Art.

fihapter
LIMIT STATE METHOD
..........................................
..........................................

As .
6-1. Inelastic behaviour of materials: In chapter 5, we have designed the ever
sections for flexure by using elastic theory, i.e., by considering the straight line Now
behaviour of materials adopting suitable factors of safety. For concrete, being a brittle the
material, the factor of safety was applied on failure stress, i.e., on the characteristic fig.
strength of concrete. For steel, being a ductile material, the factor of safety was of f
applied on its yield strength or on the proof stress when no definite yield point was thes
known.
Let the factor of safety on material strength be p. If the working load on the
structure is W, its failure load will be pW. This is true only if the materials are
fully elastic upto failure. Figures 6-1(a) and 6-1 (b) show the stress-strain diagrams
of concrete and mild steel respectively. It can be seen that the behaviour of concrete
is inelastic right from low stresses, while mild steel is perfectly elastic and follows
Hooke's law approximately up to the yield stress, then it has an inelastic behaviour.
This means that the behaviour of a structure made up of these two materials cannot
remain elastic at higher loads. The failure load of the structure may be less than
:lw c; iz c s e of the columns and more than p W as in case of the beams. Thus
although the factor of safety assumed in elastic theory is p, the actual factor of
safety in terms of failure loads on the structure is much different. Thus to determine
actual collapse load on the structure, it is necessary to take into account, the
inelastic behaviour of the materials.

"t . Ultimate stress

I ..
0 E
(a) Concrete (b) Mild steel

Stress-strain diagrams
FIG. 6-1
6-2. Ultimate load theory: The theory which takes into account, the inelastic
strains of the material before failure is called ultimate load theory. Using this theory
the failure loads on the structure can be calculated. The ratio of the failure loads
to that of working load is called load factor. As against the factor of safety applied
to stresses in elastic theory, the load factor is applied in ultimate theory which gives
better understanding of the load carrying capacity of the given structure. The load
factor at once gives the idea of excess load that the given structure would carry
before failure.
The stress-strain diagrams of all types of steel can be idealised into well defined
graph. However, the stress-strain diagram of concrete is not very well defined due to
i variation of quality of concrete. This is why many research workers, including Dr. V.S. Thattey
I of M.S. University, have proposed different stress-strain diagrams for concrete. Several
 Art. 6-21 Limit State Method

important diagrams are due to Mensch, Dyson, Whitney and Jensen. Amongst all,
Whitney's diagram was very well adopted due to its simplicity.
Consider a singly reinforced rectangular section of a beam as shown in fig. 6-2(a).
As we have noted in elastic theory, the strain diagram of the beam is a straight line
led the even at higher loads corresponding to failure. The strain diagram is shown in fig. 6-2(b).
ht line Now using the accepted stress-strain diagram of concrete such ,as that of fig. 6-l(a),
brittle the stress diagram can be drawn as shown in fig. 6-2(c). T h e diagram OABC of
:teristic fig. 6-2(c) is called the stress block. Note that the strain diagram of compression side
ty was of fig. 6-2(b) and stress block of fig. 6-2(c) are related by graph of fig. 6-l(a), however,
.nt was these cannot be actually plotted, unless ~~b~ or a c b c is known.

on the
als are
agr am s
Dncrete
follows
aviour.
cannot
is than
. Thus (a) Section (b) Strain diagram (c) Stress diagram
:tor of
ermine FIG. 6-2
~ t ,the The stress-block can be drawn by two different ways:
(1) By fixing maximum stress in extreme compression fibre in concrete.
(2) By fixing maximum strain in extreme compression fibre in concrete.

fck

&cbc E
(a) Fixing ocb, (a) Fixing E ,bC
elastic Using a - E diagram of concrete to draw stress-block
theory FIG. 6-3
loads These are discussed as follows:
.pplied (1) By fixing maximum stress in extreme compression fibre in concrete: The maximum
I gives
stress a c b c is fixed and &,bc is determined from accepted stress-strain diagram
o load
of concrete as shown in fig. 6-3(a). The strain-diagram of the section is then
carry
drawn as shown in fig. 6-2(b). Using the compression part of this strain diagram
and the stress-strain diagram of fig. 6-3(a), the stress diagram of concrete in
compression is now drawn. The strain in steel at the level of steel reinforcement
is determined from strain diagram of fig. 6-2(b) and corresponding stress in
steel is determined from accepted stress-strain diagram of steel such as that of
fig. 6-1 (b). By using the properties of stress-block and equilibrium conditions,
 Reinforced Concrete - Vol. I [Ch. 6

