Span-to-depth ratio limits for deflection control of reinforced concrete elements
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Indirect deflection control usually applies the limitation of the span-to-depth
ratio. The procedures that have developed in the past decades have mostly
been derived for predefined values of some of the relevant parameters. Assigning
values to parameters simplifies the application of criteria. Predefined
values may not be suitable for all design situations and some of the recently
published procedures allow direct selection of relevant parameters. This paper
offers new expressions for span-to-depth ratio limits for deflection control.
Expressions include cross-section size, area, and position of tensile and compressive
reinforcement, mechanical and long-term properties of concrete and
deflection limit. The load level is represented by the stress in the tensile reinforcement
so that the ratio of live and total load can be arbitrary. The dimensionless
form of deflection calculation by numerical integration of the mean
curvature according to Eurocode 2 is used to formulate th...e expressions. The
proposed procedure is verified with a large number of numerical simulations
for different combinations of inputs. Measured long-term deflections, available
from the literature, are also used to test the procedure. The expressions are
suitable for both deflection control and conceptual design.