Title:
Shear Behavior of High-Workability Concrete Beams
Author(s):
Chien-Hung Lin and Wen-Chih Lee
Publication:
Structural Journal
Volume:
100
Issue:
5
Appears on pages(s):
599-608
Keywords:
beam; high-range water-reducing admixture; shear strength; workability.
DOI:
10.14359/12801
Date:
9/1/2003
Abstract:
The purpose of this study is to investigate the shear behavior of high-workability concrete (HWC) beams. A total of 20 beam specimens were tested in this study: nine were normal concrete beams and the rest were HWC beams. High-strength shear reinforcement was also adopted to reduce congestion in the beams. The parameters included concrete strength, shear span-depth ratio, spacing of shear reinforcement, and strength of shear reinforcement. The results show that HWC beams have slightly higher diagonal cracking strengths and ultimate strengths than normal concrete beams. In addition, the diagonal cracking strengths and ultimate strengths predicted by ACI Code are conservative. The ACI shear design equations overestimate the concrete contribution to ultimate shear strength in most cases and underestimate the contribution due to shear reinforcement at ultimate in all cases. HWC beams have better crack control capability and shear ductility than normal concrete beams. The ACI limit of design yield strength for shear reinforcement may be increased based on crack control criterion. The overall performance of HWC beams is better than normal concrete beams.