Modelling Design for Reinforced Concrete Structures

Event Summary

Modelling Design for Reinforced Concrete Structures
Advanced modelling techniques are increasingly being used to improve the design, analysis, and performance assessment of reinforced concrete structures. The Concrete Institute of Australia is privileged to have Professor Evan Bentz from the University of Toronto, along with Professor Stephen Foster from UNSW, available to present on global and local trends and approaches to structural modelling, based on their international experience and research.

This seminar will be of great interest to design and consulting civil engineers of all experience, along with concrete practitioners and specifiers, and anyone with an interest in concrete design.

Presentations:

Professor Bentz will start with an explanation of basic shear behaviour and how to use this information to understand the development and importance of the current one-way shear design equations.  This will include descriptions of the assumptions made and what to do if those assumptions are incorrect.  This will include discussion of his program Response as it can allow engineers to quickly do a what-if analysis to test sensitivity to input variables for members subjected to shear moment and axial loads.  After this session, participants will better understand why the current provisions are written as they are and how to apply the provisions for assessing members that may not follow current design requirements for example or to evaluate the impact of different materials.  The same provisions will be shown to work for members with or without shear reinforcement, with or without prestressing, with or without steel fibres, with or without the longitudinal reinforcement being made of steel.  Some extensions of analytical methods that are further into the realm of one-way shear behaviour for nonlinear structural analyses will also be shown.

Professor Foster will start with an explanation of the background to the significant changes introduced in the recently released Public Comment draft of AS 3600 for punching shear in reinforced concrete slabs. These revised rules represent one of the most substantial updates to the Standard, incorporating contemporary research findings and aligning the Australian code more closely with modern shear design theories, including concepts derived from the Modified Compression Field Theory (MCFT) and the Critical Shear Crack Theory (CSCT). This presentation will outline the limitations of the previous provisions and the rationale behind the new design approach. The lecture will demonstrate the application of the revised provisions through worked examples and discuss their implications for the design of flat plates, flat slabs, footings, and other slab–column connections. Attendees will gain practical guidance on implementing the new requirements and understanding their impact on safety, economy, and design practice.

Presenters:

Evan Bentz is Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto and author of the shear design equations used in AS3600 and AS5100 design standards. He completed his undergraduate education at the University of Waterloo in 1994 and worked with Michael Collins and Denis Mitchell on the “shear problem” from the start of his PhD until now.  His shear equations were first included in the Canadian CSA building code in 2004.  His research continues to be about the behaviour of reinforced concrete, now coupled with design optimization as a method to lower embodied carbon of structures.  He has won a number of best paper and teaching awards in his 26 years of teaching with his most recent being the recipient of the 2026 Faculty of Engineering Sustained Excellence in Teaching Award.  His free analysis program Response has been downloaded by over 110,000 engineers and researchers in 150 countries.  He is also Vice Dean Undergraduate and Associate Dean Cross Disciplinary Programs at Engineering in Toronto.  He has a detailed record of his activities for the past 15,000 days, so far.

 Program: 
1.30 pm Registration
2.00 pm Seminar Presentations and Q&A
5.00 pm Networking over Drinks and nibbles
6.00 pm End

Prices (incl GST):
$295.00 CIA Members
$165.00 CIA Student, Retired, Life and Honorary Members
$345.00 Non-Members

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