3.

5 STRENGTH CALCULATIONS

INTRODUCTION

 7 Methods for Testing Concrete Strength

o There are many different practices aside from cylinder break tests that can be
used.
o Rebound Hammer or Schmidt Hammer
o Penetration Resistance Test
o Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity
o Pullout Test
o Drilled Core
o Cast-in-place Cylinders
o Wireless Maturity Sensors
 Compressive strength of concrete is one of the most important and useful properties. As a
construction material, concrete is employed to resist compressive stresses. While, at
locations where tensile strength or shear strength is of primary importance, the
compressive strength is used to estimate the required property.
 Compressive strength can be defined as the capacity of concrete to withstand loads before
failure. Of the many tests applied to the concrete, the compressive strength test is the
most important, as it gives an idea about the characteristics of the concrete.

BEFORE SLIDE 1

 The analysis of the ultimate flexural strength of a section is made using formulae
applicable to the design of normal structures.

AFTER FIRST BULLET IN SLIDE 1

 Tension is a force that stretches something. Compression is a force that squeezes

something together. Materials are only useful if they can withstand forces.

 The formulae for the calculation of the ultimate limit state condition are obtained from a
consideration of the forces of equilibrium and the shape of the concrete stress block at
failure, and the following formulae are based on the recommendations of BS EN 1992-1-
1 (EN 1992-1-1(Design of concrete structures) describes the principles and
requirements for safety, serviceability and durability of concrete structures,
together with specific provisions for buildings. It is based on the limit state concept
used in conjunction with a partial factor method.)

AFTER THIRD BULLET IN SLIDE 1

 After allowing for the partial safety factor for concrete, for the UK practice of testing
concrete strength using cubes, and for the equivalent rectangular stress block.
 According to BS EN 1992-1-1 Cl 7.2 (3) and (5), in order to assume linear creep and for
the crack width formula to be valid, the compressive stress in the concrete under quasi-
permanent loads and the tensile stress in the steel under service conditions must be less
than the following limiting values:
 concrete: k2 fck
 steel: k3 fyk
 where k2 = 0.45 and k3 = 0.8.

BEFORE SLIDE 7

 To calculate the area of reinforcement required to provide a given ultimate moment of

resistance, it is convenient to rearrange Eqs (3.27) to (3.32) to provide the depth of the
neutral axis in terms of the applied ultimate moment and the maximum ultimate moment.
 d = maximum effective depth of section
 B=WIDTH
 As= Cross sectional area of reinforcement
 M Bending moment
 fYk Characteristic yield strength of reinforcement
 fck Characteristic compressive cylinder strength of concrete at 28 days
 Mu = Maximum Moment
 x = Neutral axis depth
 z = Lever arm of internal forces
  Compressive Strength of Concrete at Various Ages.

Age Strength per cent

3 days 40%

7 days 65%

14 days 90%

28 days 99%


AFTER 2ND BULLET OF SLIDE 7

 This value may be substituted in Eqs (3.27) and (3.31) to calculate the required area of
reinforcement. After the arrangement of reinforcement has been decided, the ultimate
shear stress should be rechecked (see Section 3.2.4).

3.7.1 SPACING AND BAR DIAMETER

 Guidance is provided on the minimum clear distance between horizontal or vertical bars
or between layers of parallel bars.
 With the crack widths fi xed, the rules for determining crack widths are presented in
tabular form in BS EN 1992-1-1 for bar size (Table 7.2N) and bar spacing (Table 7.3N)
for a range of steel stresses from 160 to 450 MPa.
 The maximum bar diameters obtained from Table 7.2N are then modifi ed by Eq. 7.6N
for cases where bending forces dominate (i.e. at least part of the section is in
compression) and Eq. 7.7N where the section is subject to uniform axial tension.
 The maximum bar diameters obtained from Table 7.2N are then modifi ed by Eq. 7.6N
for cases where bending forces dominate (i.e. at least part of the section is in
compression) and Eq. 7.7N where the section is subject to uniform axial tension.
 All values taken from BS EN 1992-3 are for pure tension. Interestingly it suggests bigger
bar diameters than BS EN 1992-1-1 except at high steel stresses; this contradicts the
purpose of Expression 7.122, which suggests the use of smaller bar sizes.
 The recommendation by Narayanan and Beeby that the maximum bar spacing for cases
of pure tension should be 50% of those spaces recommended for fl exural cases therefore
seems reasonable.