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Reinforced concrete is basically concrete in which steels bars of desirable magnitude are introduced in
the casting stage so that the resulting composite materials resist the stresses develop due to the external
loads. In flexural members the steel reinforcement is generally provided near the tension face to resist
the tensile stress since the tensile strength of concrete is hardly one tenth of its compressive strength.
In the case of compressive members, the steel reinforcement is distributed uniformly in the cross
section to resist the compressive stresses develop due to the external loads.
The revolutionary engineering concept reinforcing the weak tensile zone of concrete by steel
reinforcement was developed in mild-nineteenth century. The early 20th century witnessed significant
improvements in the development and use of reinforced concrete mainly due to the production of good
quality concrete with improved strength and improved quality of steel with surface characteristics
suitable to develop good bond between concrete and steel.
The success of reinforced concrete as a revolutionary material for use in various types of structures is
mainly due to the improved quality of concrete and steel over the years and also the improved bond
characteristics between the two ingredients.