2026 (Current Year) Faculty Courses School of Environment and Society Undergraduate major in Civil and Environmental Engineering
Structural Concrete
- Academic unit or major
- Undergraduate major in Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Instructor(s)
- Nobuhiro Chijiwa
- Class Format
- Lecture (Face-to-face)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 7-8 Tue (W5-106) / 7-8 Fri (W5-106)
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- CVE.E301
- Number of credits
- 200
- Course offered
- 2026
- Offered quarter
- 2Q
- Syllabus updated
- Jun 10, 2026
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
This course focuses on the fundamental mechanical behavior of structural concrete, which holds the important role in civil engineering structures, such as concrete bridges. In addition, to prevent the brittle failure of structural concrete, the basics of shear failure are also explained. Specifically, each student is required to be able to calculate the following items: (1) flexural cracking capacity of a reinforced concrete member subjected to bending moment, (2) flexural capacity of a reinforced concrete member subjected to bending moment or bending moment and axial force, (3) flexural cracking width of a reinforced concrete member subjected to bending moment, and (4) shear capacity of a reinforced concrete member subjected to shear force. Although these contents are quite fundamental for the structural concrete, they are strongly required practically. It is expected for each student to fully understand the contents of this course.
Course description and aims
By the end of this course, each student will be able to:
(1) calculate the flexural cracking capacity of a reinforced concrete member subjected to bending moment.
(2) calculate the flexural capacity of a reinforced concrete member subjected to bending moment or bending moment and axial force.
(3) calculate the flexural cracking width of a reinforced concrete member subjected to bending moment.
(4) calculate the shear capacity of a reinforced concrete member subjected to shear force.
Keywords
reinforced concrete, flexural cracking, flexural failure, flexural moment and axial force, shear failure
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
To check your understanding of the lecture content, there will be quizzes and exercises throughout the course. A midterm exam will be given after the "Flexure" section to see how well you have learned the material. The final exam will cover everything taught in the course.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Fundamental Three Conditions of Mechanics Governing Concrete Structures |
Assignment 1: Calculation of the Flexural Cracking Load |
| Class 2 | Crack Initiation to Reinforcement Yielding in Reinforced Concrete Beams under Flexure |
Assignment 2: Calculation of the Flexural Yield Load |
| Class 3 | Ultimate Flexural Capacity of Reinforced Concrete Beams |
Assignment 3: Calculation of the Flexural Capacity |
| Class 4 | (Exercise) Performance Evaluation of Reinforced Concrete Beams under Flexure |
Exercise 1: Flexural Cracking and Failure of Reinforced Concrete Members under Flexure |
| Class 5 | Performance and Interaction Diagram of Reinforced Concrete Members under Axial Force and Flexure |
Assignment 4: Calculation of the Flexural Capacity of a Section with Both Tension and Compression Reinforcement |
| Class 6 | (Exercise) Performance Evaluation of Reinforced Concrete Members under Axial Force and Flexure |
Exercise 2: Failure of Reinforced Concrete Members under Flexure and Axial Force |
| Class 7 | Axial Failure of Reinforced Concrete Members and P-Δ Effect |
|
| Class 8 | (Midterm Exam) Review of Fundamental Knowledge on Reinforced Concrete Members under Flexure |
Midterm Exam. |
| Class 9 | Flexural Crack Width and Durability of Reinforced Concrete Members |
|
| Class 10 | (Exercise) Evaluation of Flexural Crack Width and Durability of Reinforced Concrete Members |
Exercise 3: Calculation of Flexural Crack Width in Reinforced Concrete Members |
| Class 11 | Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Beams under Shear Force |
|
| Class 12 | (Exercise) Shear Strength Evaluation of Reinforced Concrete Beams |
Exercise 4: Evaluation of Shear Strength in Reinforced Concrete Members |
| Class 13 | Design Methods for Reinforced Concrete Members to Meet Required Structural Performance |
|
| Class 14 | (Exercise) Design of Reinforced Concrete Beams to Meet Required Structural Performance |
Exercise 5: Performance Evaluation of Reinforced Concrete Beams |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance learning effectiveness, please refer to the relevant sections of the textbook and handouts and carry out both preparation and review related to the class content for each session, spending approximately 100 minutes on each.
In addition, since a short quiz will be given each time based on the previous class, make sure to study so that you can solve the example problems explained in the previous lecture on your own.
Textbook(s)
The copy of PPT files used for the lecture will be delivered timely.
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Junichiro Niwa: "Basics of Structural Concrete", (2nd Edition), Suuri-Kougaku Sha, ISBN: 978-4-86481-052-4.
Evaluation methods and criteria
The overall evaluation will be based on assignments and exercises (10%), the midterm exam (40%), and the final exam (50%).
Related courses
- CVE.A202 ： Structural Mechanics I
- CVE.E201 ： Concrete Engineering
- CVE.N231 ： Concrete and Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory I
- CVE.N331 ： Concrete and Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory II
Prerequisites
It is desirable for students to obtain the credit of Structural Mechanics 1 and Concrete Engineering.
Other
The midterm exam will be held in the 8th lecture, and the final exam in the 15th lecture.
A scientific calculator will be used, so please prepare one by the second lecture. (PCs, smartphones, and other devices are not allowed.)