the section can be analysed. The ultimate load theory as adopted by IS : 456-1964
takes into account, this method of drawing the stress block where acbc = 0.55 Lk.
(2) By fixing maximum strain in extreme compression fibre in concrete: The maximum
strain in extreme compression fibre in concrete, &=bc, is fixed and strain diagram str
of fig. 6-2(b) can be drawn. Now using the accepted stress-strain diagram of lo;
concrete such as that of fig. 6-3(b) and the compression part of the stress-strain
diagram, the stress block of fig. 6-2(c) can be drawn. The strain in steel at the
level of steel reinforcement is determined from strain diagram of fig. 6-2(b)
and corresponding stress in steel is determined from accepted stress-strain diagram
of steel such as that of fig. 6-l(b). By using the properties of stress-block and
equilibrium conditions, the section can be analysed. The whitneys stress-block
is based on this method where ~ , b , = 0.003 or 0.3 OIo is adopted.
The ultimate load theory as discussed above takes into account the inelastic behaviour
of the materials, which resulted in economical design. At the same time, it resulted
in slender sections, large deformations and larger crack widths in concrete. This
created the necessity of refining the method so that in addition to strength, the
structure would be serviceable also.
6-3. Limit state method: The limit state method as adopted by IS : 456-1978
and I S : 456-2000 is nothing but the modified ultimate load theory which takes into
account the drawbacks of the ultimate load theory. In limit state method, the attention
is given to the acceptable limit before failure as against the ultimate load theory which
gives the load factor on failure load of the structure. The limit state method is now
discussed in detail and will be adopted for most other chapters to design the RCC
elements and RCC structures.
A limit load is defined as the maximum load that can be applied to a structure
before collapse begins. With a ductile material this condition will not occur until the
yield point has been reached throughout the most highly stressed section in statically
determinate structures.
Limit state means the acceptable limits for the safety and serviceability requirements
before failure.
Limit analysis is the method of determining the load that causes actual collapse of
the structure to impend or results in excessively large deformations. It may be noted
that the concept of limit analysis is not applicable to brittle materials, some ductility
must always be present. Concrete is a brittle material, however reinforced concrete
possesses some ductility due to the presence of reinforcing steel. Also the code takes
a number of provisions while designing and detailing gf RCC structures to increase
its ductility. Limit state method can therefore be applied to RCC structures.
The design based on limit state method as against the ultimate load theory takes
into account the safety and also serviceability criteria. In ultimate load theory, we
consider. the failure state of the material, whereas in limit state method we consider
the limit state of the structure. The aim of the design based on limit state method as
stipulated by the code is to see that the structure will not become unfit for the use
during its expected life span.
The achieve the above aim, the structure should be loaded with limit loads (also
called factored loads) as against the ultimate loads in ultimate load theory. Similarly
the limit strength of the materials shall be considered as against the ultimate strength
of materials in ultimate load theory. Design values i.e., design loads and design
strength of materials shall be specified by applying appropriate safety factors to their
characteristic values. In short, the structure should be loaded with limit loads and the
limit strength of materials shall be considered in design.
 [Ch. 6 Art. 6-61 Limit State Method

I t is now necessary to consider the limit state of collapse and limit state of
serviceability as applied to RCC designs.
ltimum 6-4. Limit state of collapse: This limit state refers to the strength of the
iagram structure. A structure or its part should be strong enough to resist the applied design
.am of loads. This is called limit state of collapse.
-strain
a t the The limit state of collapse includes the design for axial forces, flexure, shear,
6-2(b) torsion, buckling, etc. The strength of each section must be more than the applied
stresses on that section due to all expected combination of loads.
warn
:k and 6-5. Limit state of serviceability: The structure or its part thereof shall be
-block serviceable during its expected life span. The serviceability corresponds to the deflection
and cracking of the structure.
aviour Deflection: Excessive deflections that can reduce the efficiency of the structure
sulted must be avoided.
This
Cracking: Concrete structures have innumerable cracks, however if the crack
1, the
widths are larger, the appearance of the structure will be affected. Also ingress
of water and gas from the atmosphere can cause rusting of reinforcements. For
5-1978 normal concrete structures, the surface crack width of 0.3 mm is acceptable.
s into
sntion It may happen that the structure is strong and safe to resist applied design loads
which but is not serviceable. Increasing the section dimensions usually solves the problem.
1 now 6-6. Characteristic and design values and partial safety factors:
RCC These are explained as below.
( I ) Characteristic strength of materials: The strength of the material below which
tcture not more than 5 percent of the test results are expected to fall is known as the
ii the characteristic strength of the material and is denoted by J
dcally
The characteristic strength for concrete (Lk)shall be in accordance with table 3-1,
Pents The characteristic strength for steel V;l shall be assumed as minimum yield
stress or 0.2 percent proof stress.

