Title: Influence of Cracking on Behavior and Shear Strength of Reinforced Concrete Beams

Author(s): Lesley H. Sneed and Julio A. Ramirez

Publication: Structural Journal

Volume: 111

Issue: 1

Appears on pages(s): 157-166

Keywords: arch action; cracking; dowel shear; high-strength concrete; reinforced concrete beams; shear strength tests; shear-transfer mechanisms

DOI: 10.14359/51686438

Date: 1/1/2014

Abstract:
This paper examines the results of experimental research performed to test the hypothesis that the effective depth influences the shear strength of reinforced concrete (RC) beams. The analysis of the experimental results reported in this paper indicates that the observed reduction in shear strength with increasing effective depth was a function of differences in relative behavior at failure largely associated with lack of geometric scale in the cracking behavior. In particular, the flexural cracking, which did not scale with beam size, is shown to have influenced the arch action mechanism of shear transfer by interfering with its development in the larger beams but not in the smaller beams, which in turn influenced the relative shear strength of the specimens tested and the observed size effect in shear.