15FCVE221 

Concrete Structures
Part 2:
Concrete Materials

Structural Use of Concrete
• Concrete consists of:
• Portland cement (binder)
• Gravel (coarse aggregate)
• Sand (fine aggregate)
• Water

• Concrete is strong in 
compression and weak in 
tension 

• Steel reinforcement is 
provided in tension zones.
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Part 2 – Concrete Materials Page 1

 Concrete + Reinforcing Steel

Reinforced Concrete

Concrete + Steel
Vertical Load

Column Column Column

Part 2 – Concrete Materials Page 2

 Concrete + Steel
T T T
C C

C C
C
T T

Concrete + Steel

Part 2 – Concrete Materials Page 3

 Reinforced Concrete Elements

Whenever tension 
exist from loading, 
reinforcement is 
needed

Whenever tension 
exist from loading, 
reinforcement is 
needed

Part 2 – Concrete Materials Page 4

 Whenever tension 
exist from loading, 
reinforcement is 
needed

Concrete: Compressive Stress‐Strain Curve
- curve is obtained
by testing a 28 days
cured cylindrical
concrete sample with
150 mm dia. and 300
mm height.

 D2 
A  r 2    
 4 
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Part 2 – Concrete Materials Page 5

 Concrete: Compressive Stress‐Strain Curve
• fc’ is the specified compressive strength of concrete. It
is the peak stress of the curve = “peak load” / Area
• fc’ shall not be less than 17 MPa.
• Strain at peak stress fc’ is 0.002 for fc’ = 30 MPa, and is
higher for higher fc’.
• Ec = modulus of elasticity for concrete (slope of initial
linear range).
0.043w1.5 f ' for values of w between 1440 and 2560 kg/m 3

Ec  
c c c

4700 f c'
for normal - weight concrete
f c' in MPa and wc  unit weight of concrete 11

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Tensile Strength of Concrete
• Tensile strength of concrete shall be neglected in axial
and flexural (bending moment) calculations.
• The strength of concrete in tension, however, is
important in cracking and deflection considerations @
service loads. The parameter of concern is the modulus
of rupture (fr).
• fr is defined as the flexural tensile stress @ which a
crack forms in a plain concrete prism.

f r  0.62 f c' 
for normal weight concrete f r and f c' are in MPa 
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Part 2 – Concrete Materials Page 6

 Steel Rebars
• The steel reinforcing bars 
(rebars) are made with surface 
deformations to prevent slip 
between bars and concrete; 
hence improving the bond.
• At the time concrete is placed, 
steel bars shall be free of mud 
and oil that decreases the 
bond.

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Rebars Sizes (Metric & US Customary)

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Part 2 – Concrete Materials Page 7

 Steel Rebars

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Steel Rebars

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 Steel Rebars

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Coated Rebars
Structural elements can be subjected to severe
environmental conditions, such as:
1- bridge decks or parking garages subject to
deicing chemicals,
2- port and marine structures subject to sea
water,
3- wastewater treatment plants,
4- Bridge Columns under water or seabed.

In this case, the rebars can be specified as

galvanized (zinc coated) or epoxy-coated to
minimize corrosion of reinforcement and
consequent spalling of concrete
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Part 2 – Concrete Materials Page 9

 Coated Rebars
ASTM A767, “Standard Specification for Zinc-Coated (Galvanized)
Steel Bars for Concrete Reinforcement,” includes requirements for
the zinc coating material, the galvanizing process, the class or weight
of coating, finish and adherence of coating, and the method of
fabrication.

Bars are usually galvanized after cutting and bending. Supplementary

requirements pertain to coating of sheared ends and repair of
damaged coating if bars are fabricated after galvanizing.

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Coated Rebars
Epoxy-coated bars, presently more widely used than galvanized bars,
are governed by ASTM A775, “Standard Specification for Epoxy-
Coated Reinforcing Steel Bars,” which includes requirements for the
coating material, surface preparation prior to coating, method of
application, and limits on coating thickness, and by ASTM A934,
“Standard Specification for Epoxy-Coated Prefabricated Steel
Reinforcing Bars.” Under ASTM A775, the coating is applied to
straight bars in a production-line operation, and bars are cut and bent
after coating. Under ASTM A934, bars are bent to final shape prior to
coating. Cut ends and small spots of damaged coating are suitably
repaired after fabrication. Extra care is required in the field to ensure
that the coating is not damaged during shipment and placing and that
repairs are made if necessary.
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Part 2 – Concrete Materials Page 10

 Fundamental Design Assumptions for 
Reinforced Concrete Behavior
1. The internal forces (such as bending moments, shear, and
normal forces) at any section of a member are in
equilibrium with the effects of the external loads at that
section. This is not an assumption but a fact, because any
body or any portion thereof can be at rest only if all forces
acting on it are in equilibrium

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Fundamental Design Assumptions for 
Reinforced Concrete Behavior
2. The strain in an embedded reinforcing bar (either tension
or compression) is the same as that of the surrounding
concrete. It is assumed that perfect bonding exists between
concrete and steel at the interface, so that no slip can occur
between the two materials. Hence, deformation of both is
the same at the same location. With modern deformed bars,
a high degree of mechanical interlocking is provided.
In addition, the natural surface adhesion makes this
assumption very close to reality.
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Part 2 – Concrete Materials Page 11

 Fundamental Design Assumptions for 
Reinforced Concrete Behavior
3. Cross sections that were plane prior to loading continue
to be plane in the member under load. Accurate
measurements have shown that when a reinforced concrete
member is loaded close to failure, this assumption is not
absolutely accurate. However, the deviations are usually
minor and the results of theory based on this assumption
check well with extensive test information.

