Engineering Structures 25 (2003) 371–376

www.elsevier.com/locate/engstruct

Determination of rectangular stress block parameters for high

performance concrete
Ertekin Oztekin, Selim Pul ∗, Metin Husem
Black Sea Technical, University Dept. of Civil Engineering, 61080 Trabzon, Turkey

Received 10 July 2002; received in revised form 8 October 2002; accepted 8 October 2002

Abstract

Despite so much research on high performance concrete, the properties of this concrete are not known as well as those of ordinary
concrete. There have been a lot of equations, rules and suggestions in the codes which are used in the design of reinforced concrete
and prestressed concrete structures. They are obtained from experimental studies made on concrete that have compressive strength
of less than about 40 MPa. It is not exactly known whether they could be used in the design of structures constructed by using
high performance concrete. Therefore in this study, stress-strain and equivalent block parameters were obtained from experimental
stress-strain diagrams for calculation of high performance reinforced concrete beams in flexure. The conclusions obtained from this
study showed that determined rectangular stress block parameters can be used in the design of high performance reinforced concrete
members in flexure.
 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: High performance concrete; Ordinary concrete; Stress-strain model; Hognestad’s model; Modified Hognestad’s model; Compressive
strength; Rectangular stress block parameters and models

1. Introduction about 250 MPa compressive strength has been able to

The strength and durability of the concrete used in
reinforced concrete structures have been increasingly
related to technological developments. Today, the
material known as high performance concrete has been
continuing its development. Definition of the high per-
formance concrete has been changing with time, geo-
graphical area and production technology. For instance,
in the 1950s, concrete which had at least 35 MPa com-
pressive strength was called high performance concrete.
In the 1960s concrete which had a compressive
strength between 41 and 52 MPa was produced commer-
cially in the US. In the early 1970s concrete which had
62 MPa compressive strength was produced [1–4].
Recently, concrete which has 80–100 MPa compressive
strength has been used in reinforced concrete and pre-
stressed concrete structures. High performance concrete
∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: spul@ktu.edu.tr (S. Pul).
produced by using high strength aggregate.
A lot of investigations are verified to define the stress-
strain relationship and equivalent stress block parameters
in the design of high performance concrete members.
Some of these investigations are published by Ibrahim
and MacGregor [5], Swartz et al. [6] Kaar et al. [7],
Schade et al. [8], Attard et al. [9], Azizinamini et al.
[10], and Wee et al. [11].
Although high performance concrete is commonly
used, its properties are not known as much as the proper-
ties of ordinary concrete in the design of reinforced con-
crete sections. Therefore, in this study the parameters
used to design reinforced concrete section in flexure,
have been stated using experimental data.
High performance concrete is produced using high
strength aggregate and cement, water, mineral and
chemical admixtures. Generally, superplasticizers or
high-range water-reducer admixtures, etc., are used as
chemical admixtures; silica fume, flay ash, ground slag,
slag cement etc., are used as mineral admixtures.

0141-0296/03/$ - see front matter  2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0141-0296(02)00172-4
372 E. Oztekin et al. / Engineering Structures 25 (2003) 371–376

Nomenclature
AS: Area of steel in tension
b: Breadth of section
c: Neutral axis depth
d: Effective depth of concrete section
C: Compressive force
Ea: Modulus of elasticity of concrete
Fs: Stress-strain curve area
fc: Compressive strength of concrete
Fs: Tension force in reinforcement
fyd: Yield strength of steel
k: Constant
k 1, k 2, k3: Rectangular stress block parameters
⑀c : Strain of concrete
⑀co: Strain at the peak stress
⑀cu: Ultimate strain of concrete
⑀s: Strain of steel
⑀su: Ultimate strain of steel

