Inclined link as shear reinforcement in reinforced concrete beam

Abstract

The sudden failure of reinforced concrete beams due to shear made it necessary to explore more effective ways to design these beams. The effects on the shear capacity of reinforced concrete beam were investigated with three different arrangements of shear reinforcement; vertical link, inclined link and inclined link with additional bar. The mode of failure was secured to allow for shear failure. All beams were casted with the same grade of concrete, provided with identical amount of main reinforcement, simply supported and tested under symmetrical two-point loads at shear span. The study shows that the contribution of inclined links to the shear capacity is significant and directly proportional to the amount and spacing of the shear reinforcement. The increase in the shear capacity ranged from 18% to 33% compared with the control beam. Ultimate shear resistance was also compared with the analytical calculation according to Eurocode 2 (EC 2) and American Concrete Institute (ACI). Performance of the beams in resisting shear is in the form of deflection, cracking, strains in the reinforcement, strains in concrete, and ultimate load. It may therefore be suggested that these types of shear reinforcement can be used to ease the congestion of links near the supports, thus, savings in the amount of steel bars.