Long Term Deflection

of 
Concrete Structures
ACI 318M
By/  Wael Guirguis
 COURSE CONTENT (very intensive)
PART 01 PART 02 PART 03
Fundamentals ACI 318 Code Requirements Solved  Example
• Short Term Deflection • Why we calculate deflection • Manually solved example
• Long Term Deflection • Maximum permissible deflection • Solving the same example using
SAFE program and getting the same
• Creep Coefficient • Time Dependent (Long term deflection)
results.
calculation
• Recoverable Vs Irrecoverable Creep
• Modulus of rupture
• Creep Effect On Columns
• Different types of moment of inertia
• Shrinkage Coefficient
• Deflection formulas for different types of
• Plastic Shrinkage
loads and supports.
• Carbonation Shrinkage
• Dry Shrinkage
• Autogenous Shrinkage
• Shrinkage Effect On Flexure Members
• Tension Stiffening Effect
• Factors Affecting Creep And Shrinkage
Factors Affecting Deflections
Short Term Deflections
1. Magnitude and distribution of loads
2. Span and type of end supports
3. Cross‐sectional area of the members
4. Amount of steel reinforcement and the 
stress developed in the reinforcement
5. Characteristic strengths of concrete and 
steel
6. Amount and extent of cracking
 Factors Affecting Deflections
Long Term Deflections
TIME DEPENDENT 

1. Humidity and temperature ranges during curing 
2. Age of concrete at the time of loading 
3. Type and size of aggregates
4. Water‐cement ratio,
5. Amount of compression reinforcement
6. Size of members 
Concrete strain components
• At any time t, the total concrete strain ε(t) in an uncracked, uniaxially‐
loaded specimen consists of a number of components that includes

1. Instantaneous strain εe (t )

2. Creep strain εcr (t ) 

3. Shrinkage strain εsh (t ) 

4. Temperature strain Εt (t )
• Four components are independent and may be calculated 
separately and combined to obtain the total strain.
• It is usual to express the concrete strain at a point as the sum of 
the instantaneous, creep and shrinkage components
Deflection (Time‐dependent deformations)

1. Creep
• When concrete is subjected to compressive
loading it deforms instantaneously. This immediate
deformation is called instantaneous strain.

• Now, if the load is maintained for a considerable

period of time, concrete undergoes, additional
deformations even without any increase in the load.
This time‐dependent strain is termed as creep
• Creep is an increase of Time Dependent intensive
Strain in an element of concrete under permanent
loads .
Deflection (Time‐dependent deformation)

1. Creep
• The recoverable part of creep is often referred to as 
the delayed elastic strain, εcr.d (t )

• This delayed elasticity is thought to be caused by the 
elastic aggregate acting on the viscous cement paste 
after the applied stress is removed.

• About 50 % of the final creep develops in the first 2–3 
months and about 90 % after 2–3 years. 

• After several years under load, the rate of change of 
creep with time is very small
Creep Effect On Concrete
• Creep causes a redistribution of stresses between 
concrete and reinforcement
• For a reinforced concrete column subjected to axial 
compressive load. 
• The concrete and steel are bonded together so that 
at any time compatibility requires that the concrete 
and steel strains are identical.

• As the compressive concrete creeps (contracts), the 
steel is compressed and the compressive stress in the  • Therefore, the compressive stress in the 

steel gradually increases. (Shrinkage causes a similar  concrete reduces with time, while the steel 
effect) stress increases rapidly. 
• Load is thus transferred from the concrete to 
• Equilibrium requires that the increase in the 
the steel, with the proportion of the external 
compressive force in the steel is balanced by an equal 
load carried by the reinforcement increasing 
and opposite tensile force on the concrete.
with time. 
Shrinkage
• Shrinkage is shortening of concrete due to drying and is independent of applied loads.  

• Shrinkage of concrete is the time‐dependent strain measured in an unloaded and 
unrestrained specimen at constant temperature.

The factors influencing shrinkage are:

• Drying conditions (Humidity)

No shrinkage will occur if the concrete is placed in one hundred percent

• Time

The shrinkage rate will decrease rapidly with time, within (1 year) of the concrete being 

poured, shrinkage will be about (66 to 85) % of the 20 year shrinkage.
Types of Shrinkage  
Plastic shrinkage
Plastic shrinkage happens soon after the concrete is poured in the forms.

It can be reduced by covering the surface with polyethylene sheeting 
immediately after it is poured. (before setting)

Carbonation Shrinkage
• Carbonation shrinkage is probably caused by the dissolution of crystals of 
calcium hydroxide and deposition of calcium carbonate in its place. As the 
new product is less in volume than the product replaced, shrinkage takes 
place.

• The rate of penetration of carbon dioxide depends on the moisture content 
of the concrete and the relative humidity of the ambient medium.
Types of Shrinkage  
Drying shrinkage
• The reduction in volume caused principally by the loss of water during the drying process. It increases
with time at a gradually decreasing rate and takes place in the months and years after casting.

• caused by the diffusion of water from hardened concrete into the surrounding environment.

