different types of load acting simultaneously have different degrees of uncertainties. This
cannot be taken into account in the working stress method

3. The actual factor of safety is not known in this method of design. The partial safety factors
in the limit state method is more realistic than the concept of permissible stresses in the working
stress method to have factor of safety in the design.
 5. Ultimate strength design
Ultimate Strength Design method is used extensively and almost exclusively in many countries
for structural design practice .The Working Stress Design (WSD) method designs RC sections
assuming them to be within their elastic limits, where stresses are proportional to strains. Large
margins or factors of safety are assumed on material strengths to ensure such behavior. It is
equally, if not more important to predict the ultimate strength of RC sections so that they can be
designed to resist the largest loads anticipated during their design lives. The materials are not
expected to remain within their elastic limits at such high stresses. More realistic methods of
analysis, based on actual inelastic behavior rather than assumed elastic behavior of materials and
on results of extremely extensive experimental research, have been performed to predict the
ultimate strengths .The Ultimate Strength Design (USD) method, derived from such works .

Assumptions of Ultimate Stress Design Method:

1. Stress in reinforcement varies linearly with strain up to the specified yield strength. The
stress remains constant beyond this point as strains continue increasing. This implies that the
strain hardening of steel is ignored.

2. Concrete sections are considered to have reached their flexural capacities when they
develop 0.003 strain in the extreme compression fiber.

3. Strains in reinforcement and concrete are directly proportional to the distance

from neutral axis. This implies that the variation of strains across the section is linear, and
unknown values can be computed from the known values of strain through a linear relationship.

4. Tensile strength of concrete is neglected.

5. Compressive stress distribution of concrete can be represented by the corresponding

stress-strain relationship of concrete.
 6. Stress- strain Curve Diagram for Steel

7. Stress- strain Curve Diagram for Concrete

STRESS-STRAIN CURVE FOR CONCRETE

The stress-strain diagram for concrete of a specified compressive strength is a curved line as
shown. Maximum stress is reached at a strain of 0.002 mm/mm, after which the curve descends.

8. Reinforced Concrete Materials

- Reinforced concrete, concrete in which steel is embedded in such a manner that the
two materials act together in resisting forces. The reinforcing steel—rods, bars, or
mesh—absorbs the tensile, shear, and sometimes the compressive stresses in
a concrete structure. Plain concrete does not easily withstand tensile and shear
stresses caused by wind, earthquakes, vibrations, and other forces and is therefore
unsuitable in most structural applications. In reinforced concrete, the tensile
strength of steel and the compressive strength of concrete work together to allow
the member to sustain these stresses over considerable spans. The invention of
reinforced concrete in the 19th century revolutionized the construction industry, and
concrete became one of the world’s most common building materials.

 Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon and other elements. Because of its high tensile
strength and low cost, it is a major component used in buildings, infrastructure,
tools, ships, automobiles, machines, appliances, and weapons.
 Concrete, usually Portland cement concrete,[2][3] is a composite
material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a
fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens over time—most frequently a lime-
based cement binder, such as Portland cement, but sometimes with
other hydraulic cements, such as a calcium aluminate cement. It is distinguished
from other, non-cementitious types of concrete all binding some form of
aggregate together, including asphalt concrete with a bitumen binder, which is
frequently used for road surfaces, and polymer concretes that use polymers as a
binder.

 A cement is a binder, a substance used for construction that sets, hardens,

and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used
on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel (aggregate) together. Cement
mixed with fine aggregate produces mortar for masonry, or with sand and
gravel, produces concrete. Cements used in construction are
usually inorganic, often lime or calcium silicate based, and can be
characterized as either hydraulic or non-hydraulic, depending on the ability
of the cement to set in the presence of water (see hydraulic and non-hydraulic
lime plaster).
 A brick is building material used to make walls, pavements and other elements
in masonry construction. Traditionally, the term brick referred to a unit
composed of clay, but it is now used to denote any rectangular units laid in
mortar. A brick can be composed of clay-bearing soil, sand, and lime,
or concrete materials. Bricks are produced in numerous classes, types,
materials, and sizes which vary with region and time period, and are produced
in bulk quantities. Two basic categories of bricks are fired and non-fired bricks.