Title: Tests of Reinforced Concrete Wall Beams With Large Web Openings

Author(s): James E. Carpenter and Norman W. Hanson

Publication: Journal Proceedings

Volume: 66

Issue: 9

Appears on pages(s): 756-775

Keywords: beams (supports) ; bearing walls; cracking (fracturing) ; deflection; flexural strength; frames; multistory buildings; openings; reinforced concrete; research; shear strength; ultimate strength; walls; webs (supports).

DOI: 10.14359/7400

Date: 9/1/1969

Abstract:
Two reinforced concrete beams with openings in their 3 in. thick x 4 ft deep webs were tested under uniform load. Each beam was supported over a 30- ft span. The design respresents, in half size, a portion of a building which used a partition wall as the beam web and part of the floor slabs as the top and bottom beam flanges. Tests show that provisions of the I963 ACI Buildinq Code insure adequate flexural and shear strength in both the beam and the lintels above the door openings. However, additional web reinforcement may be required to reduce crack widths in the partition wall to aesthetically acceptable limits.