MODULAR PROGRAMME

ASSESSMENT SPECIFICATION

Module Details
Module Code Run Module Title
UBGMJD-30-2 May 17 / Aug 17 Structural Design and Soil Mechanics
Module Leader Module Tutors
Kanthasamy Ubamanyu Kanthasamy Ubamanyu
Component and Element Number Weighting (% of the modules
A assessment)
30 %
Element Description
Coursework Report

Dates
Date Issued to Students Date to be Returned to Students
10th June 2017 To be confirmed
Submission Place Submission Date:
Hand written or typed report to be submitted 1st of July 2017
on Report submission point
Submission Time:
1.00 p.m

Deliverables
Coursework report

Module Leader Signature

Kanthasamy Ubamanyu
Guidelines for the report

Each student must submit their own report following the formatting requirements below:
A4 page size.
12 point black Times New Roman or Calibri font.
Single line spacing.
2.54 cm margins.
Line space after each paragraph.
Left justified.
Figures must have descriptive captions.
References should follow IEEE referencing style.
Any means of plagiarism will not be tolerated.

The body of the report including titles and captions should not exceed 1000 words. This limit
excludes the front cover, contents page, figures, tables, references list and appendices. To
present and discuss the required content you will need to use precise, concise descriptions
and discussions. It is likely that you will need to critically edit your initial draft in order to
achieve the word limit. This reflects requirements of technical writing by professional
engineers.

Part 1 [60 Marks]

Beams are common members in reinforced concrete structures. Beams carry loads primarily
by internal moments and shears. Therefore, a beam can fail in two failure modes, flexural and
shear. In the design of a reinforced concrete member, flexure is usually considered first,
leading to the size of the section and the arrangement of reinforcement to provide the
necessary resistance for moments. Beams are then designed for shear.
During this assignment you are expected to differentiate the two main failure modes in the
beam and the reasons for those failures. In order to differentiate clearly two beams one with
shear links and other one without shear links will be tested.

1. Learning outcome
Identify the failure mechanisms associated with reinforced concrete (RC) elements in
bending by:
Testing two RC beams under specified loading conditions and recording all relevant
results
Analyzing the results obtained during testing and formulating conclusions.
 2. Technical information
Physical conditions

The beams total dimensions are 2000 x 200 x 125 mm.

Cover 20mm
The span between supports is 1800 mm.
Loading arrangement

w/2 w/2

Figure 1: Loading arrangement

Materials

Concrete Mix: Grade 30 concrete will be used to cast the beam

Reinforcement: Bottom r/f 12mm tor steel bars (fy=460N/mm2) and top r/f 10mm
mild steel bars (fy=250N/mm2)
Shear links: 6mm mild steel bars at
i) 75 mm spacing for the beam with shear links
ii) At ends and center (3 Nos) for the beam without shear links

Figure 2: Reinforcement details

 3. Laboratory methodology
Casting the beam

Step 1: Fabricate the reinforcement cage

The reinforcement cages should be constructed to the drawings provided in Figure 2.

Take care to ensure the specified cover is achieved. This can be done using spacers.

Step 2: Concrete mixing and Casting

Calculate the volume of concrete required for 2 beams and 6 cubes.

Perform a mix design and hence find the materials required.
Prepare the mix and measure workability.
Cast two beams and 6 cubes
The concrete must be compacted in the mould using the vibrating poker.
From each batch cast three cubes, one will be air cured and two will be water cured.

Testing the beams after 14 days

Step 1: Test three cubes to obtain the compressive strength.

