Basic Chapter BEAM

Reinforced
Concrete
Detailing 5

1. INTRODUCTION

The re-bars in beams are mainly used to resist the tensile stress due to bending
(flexural tensile stress). They are placed in the longitudinal direction at the tension
face of the beam. They are called main bars. Grade 500 high tensile bars are used.
When the bending moment is very large, re-bars may be provided also on the
compression face of the beam to enhance the compression capacity of the concrete.
They are called compression bars.
Links (also called stirrups) in the form of vertical closed loops are usually used to
resist the shear force. For the ease of fixing, small size Grade 250 mild steel bars
(R10 or R12) are used. In case of large shear force, Grade 500 high yield bars may
be used.
Stirrups together with longitudinal bars form a steel cage.
Inclined bars or bent-up bars may be used to resist the shear force. It is seldom
used nowadays.
Besides bending and shear, beams sometimes may have to resist also torsion and
axial forces. Torsional reinforcement is also in the form of a closed loop but with
longer lap length as shown in DWG506. Axial forces can be resisted by additional
longitudinal bars.

2. LONGITUDINAL RE-BARS

2.1 Steel Area

a. Strength requirement
The area of longitudinal re-bars is determined by the design bending capacity of
the beam. It is expressed in mm2. Tension re-bar is denoted by As. Compression
re-bar is denoted by As’ or Asc. Usually, Grade 500 bars are used.
The following are some general guidelines for designing the number and size of
longitudinal bars:
(i) The bars should be placed symmetrically across the section of the beam,
especially when the number of bars is small.

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(ii) For the ease of re-bar fixing and checking, it is advisable not to use more
than two different bar sizes in a beam.
(iii) If different bar sizes are used, the difference in bar sizes should not be too
large. The size of smaller bars should not be smaller than 0.45 times the
size of the larger bars.
(iv) The spacing of the bar cannot be too small and too large. Bar spacing
requirements will be further discussed below. The rule of thumb is to
provide one bar for every 100mm width of the beam.
Example
The designer specified that As required = 1760mm2
i). Try 1T20 + 3T25, As = 1787mm2. However, the placement of the re-bar is
unsymmetrical, it is undesirable.
ii). Try 2T10 + 2T32, As = 1765mm2. However, the different in bar diameter
is more than 0.45 times the size of the larger bar. It is undesirable.
iii). Try 1T16 + 2T20 + 2T25, As = 1811mm2. However, it is undesirable to
have more than 2 different bar sizes in a single beam.
iv). Try 2T16 + 3T25, As = 1874, or 4T25 As = 1963. The bar spacing
requirement has to be checked.

b. Maximum area of reinforcement

Cl. 9.2.1.3 of HK COP for Structural Use of Concrete 2013:

Maximum percentage of re-bar = 4 %.
Example
The maximum area of re-bar for a 600x300 beam = 600x300x4% = 7200mm2.
That is no more bar that 9T32 or 6T40.

c. Minimum area of reinforcement

According to Table 9.1 of HK COP for Structural Use of Concrete 2013, the
minimum percentages of reinforcement are as follows:

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Definition fy = 250 fy = 500
Tension reinforcement
(a) Flanged beams, web in
tension: 100As/bwh 0.32 0.18
(1) bw/b < 0.4 100As/bwh 0.24 0.13
(2) bw/b  0.4
(b) Flanged beams, flange in
tension: 100As/bwh 0.48 0.26
(1) T-beam 100As/bwh 0.36 0.20
(2) L-beam
(c) Rectangular section 100As/Ac 0.24 0.13
Compression reinforcement
(a) Flanged beam:
(1) flange in compression 100Asc/bhf 0.4 0.4
(2) web in compression 100Asc/bwh 0.2 0.2
(b) Rectangular section 100Asc/Ac 0.2 0.2

