Reinforced Concrete Design Prof. Dr.

Ng Chee Khoon

CHAPTER 2

PRINCIPLES OF LIMIT STATES

2.1 LIMIT STATES

When a structure or structural element becomes unfit for its intended use, it is said to have
reached a limit state.

2.1.1 Ultimate Limit States

These involve a structural collapse of part or all of the structure. Such a limit state should
have a very low probability of occurrence since it may lead to loss of life and major financial
losses. The major ultimate limit states are:

(a) Loss of equilibrium of a part or all of the structure as a rigid body. Such a failure would
generally involve tipping or sliding of the entire structure and would occur if the reactions
necessary for equilibrium could not be developed.

(b) Rupture of critical parts of the structure, leading to partial or complete collapse.

(c) Progressive collapse. In some cases a minor localized failure may cause adjacent
members to be overloaded and fail, until the entire structure has collapsed. A structure is
said to have general structure integrity if it is resistant to progressive collapse.

(d) Formation of a plastic mechanism. A mechanism is formed when the reinforcement

yields to form plastic hinges at enough sections to make the structure unstable.

(e) Instability due to deformations of the structure which involves buckling.

(f) Fatigue. Fracture of members due to repeated stress cycles of service loads may cause
collapse.

2.1.2 Serviceability Limit States

These involve disruption of the functional use of the structure but not collapse per se. Since
there is less danger of loss of life, a higher probability of occurrence can generally be
tolerated than in the case of an ultimate limit state. The major serviceability limit states
include:

(a) Excessive deflections for normal service. Excessive deflections may cause machinery to
malfunction, may be visually unacceptable, and may lead to damage to nonstructural
elements or to changes in the distribution of forces.

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Reinforced Concrete Design Prof. Dr. Ng Chee Khoon

(b) Excessive crack width. Although reinforced concrete must crack before the
reinforcement can act, it is possible to detail the reinforcement to minimize the crack
widths. Excessive crack widths lead to leakage through the cracks, corrosion of the
reinforcement, and general deterioration to the concrete.
(c) Undesirable vibrations. Vertical vibrations of floors or bridges and lateral and torsional
vibrations of tall buildings may disturb the users. Vibration has rarely been a problem in
reinforced concrete buildings.

2.1.3 Special Limit States

This class of limit states involves damage or failure due to abnormal conditions or abnormal
loadings and includes:

(a) Damage or collapse in extreme earthquake

(b) Structural effects of fire, explosions, or vehicular collisions

(c) Structural effects of corrosion or deterioration

(d) Long-term physical or chemical instability (normally not a problem with concrete
structures).

2.2 LIMIT STATES DESIGN

Limit states design is a process that involves:

(a) Identification of all potential modes of failure (i.e.. identification of the significant limit
states).

(b) Determination of acceptable levels of safety against occurrence of each limit state. For
normal structures this step is carried out by the building code authorities, who specify the
load combinations and check factors to be used. For usual structures the engineer may
need to check whether the normal levels of safety are adequate.

(c) Consideration by the designer of the significant limit states. Frequently, for buildings, a
limit states design is carried out starting by proportioning for the ultimate limit states
followed by a check of whether the structure will exceed any of the serviceability limit
states. This sequence is followed since the major function of structural members in
buildings is to resist loads without endangering the occupants. For a water tank, however,
the limit state of excessive crack width is of equal importance to any of the ultimate limit
states if the structure is to remain watertight. In such a structure the design might start
with a consideration of the limit state of crack width, followed by a check of the ultimate
limit states. In the design of support beams for an elevated monorail, e.g. the LRT
system, the smoothness of the ride is extremely important, and the limit state of deflection
may govern the design.

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Reinforced Concrete Design Prof. Dr. Ng Chee Khoon

2.3 DESIGN SITUATION

The design situations representing a certain interval in which the variation in actions,
environmental influences and structural properties will occur throughout the design working
life of the structure. The four basic design situations that can be considered are as follows:

(a) Persistent situation

This situation refers to the condition of normal use, which generally related to the design
working life. Normal use includes possible extreme loading conditions.

(b) Transient situation

This situation refers to temporary condition, such as during execution or repair.

(c) Accidental situation

This situation refers to exceptional condition such as during fire, explosion or impact.

