All Is Not Clear In ACI 318 Building Code

This paper highlights some of the issues that the author has found to be somewhat unclear and/or for which no specific guidance is provided in the ACI 318 Building Code. The issues that come up can be broadly divided into two categories: (1) issues arising as a result of applying ACI 318 design provisions, which have been developed for typical commercial/residential buildings, to nonbuilding concrete structures/components and (2) issues arising as a result of lack of guidance or clarity within the ACI 318 provisions themselves. The paper discusses some of the issues that come up under each of these categories. Based on this discussion, some thoughts are presented on how some of these issues may be addressed and/or need further clarification by the ACI 318 Committee.