About This Book
ACI 318-11 and ACI 318-14 are flagship standards published by the American Concrete Institute that establish minimum requirements for the materials, design, analysis, and construction of structural concrete buildings and nonbuilding structures.
Core Purpose and Scope
Both standards are adopted by reference into building codes across the United States and internationally. They apply to cast-in-place, precast, plain, nonprestressed, prestressed, and composite construction, and govern load combinations, strength reduction factors, durability, deflection limits, reinforcement splicing, and field inspection. Each standard includes a companion commentary providing background rationale, design suggestions, and explanations for code provisions.
Key Differences: ACI 318-11 vs. ACI 318-14
The transition from ACI 318-11 to ACI 318-14 represented a major philosophical and structural reorganization.
Document Organization: ACI 318-11 was organized by general topic and material behavior, with design, detailing, and construction rules dispersed throughout. ACI 318-14 shifted to a member- and system-based layout, dedicating individual chapters to specific structural elements—such as beams, columns, and slabs—and consolidating all relevant design and detailing rules within each chapter.
Construction Documents: ACI 318-11 scattered construction and inspection requirements across its design chapters. ACI 318-14 consolidated these into a single dedicated chapter (Chapter 26), improving clarity for the engineer of record and simplifying enforcement.
Practice Tests Using This Book
This book is required or recommended for 10 licensing exams. We've written 16 practice questions directly from this material, each one citing the chapter and section it comes from.