Side Bars (Cl. 9.2.1.2 of HK COP for Structural Use of Concrete 2013)
For h > 750mm, provide side bars at spacing  250mm over 2/3h from the
tension face, bar size = (sbb/fy), where sb = bar spacing, b = breadth of the
section or 500mm whichever is lesser

h > 750
Side bars sb< 250
2/3h

sb< 250

b
Tension
Bars

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Example
At the support of a continuous T-beam, the top flange is in tension and web in
compression.
The following information are given:
b = 2500
bw = 500
h = 800
hf = 150
Asc = 750mm2
As = 6500mm2.
Design the numbers and sizes of bars for this section.
Top bars: tension steel: nominal bar = 0.26% x 500 x 800 = 1040mm2 <
6500mm2: use 4T40 + 2T32 in two layers, As = 6636.
Bottom bars: compression steel: nominal bar = 0.2% x 500 x 800 = 800mm2 >
750mm2: use 2T25, As = 982 mm2. (Note: usually the amount of compression
bars provided at the supports of continuous beams would be much more than
that required, because at least 30% of the bottom tension bars at midspan of the
beam has to be extended to the support. However, pay attention that adequate
compression lap and restraint should be provided for these bars.)
Side bars: try T16: spacing required = 162 x 500 / 500 = 256mm: use 3T16
evenly distributed on both sides of the beam, spacing = 800/4 = 200mm ok. (Note:
according to the code, the side bars is only required for a depth of 2/3h from the
tension face, however, at the support, the tension face is at the top and, at the
span, the tension face is at the bottom. For the sake of convenience, side bars
are usually provided over the whole depth of the beam.

2.2 Bar spacing

a. Minimum distance between bars

Cl. 8.2 of HK COP for Structural Use of Concrete 2013:

The clear distance (horizontal and vertical) between individual parallel bars or
horizontal layers of parallel bars should be not less than the maximum of bar
diameter, (hagg + 5 mm) or 20 mm where
hagg is the maximum size of aggregate.

Where bars are positioned in separate horizontal layers, the bars in each layer
should be located vertically above each other. There should be sufficient space
between the resulting columns of bars to allow access for vibrators and good
compaction of concrete.

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Typical detail shown in DWG 501 is adopted for the bars are positioned in
separate horizontal layers. The designer should aware of this typical detail when
calculating the effective depth of the member.

Cl. 8.7.2 of HK COP for Structural Use of Concrete 2013:

At laps, the sum of bar sizes in a particular layer should not exceed 40% of the
breadth of the section at that level.
Particular attention shall be paid in detailing of re-bars for continuous beams over
column head. The re-bars at the beam/column junction would be very congested.
b. Maximum distance between bars in tension
Cl. 9.2.1.4 of HK COP for Structural Use of Concrete 2013:

The clear horizontal distance between adjacent bars, or groups, near the tension
face of a beam should not be greater than:
clear spacing ≤ 70 000 βb/fy ≤ 300 mm
Whereβb is the redistribution ratio:
moment at the section after redistribution from the respective Max. Moment
moment at the section before redistribution

Alternatively, the clear spacing may be assessed from the relationship:

clear spacing ≤ 47 000 βb/fs ≤ 300 mm

The distance between the face of the beam and the nearest longitudinal bar in
tension should not be greater than half the clear distance determined above.

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2.3 Curtailment

a. General requirement
Cl. 9.2.1.6 of HK COP for Structural Use of Concrete 2013:
Every bar should extend beyond the theoretical point of termination for a
distance more than the greater of:
(a) the effective depth of the member; or
(b) twelve times the bar size;
and in addition, for bar in the tension zone, any one of the following distances:
(c) ultimate anchorage bond length; or
(d) to the point: shear capacity > 2 x design shear force; or
(e) to the point: the moment capacity of remaining As > 2 x design moment

In practice, for simplicity, conditions (d) and (e) are usually ignored and the
curtailment points for each group of bars would not be more than two. DWG 502
shows this approach.
When the outer layer of bars in the tension zone are to be curtailed, pay particular
attention to the bar spacing.
DWG 513 shows an example of this method of curtailment.
b. Simplified approach (For Reference)
DWG 503 shows the simplified rules on re-bars curtailment in beam.
Under the following circumstances the simplified rules can be applied:
Cl. 3.12.10.2 of BS8110:
(a) The beams are designed for predominantly uniformly distributed loads.
(b) In case of continuous beams, the spans are approximately equal.
In general, if the span deviates not more than 15% from the maximum span, it can
be regarded as approximately equal.
This simplified method is not recommended if the design live load is much larger
than the design dead load.

2.4 Anchorage

The end anchorages of re-bars recommended by HK COP for Structural Use of

Concrete 2013 Cl. 9.2.1.7 are shown in DWG 504 and 505.