~ s eof ( 2 ) Characteristic loads: The value of load which has a 95 percent probability of
noted not being exceeded during the life of the structure is known as characteristic
:tility load and is denoted by F.
Crete The characteristic loads shall be worked out using statistical methods. Since data
takes are not available to express the loads in statistical terms, the loads that have
rease given safe designs in past shall be used and are set out in relevant Indian
Standards.
takes ( i ) Characteristic dead loads are due to the weight of the structure itself.
', we These shall be found out using the unit weights of materials as given in
atider IS : 875-1987 (Part I).
)d as
! use
(ii) Characteristic live loads and wind loads in the absence of statistical data,
shall be taken from IS : 875-1987 (Part I1 and Part 111).
(iii) Characteristic seismic loads in the absence of statistical data shall be taken
(also
from I S : 1893-2002 (Part I).
larly
mgth (3) Partial safety factors: These are the factors which when applied to loads and materials
:sign give the design values. The partial safety factors take into account the possible
their overloads, the kind of limit state and inaccurate assessment of the effects of loading.
1 the These are setout in table 18 of IS : 456 accordingly the partial safety factors
for various loads shall be as follows:
 i
Reinforced Concrete - Vol. 1 [Ch. 6 Art.

TABLE 6-1
PARTIAL SAFETY FACTORS
(A) Partial safety factors (yf) for loads. con
Partial safety factors
Sr. Description Serviceability*
no. Collapse (Short term)
1 Gravity loads
DL 1.5 1.0
LL 1.5 1.0
2 DL + WL (or EL) combination
(i) For normal case
DL
WL (or EL)
(ii) For checking stability against
overturning/stress reversal
DL
WL (or EL)
3. DL + LL + WL (or EL) combination
DL 1.2 1.0
WL 1.2 0.8
WL (or EL) 1.2 0.8

* For long term effect only permanent loads like dead load and a few live loads like
to be ~ e r m a n e n tshould be considered.
(B) Partial safety factors (y,) for materials.
Material Partial safety factors
For concrete 1.5

-
For steel
-
I 1.15 I
Note: Higher values of partial safety factors may be applied for particular important
structures as decided by engineer-in-charge.
(4) Design values: The design values are obtained when partial safety factors are
applied to characteristic loads and strengths. These are obtained as below.
(i) Materials: T h e design strength of the materials, fd is given by

fd = -
f ..................................
ym
where f = characteristic strength of the material
,y = partial safety factor appropriate to the material and limit
state being considered.
(ii) Loads: The design load Fd is given by
Fd = Fy,- ..........................
where F = characteristic load
= partial safety factor appropriate to the nature of loading and
the limit state being considered.
 '
! Art. 6-71 Limit State Method

6-7. Limit state of collapse: Flexure:

Assumptions: These are set out in clause 38.1 of IS : 456 and explained below. For
complete details the code shall be consulted.
.(I) Plane sections normal to the axis remain plane after bending.
This assumption means that strain at any point on the cross-section is directly
proportional to its distance from the neutral axis. Refer to fig. 6-5(a).
(2) The maximum strain in concrete at the outermost compression fibre is taken
as 0.0035 in bending. Refer to fig. 6-4 and fig. 6-5(a).
(3) The stress strain diagram of concrete is parabolic from strain value of zero to
0.002 and corresponding stress value of zero to Lk. The stress now remains
constant and strain increase to 0.0035 as indicated in fig. 6-4. Since the concrete
is a brittle material, the compressive strength of concrete shall be taken as
0.67 Lk. Then applying the partial safety factor for material, y, = 1.5 the
design flexural strength of concrete shall be
fck
1.5
= 0.446 Lk.
Parilbolic curve ,

'S are
3W.