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Fundamental Design Assumptions for 
Reinforced Concrete Behavior
4. In view of the fact that the tensile strength of concrete is only a
small fraction of its compressive strength, the concrete in that part
of a member which is in tension is usually cracked. While these
cracks, in well-designed members, are generally so narrow as to
be hardly visible (they are known as hairline cracks), they make
the cracked concrete incapable of resisting any tension stress.
Correspondingly, it is assumed that concrete is not capable of
resisting any tension stress whatsoever. This assumption is
evidently a simplification of the actual situation because, in fact,
concrete prior to cracking, as well as the concrete located between
cracks, does resist tension stresses of small magnitude. 24

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Part 2 – Concrete Materials Page 12

 Modular Ratio
Because the compression strain in the concrete, at any given load, is
equal to the compression strain in the steel,
fc f
c   s  s
Ec Es
from which the relation between the steel stress fs and the concrete
stress fc is obtained as:
Es
fs  f c  nf c
Ec
where n = Es/Ec is known as the modular ratio.

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Modular Ratio
Let
Ac = net area of concrete, i.e., gross area minus area occupied by
reinforcing bars
Ag = gross area
Ast = total area of reinforcing bars
P = axial load
Then
P  f c Ac  f s Ast  f c Ac  nf c Ast
or P  f c ( Ac  nAst )
The term Ac + nAst can be interpreted as the area of a fictitious
concrete cross section, the transformed area, which when subjected
to the particular concrete stress fc results in the same axial load P as
the actual section composed of both steel and concrete.
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Part 2 – Concrete Materials Page 13

 Effect of Load rating on f’c
The curves for the two materials are (MPa)
(420)
drawn on the same graph using (42)
different vertical stress scales. Curve
b has the shape that would be (350) (35)
obtained in a concrete cylinder test.
The rate of loading in most structures (28)
(280)
is considerably slower than that in a
cylinder test, and this affects the shape
of the curve. Curve c, therefore, is (210) (21)
drawn as being characteristic of the
performance of concrete under slow (14)
(140)
loading. Under these conditions, tests
have shown that the maximum
reliable compressive strength of (70) (7)
reinforced concrete is about 0.85f ′c ,
as shown.
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Steel: Tension and Compression Stress‐Strain Curve
Actual tensile and compressive ACI idealized tensile and compressive
stress-strain curve for steel bars stress-strain curve for steel bars
fs
Perfectly plastic
fy
Elastic-perfectly plastic curve
(increase in strength due to strain
Es hardening is neglected)
1

y = yield strain s
fy is the specified yield strength for the deformed reinforcement. It is
the same in tension and compression. The value of fy used in design
calculations shall not exceed 550 MPa, except for spiral transverse
reinforcement used in columns.
Always use fy ≤ 420 MPa. 28

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Part 2 – Concrete Materials Page 14

 Steel: Tension and Compression Stress‐Strain Curve
Es = modulus of elasticity of steel = 200GPa

Since Es >> Ec

then
Es
modular ratio : n   1.0
Ec
fy  when  s   y  f s  E s  s
 y  Yield strain  
E s  when  s   y  f s  f y

Note that ws = unit weight of steel = 7,850 kg/m3

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Example 2.1
• A cylindrical concrete specimen with 150 mm 
diameter and 300 mm height is tested in 
compression after 28 days of production. It 
attains a maximum compressive load of 530 
kN in the process of testing till failure 
(crushing). The concrete is normal weight.
1. What is the concrete compressive strength, fc’?
2. What is the modulus of elasticity of the concrete , Ec?
3. What is the concrete strain at the end of the linear range of the 
compressive stress‐strain curve of this concrete specimen?
4. What is the modular ratio, n?

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Part 2 – Concrete Materials Page 15

 Solution
 1502
1. Pmax  530kN  530,000 N , A  17,670mm 2
4
530,000
 f c'   30MPa
17,670

2. Normal weight concrete  Ec  4,700 30  25,740 MPa

Stress @ end of linear range 0.4530 

3.  c    0.0005245
Ec 25,740
200,000
4. n   7.77
25,740
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Example 2.2
• A steel bar with 16 mm diameter (i.e. No. 16 or 
16: db=16 mm, Ab=199 mm2) has a specified yield 
strength fy = 420 MPa.

1. What is the yield strain, y?
2. What is the stress in the steel bar, fs, @ a strain s = 
0.004? @ a strain s = 0.0012?
3. What is the weight of the bar in kg/m?

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Part 2 – Concrete Materials Page 16

 Solution
fy 420
1.  y    0.0021
Es 200,000

2. @  s  0.004   y  f s  f y  420MPa
@  s  0.0012   y  f s  200,0000.0012  240MPa

3. Weight = (bar cross‐sectional area)(unit weight)
 Ab ws
 1m 2  kgf  kg

 199mm . 6
2
 7,850 3   1.56
2 
 10 mm  m  m 33

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Part 2 – Concrete Materials Page 17