Comparison between reinforced concrete designs based on the ACI 318 and BS 8110 codes

Municipalities in the United Arab Emirates approve reinforced concrete design of building structures to follow either the ACI 318 or the BS 8110 code. Since the requirements of these codes are different from each, there is a need to compare the structural demand in the two codes. The main objective of this study is to compare the design requirements of the ACI 318 code with the BS 8110 code for the flexural, shear and axial compression limit states. The load factors and load combinations in the two codes are also compared. To do so, a large number of cross-sections with different geometries, material properties, and reinforcement ratios are analyzed following the procedures in the two codes. The relevant factored load combinations in the two codes are also investigated for a wide range of live-to-dead load ratios and for various wind-to-dead load ratios. The study showed that the differences between the design capacities in the ACI 318 and BS 8110 codes are minor for flexure, moderate for axial compression, and major for shear. Furthermore, the factored load combinations for dead load, live load and wind in the two codes yield minor-to-moderate differences, depending on the live-to-dead load ratio and intensity of wind.