Stress-strain curve for concrete

FIG. 6-4
(6-1) The strain diagram and design stress block are separately shown in fig. 6-5. The
design stress block parameters are as follows:
limit Area of stress block = 0.36 fck x ,
Depth of centroid of compressive force from the extreme fibre in compression = 0.42 xu
where fck = characteristic compressive strength of concrete
xu = depth of neutral axis.
The stress block parameters are derived as follows:
As the strain in concrete is proportional to the distance from the neutral axis, the
depth of parabolic portion, referring to fig. 6-5
 Reinforced Concrete - Vol. I
0.002 xu 4
OD = xz =
0.0035 = 5 Xu'
and the depth of rectangular portion
3
4 Xu = -
DC = X I = xu - - 7 7 XU'
2 4
Area of parabolic portion = -3 x 0.446 fck x j xu

Area of rectangular portion = 0.446 fck x 5.3 xu

= 0.19 fck xu.
Total area of stress block = 0.17 fck xu + 0.19 fck xu
= 0.36 fck xu ...............
0.446 fck

(a) Strain diagram (b) Stress diagram

FIG. 6-5
Let be the distance of centroid of stress block from the extreme compression fibre,

then

Substituting
and xz = 74 xu and simplifying
-
=0.416 x, * 0.42 x ,.......
y ................... (6-3b)
(4) The tensile strength of concrete is ignored.
(5) The representative stress-strain curve for different type of steel used are given
in fig. 6-6(a) and 6-6(b). For design purpose the partial safety factor y, equal
to 1.15 shall be applied.
Close observation of these curves shows that for mild steel the stress is proportional
to strain upto yield point and then upto failure, the strain increases at a
constant stress fy.
Note that this is not the actual stress-strain curve for mild steel, but is idealized
250'
for design purpose. For mild steel, the design stress will be
1.15
- = 217 N/mm2

for the strain value of 217 = 0.00109 and above (i-e., upto failure).
2 x 105
 Art. 6-71 Limit State Method

V1
0.975 fyA'2

fy

fy
1.15

5 2
, = 2 ~ 1 0 Nlmm

Strain

(a) Cold - worked deformed bar

4

n fibre,

0
V (b) Mild steel bar
Strain

: given
, equal Stress Inelastic strain
0.80 fy Nil
0.85 fy 0.0001
0.90 fy 0.0003
0.95 fy 0.0007
ealized 0.975 fy 0.0010
J/mm2 1.00 fy 0.0020
Representative stress-strain curves for reinforcement
FIG. 6-6
 Reinforced Concrete - Vol. I [Ch. 6 Art.
For cold-worked deformed bar (and also for TMT bar), the stress is proportional
to strain upto a stress of 0.8 fy. Thereafter, the stress-strain curve is defined the
as tabulated in fig. 6-6.
To find out the stress for a given strain value, a stress-strain graph shall
be drawn using the above values. For plotting the graph, stress-strain relation
may be assumed as a straight line between above defined points e.g., for Fe 415
grade steel, at 0.84 the strain will be Ow' = 0.00166 and at 0.85 fy,
2 x 105 follc
the strain will be O S a 5 415 + 0.0001 = 0.00186 and between these two
2 x 105
points the stress-strain relation is assumed as a straight line. For the given
strain, now stress can be found out from the graph. The stress-strain curves for
cold-worked deformed bars are shown in fig. 6-7.

500 500

450
-
500
1.15
415
400

350
-
415
1.15

\
g 300
z
V1
V)

250

200

150

100

50

0
0 0.00 1 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005
Strain
Stress-strain curves for cold-worked steels whe:
FIG. 6-7
 [Ch. 6 Limit State Method 179
portional To draw the design stress-strain diagram the same procedure is followed. Thus if
defined the stress level is 0.9 fy (e.g., for Fe 415 grade reinforcement)

design stress =
OS9
l5
= 324.8 N/mm2
iph shall 1.15
relation
tr Fe 415 and strain = 324'8 + 0.0003 = 0.00192.
2 x 105
The points on design stress-strain curve for HYSD reinforcement shall be as

lese two Fe 475 grade steel

he given Stress level Design stress = Stress level Strain

irves for 1.15
upto 0.80 fyd CT 0/E
O.80 fyd 288.7 0.00144
Oe85 fyd 306.7 0.00163
0.90 fyd 324.8 0.00192
0-g5 fyd 342.8 0.00241
0.975 fyd 351.8 0.00276
fyd 360.9 0.00380
Fe 500 grade steel

