THE ASYMMETRICAL DESIGN OF RC COLUMNS BY RIGOROUS APPROACH

Abstract

The symmetrical arrangement of reinforcement is justifiable for the columns of a building where the axial loads are the dominant forces and where any moments due to wind can be acting in either direction. But some members are required to resist axial forces combined with large bending moments, or have irregular cross-sections. In such cases, it is not economical to have equal areas of steel in both faces, and as such the usual design charts for columns found in the Codes of Practice cannot be applied. This paper proposes a rigorous approach for such cases.