Critical Review of Reinforced Concrete Design Codes and Their Relevance to the United Arab Emirates
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Date
2018-11
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The British University in Dubai (BUiD)
Abstract
The United Arab Emirates, is a home to structural engineers from different nations who hold expertise in their regional building concrete design codes. Since the 1980’s and 1990’s The British Standard (BS 8110) and the American Standards (ACI 318) have been of significance and widely used within the Municipalities in UAE. To maintain a uniformity and consistency in design and analysis of structures, it is required to critically review design codes to closely examine the similarities and differences among code provisions. This could help structural engineers to switch between codes. Hence, an attempt is made to carry out a general and parametric comparison of some international design codes followed by a three-tier critical review of ACI 318-14 and BS 8110-97 considering the fact that these codes are widely used within UAE. The three-tier comparison involves examining the results of literature review, theoretical investigation and practical design of frame elements of a G+40 story building using ETABS software. The results were compared in terms of dead and live loads and their combination, flexural and shear capacity of beams, columns and slabs, deflection and minimum and maximum amounts of longitudinal and transverse reinforcement, to arrive at a more economical solution without compromising strength and stability requirements. The results of the three-tier critical review showed that designs conforming to British Standards are preferred over the ACI Standards owing to their adaptability to the construction industry and environment in UAE which contributes the best possible solution.
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Keywords
reinforced concrete, design codes, structural engineers, United Arab Emirates (UAE), construction industry