CivE 414

Structural Concrete Design

Design for
Serviceability:
Deflection and
Cracking

CivE 414 Topic 5 Serviceability. Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Waterloo
p. 2

DEFLECTIONS
 Excessive deflections will:
 Cause aesthetic problems
 Raise concerns about the safety of the structure
 Cause cracking of partitions, ceiling, etc.
 Alter the basic geometry of the structure  may lead to
unexpected second-order effects

DESIGN FOR DEFLECTION

Two approaches:
1. Choose minimum thickness for slabs and beams to satisfy
deflection requirements
CSA A23.3 Clause 9.8.2.1

Beams: L/16 L/18.5 L/21 L/8

Slabs: L/20 L/24 L/28 L/10

2. Compute deflections of the structure and compare to

permissible limits
  lim

Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering CivE 414 – Structural Concrete Design
University of Waterloo
Part 9: Design for Serviceability: Deflection and Cracking p. 3
CSA A23.3 Deflection Limits

CSA A23.3 DEFLECTION LIMITS

Clause 9.8.2.6  see Table 9.3 (A23.3-04)

 Deflection limits are placed on live load deflections

CivE 414 Topic 5 Serviceability Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Waterloo
p. 4

DEFLECTION CALCULATIONS

5 wL4
max max 
384EI
L

 The fundamental assumption used to derive the deflection

equation above is that behaviour is linear elastic:
 EI (flexural stiffness) is constant
M
 
EI
 For reinforced concrete, the moment-curvature relationship is
not linear:

c = cu = 0.0035
Mu
My
yielding of
M
Moment, M


reinforcement

EI
Mcr
cracking

Curvature, 

 Options:
1. Calculate deflections from curvatures
   x  dx
2. Use an effective moment of inertia, Ie
 function of load level  calculate for each load level

Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering CivE 414 – Structural Concrete Design
University of Waterloo
Part 9: Design for Serviceability: Deflection and Cracking p. 5
Load-Deflection Behaviour of RC Beams

LOAD-DEFLECTION BEHAVIOUR OF RC
BEAMS

Applied
Load based on Ig
yielding to failure

DL+LL

based on Icr
DL
Initial
Cracking

DL DL+LL Deflection

 The load-deflection behaviour is non-linear since the moment-
curvature behaviour is non-linear
 The flexural stiffness, EI, is a
function of applied moment
(load level)
As As
 The actual moment of inertia
for a given load level lies Section Section
between Ig and Icr Before After
Cracking Cracking

 Since load-deflection behaviour is non-linear, incremental

deflections, such as live load deflection, can not be computed
directly.
e.g., can not compute LL directly from wL

LL  DLLL  DL

CivE 414 Topic 5 Serviceability Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Waterloo
p. 6

EFFECTIVE MOMENT OF INERTIA

 The concept of an effective moment of inertia, Ie, was

introduced to simplify deflection calculations where EI is not
constant
 The effective moment of inertia is computed for a given load
level (moment) to compute deflections at that load level. Ie is
recalculated for other load levels (moment)
Load

based on Ig
Ie1 Ie2

DL+LL

DL
Initial
Cracking
based on Icr

Deflection

Ig  Ie  Icr
EIg  EI e  EIcr

Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering CivE 414 – Structural Concrete Design
University of Waterloo
Part 9: Design for Serviceability: Deflection and Cracking p. 7
Effective Moment of Inertia

EC AND IE FOR DEFLECTION CALCULATION

CSA A23.3 Clause 9.8.2.3

 
1.5
  
Ec  3300 fc'  6900  c  (Clause 8.6.2.2)
 2300 
for 1500  c  2500 kg/m3
or
Ec  4500 fc'
(Clause 8.6.2.3)

for normal density concrete and 20  f’c  40 MPa

3
 Mcr 

Ie  Icr  Ig  Icr  M   Ig
 a 
Where,
Ie = effective moment of inertia for M = Ma
Ma = maximum moment (critical section) at the load level for
which deflections are being computed
Icr = cracked section moment of inertia
Ig = gross section moment of inertia (neglect A s)
Mcr = cracking moment
fr Ig
=
yt

𝟎.𝟔𝝀 𝒇𝒄
fr = *new requirement in CSA A23.3-14
𝟐
yt = distance from centroid to extreme tensile fibre

CivE 414 Topic 5 Serviceability Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Waterloo
p. 8

Clause 9.8.2.4 – Ie for Continuous Beams

 Use an average Ie:

Two ends continuous: I e,avg  0.7I e,m  0.15  I e1  I e2 

One end continuous: Ie,avg  0.85Ie,m  0.15Ie,cont

CRACKED SECTION MOMENT OF INERTIA

Singly-reinforced  kd 
Sections: bkd    nAs (d  kd)
 2
b
As k2
   nk  n  0
kd bd 2
d N.A.