2. Determination of stress-strain model vertical and horizontal strains under compression.

2.1. Experimental study
The model was obtained from the results of an experi-
mental study, which are made in Structure and Materials
Laboratory of Karadeniz Technical University, on eight
series of high performance concretes [12]. Portland
cement with a characteristic compressive strength of 42
MPa, superplasticizer called ASTM C 494 Type 12 and
silica fume admixtures were used in the production of
high performance concretes. The gradation of aggregate
is given in Table 1. Experiments were verified on eight
series standard cylinder (150 mm×300 mm) specimens
produced using different water-cement ratios. Each ser-
ies includes 12 specimens. The concrete mix proportions
is given in Table 2. Uniaxial compressive tests on pro-
duced high performance concrete were performed
invariable loading rate of 0.15 MPa/s. In these tests, two
strain-gauges (Type TML-PL90) were located on the
mutual faces of the each specimen in order to measure
Table 1
Gradation of aggregate
Size (mm) Percent of total aggregate weight
0.00–0.25 8 are the same as the curves obtained by experimental
0.25–0.50 7 studies.
0.50–1.00 7 The stress-strain curve for ordinary concrete has been
1.00–2.00 10
2.00–4.00 15
4.00–8.00
8.00–16.00
23
30
Measurement lengths of these gauges were 90 mm.
Strains under compression for each 0.566 MPa stress
were recorded. These were used to draw σ–⑀ diagrams.
Mechanical properties and mix proportioning of high
performance concretes produced using granite aggregate
are given in Table 2.
As it is known stress-strain curve is affected by sev-
eral variables and defining just one valid curve for each
concrete is not possible. But, to explain concrete behav-
iour models which determine the stress-strain relation of
the concrete is needed. Thus, a lot of concrete models
are proposed by several researchers. Some of these are,
Hognestad [13], Kent and Park [14], Sheik and Uzumeri
[15], Roy and Sozen [16], Sargin [17], Saatcioglu and
Razvi [18], Muguruma et al [19], Collins et al. [20], and
Hsu and Hsu [21]. σ–⑀ model produced by Hognestad
is one of the most commonly used for ordinary concrete
(Fig. 1). It is assumed that the part of the σ–⑀ curve until
the parabola peak is second order parabola and the fall-
ing branch is linear in this model.
In this study, some regulations [22] were made on the
Hognestad’s model for high performance concrete using
σ–⑀ relation obtained from eight series high performance
concrete specimens given in Table 2. In these regu-
lations, the area of stress-strain curve, total compressive
force and application point of the total compressive force
defined by Hognestad is given below;
sc ⫽ fc 冋 冉 冊册
2ec ec
⫺
eco eco
2
(1)
 E. Oztekin et al. / Engineering Structures 25 (2003) 371–376 373

Table 2
Mechanical properties and mix proportioning of the concretes

Mix no. fc (MPa) Ec (MPa) 103⑀cu Aggregate ( Water CementitousWater- Silica fume in Super-
(mm/mm) dmax ⫽ (kg/m3) (kg/m3) cementitous cementitous plasticizer
16mm) Ratio (kg/m3) (kg/m3)
(kg/m3)

H1 60 33,500 2.40 1704 193 550 0.35 50 11

H2 66 35,200 2.45 1716 187 550 0.34 50 11
H3 70 36,000 2.55 1730 182 550 0.33 50 11
H4 75 37,500 2.60 1769 165 550 0.30 50 16
H5 81 38,000 2.80 1796 154 550 0.28 50 16
H6 84 39,400 2.55 1809 149 550 0.27 50 22
H7 89 40,700 2.70 1821 143 550 0.26 50 22
H8 94 43,000 2.75 1835 138 550 0.25 50 22

to get more linear curve for high performance concrete.

Hognestad’s, modified, and experimental stress-strain
curves are shown in Fig. 2.

3. Determination of stress block parameters

Fig. 1. σ–⑀ curve for ordinary concrete proposed by Hognestad [13].
High performance concrete specimens are fractured
suddenly and brittle when they reach ultimate stress
under uniaxial compression. Thus, to define the falling
branch of σ–⑀ curve is very difficult. In the regulations
on the Hognestad Model, it is assumed that ultimate
strain equals strain in the maximum stress (⑀co ⫽ ⑀cu) in
this study. Thus, these equations given below are valid
for ⑀cⱕ⑀cu.
If k(⑀c / ⑀cu) is written instead of 2⑀c / ⑀cu and (k⫺
1)(⑀c / ⑀cu)2 is written instead of (⑀c / ⑀cu)2 in Eq. (1), modi-
fied Eq. (7) is obtained for high performance concrete as
冉
ec
sc ⫽ fc k ⫺(k⫺1)
ecu
ec
ecu 冉 冊冊 2
(2)
Where;
k ⫽ 2⫺[(fc⫺40) / 70] (60 MPaⱕfcⱕ94 MPa) (3)
⑀cu, proposed in CEB[23], is modified according to
experimental results as follow;
It is known that real stress distribution in compressive
area at a cross section is the same as stress-strain curve
in uniaxial compression. But stress-strain curve is affec-
ted by a lot of variables. So, it is not possible to suggest
a certain stress-strain curve for concrete. The area of
stress-distribution and centre of gravity of this area is
more important than the geometry of the stress distri-
bution for equilibrium equation in reinforced concrete
design. So rectangular stress block, which is suggested
by ACI-318[24], is preferred for ease of calculation of
area, centre of gravity and others (Fig. 3).
The design method given for ordinary concrete by
ACI-318 can be valid for high strength concrete. But k1,
k2 and k3 rectangular stress block parameters should be
obtained for high strength concrete again. So stress block
parameters used in calculations have been developed
using a modified Hognestad model for high performance
concrete in this study. These parameters proposed by
some codes and authors are given in Table 3.
In this study, a new stress block model is constituted
to obtain stress-strain parameters for calculation for high
performance concrete.
The area and centre of gravity of the curve obtained
from Eq. (2) must be calculated to define stress distri-
bution in a compressive area of a section of high per-
formance concrete. Therefore, if Eq. (2) is integrated for
the variable ⑀c, (in Eq. (5).) the area of stress-strain curve
(Fa), is calculated by Eq. (6).
ecu