Factors affecting drying of concrete
• The relative humidity
• The type and quantity of the binder
• The water content and water‐to‐cement ratio,
• The ratio of fine‐to‐coarse aggregate and the type of aggregate 
• The size and shape of the member.
Types of Shrinkage  
Autogenous shrinkage
• It develops during hardening at early ages, which is mainly due to 
chemical reactions within the cement paste

• w/c 0.42, all the water is rapidly drawn into the hydration process 
and the demand for more water creates very fine capillaries

• Volume occupied by cement hydration reaction products is 
significantly less (10 % or more) than that of starting materials

• After setting (in a sealed system), this chemical shrinkage will be 
directly translated into a measurable autogenous deformation
• Once again, if concrete is restrained (externally or internally), cracking
may occur.
Factors Affecting Shrinkage  

Drying  shrinkage Autogenous shrinkage

Drying shrinkage increases as: Endogenous shrinkage increases as:

• The water–cement ratio increases • The water–cement ratio decreases.

• The relative humidity decreases  • The cement content increases 

• The ratio of the exposed surface area to volume  • Not affected by the ambient relative humidity.
increases.

• Temperature rises 
Drying and Autogenous Shrinkage 
In the analysis of concrete structures two components drying and autogenous shrinkage are considered

• For normal‐ strength concrete, it is not a problem if shrinkage is treated without distinguishing between 
autogenous and drying shrinkage, as concrete autogenous shrinkage strain varies between 20 and 110 
micro‐strains. This is only 10 to 20 % of the long‐term.

• Consequently, autogenous shrinkage was neglected for many years. 

• For high‐strength concrete (HSC), autogenous and drying 
shrinkage should be distinguished Autogenous shrinkage, which is 
justly considered as the most important shrinkage components in 
HSC.
Effects of Shrinkage
• If shrinkage is restrained, the concrete is put into tension and when tensile
stress becomes equal to tensile strength, the concrete cracks.

• The deflection of flexural members is increased by shrinkage. This is because

the lightly reinforced compression zone is free to shrink more than heavily
reinforced tension zone

• Shrinkage in concrete produces a compressive stress in the longitudinal

reinforcement of beams and slabs.
a – plain concrete net section
• Tensile stress crops in response to balance the compressive stress. b – asymmetrically reinforced 
section 
c – deformations in 
• Usually, reinforcements are not placed symmetrically to the concrete centroid,
asymmetrically reinforced 
then shrinkage produces curvature in the concrete beams, slabs and this element due to restrained 
shrinkage
results in corresponding deflection.
 Tension Stiffening Effect

• Slabs tend to be less highly stressed and are cracked along

only part of their spans. Beams tend to be highly stressed and
cracked along much of their spans.

• Once cracked, a section is assumed to stay cracked but some

tensile stiffening occurs in the concrete between cracks. So
the mean inertia of the segment is somewhere between
those for totally un‐cracked or fully cracked sections.

• When considering curvatures, these different actions incur

different creep coefficients, which affect the applicable
effective modulus of the concrete used in assessing
curvatures.
Deflections Calculation ACI 318
Why Calculating Deflection?
Deflection problems that may affect the serviceability of concrete structures can be classified
into three main types:
 Where excessive deflection causes either aesthetic or functional problems.
(visual sagging and ponding of water on roofs)
 Where excessive deflection results in damage to either structural or non-structural element
attached to the member.
(cracking of masonry walls or other partitions, damage to ceiling or floor finishes, and improper
functioning of sliding windows and doors)
 Where dynamics effects due to insufficient stiffness cause discomfort to occupants.
(perceptible springy vertical motion of floor systems and other vibration-related problem)
Deflections Calculation ACI 318
Deflections Calculation ACI 318

Time Dependent Deflection  (Long Term Deflection)

(Combined shrinkage and creep effect)

ρ’ = AS’/bd 
shall be calculated at mid span for simple and 
continuous spans and at support for cantilevers  
Deflections Calculation ACI 318

Manual Deflection Calculation

1. Modulus of Elasticity

2. Moment of Inertia

3. Creep and Shrinkage  
Deflections Calculation ACI 318

Manual Deflection Calculation

Deflection formulas
Deflections Calculation ACI 2014

How To Calculate Deflection Manually

Compute the instantaneous or short term deflection for dead load only…………………………… ΔD
Compute the instantaneous deflection for dead plus full live load ……………………………....…… Δ D+L
Compute the instantaneous deflection for Live load only…………………………………………………..  Δ L = Δ D+L – ΔD
Decide the percent of the Live load which is sustained (25%, 50%, 75%, 100%)………………...  α
Compute the long term deflection due to dead load and the sustained live load……………….  λ (Δ D + Δ SL) 
Compute the total deflection

Δ LT = λ (Δ D + Δ SL) + Δ L

Example 
Concrete (one way) slab with depth 200 mm and span of 6.00 m
Loads
Super imposed dead load (SDL) of 2 KN/m2
Walls and partitions load 4 KN/m2
Live load 4 KN/m2   (sustained live load is 25 %)
Reinforcement 
Bottom RFT  5T16 = 10.05 cm2
Top RFT  5T12 = 5.65 cm2
Material
Concrete Compressive strength fc’ = 28 MPa
Reinforcement Yield is 420 MPa
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
1‐ Calculate Straining Actions
W (self‐weight)  = 24 * 1.00 * 0.20 = 4.8 KN/m2
W (dead)  = 4.8 + 2 + 4 = 10.80
W (Live) = 4 KN/m2
MDL = (10.80 * 62) / 8  = 48.60 KN.m
MLL = (4 * 62) / 8  = 18 KN.m
ES/EC