Solving : k  2n  n  n

2
As nAs

b kd
3
 nAs  d  kd
2
Beam
Section
Transformed
Section Icr 
3

Doubly-reinforced b kd
2
Sections:  n  1 As  kd  d  nAs  d  kd
b
2
(n-1)A’s
b kd
d’ 2

A’s kd   n  1 As  nA s  kd
d N.A. 2
 n  1 Asd  nA sd  0
As nAs
 Solve for "kd"
Beam Transformed
b  kd
Section Section
3
 nAs  d  kd  n  1 As kd  d
2 2
Icr 
3

Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering CivE 414 – Structural Concrete Design
University of Waterloo
Part 9: Design for Serviceability: Deflection and Cracking p. 9
Deflections Under Sustained Load

DEFLECTIONS UNDER SUSTAINED LOAD

 Deflections increase under sustained loads due to long-term
creep and shrinkage of concrete
 Deflections under sustained loads may be treated as having 2
components:
1. Immediate deflection, i, due to applied loads
2. Long-term deflection, t, due to creep and shrinkage
 total  i   t
 Time dependent deflections are reduced by the presence of
compression steel
CSA A23.3 Clause 9.8.2.5
 total i   t  s 
Define: s     1 
i i  1  50 

 s 
Thus:  total  i   t   1   i
 1  50 
 s 
t    i
 1  50 
where,
A s
’ = at midspan for simple and continuous spans and
bd
at the supports for cantilevers (compression reinforcement)
s = time dependent factor
= 1.0 for loads sustained for 3 months
= 1.2 for loads sustained for 6 months
= 1.4 for loads sustained for 12 months
= 2.0 for loads sustained for 5 years or more

CivE 414 Topic 5 Serviceability Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Waterloo
p. 10

Example 1: Determine the mid-span dead load and live load

deflections for the simply-supported beam
shown. Assume f’c = 30 MPa and fy = 400 MPa.
bf = 800
100 L =8m
wD = 6 kN/m
As = 2000 mm2
460 wL = 10 kN/m
60
bw = 300

E s  200,000MPa From Table 1.14 CAC Handbook

Ec  4500 fc'  24,650MPa (Linear elastic solution for s.s. beam):

n  E s Ec  8.1 5 w L4
 max 
384EcIe

Gross Moment of Inertia, Ig

Item Dimensions Area ytop A  y top

(mm) (mm2) (mm) (mm3)
Flange 500 x 100 50,000 50 2,500,000
Web 300 x 560 168,000 280 47,040,000
Totals: -- 218,000 -- 49,540,000

y
 Ay  49,540,000  227mm (centroid)
A 218,000

Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering CivE 414 – Structural Concrete Design
University of Waterloo
Part 9: Design for Serviceability: Deflection and Cracking p. 11
Deflections Under Sustained Load

Ig  I i  Ad i i
2

500(100)3 300(560)3
  (50,000)(227  50)2   (168,000)(227  280)2
12 12
I g  6, 470  10 mm
6 4

Assume 𝒌𝒅 > 𝒉𝒇
Sum Moments of area about neutral axis
𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝟑𝟎𝟎(𝒌𝒅)𝒌𝒅
(𝟖𝟎𝟎 − 𝟑𝟎𝟎) ∙ 𝟏𝟎𝟎 ∙ 𝒌𝒅 − +
𝟐 𝟐
= 𝟖. 𝟏 ∙ 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟎 ∙ (𝟓𝟎𝟎 − 𝒌𝒅)
𝟏𝟓𝟎 ∙ 𝒌𝒅𝟐 + 𝟔𝟔𝟐𝟎𝟎 ∙ 𝒌𝒅 − 𝟏𝟎, 𝟔𝟎𝟎, 𝟎𝟎𝟎 = 𝟎
𝒌𝒅 = 𝟏𝟐𝟒. 𝟖𝒎𝒎 > 𝒉𝒇 𝒐𝒌.
𝟐
(𝟖𝟎𝟎 − 𝟑𝟎𝟎)𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟑 𝟏𝟎𝟎
𝑰𝒄𝒓 = + (𝟖𝟎𝟎 − 𝟑𝟎𝟎) ∙ 𝟏𝟎𝟎 ∙ − 𝟏𝟐𝟒. 𝟖
𝟏𝟐 𝟐
𝟑𝟎𝟎(𝟏𝟐𝟒. 𝟖)𝟑
+ + 𝟖. 𝟏 ∙ 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟎 ∙ (𝟓𝟎𝟎 − 𝟏𝟐𝟒. 𝟖)𝟐
𝟑
𝑰𝒄𝒓 = 𝟐𝟕𝟗𝟔 ∙ 𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝒎𝒎𝟒