ecu ⫽ [2.2 ⫹ 0.015(fc⫺40)]10⫺3(60MPaⱕfc

ⱕ94MPa)
(4) Fa ⫽ 冕冋
0
fc k
ec
ecu
⫺(k⫺1)冉 冊册
ec
ecu
2
dec
(5)
Stress-Strain curve of high performance concrete are
more linear than ordinary concrete’s. So, Eq. (3) is used
冋
Fa ⫽ fc k
e2c
2ecu
e3c
⫺(k⫺1) 2
3ecu 册 ecu

0
,
374 E. Oztekin et al. / Engineering Structures 25 (2003) 371–376

Fig. 2. Hognestad’s Modified Hognestad and experimental stress-strain curves.

Thus; k2 ⫽ (ec⫺x) / ec (7)

1 k1 ⫽ 2k2 (8)
Fa ⫽ fcecu(k ⫹ 2). (6)
6 k3 ⫽ Fa / fck1ec (9)
Theoretical stress-strain curves developed in this Where x is strain in Fig. 3.
study were divided into trapezoidal areas to determine It is supposed that unit strain distribution in a cross
of application point (the centre of gravity of σ–⑀ curve) section in flexure is linear to calculate the neutral axis
of compressive force. Unit wideness of these areas are depth (Fig. 3). This assumption shows that the neutral
⌬⑀c ⫽ 10⫺5 in axis ⑀ (Fig. 4). axis depth, c, can be easily determined by Eq. (10).
The block parameters, that describe rectangular stress
distribution model this study, are calculated in equa- c ⫽ ecd / (ec ⫹ es) (10)
tions below; In this study, the parameters were calculated in Eqs.
 E. Oztekin et al. / Engineering Structures 25 (2003) 371–376 375

Fig. 3. Experimental and equivalent rectangular stress blocks and linear strain distribution [24,25].

Table 3
Rectangular stress block parameters

Reference k1( ⫽ 2k2) k3

ACI-318 [24] 1.09⫺0.008fc(0.85ⱖk1ⱖ0.65) 0.85

Eurocode-2 [25] 0.9⫺fc / 500 0.85
CSA-94 [26] 0.97⫺0.0025fcⱖ0.67 0.85⫺0.0015fcⱖ0.67
NZS-95 [27] (ACI-318) 1.07⫺0.004fc(0.85ⱖk3ⱖ0.75)
Attard and Steward [9] 1.0948f⫺0.091
c ⱖ0.67 0.6470f0.0324
c ⱖ0.58
İbrahim and MacGregor [5] 0.95⫺fc /4000ⱖ0.70 0.85⫺fc / 800ⱖ0.725
Bing, et al. [28] (ACI-318) 0.85⫺0.004(fc⫺55)ⱖ0.75
Azizinamini, et al. [10] (ACI-318) 0.85⫺0.0073(fc⫺69)ⱖ0.6

k1 ⫽ ⫺0.0012fc ⫹ 0.805 (11)

k3 ⫽ ⫺0.002fc ⫹ 0.964 (12)
k1k3 ⫽ ⫺0.0024fc ⫹ 0.762 (13)
In these equations, for k1, k3, and k1k3 the correlation
coefficients are 0.990, 0.985 and 0.999 respectively. Fig.
5 shows a comparison of the proposed and the other rec-
tangular stress block parameters.

4. Conclusions

From this study the following conclusions can be

drawn;

