CHAPTER 4

Flexural Behavior
of
Reinforced Concrete Beams

4.1 Flexural Behavior of Reinforced Concrete:

The strength design method focuses on extreme or failure conditions. It is occasionally

termed the ultimate condition. To understand failure behavior, one should analyze or
study the flexural behavior of beams leading to failure. A typical reinforced concrete
beam is shown in Figure 4.1. The beam in Figure 4.1 is simply supported and uniformly
loaded with a progressively increasing distributed load “w”.

A
Uniform Load “w”

Beam

Figure 4.1: Reinforced concrete beam.

Certain assumptions are needed to facilitate the analysis of the reinforced concrete beam
in Figure 4.1:

1. Plane section before bending remain plane after bending as stated in Bernoulli’s
beam bending theory. This implies that the strains in a deformed section are
linearly proportional to the distance from the Neutral Axis, and

2. Steel and concrete are perfectly bonded. As such, the strain in a steel bar is equal
to the strain in neighboring concrete chunk provided that they are at an equal
distance to the Neutral Axis (NA).

Cross section A-A of the beam in Figure 4.1 representing a typical reinforced concrete
cross section is shown in Figure 4.2. The following notations are shown in Figure 4.2:

4.1
 b = beam width.
h = beam thickness or height.
d = beam effective depth = distance between the highest point of section (extreme
compression fiber) to the centroid of reinforcing bars.
As = reinforcing steel bar area.
ρ = beam reinforcement ratio according to the following equation:

ρ = As/bd (4.1)

N.A. = the Neutral Axis.

concrete
h, beam d, beam
height effective
N.A. depth
As, reinforcing
steel bars

b, beam width

Figure 4.2: Section A-A – typical reinforced concrete beam section.

Under increased loading, w, the bending moment as well as stresses and strains increase
in Section A-A. Based on the value of bending moment or load, Section A-A goes
through several phases of behavior as explained below.

Phase 1: Elastic Section Behavior.

Phase 1 is experienced when the load or moment are relatively small. In phase 1, the
flexural tensile strength of concrete (fr) has not been exceeded and concrete is elastic to a
large extent as shown in Figure 4.3. Also, the tensile cracking or rupture strain of
concrete in bending (εr=fr/Ec) has not been exceeded. As noted, the strain distribution is
linear with respect to the location of the N.A. which has no strain. The strain in concrete
adjacent to the steel bars is identical to the strain in steel bars. However, the stress in
concrete next to steel bars is significantly less than the stress in steel bars. Under
identical strains, ε, the ratio of the stress in steel, σs, to the stress in concrete, σc, is “n”
determined according to the following equation:

n = Es/Ec (4.2)

4.2
Where Equation 4.2 may be derived as follows. The stresses in steel and concrete under
the effect of an identical strain (ε) may be calculated as:

σs = ε.Es σc = ε.Ec

Thus, the ratio of stress in steel to stress in concrete due to ε is:

σs/σc = Es/Ec = n (typically 7 – 9)

ε’c σ’c=Ec.ε’c

– Compression –
concrete

Strains N.A. Stresses

Tension
steel
εs + σs=Es.εs +

εc<εr=fr/Ec σc =Ec.εc<fr

Figure 4.3: Phase 1 of flexural behavior.

To obtain stresses from strains in phase 1 of behavior, stains are multiplied by the
modulus of elasticity of the perspective material. As such, both steel and concrete are
considered elastic since the strains in the section are relatively small; therefore this
approximation is warranted (see Chapter 2).

Phase 2: Elastic Behavior – Cracked Concrete

Phase 2 follows phase 1 and is characterized by cracking of concrete in tension. Tensile

strains in the section exceed εr. However, the behavior of concrete in compression
remains elastic. In phase 2, the cracking strain of concrete in bending (εr = fr/Ec) and the
flexural tensile strength of concrete (fr) have been exceeded. Thus, concrete is cracked
on the tension side as shown in Figure 4.4. The dashed lines of the strain and stress
diagrams in Figure 4.4 represent imaginary distribution in cracked concrete. The strain
distribution across the section remains linear with respect to the location of the N.A. that
has no strain per Bernoulli’s theorem. The main tensile strains and stresses in the section
are at the steel bars which reflect the cooperation between concrete and steel in reinforced
concrete; where concrete resists compression while steel resists tension. Concrete
remains elastic in compression since stresses and stains remain somewhat minor.

4.3
 ε’c σ’c=Ec.ε’c

– Compression –
Max uncracked
concrete concrete strain
εr=fr/Ec Stresses
N.A.
Concrete rupture
Strains stress fr
Cracked Tension
steel + Portion
σs=Es.εs +
εs

Figure 4.4: Phase 2 of flexural behavior.

