Section 1.1

Introduction

Last Revised: 05/14/2025

Reinforced Concrete (RC) is one of the common materials used by structural engineers. Its ability to be formed in an almost infinite variety of shapes, resistance to fire and corrosion, great compressive strength, and relatively low cost are all valued by engineers, architects, and owners. These advantages are offset, to some degree, by the fact that reinforced concrete members tend to be heavy, the construction process is very labor intensive, and that member ductility is difficult to achieve. Additionally, from the structural engineer's point of view, the mechanics behind the analysis of reinforced concrete components is complicated by the fact that reinforced concrete is a composite material. As a result of the wide spread use of reinforced concrete it is necessary for structural engineers to be well versed in its properties and uses.

The reinforced concrete industry in the United States is represented principally by the American Concrete Institute (ACI). ACI works tirelessly to advance the science and art associated with producing, designing, and fabricating reinforced concrete structures. One of their many available resources is the Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete (ACI 318). This text focuses on training the engineering student to apply the basic design specifications contained in ACI 318, 2014 edition (ACI 318-14).

In order for a student to progress through the material presented in this text, it is essential that they are well versed in engineering statics, mechanics, properties of materials, and structural analysis. Some of the required concepts that need to be mastered prior to undertaking this course are:

• Statics
  • The ability to compute reactions on basic structures under given loading.
  • The ability to determine stability and determinacy
  • The ability to determine internal forces in statically determinate structures.
    • develop shear and moment diagrams
  • The ability to solve truss problems (both 2D and 3D) by using
    • method of joints
    • method of sections
  • The ability to solve "machine" problems
  • The ability to compute of section properties including
    • cross sectional area
    • Moments of Inertia for section of homogenous materials
    • Moments of Inertia for composite sections
• Mechanics
  • An understanding of stress and strain concepts
  • The ability to compute stress including
    • axial stress
    • bending stress
    • shear stress (due to both bending and torsion)
    • principle stress
    • stress on arbitrary planes
    • stresses in composite members
  • The ability to compute the buckling capacity of columns
  • The ability to compute deflection in beams
  • The ability to compute reactions and internal forces for statically indeterminate structures
• Properties of Materials
  • The ability to read stress-strain diagrams to obtain critical material properties including:
    • Yield stress
    • Ultimate stress
    • Modulus of Elasticity
    • Ductility
  • An understanding of the statistical variation of material properties.
• Structural Analysis
  • An understanding of the nature of loads on structures
  • The ability to compute and use influence diagrams.
  • The ability to solve truss problems (forces and deflections)
  • The ability to solve frame problems (forces and deflections)
  • The ability to solve for forces in statically indeterminate structures
  • The ability to use at structural analysis software
• Other Needed Skills
  • The ability to use a word processor
  • The ability to use a spreadsheet program to develop spreadsheet solutions to the problems presented in this text.
  • The ability to use a CAD program to generate drawings and sketches for inclusion in your computations.

After thoroughly studying this text, readers will be:

1. able to combine loads to determine design loadings on structures
2. familiar with the basic provisions of ACI 318-14
3. able to use strain compatibility and equilibrium principles to determine the strength of RC components
4. able to design RC beams of any cross sectional shape
5. able to design one-way RC slabs
6. able to design RC columns
7. able to design rectangular RC footings
8. able to design cantilevered RC retaining walls

At the successful completion of this text, the reader will be prepared for study addressing more advanced topics such as structural system design and other building code requirements related to the design of Reinforced Concrete structures.

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