Step 2: Test the beam with shear reinforcement

Find the actual cover that has been provided using the cover meter.
Place the beams in the Amsler testing machine with an effective span of 1800mm
(simply supported and load at third points by two concentrated loads).
Load the beam in increments of 0.2 Metric Tons and measure the deflection at each step
using dial gauges, at mid span.
Observe the crack pattern and mark them as they appear.
Measure crack widths at each step of loading.
Remove the dial gauges well before failure.
Note carefully the behaviour of the beam at every loading stage (including the load at
which the first crack appears), the failure load and mode of the failure.
Step 3: Test the beam without shear reinforcement

Follow the same procedure stated above for testing the beam with shear links
You are expected to include the following in your report

1. Flexural Capacity
Find out the expected flexural capacity based on your design values. [05Marks]
Calculate the expected flexural capacity based on the obtained material properties
(using cubes). [05 Marks]
Compare the above two values with the actual flexural capacity calculated from the
experimental results and suggest the reasons for differences if any. [10 Marks]

2. Deflection
Calculate the expected mid-span deflection based on design failure load. [05 Marks]
Draw the measured and estimated load Vs deflection diagrams for both beams in one
plot. [05 Marks]
Determine the E-value from the load vs deflection curve. [05 Marks]
Discuss the reasons for deviations between the measured and expected curves
[05 Marks]

3. Expected Failure mechanism

Discuss the expected failure mechanism in each type of beams. [10 Marks]
Sketch the crack pattern you would expect in each beams. [10 Marks]
 Observations
Cube testing
Weight of the cube Failure load
Cube 1 8.50 kg 345.5 kN
Cube 2 8.35 kg 441.4 kN
Cube 3 8.40 kg 512.5 kN

Beam testing
Failure load Load at initial crack
Beam with shear links 4.6 MT 1.7 MT

Beam with shear links Beam without shear links

Load (MT) Deflection(mm) Load (MT) Deflection(mm)
0.0 0.00 0.0 0.00
0.2 0.20 0.2 0.05
0.4 0.35 0.4 0.09
0.6 0.50 0.6 0.11
0.8 0.75 0.8 0.25
1.0 1.15 1.0 0.34
1.2 1.50 1.2 0.48
1.4 1.90 1.4 0.96
1.6 2.30 1.6 1.20
1.8 2.70 1.8 1.80
2.0 3.20 2.0 2.40
2.2 3.70 2.2 2.70
2.4 4.10 2.4 2.80
2.6 4.60 2.6 3.00
2.8 5.10 2.8 3.17
3.0 5.60 3.0 3.30
3.2 6.05 3.2 3.80
3.4 6.60 3.4 4.10
3.6 7.10 3.6 4.50
3.8 7.70 3.8 4.90
4.0 8.30 4.0 5.20
4.2 8.90 4.2 5.90
4.4 9.80 4.4 6.90
Part 2 [40 Marks]

Studying structural failure case studies is a way of studying the history of the engineering
profession. Typical calculations for design are based on predicting and avoiding failure. The
factor of safety is used to avoid failures, but knowledge of past failures will better equip an
engineer to steer clear of future failures. It is not only important to know what caused the
failure, but also to understand how it occurred and how to avoid the problem in the future.

You are expected to discuss about at least five failure mechanisms of the structures
considering material used for construction and other factors such as slope stability, accidental
loadings, and vibrations.
Explain each failure modes using a well-known case study, by discussing the technical issues,
the causes, the modes of failure and the remedial measures for mitigation and precaution.
 Background Theory

Deflection calculation using moment area method

w0

R R

M/EI
A B diagram

2 R w0 2
R w0 kN

x2
M x w0 w0 x 0.1
2
Applying Mohrs 2nd theorem between A and C about A;
1 1st moment of area of M/EI diagram between A and C about A
1.0
x2
0.1w0 2 w0 x 0.1 x 0.1dx
1

EI

w0 / 2 EI x 4 / 4 0.7 x 3 0.2 x 2 0.02 x 0.1
1.0

0.13466w0 / EI (in metres)

 R=W/2

Applying Mohrs 2nd theorem between A and C about A;

2 1st moment of area of M/EI diagram between A and C about A

1
EI
1

2 0.60.3W 0.6 3 0.30.3W 0.3 2 0.6
2 1

0.1035W / EI (in metres)

Total Deflection at C 1 2
0.1035W / EI 0.13466w0 / EI
Modulus of elasticity of concrete = 25 106 kN / m 2
Density of concrete 24kN / m3