Abstract
While much attention has been and continue deservedly to be given to the effect of the variability of concrete strength and properties on the response of reinforced concrete structures, there is little, if any, information on the effects of variability of steel strength. Steel mechanical properties, including its yield strength, can significantly exceed the minimum nominal strength values for a specific grade of steel depending on the steel manufacturing processes. Such an increase in yield strength can have negative effects on the flexural behavior of beams designed as tension controlled, and reduce their ductility, an essential property in seismic resisting structures. An experimental and analytical study of the flexural behavior of RC beams was conducted through the investigation of the Moment-Curvature relationships and the ultimate steel strains. The main variable was the level of the actual steel yield stress as compared to the nominal value. It was found that unexpectedly high values of steel yield stress reduce the beam ductility and violate the tension-control condition, which was enforced in the design stage. Appropriate design corrections are proposed to account for high yield stress values in order to achieve the desired ductility of beams while maintaining the moment capacities.