Stress level Design stress = Stress level Strain

1.15
upto 0.80 fyd u a/E
Oe80 fyd 347.8 0.00174
0.85 fyd 369.5 0.00195
OsgO fyd 391.3 0.00226
OVg5 fyd 413.0 0.00277
0.975 fyd 423.9 0.00312
fyd 434.8 0.00417
Fe 550 grade steel
Stress level Design stress = Stress level Strain
1.15
upto 0.80 fyd u o/E
Os80 fyd 382.6 0.00191
0.85 fyd 406.5 0.00213
OegO fyd 430.4 0.00245
Oag5 fyd 454.3 0.00297
0.975 fyd 466.3 0.00333
1 fyd 478.3 0.00439
(6) The maximum strain in the tension reinforcement in the section at failure shall
not be less than:
4-

where fy = characteristic strength of steel and E, = modulus of elasticity of steel.

This assumption restricts the depth of neutral axis, as explained below:
 Reinforced Concrete - Vol. I [Ch. 6
Art.
From the strain diagram (refer to fig. 6-5)

Considering E = 2 x 105 N/mm2 for all steels

Xu,max 700
- =
d 1100 + 0.87 fy
.............
For mild steel, fy = 250 N/mm2

For other steels -

Xu max
d
may be found out in the same way. The limiting values
of depth of neutral axis for different grades of steel based on the above assumption F
are as follows:
Then

6-8. Derivation of formulae: A singly reinforced rectangular beam section,

strain diagram and stress diagram are shown in fig. 6-8. The formulae for balanced For .
section are derived by using the above assumptions as follows:
* To find neutral axis: E
Total compression = total tension table
0.36 fck xu b = 0.87 fy A,,
0.87 4, fy
Xu =
0.36 fck b ' ...................... (6-6a)
Note that the value of depth of neutral axis as obtained by equation (6-6a) should
not exceed xu,m,, for a given section. If xu > xu,,, the depth of neutral axis shall
be taken as xu,,,. This automatically restricts the use of over-reinforced sections.
0.446 fck
E c = 0.0035 H

C = 0.36fck x,b
zone
-.-.-.-. .-.-.- -._._
Tension
zone -
d 0.42 xu

T = 0.87fyA,[ Subs
0.87fy
E,= - Es
+ 0.002
(a) Section (b) Strain diagram (c) Stress diagram
Singly reinforced beam
FIG. 6-8
 [Ch.6 Limit State Method
Art. 6-81

* To find lever arm:

From the stress diagram, the lever arm
s = ( d - 0.42 xu) .......
* To find moment of resistance:
(1) For a balanced section
M.R. = total compression x lever arm
= total tension x lever arm.
Considering the compressive forces (under reinforced and balanced sections)
Mu = 0.36 fck b xu ( d - 0.42 xu)

; values
lmption For a limiting value, substitute xu,,, for xu and for Mu.
XU, max XU,max
Then = 0.36 - d
1 - 0.42 -
d fck bd2
= Qlim bd2 ..............................
where the constant
Mu, lim
Qlim = -
b d2
= 0.36
XU,max
- d
1 - 0.42
Xu, max
- d
)f ........................ (6-7b)
section, And is known as limiting moment of resistance factor for balanced rectangular section.
alanced For M20 grade concrete and Fe 415 grade steel

For different combinations of materials, the values of Qimhave been tabulated in

table 6-2.
TABLE 6-2
LIMITING MOMENT OF RESISTANCE FACTOR Qlim N/mm2
POR SXNGLY REINFORCED RECTANGULAR SECTIONS
fck, N h m 2 fy, N/mm2
should 250 415 500 550
is shall
:tions. 15 2.22 2.07 2.00 1.94
20 2.96 2.76 2.66 2.58
25 3.70 3.45 3.33 3.23
30 4.44 4.14 3.99 3.87
(2) For an under-reinforced section
Now considering tensile forces (for under-reinforced sections)
Mu 0.87 fy A,, ( d - 0.42 xu) .................

Substituting xu =
0.87 f y a,
0.36 fck b