CivE 414 Topic 5 Serviceability Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Waterloo
p. 12

Solve for cracking moment

𝒇𝒓 𝑰𝒈
𝑴𝒄𝒓 =
𝒚𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏
𝟎. 𝟔 𝒇𝒄 𝟎. 𝟔√𝟑𝟎
𝒇𝒓 == = 𝟏. 𝟔𝟒 𝑴𝑷𝒂
𝟐 𝟐
For gross sections
𝒚𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 = 𝒉 − 𝒚 → 𝟓𝟔𝟎 − 𝟐𝟐𝟕 = 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝒎𝒎
𝟏. 𝟔𝟒𝑴𝑷𝒂 ∙ 𝟔𝟒𝟕𝟎 ∙ 𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝒎𝒎𝟒
𝑴𝒄𝒓 = = 𝟑𝟏. 𝟗 𝒌𝑵 ∙ 𝒎
𝟑𝟑𝟑𝒎𝒎 ∙ 𝟏𝟎𝟔
Dead Load Deflection, ∆𝑫
𝒘𝑫 𝑳𝟐 𝟔 ∙ 𝟖𝟐
𝑴𝑫 = → (𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔) = 𝟒𝟖 𝒌𝑵 ∙ 𝒎 > 𝑴𝒄𝒓
𝟖 𝟖
Therefore, section is cracked under dead load use 𝑰𝒆
Clause 9.8.2.3
𝟑 𝟑
𝑴𝒄𝒓 𝟑𝟏. 𝟗
𝑰𝒆 = 𝑰𝒄𝒓 + 𝑰𝒈 − 𝑰𝒄𝒓 ≤ 𝑰𝒈 → 𝟐𝟕𝟗𝟔 + (𝟔𝟒𝟕𝟎 − 𝟐𝟕𝟗𝟔) ∙ 𝟏𝟎𝟔
𝑴𝒂 𝟒𝟖
𝑰𝒆 = 𝟑𝟖𝟕𝟒 ∙ 𝟏𝟎𝟔
𝟔𝑵
𝟓𝒘𝑫 𝑳𝟒 𝟓∙ ∙ 𝟖𝟎𝟎𝟎𝒎𝒎𝟒
∆𝑫 = = 𝒎𝒎 → ∆𝑫 = 𝟑. 𝟑𝟓𝒎𝒎
𝟑𝟖𝟒𝑬𝒄 𝑰𝒆 𝟑𝟖𝟒 ∙ 𝟐𝟒𝟔𝟓𝟎𝑴𝑷𝒂 ∙ 𝟑𝟖𝟕𝟒 ∙ 𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝒎𝒎𝟒

Live Load Deflection – behaviour is non-linear (after cracking)

𝟓𝒘𝑳 𝑳𝟒
∆𝑳 ≠ → ∆ 𝑳 = ∆𝑫 𝑳 − ∆𝑫
𝟑𝟖𝟒𝑬𝒄 𝑰𝒈
(𝟔 + 𝟏𝟎) ∙ 𝟖𝟐
𝑴𝑫 𝑳 = = 𝟏𝟐𝟖 𝒌𝑵 ∙ 𝒎 > 𝑴𝒄𝒓 → 𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰𝒆
𝟖

Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering CivE 414 – Structural Concrete Design
University of Waterloo
Part 9: Design for Serviceability: Deflection and Cracking p. 13
Deflections Under Sustained Load

