Factors affecting the reliability of reinforced concrete beams

This paper presents the most important factors affecting the flexural and shear reliability of reinforced concrete beams. These factors are classified to design, construction, utilization, and reliability aspects. Design aspects include the design criteria, accuracy of analytical and design equations, and design errors. Constructional aspects include the natural variation of strength parameters and construction errors. Utilization aspects include the natural Variations of service loads, utilization errors and the man-made hazards. The reliability aspects include the statistical and modeling uncertainties. Structural reliability is measured in terms of the reliability index. The variations of reliability index with design loads are investigated for the flexural and shear limit states. The variations of reliability index with the sectional dimensions and reinforcement ratio are also investigated.