Reinforced concrete building elements
Reinforced concrete (RC) is one of the most widely used materials in modern construction. Plain, unreinforced concrete is unsuitable for many structures as it is relatively weak to withstand the stresses induced by vibrations, wind loading, and so on. To increase its all-over strength, steel rods, wires, mesh, or cables are used in concrete before it is set. This reinforcement, often known as rebar, resists tensile forces. It is used in a wide range of applications such
as; slab, wall, beam, column, foundation, and frame construction There is also the number of non-steel reinforcement that is used to control cracking.
Fiber-reinforced concrete
It is a concrete mixture that contains short discrete fibers that are distributed uniformly throughout the material. Fibers can be made of glass, polypropylene, synthetic and natural materials, as well as steel.
Prestressed reinforced concrete
This allows predetermined engineering stresses which are placed in concrete members to counteract the stresses that occur when the subject is loaded. Generally reinforced concrete, stresses are carried by the steel reinforcement, whereas prestressed concrete supports the load by including stresses throughout the entire structural element.
Reinforced concrete is extremely durable which requires little maintenance. It has good thermal mass and has fire resistance. Rebar is generally made from recycled scrap, and at the demolition stage, the concrete and rebar are capable of being separated so that the steel can be recycled.
Structural Elements of Reinforced Concrete Buildings
Slab
A slab is a structural element, made of concrete, that is used to create flat horizontal surfaces such as floors, roof decks, and ceilings. A slab is generally thick which supports beams, columns, walls, or the ground.
There are several different types of the slab,
- Flat slab This is typically a reinforced slab supported directly by columns or caps, without the use of beams. This type of slab is easy to construct which requires little formwork.
- Conventional slab Here the slab is supposed by beams and columns. The thickness of the slab is smaller but the debt of the beam is large.
- The load is transferred from slab to beam and then beam to the column. This type of slab is provided with reinforcement where the horizontal bar is called main reinforcement and the vertical bar is called distribution bar.