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A Beginner's Guide to ACI 318-14 Chapter 1 - Introduction © 2018 T. Bartlett Quimby |
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Section 1.2 History Last Revised: 12/12/2016 It is important that the engineer have a historical perspective on the materials that he/she will be using. This understanding, particularly on the local history of the region(s) they practice, will significantly assist them in applying materials effectively in their designs.The development the building codes that dictate the application of materials is heavily influenced by the history of the success and/or failures of structures containing that material. Understanding that history will help you to appreciate the requirements that you are subjected to when using a particular material. This will keep you from making the same mistakes of those that have preceded you. Most published textbooks have a better treatment of the history of reinforced concrete engineering than is presented here. If there is someone out there who would like to contribute, please contact me! There is evidence of the use of reinforced cementous materials going back to the dawn of recorded history, however the history of the modern form of reinforced concrete begins in the 1800s. The foundation for the current ACI provisions were laid by a joint committee formed in 1905, representing several interested parties in the United States, which produced several drafts of a Concrete Code. The early versions of the code were based on working stress concepts. Ultimate strength based design procedures were introduced in the 1950s and became the dominate design method in ACI 318-71. The Unified Design Procedure was introduced as an appendix in ACI 318-95 and became the dominate design method in ACI 318-02. Work stress design methods were completely dropped in ACI 318-02. You can obtain a copy of every provision of the ACI Building Code requirement from 1908-2005 for ACI (Historical ACI Building Code Requirements (1908-2005)) if you wish to see the progression of the Code requirements. It is useful to note that ACI 318 is a model building code. It is not law until adopted by jurisdictions. In the United States, it adopted by reference by the International Building Code, another model code, which has been adopted by the majority of United State Jurisdictions. You should check with your project's jurisdiction before applying this code to a specific project. As of April 2016, the on-line encyclopedia, Wikipedia, has some interesting information about the history of reinforced concrete. You should read it. They have some particularly interesting references at the bottom of the page. You can find a number of good sources on reinforced concrete history by searching the internet. |