AUTHOR(S): 

Gebrail Bekdas, Sinan Melih Nigdeli

TITLE

The Effects of Supports on Optimum Design of RC Continuous Beams

KEYWORDS

RC continuous beam, random search technique, optimization, Clapeyron’s three moment equations, ACI-318, live load distribution patterns

ABSTRACT

The optimum design of reinforced concrete members is found according to required security measures which are defined with respect to internal forces in the critical section resulting from loading conditions. For that reason, the length of spans and number of supports are effective on the optimum cost of the RC continuous beams. In this study, the optimum cross section dimensions and detailed optimum reinforcement design were investigated for different number of supports and spans. The optimum design was performed according to the design constraints given in ACI-318 (Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete). All live load distribution patterns were considered and the analyses of RC beam were done by using Clapeyron’s three moment equations. A random search technique (RST) was employed in order to minimize the material cost of the continuous beams with different number of spans.

Cite this paper

Gebrail Bekdas, Sinan Melih Nigdeli. (2016) The Effects of Supports on Optimum Design of RC Continuous Beams . International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, 1, 333-339