ABSTRACT
In the following, the term nominal cover is used to describe the design cover shown on the drawings. It is the required cover to the first layer of bars, including links. The nominal cover should not be less than the values needed for durability and fire-resistance, nor less than the nominal maximum size of aggregate. Also, the nominal cover should be sufficient to ensure that the cover to the main bars is not less than the bar size or, for a group of bars in contact, the equivalent bar size. For a group of bars, the equivalent bar size is the diameter of a circle whose cross-sectional area is equal to the sum of the areas of the bars in the group.
