Unit Description and General Aims

The objective of this unit is to teach students on reinforced concrete (RC) structures, as part of building construction and design. Engineering materials, dead and live loads, wind loading, and design methodologies are also examined.

The structural design engineer makes decisions about the general arrangement of the structural members, the materials of which they are made, their size, and how they are connected together. Structural designers make use of information about materials and construction processes, together with various analytical techniques, to assist them in making the correct decisions about how structures should be built. Students would already have covered how to analyze structures to determine aspects such as bending moments, deflections, and stresses. This unit will concentrate on estimating the loads which a structure may be required to carry and designing individual members (including specific codes).

The subject matter covered in this unit will include: the configuration and functional structural elements of various types of roofs, wall framings, and foundations, including load estimations applied on these RC structures based on Australian loading codes; the behavior and properties of conventional structural materials, primarily steel and concrete, as used in the development of design methods; properties of RC structures, particularly durability and fire resistance; the design and analysis of RC beams for flexure/bending and shear, and of other RC structures such as columns, slabs, and footings, based on AS 3600 (Australian Standard for Concrete Structures); detailing of RC members; and lastly, the ethical and legal obligations of a structural engineer.

At the conclusion of this unit, students will have been imparted with detailed knowledge of RC structures, particularly in terms of building design and construction, and the requirements and obligations of a structural engineer.

Learning Outcomes

1. Apply design concepts to structural elements, such as roof, wall framing, and foundations, and include load estimation applied on these Reinforced Concrete members.
   Bloom’s Level 4
2. Apply and enhance knowledge of the behaviour and properties of conventional structural materials (steel and concrete) used in the development of design methods.
   Bloom’s Level 2
3. Analyse and design Reinforced Concrete members for flexure/bending and shear, and other RC structures – such as a column, slab, or footing.
   Bloom’s Level 6
4. Identify the need for lawful adherence to good practice as part of the ethical and legal obligations of a structural engineer, particularly in relation to the detailing of Reinforced Concrete members.
   Bloom’s Level 3
5. Apply design methodologies, codes and specifications to the design of reinforced concrete members.
   Bloom’s Level 3
6. Use structural analysis and design program for 2D and 3D
   Bloom’s Level 6

Student assessment

Overall requirements: Students must achieve a result of 50% or above in the exam itself to pass the exam, and must pass the exam to be able to pass the unit. An overall final unit score of 50% or above must be achieved to pass the unit once all assessment, including the exam, has been completed.

Prescribed and Recommended Readings

Required textbook(s)

• Australian Standard AS3600 - latest version, Concrete Structures
• Australian Standard AS 1170.0 - latest version, Basics for analysis and design
• Australian Standard AS 1170.2 - latest version, Structural design actions - Wind actions
• Australian Standard AS 1170.4 - latest version, Structural design actions - Earthquake actions in Australia

Reference Materials

• Foster, S., J., Kilpatrick, A., E. and Warner, R., F. 2010, Reinforced Concrete Basics - Analysis and Design of Reinforced Concrete Structures, 2nd Edition, Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Pearson Australia
• Reinforced concrete – Designer’s handbook - 2015 Revised Edition - Beletich, Hymas, Reid & Uno
• Australian guidebook for structural engineers - 2017 Revised Edition - Tylor and Francis – Lonnie Pack

Unit Content

Topic 1

Basics of Structural Concrete Design

1. Material properties
2. Structural design principle
3. Design loads and load combinations
4. Concrete cover and reinforcement spacing

Topic 2

Bending Strength of Singly Reinforced Rectangular Sections

1. Flexural behaviour of beams and basic assumption
2. Section analysis procedure

Topic 3

Design of Singly Reinforced Rectangular Sections

1. Free design vs restricted design
2. Free design procedure
3. Restricted design procedure

Topic 4

Bending Strength of Doubly Reinforced Sections

1. Reinforcement in the compression zone
2. Section analysis procedure

Topic 5

Design of Doubly Reinforced Sections

1. Design strategy
2. Design procedure

Topic 6

Bending Strength of T-Beams

1. T-beams and flanged sections
2. Section analysis procedure

Topic 7

Design of T-Beams and Beams with Nonstandard Sections

1. T-beam design strategy
2. T-beam design procedure
3. Beams with nonstandard sections
4. Continuous beam design

Topic 8

Strength of Concrete Beams in Shear

1. Shear behaviour of beams and Shear Design Theory
2. Shear design procedure

Topic 9

Deflection, Crack Control and Reinforcement Detailing

1. Deflection
2. Crack control
3. Reinforcement detailing

Topic 10

Concrete Columns

1. Short column design
2. Slender columns and columns under biaxial bending

Topic 11

Concrete Slabs (Part 1 of 2)

1. Introduction to Concrete Slabs
2. Design of one-way slab

Topic 12

Concrete Slabs (Part 2 of 2)

1. Design of two-way slabs with sides supported
2.  Design of multispan two-way slabs
3. Punching shear design

Software/Hardware Used

Software

• Software: N/A

• Version: N/A

• Instructions:  N/A

• Additional resources or files: N/A

Hardware

• N/A

Unit Changes Based on Student Feedback