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3. SHEAR LINKS

3.1 Steel area

a. Strength requirement
The shear reinforcements are usually in the form of links (or called stirrups). The
area required is expressed in Asv/sv (mm2/mm), i.e. area per mm run along the
beam.
A single stirrup (SS) has two legs; double stirrups (DS) have four legs; triple
stirrups (TS) have six legs; and so on. Usually, Grade 250 bars are used.
Example
The designer specified the Asv/sv required is 0.750mm2/mm
Try R10, spacing required = 78.5 x 2 / 0.750 = 209 mm
Therefore, use R10-200-SS. (Asv/sv provided = 0.785)

b. Nominal shear reinforcement

Cl. 9.2.2 of HK COP for Structural Use of Concrete 2013:
The minimum area of shear reinforcement for the whole length of a beam is
given by:
Asv ≧vrbvsv/(0.87fyv)
Example
For a 750(D) x 450(B) beam
Nominal area of shear reinforcement 0.4 x 450 / (0.87 x 250) = 0.828 mm2/mm
Try R10, spacing required = 78.5 x 2 / 0.828 = 189.6 mm
Therefore, use R10-175-SS. (Asv/sv provided = 0.897)

3.2 Bar spacing

Cl. 9.2.2 of HK COP for Structural Use of Concrete 2013:
The spacing of links in the direction of the span  0.75d.
At right-angle to the span, the horizontal spacing should be such that no
longitudinal tension bar is more than 150mm from a vertical leg.
It is common practice also to restrict the minimum spacing of links. The
recommended minimum spacing is 75mm or 8 x bar size whichever is larger.
In order to maintain the stiffness of the reinforcement cage during fixing and
concreting, it advisable to restrict the maximum spacing of the link to 300mm.

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Example
Design the nominal shear reinforcement for the following beam:
Dimensions: 300 deep x 1000 breadth
Cover: 40
Bottom bars: 10T20
Area of nominal links required = 0.4 x 1000 / (0.95 x 250) = 1.68mm2/mm
Try R10 double stirrups, spacing required = 78.5 x 4 / 1.68 = 187mm
Effective depth, d = 300 – 40 – 10 – 10 = 240mm
Minimum spacing = 0.75 x 240 = 180mm
Spacing of longitudinal bar = (1000 – 2 x 40 – 2 x 10 – 20) / 9 = 97.8mm
Therefore, use R10-175-DS. (Asv/sv provided = 1.79)

10T20

97.5 < 150 ok

3.3 Anchorage

Cl. 8.5 of HK COP for Structural Use of Concrete 2013:

The anchorage of links and shear reinforcement should normally be effected by

means of bends and hooks, or by welded transverse reinforcement. A
longitudinal bar of at least the size of the link should be provided inside a hook
or bend.
DWG 506 shows the typical details of stirrups.
DWG 507 shows the presentation of multiple links.

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4. LINKS FOR COMPRESSION BARS

Cl. 9.2.1.9 of HK COP for Structural Use of Concrete 2013:

When part or all of the main bars in the compression zone required to resist
compression, the following bars required to be restrained by links:-
(a) corner bars
(b) alternate bars in the outer layer
(c) no bar should be more than 150mm from a retrained bar
Details of the links for retraining compression bars:-
size of link >= ¼ the size of the largest compression bar or 6mm whichever is
greater
(b) spacing of link =< 12 times the smallest compression bar

5. DETAILING

5.1 Bar Label

Longitudinal bars are usually labeled as follows:

3T32-05
means 3 numbers of 32 nominal size high tensile type 2 deformed bar with bar
mark ‘05’.

There are three alternative methods of labeling stirrups:

3 x 22R10-300-101,102,103, or
22R10-300 (6 legs)-101,102,103,
or 22R10-300-TS-101,102,103
means 22 numbers of 10mm diameter mild steel round bar triple stirrups with bar
marks 101, 102 & 103. Typical presentation of multiple links is shown in DWG
507.

Bar mark – bars of similar dimension and fixing within the same structural
element are provided with a bar mark. It is usually labeled according to the
probable sequence of fixing.
Some design offices prefer not to show the bar marks.

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5.2 Presentation

The re-bars detail of beam is usually presented in elevation together with sections.
Examples of the presentation are shown in DWG 511 and 512.
The recommended scale is 1:50 for elevations and 1:25 or 1:20 for sections.
Depending on the size of the beam and the complexity of the re-bars fixing, scale
of 1:100 or 1:10 may be used.