(d) Seismic situation

This situation refers to exceptional condition applicable to the structure when subjected to
a seismic event.

2.4 ACTION

Action is the terminology in Eurocode 2 for loads and imposed deformations. The
characteristic actions are loads that are not exceeded within 95% of the lifetime of the
structure. The characteristic actions used in designed and defined in Eurocode 2 are as
follows:

(a) Characteristic permanent action Gk

The self-weight of the structure, weight of finishes, ceilings and services at which the
variation in magnitude with time is negligible. The density and area load of commonly
used materials are given in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1 Weight and load of typical construction materials

Materials Density (kN/m3) Form of construction Load (kN/m2)
Plain concrete 24.0 Suspended ceiling 0.15
Reinforced concrete 25.0 Carpet 0.05
Screed 22.0 Brickwork 102.5 mm 2.40
Plywood 6.3 Services 0.30
Steel 77.0 Purlin 0.05
Water 10.0 Ceramic tiles (floor) 1.00
Brickwork 22.0 Clay tiles (roof) 0.67
Glass 25.6 Paving st0nes (50 mm) 1.20
Chipboard 6.9 Interlocking concrete tiles 0.55
Asphalt 22.5 Plaster board (12.5 mm) 0.09
Soil-clay 20.0 Stainless steel roofing (0.4 mm) 0.05
Plaster skim coat 0.05

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Reinforced Concrete Design Prof. Dr. Ng Chee Khoon

(b) Characteristic variable action Qk

Action caused by people, furniture, equipment etc. at which the variation in magnitude
with time is not negligible. The examples of variable actions given in Eurocode 1 are
shown in Table 2.2.

Table 2.2 Imposed loads on floors in building (extracted from MS EN 1991-1-1: 2000:
Malaysia National Annex Tables NA2 to NA7)
Category of loaded area qk (kN/m2)
A A1: All usages within self-contained dwelling units 1.5
Area for domestic and A2: Bedrooms and dormitories 1.5
residential activities A3: Bedrooms in hotels, hospital 2.0
B B1: General use 2.5
Office area B2: At or below ground floor area 3.0
C C11: Areas with tables dining rooms 2.0
Areas where people C13: Areas with tables classrooms 3.0
may congregate C21: Assembly areas with fixed seating 4.0
C31: Corridors, hallways not subjected to crowds 3.0
C41: Dance halls and studios, gymnasia, stages 5.0
C51: Assembly areas without fixed seating 5.0
D D1: Areas in general retail shops
4.0
Shopping areas D2: Areas in departmental stores
E E12: Reading room with book storage libraries 4.0
Storage E14: File room, filing and storage space (offices) 5.0
5.0/m height,
E19: Cold storage
min. 15.0
F&G F: Gross vehicle weight 30 kN 2.5
Garage and vehicle
traffic areas G: 30 kN < gross vehicle weight 200 kN 10.0
Imposed load on
Roof slope 30 0.25
roofs not accessible
except for normal 0.25[(60
Roof slope 30 < 60
maintenance and )/30]
repair
Roof slope > 60 0

2.4.1 Design Action

In limit states design, the load actually used for each limit state is called the design action for
that limit state and is the product of the characteristic action and the relevant partial safety
factor for actions f:

Design action (Fd) = f characteristic action (Fk) (2.1)

The partial safety factor f is intended to cover those variations in loading due to:
Errors/inaccuracies in the analysis and design
Constructional inaccuracies
Possible load increases

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Reinforced Concrete Design Prof. Dr. Ng Chee Khoon

The values of f are given in MS EN 1990:2010 (National Annex) Malaysia national annex
to Eurocode basis of structural design.

2.4.2 Combination of Action

Permanent and variable actions act in different combinations, all of which must be considered
when determining the most critical design situation for any structure. In cases where actions
are to be combined, it is recommended that in determining suitable design values, each
characteristic action is not only multiplied with the partial safety factor, but also by a further
factor which relates to the following representative values. The values of 0, 1, and 2 are
given in Table 2.3.

(a) Combination value (0Qk)

This combination value is intended to take account of the reduced possibility of the
simultaneous occurrence of two or more variable actions.

