50th Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE) Annual Conference,

Akosombo, Ghana, March 2019

Excess Reinforcement Yield Strength;

A Blessing or A Curse?

Presenter: Denise Samuella Boadu

Authors: D. S. Boadu, M.Y. Anyang, K. Ofori-Atta, & N. K. Allotey

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 Introduction
Under Design
{steel controlled Over Design Yield stress Max stress for permanent deformation
design)

Steel ratio used Steel ratio used

Technical specifications on the mechanical properties of
the steel have focused on the minimum values required.
in construction in construction Typically 250 MPa and 460 MPa (BS 4449:1997) and 500
= > MPa (BS4449:2005).
steel ratio used Steel ratio used
in design in design.
Hence, for quality assurance, the laboratory is usually
Steel ratio used eager to know how much strength gain the material
in construction provides in excess of the minimum limit set.
=
steel ratio used in
design. While for concrete an increase in compressive strength
However, yield
may be effectively welcome without any corns, with steel,
an excessive increase in yield strength may reduce the
stress of steel ductility of the structure.
very high.

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 Mechanical Properties of Concrete
 Concrete is much stronger in compression
than in tension.

 Tensile strength = 10% compressive

strength.

 The stress strain curve under compression

is linear upon initial loading.

 It further curves to the horizontal, reaching

maximum i.e., the compressive strength fc,
and finally descends to failure.
Stress-strain curve for concrete under tensile and compressive stress

 Generally concrete is characterised by an insignificant yield region and is not able to undergo appreciable plastic
deformations before final fracture.

 This makes concrete a brittle material. However, concrete of lower strength have fracture points occurring at
higher strains making it more ductile in a sense.

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 Mechanical Properties of Reinforcing Steel
 Steel undergoes an initial linear elastic stage up to a certain
stress (proportional limit, fp).

 The stress increases to a yield stress (fy) beyond which there is

an increase in strain with fairly constant stress. Yield region
where the material undergoes permanent (plastic)
deformations.

 The steel then undergoes strain hardening increasing the load

to ultimate (fult) after which it undergoes necking. The steel fails
at a stress (fbrk).

 Yield strength*, elongation and tensile strength are the most

important to the engineer. *basis used for most of the rules given in design codes Tensile Stress-Strain Curve for steel

 Steel Yield Ductile Properties.

 Higher-strength = Reduced ductility due to the vanishing yield region.

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 Principle of Reinforced Concrete
Concrete Steel Reinforcement Reinforced Concrete
• High compressive strength • Low compressive strength (composite material)
• Low tensile strength • High tensile strength concrete which is the greater
• Insignificant yield region • Significant yield region percentage and reinforcement steel
• Brittle failure • Ductile failure • Tension Controlled Design

 When concrete is loaded, it undergoes sudden failure with little to no warning signs because there is
barely a yield region to allow for ductile failure.

 The presence of a steel reinforcement allows warning signs of ultimate failure of concrete by visible
cracks on the concrete through the straining (elongation) of the steel as it takes on tensile stresses. The
failure mode is ductile rather than brittle.

The steel however is required to yield to allow for plastic deformation or elongation to take place. This
brings about the ductile nature of the steel.

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 Flexural Behavior of A Singly Reinforced Beam
 Load beam Compression at the top and tension at
the bottom. As the applied moment increases, the strains
begin to increase in different stages until failure.

Upon initial loading, the concrete is in an elastic state;

 The strain at the tensile zone of the beam which is made
of concrete is less than the tensile rapture strain of
concrete i.e. ,Ec  Er ; concrete is un-cracked.
 The strain at the compression zone of the beam which is
made of concrete is also less than the proportional limit
in compression for concrete (yield strain) i.e. Strain and Stress of a rectangular RC section subjected to increasing positive
bending moments.
As the load increases;
 The concrete cracks in tension i.e. . Steel reinforcement begins to strain, and the strain is less than the yield
strain of the steel . At the compression zone,

At the ultimate load;

 The concrete crushes in compression . Also, Es  Ey . The material is said to behave in a ductile manner.
The steel should yield as the concrete reaches crushing point.
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 What If The Yield Stress is High?
 To achieve a ductile failure, the structure is designed to fail in
tension i.e. steel reinforcements would yield ( Es  Ey ) as Brittle Failure Ductile Failure
concrete reaches its yield strength ( Ecomp  Ecu ). • Little to no • Warning signs
warning signs are visible
 However, if the yield stress is too high, the reinforcements may • Sudden Failure • Gradual Failure
not yield as the concrete reaches its capacity. This results in a
brittle failure mode, i.e. the compression strain in concrete
reaches its yield strain ( Ecomp  Ecu ) before the yielding of steel
(Es  Ey )

 Aside the steel yielding at the right time to constitute a ductile or brittle design, the yield region associated with
a particular grade of steel largely influences the failure mode.

 The region between the yield strength (point) and the ultimate tensile strength should be as large as possible,
providing a form of safety. This yield region can be represented by the ratio of tensile strength to the yield
strength of the steel.

 Steel with very high yield strength than designed may yield slower than expected, and when yielding occurs it
will be characterized by low tensile strength to yield strength ratio.

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 What Does The Code Say?
This study focuses on the
British Standard - BS 4449

 The BS 4449:1997
(obsolete, January 2006)
provides a minimum
requirement of the yield
strength of reinforcing steel
of 250 MPa and 460 MPa
respectively.
 In the revised version the BS 4449:2005 states that the minimum and maximum yield strength required for a 500
MPa reinforcing steel to be 500 MPa and 650 MPa respectively.

 The requirement for the tensile strength to yield strength ratio is based on the assumption that the capability of a
structural member to develop plastic deformation is a function of the length of the yield region along the axis of
the member (Tavio et al; 2018).

 The limiting value of yield strength for steel with characteristic yield strength of 500 MPa is 650MPa.

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 Conclusion
 In providing project specifications for yield strength of steel, the traditional approach has been
to provide the engineer with a minimum requirement; typically 500MPa (BS 4449:2005).

 However in order to maximize the use of steel reinforcement in producing ductile designs, the
tensile strength of steel to yield strength ratio is an important factor to account for.

 Steel of very high yield strengths are characterized by low ratios and small yield regions.

 This results in brittle failure as there is little to no warnings before steel fractures.

 The BS 4449-2005 provides a maximum yield strength limit of 650MPa.

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 Thank you

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