
Introdution
Haven decided on the concepts and scheme for a structure, preliminary sizing of the structural elements composed within the structure commences. This post provides guidance on how to initially size structural elements prior to carrying out the full detailed design. This practice grants the designer the ability to have a feel of the form of the structure, as well as the changes that may be required during detail design, should the initial sizing prooves too onerous or should the client requirement change.
Estimating Principles
The main factor being considered when trying to initially size a structural element is
The following rules that will be provided in this post are simply “rules of thumb” used to gain an understanding of how to preliminarily size structural elements. A good comprehension of this, allows the structural designer to become accustomed to spotting undersized structural elements as well as being able to avoid oversizing structural elements. The rules, however, are simple guidelines and sometimes not precise.
Preliminary Sizing of Concrete Elements
Outside the variables that impact on the preliminary sizing of elements describes in the preceding section, the sizing of concrete elements is influenced by an additional factor which must be considered before the size estimation. That being the chosen structural form. This can vary from one-way span

Concrete Slabs
Generally, the thickness of a concrete slab is dependent on the manner in which it spans, either one way or two way, the magnitude of the load applied upon it and the structural form of the frame.
As an initial step, it is possible to estimate the depth of a slab based purely on its span/ depth ratio. Table 1 provides guidance on what these ratios are, based on the type of slab being considered.

Tables 2-4 are slightly more accurate estimated depths of one-way spanning slabs for a down-stand beam structure, a

Concrete Beams
Concrete beams can be grouped into two types with respect to preliminary sizing: down-stand beam and band beams. As with concrete slabs, it is possible to estimate the depth of a beam when considering its span/depth ratio. Table 5 provides guidance on what these ratios are, based on the type of beam structure.

The figures given in Tables 6 and 7 provide more accurate estimated sizes for down-stand ‘T’-beams and band beams respectively. In order to use Tables 5-7, the reader must have calculated an ultimate line load/m length. All depths include the thickness of the slab the beams are supporting.


Concrete Columns
The elements that impact on the design of concrete columns are the magnitude of axial loads and bending moments being applied to them and their length.
Unlike the slab and beam elements, columns cannot be summarised into a series of tables. As such the reader is directed to Economic Concrete Frame Elements to Eurocode 2 for further guidance
Concrete Stair
The thickness or ‘waist’ of the stair and its landings are the only elements that are designed as far as the structural engineer is concerned. The treads are considered to be a super-imposed dead load i.e. a finish and are not therefore reinforced. The criteria that have an impact on the design of stairs are the imposed load, their span and whether or not they have multiple spans. Table 8 is for an insitu concrete staircase with an imposed load of 2 kN/m2, which is typical for residential use. Table 9 is for staircases that support an imposed load of 4 kN/m2. These are more commonly found in commercial buildings such as offices and hotels.

Estimating sizes of Steel Elements
A majority of the steel structures are braced frames as a result elements are typically simply supported and do not have bending moment transfer issues that are prevalent in concrete design. Thus, estimating the sizes of elements in steel structures is less complex than their concrete counterpart. The rule of thumbs for steel beams can thus be summarized into Table 10.

With regard to columns, their size is dependent on the number of storeys they have to support, from which an initial size can be established. Table 11 is a rough guide to column sizes based on the height of structure they are supporting for braced structures.

Worked Example
A concrete structure with a column layout of 9m x 7.5m is to support an imposed load of 2.5 kN/m2. Estimate the depth of floor slab if band-beams and flat slab structural solution were adopted. In addition, for the band-beam structure, determine the estimated beam depth for a 2400mm wide beam.
Band-Beams Solution:
The Band-Beam depth is therefore (span = 9m) = 675mm approx. (Table 7)
Flat Slab Solution
Longest span = 9m; Depth = 300mm (Table 4).
This post has dwelled on the guidance from the Concrete Centre publication (Economic Concrete Frame Elements to Eurocode 2). Please click on the download link
Further Reading & References
- The Concrete Centre (2009) Economic Concrete Frame Elements to Eurocode 2 Camberley, Surrey: Mineral Products Association.
- The Institution of Structural Engineers (2010) Manual for the design of steelwork structures to Eurocode 3 London: Institution of Structural Engineers
- The Institution of Structural Engineers (2012) Technical guidance note (level 2): Element size estimation.
- Reynolds, C.E. et.al (2007) Reynolds’s Reinforced Concrete Designer’s Handbook 11th ed. CRC Press
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