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APPENDIX A – STEEL AREA TABLE
Total Total
number of Bar Combination Area number of Bar Combination Area
bars bars
2 2 T 12 = 226 4 2 T 40 + 2 T 20 = 3140
3 3 T 12 = 339 4 4 T 32 = 3215
2 2 T 16 = 402 8 4 T 25 + 4 T 20 = 3219
4 4 T 12 = 452 3 2 T 40 + 1 T 32 = 3316
3 2 T 16 + 1 T 12 = 515 8 6 T 25 + 2 T 16 = 3346
3 3 T 16 = 603 6 3 T 32 + 3 T 20 = 3354
4 2 T 16 + 2 T 12 = 628 5 3 T 32 + 2 T 25 = 3393
2 2 T 20 = 628 8 2 T 32 + 6 T 20 = 3492
3 1 T 20 + 2 T 16 = 716 4 2 T 40 + 2 T 25 = 3493
3 2 T 20 + 1 T 12 = 741 6 2 T 32 + 4 T 25 = 3570
4 4 T 16 = 804 5 4 T 32 + 1 T 25 = 3706
3 2 T 20 + 1 T 16 = 829 9 5 T 25 + 4 T 20 = 3709
4 2 T 20 + 2 T 12 = 854 12 12 T 20 = 3768
3 3 T 20 = 942 3 3 T 40 = 3768
2 2 T 25 = 981 6 4 T 32 + 2 T 20 = 3843
5 5 T 16 = 1005 6 3 T 32 + 3 T 25 = 3883
4 2 T 20 + 2 T 16 = 1030 8 8 T 25 = 3925
3 1 T 25 + 2 T 20 = 1119 8 3 T 32 + 5 T 20 = 3982
3 2 T 25 + 1 T 16 = 1182 5 2 T 40 + 3 T 25 = 3984
6 6 T 16 = 1206 5 5 T 32 = 4019
5 2 T 20 + 3 T 16 = 1231 10 5 T 25 + 5 T 20 = 4023
4 4 T 20 = 1256 4 2 T 40 + 2 T 32 = 4120
3 2 T 25 + 1 T 20 = 1295 6 4 T 32 + 2 T 25 = 4197
5 3 T 20 + 2 T 16 = 1344 9 9 T 25 = 4416
4 2 T 25 + 2 T 16 = 1383 8 4 T 32 + 4 T 20 = 4471
6 2 T 20 + 4 T 16 = 1432 5 1 T 40 + 4 T 32 = 4471
3 3 T 25 = 1472 6 2 T 40 + 4 T 25 = 4475
6 3 T 20 + 3 T 16 = 1545 8 2 T 32 + 6 T 25 = 4551
5 5 T 20 = 1570 5 3 T 40 + 2 T 25 = 4749
5 2 T 25 + 3 T 16 = 1584 6 6 T 32 = 4823
8 8 T 16 = 1608 10 10 T 25 = 4906
2 2 T 32 = 1608 5 2 T 40 + 3 T 32 = 4924
4 2 T 25 + 2 T 20 = 1609 8 5 T 32 + 3 T 20 = 4961
6 4 T 20 + 2 T 16 = 1658 4 4 T 40 = 5024
6 2 T 25 + 4 T 16 = 1785 8 3 T 34 + 5 T 25 = 5176
3 1 T 32 + 2 T 25 = 1785 8 4 T 32 + 4 T 25 = 5178
9 9 T 16 = 1809 6 3 T 40 + 3 T 25 = 5240
3 2 T 32 + 1 T 16 = 1809 5 3 T 40 + 2 T 32 = 5376
8 2 T 20 + 6 T 16 = 1834 8 6 T 32 + 2 T 20 = 5451
5 3 T 25 + 2 T 16 = 1874 8 2 T 40 + 6 T 25 = 5456
6 6 T 20 = 1884 8 5 T 32 + 3 T 25 = 5491
3 2 T 32 + 1 T 20 = 1922 6 2 T 40 + 4 T 32 = 5727
5 2 T 25 + 3 T 20 = 1923 8 6 T 32 + 2 T 25 = 5804
4 4 T 25 = 1963 5 4 T 40 + 1 T 32 = 5828
10 10 T 16 = 2010 12 12 T 25 = 5888
4 2 T 32 + 2 T 16 = 2010 9 5 T 32 + 4 T 25 = 5982
8 4 T 20 + 4 T 16 = 2060 6 4 T 40 + 2 T 25 = 6005
6 3 T 25 + 3 T 16 = 2075 6 3 T 40 + 3 T 32 = 6180
3 2 T 32 + 1 T 25 = 2098 8 3 T 40 + 5 T 25 = 6221
5 3 T 25 + 2 T 20 = 2100 5 5 T 40 = 6280
8 2 T 25 + 6 T 16 = 2187 8 8 T 32 = 6431
4 2 T 32 + 2 T 20 = 2236 10 5 T 32 + 5 T 25 = 6472
6 2 T 25 + 4 T 20 = 2237 6 4 T 40 + 2 T 32 = 6632
5 4 T 25 + 1 T 20 = 2277 8 4 T 40 + 4 T 25 = 6987
8 6 T 20 + 2 T 16 = 2286 9 9 T 32 = 7235
6 4 T 25 + 2 T 16 = 2364 8 2 T 40 + 6 T 32 = 7335
9 5 T 20 + 4 T 16 = 2374 6 6 T 40 = 7536
3 3 T 32 = 2412 8 5 T 40 + 3 T 25 = 7752
6 3 T 25 + 3 T 20 = 2414 8 3 T 40 + 5 T 32 = 7787
5 5 T 25 = 2453 10 10 T 32 = 8038
8 3 T 25 + 5 T 16 = 2477 8 4 T 40 + 4 T 32 = 8239
8 8 T 20 = 2512 8 6 T 40 + 2 T 25 = 8517
2 2 T 40 = 2512 8 5 T 40 + 3 T 32 = 8692
5 2 T 32 + 3 T 20 = 2550 11 11 T 32 = 8842
10 5 T 20 + 5 T 16 = 2575 8 6 T 40 + 2 T 32 = 9144
4 2 T 32 + 2 T 25 = 2589 9 5 T 40 + 4 T 32 = 9495
6 4 T 25 + 2 T 20 = 2591 12 12 T 32 = 9646
8 4 T 25 + 4 T 16 = 2766 8 8 T 40 = 10048
5 1 T 32 + 4 T 25 = 2766 10 5 T 40 + 5 T 32 = 10299
9 9 T 20 = 2826 10 6 T 40 + 4 T 32 = 10751
3 2 T 40 + 1 T 20 = 2826 9 9 T 40 = 11304
6 2 T 32 + 4 T 20 = 2864 10 8 T 40 + 2 T 32 = 11656
3 1 T 40 + 2 T 32 = 2864 12 6 T 40 + 6 T 32 = 12359
8 2 T 25 + 6 T 20 = 2865 10 10 T 40 = 12560
6 6 T 25 = 2944 12 8 T 40 + 4 T 32 = 13263
3 2 T 40 + 1 T 25 = 3003 12 10 T 40 + 2 T 32 = 14168
5 3 T 32 + 2 T 20 = 3040 12 12 T 40 = 15072
8 3 T 25 + 5 T 20 = 3042 13 13 T 40 = 16328
5 2 T 32 + 3 T 25 = 3080 14 14 T 40 = 17584
10 10 T 20 = 3140 15 15 T 40 = 18840

