Please help with this construction question im really stuck

[prettys073]

please help with this construction question I am really stuck!

question is:- a reinforced concrete beam is to be 700mm deep. the minimum width of beam is to be used and 20mm size aggregate has been specified. three 25mm diameter bars have been calculated for tension reinforcement and three 16mm diameter bars have been calculated for compression reinforcement. shear reinforcement will consist of 100mm diameter stirrups. The level of exposure requires 40mm cover to the reinforcement. sketch the beam cross-section, detailing the reinforcement if the beam is simply supported at its ends.

i have no idea where to start with this one!

 

[mathmate]

The answer to the question depends on where you practise, since the codes in force will differ. For example, for the United States, you would be using the ACI (American Concrete Institute) code for structural concrete.

The question does not appear to require calculation of the strength of the cross-section. So the only variables left to be determined are:
1. cover between reinformcement and the formwork for 20mm aggregates, noting that the stirrups are on the outside of the main reinforcement.
2. mimimum distance betweent the tension reinforcement (at bottom).
3. same for compression reinforcement (top). However, since 3-16mm bars would have more clearance than 3-25mm bars, item 2 above would govern.
4. From the cover and minimum (clear) distance, calculate the minimum width of the beam, round to the nearest cm for practical purposes.

Now draw the cross section of the beam, placing the reinforcing bars in place, according to the code in force at your location.

Note that for a 700 mm deep beam for the calculated width, certain codes require minimum reinforcement for the given section. Supply additional reinforcement if required.

It is not possible to detail the reinforcement (i.e. give the lengths, and the bending schedule) for the beam since the length of the beam is not known.

 

[prettys073]

hi there, thanks for your reply. I am from scotland and can't seem to find the code of practice for the concrete beam. i have done as much of the question as possible. I've sketched the concrete beam, provided torsional bars for tension and horizontal bars for compression. then added the stirrups bars. I've made the stirrups bars closer together at the end as I've decided that it is a simply supported beam. I've no idea what impact the cover to the reinforment will have on the drawing as I've not really covered that yet he just kind of gave the question and said see you in two weeks! have you any ideas on what kind of difference the covering and exposure will make to the drawing or how i can work it out for myself?? thanks very much.

 

[mathmate]

Check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BS_8110