Residential and office buildings in reinforced concrete dating from the post‑war Reconstruction period (1945–1960) were not always designed with explicit consideration of lateral stability. In some buildings of that era, global bracing relies almost entirely on the hyperstatic continuity provided by beam‑column joints and shear keys, which are often lightly reinforced.

This example presents the analysis and justification of a flexible R+5 reinforced concrete frame building subjected to wind actions, which can be reduced to the study of a continuous reinforced concrete column, unbraced, loaded, and partially fixed at each floor level.

The calculation illustrates the benefits of the Integral General Method for addressing this type of configuration with full accuracy, including second‑order effects.

The partially fixed mast is a common configuration of reinforced concrete structures, which nevertheless remains poorly documented in the literature. Yet a partial fixity is a delicate assumption to handle.

This example offers a review of the data input process and the justification of such a calculation, according to the general EC2 method reduced to one critical section (MG1). It especially details various reminders and points of attention to monitor in order to successfully perform the design.

The end of the example shows the exact solution to the problem and the possible optimisation made possible by the integral general method (IGM).

General Eurocode 2 Method Applied to Concrete Piles: Managing Second-Order Effects, Stresses, and Displacements

This article presents a nonlinear EC2-type approach (§5.7) for the design of a single pile under lateral loads.

The analysis of an isolated pile under lateral load is a common use case, usually treated as elastoplastic on the soil side and linear elastic on the pile side. The subject can also be seen as the analysis of a slender reinforced concrete column with intermediate elastic supports.

Once the soil behaviour and, in particular, the plastification depth are determined, this approach allows for an accurate assessment of second‑order effects, SLS and ULS stress criteria, and deformations, relying on the full EC2 framework.

When designing a beam or a two‑way slab, reinforcement is usually determined at the ULS after optionally applying a redistribution of bending moments between supports and spans, based on an assumed elastic model.

However, once the structure has been fully defined in terms of formwork and reinforcement, the actual distribution of bending moments is no longer a matter of choice: it is governed by deformation compatibility within the structure.

This “typical” exercise on a continuous slab supported on three spans aims to evaluate the actual redistribution of bending moments at both ULS and SLS, as well as crack width and deflection at SLS, depending on the different redistribution strategies initially considered.

[Article to be published soon]

Applying the Eurocode 2 General Method reduced to the analysis of a critical section (MG1) relies on modelling the element as having a constant stiffness, enabling a simplified evaluation of second‑order effects and the justification of formwork and reinforcement—an approach typically extended, by principle, over the full height of the member.

However, in the case of precast reinforced‑concrete industrial columns, potentially produced in large series, it can be worthwhile to investigate section optimisation and reinforcement cut‑offs in order to reduce weight, cost and carbon footprint.

Optimising these reinforcement cut‑offs may also be of interest for more conventional pinned‑pinned RC columns, for example to simplify bar intersections at node locations, or in rehabilitation works when strengthening is required only in selected regions.

This example applies the Integral General Method to the case of a precast reinforced‑concrete industrial column, in order to explore these optimisation possibilities while ensuring full verification of the member in accordance with Eurocode 2.

[Article to be published soon]

The design of tall reinforced‑concrete walls can be optimised in several ways: by taking advantage of continuity with adjacent storeys that are more favourable in terms of slenderness, by exploiting load asymmetry and adopting asymmetric reinforcement layouts, or by tailoring reinforcement cut‑offs when actions are locally concentrated (for example, earth pressure applied only to the lower portion of the wall).

Such optimisation requires a level of analytical detail beyond that of the standard Eurocode 2 General Method, together with engineering judgement to examine all governing load cases, choose the appropriate direction of geometric imperfections for each storey, and consider the various possible loading scenarios.

This article examines potential optimisation strategies for the design of a tall wall in continuity and subjected to asymmetric loading.

[Article to be published soon]

This article presents the benefits of the Integral General Method for justifying the design of specific architectural columns featuring curved profiles and/or non‑standard cross‑sections, with the sole requirement that the mechanical problem admits a plane of symmetry, allowing the analysis to be reduced to a 2D system in combined bending with second‑order effects.

The worked example demonstrates the calculation of stresses and deformations, as well as the verification of deformation compatibility at every section, and compliance with Eurocode 2 criteria for such a column.

[Article to be published soon]

This article addresses a common situation in infrastructure slabs that are sensitive to shrinkage and thermal strain effects.

The proposed calculation method incorporates shrinkage directly into the concrete constitutive laws and evaluates the resulting shortening, lengthening and bending effects, depending on the slab’s continuity conditions, restraints, self‑stress mechanisms and cracking behaviour.

A sensitivity study is also performed, showing how the structural response varies depending on the orientation of the beams with respect to the long dimension of the slab, and highlighting several good‑practice considerations that may be of interest for design.

[Article to be published soon]