앫 Rectangular stress block parameters used in ordinary

Fig. 4. σ–⑀ curve divided into trapezoidal areas.
(7)–(9) for the high performance concrete of which
strengths are between 60 and 94 MPa.
Linear regression analyses were made between these
parameters and compressive strength. Equations
obtained are given below.
concrete members cannot be used safely for high per-
formance concrete members. New stress block para-
meters have been obtained from the experimental
study.
앫 The model proposed by Hognestad for ordinary con-
crete is modified for high performance concrete.
As a summary, using experimental stress-strain curves
for high performance concrete, a new stress-strain model
was defined. Then equivalent rectangular stress block
parameters were defined using the modified stress-strain
376 E. Oztekin et al. / Engineering Structures 25 (2003) 371–376
Fig. 5. Relationships between rectangular stress block parameters and
concrete strength.
model for high performance concrete. These parameters
are in a harmony with values obtained from experimental
stress-strain curves. Therefore these parameters are able
to use in design of the high performance concrete mem-
bers.
References
[1] ACI Committee 363-R84, State-of-the art report on high strength
concrete, ACI Journal July-August 1984, 364-410.
[2] Nilson AH. Design Implications of Current Research on High-
Strength Concrete, High Strength Concrete ACI SP-87, Detroit,
MI, 1985, 85-118.
[3] Swamy RN. High-strength concrete—material properties and
structural behavior, High Strength Concrete ACI SP-87, Detroit,
1985, 119-46.
[4] Larrard F, Mailer Y. High performance concrete, Second
National Concrete Conference, Istanbul, Turkey, 1991,76-113. (in
Turkish, translated from French).
[5] Ibrahim HHH, MacGregor JG. Modification of ACI rectangular
stress block for high-strength concrete. ACI Structural Journal
1977;94(1):40–8.
[6] Swartz SE, Narayan Babu HD, Periyakarupan N, Refai TME.
Structural bending properties of higher strength concrete, SP-87.
Farmington Hills, Detroit: American Concrete Institute, 1987.
[7] Kaar PH, Hanson NW, Capell HT. Stress-strain characteristics of
high strength concrete, SP-55. Farmington Hills, Detroit: Amer-
ican Concrete Institute, 1978.
[8] Schade JE. Flexural concrete stress in high strength concrete col-
umns, MSc thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, University
of Calgary, Calgary, Alta, Sept., 1992, p.156.
[9] Attard MM, Steward MG. A two parameter stress block for high-
strength concrete. ACI Structural Journal 1998;95(3):305–17.
[10] Azizinamini A, Kuska S, Brungardt P, Hatfield E. Seismic
behavior of square high strength concrete columns. ACI Struc-
tural Journal 1994;91(3, May-June):336–45.
[11] Wee TH, Chin NS, Mansur MA. Stress-strain relationship of high
strength concrete in compression. Journal of Materials in Civil
Engineering 1996;8(2):70–6.
[12] Pul S. A comparative analysis between high performance con-
crete and ordinary concrete, PhD. Thesis, Black Sea Tech. Univ.
(KTU) Trabzon, Turkey, 2000, (in Turkish).
[13] Hognestad E, Hanson NW, McHenry D. Concrete stress distri-
bution in ultimate strength design. ACI Journal, Proceedings
1955;52(12):455–79.
[14] Kent DC, Park R, Flexural members with confined concrete, Jour-
nal of Structural Div., ASCE, 97 ST7, July 1971.
[15] Sheikh SA, Uzumeri SM. Analytical model for concrete con-
finement in tied columns, Journal of the Structural Div., 108,
ST12, Dec. 1982.
[16] Roy HEH, Sozen M. Ductility of concrete, Proceedings of the
International Symposium on Flexural Mechanics of R.C., ASCE-
ACI Joint Symposium, Miami, Nov. 1964.
[17] Sargin M. Stress-strain relationships for concrete and the analysis
of structural concrete section. Canada: Univ. Of Waterloo, 1971.
[18] Saatcioglu M, Razvi. Strength and ductility of confined concrete.
Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE 1992;118(6):1590–607.
[19] Muguruma H, Nishiama M, Watanabe F. Stress-strain curve
model for concrete with a wide range of compressive strength,
Holand I, Sellevold E. Editors Proceedings, Symposium on Util-
ization of High Strength Concrete, Vol.1, Norway 1993,
pp.314-321.
[20] Collins MP, Mitchell D, MacGregor JG. Structural design con-
siderations for high strength concrete. Concrete International,
Design and Construction 1993;15(5):27–34.
[21] Hsu LS, Hsu C-TT. Complete stress-strain behaviour of high
strength concrete under compression. Magazine of Concrete
Research 1994;46(169):310–2.
[22] Oztekin E. Investigation of stress-strain and equivalent stress
block models for calculation of high performance concrete beams
in flexure, MSc. Thesis, Black Sea Tech. Univ. (KTU) Trabzon,
Turkey, 2000, (in Turkish).
[23] CEB-FIP (MC90) Model code for concrete structures, Committee
Euro-International du Beton, Bulletin d’Information No.213/214,
Lausanne, Switzerland, 1990.
[24] ACI Committee 318-89, Building code requirements for
reinforced concrete, American Concrete Institute, Detroit, 1989.
[25] Eurocode-2 Design of concrete structures, European Committee
for Standardisation, Brussels, 1999.
[26] CSA Technical Committee, CSA-94, Design of Concrete Struc-
tures for Buildings, CAN3-A23.3-M94, Canadian Standards
Association, Rexdale, Ont, Canada, 1994.
[27] NZS-95, Standards New Zealand, Design of concrete structures,
NZS 3101, Wellington, New Zealand, 1995.
[28] Bing LPR, Tanaka H. Effect of confinement on the behavior of
high strength concrete columns under seismic loading, Pacific
Conference on Earthquake Engineering, New Zealand, Nov.,
1991.