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APPENDIX B – LINKS AREA TABLE

2
LINKS - Asv/sv (mm /mm)

No. of Bar Size Spacing

Legs (mm)
300 275 250 225 200 175 150 125 100

2 10 0.524 0.571 0.628 0.698 0.785 0.898 1.047 1.257 1.571

2 12 0.754 0.823 0.905 1.005 1.131 1.293 1.508 1.810 2.262

2 16 1.340 1.462 1.608 1.787 2.011 2.298 2.681 3.217 ---

4 10 1.047 1.142 1.257 1.396 1.571 1.795 2.094 2.513 3.142

4 12 1.508 1.645 1.810 2.011 2.262 2.585 3.016 3.619 4.524

4 16 2.681 2.924 3.217 3.574 4.021 4.596 5.361 6.434 ---

6 10 1.571 1.714 1.885 2.094 2.356 2.693 3.142 3.770 4.712

6 12 2.262 2.468 2.714 3.016 3.393 3.878 4.524 5.429 6.786

6 16 4.021 4.387 4.825 5.361 6.032 6.893 8.042 9.651 ---

8 10 2.094 2.285 2.513 2.792 3.142 3.590 4.189 5.026 6.283

8 12 3.016 3.290 3.619 4.021 4.524 5.170 6.032 7.238 9.048

8 16 5.361 5.849 6.434 7.149 8.042 9.191 10.723 12.868 ---

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