Phase 3: Inelastic Behavior

Phase 3 follows phase 2 and is characterized by increasing stresses and strains along with
inelastic behavior of one or both materials.
ε’c σ’c

– Compression –
concrete N.A.
εr fr

Tension Cracked Tension +

+
steel portion
εs σs

Strains Stresses

Figure 4.5: Phase 3 of flexural behavior.

Also, in phase 3, the cracking strain of concrete in bending (εr = fr/Ec) and the flexural
tensile strength of concrete (fr) have been exceeded. The dashed lines of the strain and
stress diagrams in Figure 4.5 represent imaginary distribution in cracked concrete. Linear
strain distribution with respect to the location of the N.A. per Bernoulli’s theorem
remains. The main tension in the section is due to the presence of steel. Concrete
becomes inelastic in compression and steel may become inelastic in tension.

4.4
Phase 4: Failure in Bending

Phase 4 represents the failure stage of reinforced concrete in bending. Although,

disagreement may arise regarding the definition of failure, ACI 318 Code’s definition is
the adopted one. Failure of reinforced concrete in bending (as well as other stress
situations) is defined by concrete reaching its crushing strain in compression = 0.003.

0.003 0.85f'c
– Compressi –
f’c
concrete εr N.A. fr
+ +
Strains Cracked Stresses
Portion
Tension
steel εs>εy=fy/Es σs=fy

Figure 4.6: Failure in bending.

In a properly designed reinforced concrete beam, the strain in steel, εs, exceeds the yield
strain εy=fy/Es in Phase 4. As such, the stress in steel, σs, would be equal to yield stress,
fy (see Chapter 2). This is a necessary precaution to insure a slow or gradual failure of
reinforced concrete beams imparting toughness and enhancing damage tolerance. While
steel yields, it experiences large deformation causing significant and visible damage prior
to complete collapse, as a result, absorbing a significant amount of energy. Thereby,
remedial action may take place prior to complete collapse and complete collapse would
be unlikely in the case of a catastrophic event. The compressive stress in concrete at the
extreme compression fiber in the section would be 0.85f’c based on the stress strain
diagram of concrete in Chapter 2. f’c is reached at a strain of about 0.002 that occurs
within the compression zone of the concrete beam, but not at the point of maximum
strain. Typically, f’c is the design compressive strength of concrete that is relied on for
structural design. For this analysis, f’c is considered the maximum attainable
compressive stress in concrete. In the failure phase in bending, in spite of being inelastic,
flexural analysis of concrete beams assume that Bernoulli’s theorem of plane section
remain plane continue to be in effect and applicable.

With increased loading, the location of the NA continues to rise in the section and crack
depth continues to increase. This is due to the reduction of tangent modulus of elasticity
and the inelastic behavior of concrete with increased stresses (see Chapter 2). In phase 4,
the N.A. location is dictated by equilibrium rather than Bernoulli’s theorem. The tension
force in steel must equal the compression force in concrete to achieve force equilibrium.

4.5
4.2 Simplified Analysis of Flexural Failure Behavior of Reinforced Concrete:

Figure 4.7 illustrates a simplified procedure for flexural failure analysis for reinforced
concrete beams. Two more simplifying assumptions are utilized:

1. Concrete tensile strength in bending fr = 0, and

2. Concrete compressive stress distribution is rectangular according to Whitney’s
rectangular compression block.

0.003 0.85f'c
– a=β1.c
c –
concrete Compression C
N.A.
Strains Cracked Stresses Moment
Portion & Forces Arm
Tension +
+
steel σs=fy
εs>εy=fy/Es T

Figure 4.7: Simplified failure analysis in bending.

In Figure 4.7, “c” is the depth of concrete compression zone while “a” is the depth of
Whitney’s compression block. The area of Whitney’s compression block “0.85f’c a”
must be equal to the area of the irregular compression stress block occurring at failure in
reinforced concrete beams shown in Figure 4.6. Since Whitney’s block adopts a uniform
compression stress of 0.85f’c, then changing the value of “a” for concrete type would
achieve this sought equality. In Chapter 2, the compressive stress–strain diagrams for
various concretes are illustrated. For high strength concrete (high f’c), the stress–stain
diagram includes steep lines indicating large variations of stresses with strain increases
(high stress gradient = ∆σ/∆ε) and leading to a relatively small average stress compared
with f’c. Such is not the case for conventional and low strength concrete resulting in a
higher average stress compared with f’c. Whiney has adopted the following values for β1
to compensate for the variations of stress behavior of concrete with f’c:

a = β1 x c (4.3)

Where:
a = depth of Whitney’s compression block,
c = depth of compression zone, and

4.6
 β1 = 0.85 for f’c < 4,000 psi,
0.80 for f’c = 5,000 psi,
0.75 for f’c = 6,000 psi,
0.70 for f’c = 7,000 psi, and
0.65 for f’c = 8,000 psi.