Clause 9.8.2.3
𝟑 𝟑
𝑴𝒄𝒓 𝟑𝟏. 𝟗
𝑰𝒆 = 𝑰𝒄𝒓 + 𝑰𝒈 − 𝑰𝒄𝒓 ≤ 𝑰𝒈 → 𝟐𝟕𝟗𝟔 + (𝟔𝟒𝟕𝟎 − 𝟐𝟕𝟗𝟔) ∙ 𝟏𝟎𝟔
𝑴𝒂 𝟏𝟐𝟖
𝑰𝒆 = 𝟐𝟖𝟓𝟐 ∙ 𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝒎𝒎𝟒
𝟏𝟔𝑵
𝟓∙ ∙ 𝟖𝟎𝟎𝟎𝒎𝒎𝟒
∆𝑫 𝒎𝒎
𝑳= → ∆𝑫 𝑳 = 𝟏𝟐. 𝟏𝒎𝒎
𝟑𝟖𝟒 ∙ 𝟐𝟒𝟔𝟓𝟎𝑴𝑷𝒂 ∙ 𝟐𝟖𝟓𝟐 ∙ 𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝒎𝒎𝟒
∆𝑳 = ∆𝑫 𝑳 − ∆𝑫 → 𝟏𝟐. 𝟏𝒎𝒎 − 𝟑. 𝟑𝟓𝒎𝒎 → ∆𝑳 = 𝟖. 𝟖𝒎𝒎
Check deflection limit → Table 9.3 clause 9.8.2.6
Assume floor does not support elements likely to be
damaged by deflections:
𝒍𝒏 𝟖𝟎𝟎𝟎
𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒓 ∆𝒎𝒂𝒙 = = = 𝟐𝟐. 𝟐𝒎𝒎 > ∆𝑳 = 𝟖. 𝟖𝒎𝒎 𝑶. 𝑲.
𝟑𝟔𝟎 𝟑𝟔𝟎

What if deflection limits are not met?

Increase section (b, h) Increases 𝑰𝒚 , 𝑰𝒄𝒓 , 𝑴𝒄𝒓
Increase 𝑨𝒔 Increase 𝑰𝒄𝒓
Add 𝑨𝒔 Increases 𝑰𝒄𝒓

CivE 414 Topic 5 Serviceability Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Waterloo
p. 14

Example 1: Extra – Consider Long-term Deflections

Assume floor does support elements that could be damaged by

deflections. Assume 50% of live load is sustained for more than 5
𝒍
years →check limit ∆≤ 𝒏
𝟒𝟖𝟎
(∆𝒊 )𝑫𝑳 𝟎.𝟓𝑳𝑳
→ 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒔

(∆𝒕 )𝑫𝑳 𝟎.𝟓𝑳𝑳 → 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒔

(∆𝒊 )𝟎.𝟓𝑳𝑳
→ 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅

Sustained Loads:
(𝒘𝑫 + 𝟎. 𝟓 ∙ 𝒘𝑳 )𝟖𝟐 (𝟔 + 𝟎. 𝟓 ∙ 𝟏𝟎)𝟖𝟐
𝑴𝒂 = = = 𝟖𝟖 𝒌𝑵 ∙ 𝒎 > 𝑴𝒄𝒓
𝟖 𝟖

𝑰𝒆 = 𝟐𝟗𝟕𝟏 ∙ 𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝒎𝒎𝟒 (for Ma )

Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering CivE 414 – Structural Concrete Design
University of Waterloo
Part 9: Design for Serviceability: Deflection and Cracking p. 15
Deflections Under Sustained Load

(∆𝒊 )𝑫𝑳 𝟎.𝟓𝑳𝑳 = 𝟖. 𝟎𝟏𝒎𝒎

∆𝒕𝒐𝒕 = ∆𝒕 + ∆𝒊 = 𝜻𝒔 ∆𝒊

𝒔 𝒔
𝜻𝒔 = 𝟏 + → ∆𝒕 = ∆𝒊 (long term multiplier 9.8.2.5)
𝟏 𝟓𝟎𝝆 𝟏 𝟓𝟎𝝆

𝝆 = 𝟎 → 𝒔 = 𝟐 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝟓 𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔

∆𝒕 = 𝟐. 𝟎∆𝒊
(∆𝒕 )𝑫𝑳 𝟎.𝟓𝑳𝑳 = 𝟐 ∙ 𝟖. 𝟎𝟏 = 𝟏𝟔. 𝟎𝟐𝒎𝒎

Instantaneous deflection due to additional Live Load

(0.5LL)
∆𝟎.𝟓𝑳𝑳 = (∆𝑫𝑳 + ∆𝑳𝑳 ) − ∆𝑫𝑳 𝟎.𝟓𝑳𝑳 → 𝟏𝟐. 𝟏 − 𝟖. 𝟎𝟏
∆𝟎.𝟓𝑳𝑳 = 𝟒. 𝟎𝟗𝒎𝒎
Deflection Check – Table 9.3 – 3rd case CAC
∆𝒕𝒐𝒕 = (∆𝒕 )𝑫𝑳 𝟎.𝟓𝑳𝑳 + (∆𝒊 ).𝟓𝑳𝑳 → 𝟏𝟔. 𝟎𝟐 (𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎 𝑫𝑳 + 𝟎. 𝟓 𝑳𝑳) + 𝟒. 𝟎𝟗
𝒍𝒏 𝟖𝟎𝟎𝟎
∆𝒕𝒐𝒕 = 𝟐𝟎. 𝟏𝟏𝒎𝒎 > = = 𝟏𝟔. 𝟔𝟕𝒎𝒎
𝟒𝟖𝟎 𝟒𝟖𝟎

How can be make Δ<Δlim?

Options:
Increase section Increases 𝑰𝒚 , 𝑰𝒄𝒓 , 𝑴𝒄𝒓
Increase 𝑨𝒔 Increase 𝑰𝒄𝒓
Add 𝑨𝒔 Increases 𝑰𝒄𝒓 reduces ζs (cl 9.8.2.5)

CivE 414 Topic 5 Serviceability Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Waterloo
p. 16

CONTROL OF FLEXURAL CRACKING

 Flexural cracking of reinforced concrete structures is expected
 Excessive crack widths may be aesthetically unpleasing, and
may lead to increased corrosion of reinforcement
 Flexural crack widths may be reduced by:
 reducing the stress (at service) in tension reinforcement
 using well-distributed reinforcement (use a larger
number of small bars rather than fewer large bars)
 using prestressing
 Due to the nature of cracking, accurate prediction of crack
widths is very difficult

 Canada (CSA A23.3-04): crack control provided using a crack

control parameter “z”
 USA (ACI 318-05): crack control provided through
spacing requirements for
reinforcement closest to tension
surface
 Europe (EuroCode): crack control provided through crack
width limits wk  wlim

Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering CivE 414 – Structural Concrete Design
University of Waterloo
Part 9: Design for Serviceability: Deflection and Cracking p. 17
Control of Flexural Cracking

CSA A23.3 - CRACK CONTROL PARAMETER:

Clause 10.6.1

z  fs  dc A 
1/ 3

 30,000N/mm for Interior exposure

 25,000N/mm for Exterior exposure

where:
fs = tensile stress in reinforcement under service load
≈ 0.6fy (can be used in lieu of more detailed analysis)
dc = distance from c.g. of extreme layer of reinforcement to
tension surface of concrete (Note: clear cover need not be taken
larger than 50 mm when determining dc)
A = effective tension area of concrete surrounding the main
tension reinforcement, divided by the number of bars

CivE 414 Topic 5 Serviceability Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Waterloo
p. 18

CRACK CONTROL IN DEEP MEMBERS

 In deep beams, crack widths may be larger on the webs of the
beam between the neutral axis and the main tension
reinforcement  side-face cracks
 “Skin reinforcement” is used to control these cracks

CSA A23.3 Clause 10.6.2 - Skin Reinforcement

Longitudinal skin reinforcement, A sk, shall be used for beams
with h > 750 mm
Ask   sk Acs
 sk  0.008 for interior exposure
 0.010 for exterior exposure
Acs  2   0.5h  2 h  d    2x 

Skin reinforcement shall be uniformly distributed along the

exposed side faces of the member over the height of A cs.

Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering CivE 414 – Structural Concrete Design
University of Waterloo
Part 9: Design for Serviceability: Deflection and Cracking p. 19
Control of Flexural Cracking

Code
For reinforced members with an overall depth, h, exceeding
750 mm, longitudinal skin reinforcement
shall be uniformly distributed along the exposed side faces
of the member for a distance 0.5h – 2(h – d) nearest the
principal reinforcement

Maximum spacing = 200 mm

CivE 414 Topic 5 Serviceability Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Waterloo
p. 20

Example 2: Check crack control for an exterior exposure.

b = 400 mm
c h = 600 mm
d = 515 mm
neutral axis
dc = 70 mm
Effective area d
of concrete in h
tension fy = 400 MPa

x
x dc

As = 7 - 20M bars

x  h  d  600  515
 85 mm

(2x)b  2  85 mm  400 mm 
A 
nbars 7
 9714 mm2 / bar

z   0.6  400 MPa   (70mm)(9714 mm2 ) 

1/3

 21,104 N / mm
 25,000 N / mm  O.K.

Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering CivE 414 – Structural Concrete Design
University of Waterloo