Minimum bending reinforcement for rectangular sections: a comparative study

Abstract

The computation of minimum reinforcement ratio, necessary to avoid brittle fracture in lightly reinforced elements, is made by different normatives (including EHE-08) without taking into account the influence of the depth h of the member. The section size effect makes lower the needed of minimum reinforcement ratio when the beam depth increases. This paper presents an alternative expression for the minimum reinforcement ratio, derived from the simplified expression in the EHE for rectangular flexural members, in order to take into account the size effect. This expression is compared with other codes and authors formulae.