The design and construction of buildings is regulated by municipal bylaws called building codes. These exist to protect the public health and safety. Each city and towns is free to write or adopt its own building code, and in that city or town, only that particular code has legal status. Because of the complexity of building code writing, cities in the United States generally base their building codes on one of three model codes: the Uniform building code, the standard building code, or the basic building code. These coded cover such things as use and occupancy requirements, fire requirements, heating and ventilating requirements, and structural design.
The definitive design specification for reinforced concrete buildings in North American is the building code requirements for reinforced concrete, which is explained in a commentary.
This code, generally referred to as the ACI code, has been incorporated in most building codes in the United States and serves as basis for comparable codes in Canada, New Zealand , Australia, and parts of Latin American. The ACI code has legal status only if adopted in local building code.
The rules for the design of concrete highway bridge are specified in the standard for highway bridge, American association of state highway and transportation officials, Washington. D. C.
Each nation or group of nations in Europe has its own building code for reinforced concrete. The CEB-FIP Model code for concrete structures is intended to serve as the basis for future attempts to unify European codes. This code and the ACI code are similar in many ways.
钢筋混凝土
钢筋混凝土（英文：Reinforced Concrete或Ferroconcrete或简写为rc），工程上常被简称为钢筋砼（tóng）。是指通过在混凝土中加入钢筋与之共同工作来改善混凝土力学性质的一种组合材料，为加劲混凝土最常见的一种形式。
钢筋混凝土的发明出现在近代，通常为人认为发明于1848年。1868年一个法国园丁， 获得了包括钢筋混凝土花盆，以及紧随其后应用于公路护栏的钢筋混凝土梁柱的专利。1872年，世界第一座钢筋混凝土结构的建筑在美国纽约落成，人类建筑史上一个崭新的纪元从此开始，钢筋混凝土结构在1900年之后在工程界方得到了大规模的使用。1928年，一种新型钢筋混凝土结构形式预应力钢筋混凝土出现，并于二次世界大战后亦被广泛地应用于工程实践。钢筋混凝土的发明以及19世纪中叶钢材在建筑业中的应用使高层建筑与大跨度桥梁的建造成为可能。 钢筋混凝土英文文献和中文翻译对照(7):http://www.751com.cn/fanyi/lunwen_4679.html