121

The inclination of the compression diagonals in all the walls of

the space truss has to be within the limits 25
0
s.. Q's.. 65
0
where Q'is
the angle of inclination of the truss compression diagonals.
After the truss model has been selected, the design procedure is
essentially the same one presented in the previous sections. Although
the computations can be carried out separately for each wall of the
member, the designer must always keep in mind the overall system and
must add all effects for the overall system. This is of special
significance for example when dimensioning the longitudinal chords of
the truss model as well as in the overall detailing of the member since
it must behave as a unit.
4.3 Design Example of Reinforced Concrete
Rectangular Box Beam under Combined
Torsion, Bending, and Shear
In this secton the design of the reinforced concrete box section
shown in Fig. 4.13a subj ected to comb ined shear, bend ing and tor sion, as
shown in Fig. 4.13b, is carried out using the truss approach. The
amounts of reinforcement required using the truss model design procedure
are compared with those obtained using the current AASHTO Standard
Specifications (2). Ex hib it 4-1 sho ws the de ta 11 ed c alcula tion s
required for design of this member using the truss analogy. The
calculations presented in this exhibit are amplified and explained in
this section to introduce the reader to the design method in full
detail. However, in practical application by an experienced designer
only the calculations shown in the exhibit and the referenced tables
would be needed.
122
(U)
i.c--4"
f'c = 4000 ps i
IB"
(L) (R)
fy= 60000 psi
(All reinforcement)
(8) I II
c.c.= .5
I
IB"
~
(a) Cross section
45.5'1
1 ~ (v
u
)
~ I 4 5 5 k
3550in- k
A1111il11 r!ll ~ {Mu l
1 1 1 1 H 1 I I I 11
150
in. -k
(b) Actions
Fig. 4.13 Actions on the reinforced concrete box beam
123
4.3.1 Preliminary Flexure Design. As in any usual design
procedure proportioning and selection of reinforcement as controlled by
flexure will be conducted first (1,2). The flexure design procedure
will be the same in the Truss Model and ACII AASHTO design approaches. A
section containing both tension and compression reinforcement will be
selected because the presence of compression reinforcement helps to
adequately anchor web reinforcement as well as to control creep
deflections. In addition, the presence of a torsional moment might
require some tension reinforcement in the flexural compression face (Top
(U)) of the member.
In this flexural design example it is assumed that the overall
dimension are known (18 x 18 in.), as well as the material properties
~ (4000 psi) and fy (60,000 psi). The effective depth d, taken as the
distance between the extreme compression fiber and the centroid of the
longitudinal tension reinforcement, is evaluated assuming a 1.5 in.
clear cover, a f/4 stirrup, and a fig longitudinal bar. Thus, d = 18 -
0.56 - 0.5 - 1.5 = 15.44 in. The distance between the centroid of the
compression reinforcement and the extreme compression fiber "d" is
evaluated assuming a clear cover of 1.5 in., a 114 stirrup and a fl8
longitudinal bar. Hence, d' = 0.5" + 0.5" + 1.5" = 2.5 in. Detailed
calculations for flexure are shown in Fig. 4.14.
The preliminary flexure design for the midspan region of the
simply supported box beam is shown in Fig. 4.15. Detailing of this
longitudinal steel at other sections along the span of the member will
124

AI
s

D
=
Q
+

As AS1
As = As1 + As2i MN = MN1 + MN2
Assume As1 = 0.014 bd = 0.014(18)(15.44) = 3.89 in.
2
Check ductility 0.75 P
bal
= 0.016 > 0.014 OK
C = T in(l): a = AS1fy/0.85f'cb = (3.89)(60)/0.85(4)(18) - 3.81" <
4" recto sec.
MN1 = A
s1
f
y
(d-a/2) = (3.89)(60)(15.4-3.81/2) = 3149 in-k
MN2 = MN - MNl = 3550/0.9 - 3149 - 795 in-k
d-d' = 15.44 - 2.5 = 12.94 in; c = alB
1
= 3.81/0.85 = 4.48"
Strain diagram in compression zone:
e' =
s
0.003/c (c-2.5) - 0.003/4.48 (4.48-2.5)
= 0.0014
f's = E e's = (29 x 10
3
)(0.0014) = 38.5 ksi
Thus: MN2 = A
s
2f y(d-d') and As2 = MN2/fy(d-d')
As2 = 795/60 (12.94) = 1.02 in
2
C = T in (2): A'sf's = AS2fy; f's = 38.5 ksi
A;s = As2fy/f'S = 1.02 (60)138.5 = 1.58 in
2
Thus use 2 #8 A's = 1.58 as top compression steel
As = Asl + As2 = 3.89 + 1.02 = 4.91 in
2
Thus use 5 19 As = 5.00 in
2
as bottom tension steel.
Fig. 4.14 Calculations for flexure at midspan section
of the reinforced concrete box beam