(b) Frequent value (1Qk)

Frequent value of action are use in the combination of ultimate limit states involving
accidental actions and serviceability limit states of cracking and deflection where the
actions causing these effects are of a short transitory nature.

(c) Quasi-permanent value (2Qk)

Quasi-permanent (meaning almost permanent) action are those that may be sustained
over a long period but are not necessarily as permanent as, say, the self-weight of the
structure.

Table 2.3 Recommended values of factors for buildings (extracted from MS EN 1990:
2010: Malaysia National Annex Table NA2)
Action 0 1 2
Imposed loads in buildings, category (see MS EN 1991-1-1)
Category A: domestic, residential areas 0.7 0.5 0.3
Category B: office areas 0.7 0.5 0.3
Category C: congregation areas 0.7 0.7 0.6
Category D: shopping areas 0.7 0.7 0.6
Category E: storage areas 1.0 0.9 0.8
Category F: traffic areas, vehicle weight 30 kN 0.7 0.7 0.6
Category G: traffic area, 30 kN < vehicle weight 200 kN 0.7 0.5 0.3
Category H: roofs (see MS EN 1991-1-1: Clause 3.3.2) 0.7 0 0
Wind loads on buildings (see MS 1553:2002) 0.5 0.7 0.7
Temperature (non-fire) in buildings (see EN 1991-1-5) 0.6 0.7 0.7

2.4.3 Typical Combination of Actions at the Ultimate Limit State

For a building structure, the most common combination of actions is the permanent action
with a single variable action and possibly with wind. If the single variable action is
considered to be the leading variable action then the wind loading will be the accompanying
variable action. The reverse may, however, be true and both scenarios must be considered.
The factors shown in Table 2.4 can be used to determine the design value of the actions.

Chapter 2: Principles of Limit States 12

Reinforced Concrete Design Prof. Dr. Ng Chee Khoon

Table 2.4 Combinations of actions and factors at the ultimate limit state
Persistent or transient design Permanent action (Gk) Variable action (Qk) Wind
situation Unfavourable Favourable Unfavourable Favourable (Wk)
Permanent + Variable 1.35 1.00 1.50 0 -
Permanent + Wind 1.35 1.00 - - 1.50
Permanent + Variable
1.35 1.00 1.50 0 0 1.50
(leading) + Wind
Permanent + Wind (leading)
1.35 1.00 0 1.50 0 1.5
+ Variable

Fig. 2.1 shows some typical loading cases on beams with the design value of combination of
actions for a permanent action and a single variable action.

1.35Gk + 1.5Qk

1.35Gk + 1.5Qk

1.35Gk + 1.5Qk 1.35Gk 1.35Gk + 1.5Qk 1.35Gk

Fig. 2.1 Cases of loading on beams for design with permanent action + single variable action

2.4.4 Typical Combination of Actions at the Serviceability Limit State

In the case of serviceability limit state, the partial safety factor f is 1.0 in all cases. The three
possible combinations of actions are shown in Table 2.5.

Table 2.5 Design values of actions at the serviceability limit state

Combination Permanent action Variable action Example of use
Unfavourable Favourable Leading Others
Characteristic 1.0Gk 1.0 Gk Qk,1 0,iQk,i Cracking
Frequent 1.0Gk 1.0Gk 1,1Qk,1 2,iQk,i prestressed concrete
Quasi-permanent 1.0Gk 1.0Gk 2,1Qk,1 2,iQk,i Deflection

2.5 MATERIALS STRENGTH

2.5.1 Design Strength

In order to take account of the difference between actual and laboratory values, local
weaknesses and inaccuracies in the assessment of the resistance of sections, the design

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Reinforced Concrete Design Prof. Dr. Ng Chee Khoon

strength for a given material and limit state is obtained by dividing the characteristic strength
Xk by an appropriate partial safety factor for strength m:

1
Design strength (Xd) = characteristic strength (Xk) (2.2)
m

The recommended values for materials for the persistent, transient and accidental design
situations are given in Table 2.6.

Table 2.6 Partial safety factors for materials strength

Design Situation c for concrete s for reinforcing steel
Persistent 1.5 1.15
Transient 1.5 1.15
Accidental 1.2 1.0

Chapter 2: Principles of Limit States 14