In Figure 4.7, it is assumed that the reinforced concrete beam is properly designed so that
the reinforcing steel yields prior to concrete crushing in compression as defined by
reaching the crushing strain of 0.003 in compression. While yielding of steel is slow,
gradual and accompanied by absorbing significant amounts of energy, concrete crushing
is catastrophic, sudden and does not involve significant energy absorption. The
reinforced concrete beam would sustain damage such as cracking due steel yielding, but
complete collapse does not occur until concrete crushes. With such design philosophy,
design safety is enhanced under catastrophic loading, deficient materials, or poor
workmanship events.

Example 4.1

Determine the nominal bending moment capacity of a concrete beam utilizing the
simplified failure analysis by Whitney with the following information:

b = 14 inch d = 27 inch As = 4 in2

f’c = 4,000 psi fy = 60,000 psi

Solution

1. Determine the depth of compression block:

Based on force equilibrium, since the beam is subjected to bending moment only
not subjected to axial forces, then:
ΣF = 0 ====> Compression in concrete = Tension in Steel

C=T ====> 0.85f’c.a.b = As.fy (4.4)

====> a = As.fy/0.85 f’c.b (4.5)

====> a = (4x60,000)/(0.85x4,000x14)

====> a = 5.04 inch

2. Determine the value of the moment are for C & T (see Figure 4.7):

Moment Arm = d – a/2 (4.6)

Moment Arm = 27 – 5.04/2 = 24.5 inch

4.7
 3. Determine the value of the bending moment capacity of the beam, Mn:

Mn = C or T multiplied by the moment arm

Mn = As.fy.(d – a/2) = 0.85f’c.a.b.(d – a/2) (4.7)

Mn = 4x60,000x24.5 = 0.85x4,000x5.04x14x24.5 = 5,880,000 in.lb

Mn = 5,880,000 in.lb = 490 ft.k

Mn = 490 ft.k

The beam in this example is realistic. It is noted that the depth of compression zone in
this beam c = a/β1 is about 6 inch. As such, only 6 inches of the beam are not cracked
under failure analysis while the rest (21 inch) is cracked. Under service conditions, it is
typical that 1/3 of the beam is not cracked while the other 2/3 are cracked.

There are two concepts in analysis of reinforced concrete beams: strain compatibility and
equilibrium. Strain compatibility indicates that Bernoulli’s theorem for strain distribution
governs as in Figure 4.7. The solution of Example 4.1 is based on equilibrium using
stresses based Whitney’s rectangular compression block. Strain distribution
compatibility and equilibrium generally result in matching solutions. As such, the values
of a, c and εt can be determined using either method.

4.8
Test your knowledge:

1. What are the assumptions used in analysis of reinforced concrete beams in bending?

2. What is the stress beyond which concrete ceases to be elastic?

3. What is the stress beyond which steel ceases to be elastic?

4. How is slow or gradual failure achieved in reinforced concrete beams?

5. What phase of behavior of concrete beams is closest to service conditions?

6. List the four phases of behavior of reinforced concrete beams and the theme for each
phase.

7. Explain the reason for the different values of β1 for different values of f’c in
Whitney’s rectangular compression block.

8. Why is it considered prudent in reinforced concrete design to make certain that steel
yields prior to concrete crushing?

9. Redo the example included in this chapter for b = 14, 20, 26, and 32 in. Draw a
diagram showing the changes in Mn with b.

10. Redo the example included in this chapter for d = 17, 27, 37, and 47 in. Draw a
diagram showing the changes in Mn with d.

11. Redo the example included in this chapter for f’c = 2000, 4000, 6000, and 8000.
Draw a diagram showing the changes in Mn with f’c.

12. Redo the example included in this chapter for As = 4, 8, 12, and 16 in2. Draw a
diagram showing the changes in Mn with As.

4.9
13. Redo the example included in this chapter for fy = 40000, 60000, 80000, and 100000
psi. Draw a diagram showing the changes in Mn with fy.

14. Based on your answer to questions 8 – 12, rank the factors that affect the value of Mn
in the order of influence. The most influential factor first and the least influential last.

4.10