Characteristics of Strength in Concrete and Steel Structures

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Article Info

Word Count: 307

Author credentials: PhD in Infrastructure Engineering and Management

Content

1.Characteristic Strength in Concrete Structures

1.1 American Concrete Institute (ACI) 318

1.2 Eurocode (EN 1992-1-1)

1.3 Indian Standard (IS 456)

1.4 British Standard (BS 8110)

2. Characteristic Strength in Steel Structures

2.1 American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC)

2.2 Eurocode (EN 1993-1-1)

2.3 Indian Standard (IS 800)

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The characteristic strength of concrete is defined as the compressive strength below, which is not more than 5% of the test results are expected to fall.

Let's take a look at the characteristic strength of structures based on various standards:

1. Characteristic Strength in Concrete Structures

1.1 American Concrete Institute (ACI) 318

• ACI 318 defines the characteristic compressive strength of concrete as the 28-day compressive strength, denoted as f'c.

• The design strength of concrete is taken as 0.85 times the characteristic strength (0.85f'c).

Further resource:https://www.concrete.org/store/productdetail.aspx?ItemID=318U19&Language=English&Units=US_Units

1.2 Eurocode (EN 1992-1-1)

• Eurocode defines the characteristic compressive strength of concrete as the 5th percentile value, denoted as fck.

• The design strength of concrete is taken as fck/γc, where γc is the partial safety factor for concrete (typically 1.5).

Further resource:https://eurocodes.jrc.ec.europa.eu/showpage.php?id=138

1.3 Indian Standard (IS 456)

• IS 456 defines the characteristic compressive strength of concrete as the value below which not more than 5% of the test results are expected to fall.

• The characteristic strength is denoted as fck.

• The design strength of concrete is taken as 0.67fck.

Further resource: https://law.resource.org/pub/in/bis/S03/is.456.2000.pdf

4. British Standard (BS 8110)

• BS 8110 defines the characteristic compressive strength of concrete as the 5th percentile value, denoted as fcu.

• The design strength of concrete is taken as 0.67fcu.

Further resource: https://shop.bsigroup.com/ProductDetail?pid=000000000030230393

2 Characteristic Strength in Steel Structures

2.1 American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC)

• AISC uses the specified minimum yield strength, denoted as Fy, as the characteristic strength of steel.

• The design strength of steel is taken as Fy/1.5.

Further resource: https://www.aisc.org/publications/steel-standards/

2.2 Eurocode (EN 1993-1-1)

• Eurocode defines the characteristic yield strength of steel as the 5th percentile value, denoted as fy.

• The design strength of steel is taken as fy/γM, where γM is the partial safety factor for steel (typically 1.0).

Further resource: https://eurocodes.jrc.ec.europa.eu/showpage.php?id=134

2.3 Indian Standard (IS 800)

Further resource: https://law.resource.org/pub/in/bis/S03/is.800.2007.pdf

• IS 800 defines the characteristic yield strength of steel as the minimum specified yield strength, denoted as fy.

• The design strength of steel is taken as fy/1.1.

Further resource: https://law.resource.org/pub/in/bis/S03/is.800.2007.pdf

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