Magazine of Concrete Research Magazine of Concrete Research, 2012, 64(9), 793–805

Volume 64 Issue 9 http://dx.doi.org/10.1680/macr.11.00116

Paper 1100116
Behaviour of reinforced concrete dapped- Received 29/06/2011; revised 29/09/2011; accepted 25/11/2011
end beams Published online ahead of print 02/06/2012

Lu, Lin and Yu Thomas Telford Ltd & 2012

Behaviour of reinforced
concrete dapped-end beams
Wen-Yao Lu Hsin-Wan Yu
Professor, Department of Interior Design, China University of Technology, Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering and Hazard
Taipei, Taiwan, ROC Mitigation Design, China University of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC
Ing-Jaung Lin
Adjunct Professor, Department of Construction Engineering, National
Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC

The test results of 24 reinforced concrete dapped-end beams are reported. The main variables studied were the
compressive strength of concrete, the shear span-to-depth ratio and the horizontal load. The test results indicate that
the shear strength of dapped-end beams increases with an increase in concrete compressive strength. The shear
strength of dapped-end beams also increases with decreases in shear span-to-depth ratio and horizontal load. The
smaller the shear span-to-depth ratio of dapped-end beams, the greater their stiffness and ultimate load. Both the
stiffness and the ultimate load of dapped-end beams increase with increasing concrete compressive strength, but
decrease with an increase in horizontal load. The extension of the softened strut-and-tie model for predicting the
shear strength of dapped-end beams with a shear span-to-depth ratio greater than unity is examined in this paper.
The shear strength predicted by the proposed model, the strut-and-tie model of the American Concrete Institute
(ACI) and the approach of the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) are compared with available test results.
The comparison shows that the proposed model and the strut-and-tie model can predict the shear strength of
reinforced concrete dapped-end beams more accurately than the PCI approach.

Notation fu tensile strength of reinforcement

Ab area of an individual bar fy yield strength of reinforcement
Ah area of horizontal stirrups fyh yield stress of horizontal stirrups
As area of main bars fyv yield stress of vertical stirrups
Astr effective area of diagonal strut fyvh yield strength of hanger bars
Ath area of horizontal tie H overall depth of beam
Atv area of vertical tie h overall depth of dapped-end
Av area of vertical stirrups within shear span j, k coefficients
Avh area of hanger bars jd length of lever arm from the resultant compressive
a shear span defined, measured from centre of support force to the centroid of the flexural reinforcement
to centre of hanger bars Kh horizontal tie index
ab width of hanger bar zone Kh horizontal tie index with sufficient horizontal stirrups
b width of dapped-end Kv vertical tie index
bs width of diagonal strut Kv vertical tie index with sufficient vertical stirrups
C resultant compressive force at the section due to kd depth of compression zone at the section
flexure Mn nominal moment strength of dapped-end
Cd predicted diagonal compression strength Nu horizontal load
D compression force in diagonal strut (negative for n modular ratio of elasticity
compression) Pu ultimate vertical load measured in the test
d effective depth of dapped-end (and assumed direction r direction perpendicular to d (and assumed direction of
of principal compressive stress of concrete) principal tensile stress)
db nominal diameter of bar T resultant tensile force at section due to flexure
Fh tension force in horizontal tie (positive for tension) ts thickness of diagonal strut
Fh balance amount of horizontal tie force Vdh horizontal shear force
Fv tension force in vertical tie (positive for tension) Vdv vertical shear force
Fv balance amount of vertical tie force Vdv,calc predicted shear strength
f c9 compressive strength of concrete Vdv,test measured shear strength

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 Magazine of Concrete Research
Volume 64 Issue 9
v direction of vertical stirrups
ªh fraction of horizontal shear transferred by horizontal
tie in the absence of vertical tie
ªv fraction of vertical shear transferred by vertical tie in
the absence of horizontal tie
d ,  r average principal strains in d- and r-directions
respectively (positive for tensile strain)
h , v average normal strains in horizontal and vertical
directions respectively (positive for tensile strain)
 softening coefficient of concrete in compression
Ł angle of inclination
r ratio of flexural tensile reinforcement
rfy main reinforcement parameter
rh f yh horizontal stirrup parameter
rv f yv vertical stirrup parameter
Introduction
The use of dapped-end beams facilitates the erection of a precast
concrete structure due to the greater lateral stability of an isolated
dapped-end beam compared with an isolated beam supported at
its bottom face (Mattock and Chan, 1979). Dapped-end beams
are mainly designed to provide for the vertical reaction, but
sometimes they must also resist a horizontal tension force
transmitted from the support due to restrained shrinkage, creep or
a temperature change. With the increased use of precast concrete,
reinforced concrete dapped-end beams are becoming common
features of bridge construction.
Previous investigations (Lin et al., 2003; Lu et al., 2003; Mattock
and Chan, 1979; Yang et al., 2011) have focused on dapped-end
beams with a shear span-to-depth ratio (a/d ) not greater than
unity. Typically, the reinforcement for a dapped-end beam with
a/d < 1 comprises main bars, hanger bars and horizontal stirrups.
Vertical stirrups are believed to play a significant role in the
shear-carrying capacity of dapped-end beams with a/d . 1. Some
test data on dapped-end beams with a/d < 1 are available (Lu et
al., 2003; Mattock and Chan, 1979), but test data on dapped-end
beams with a/d . 1 are still very limited.
The shear strength of dapped-end beams with a/d < 1 can be
accurately predicted by the softened strut-and-tie (SST) model
(Lin et al., 2003) and mechanism analysis (Yang et al., 2011).
According to mechanism analysis (Yang et al., 2011), the solution
procedure must be repeated until the minimum shear strength of
dapped-end beams is obtained. In addition, mechanism analysis
(Yang et al., 2011) is too tedious to be adopted in practical
design. Currently, the strut-and-tie model of code ACI 318-08 of
the American Concrete Institute (ACI, 2008) and the approach of
the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI, 1999) are the
main design documents for dapped-end beams. However, the
shear span-to-depth ratio of dapped-end beams is limited to
a/d < 1 in the PCI method.
In this paper, 24 tested dapped-end beams will be presented first.
Then, extension of the SST model (Lin et al., 2003) for
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Behaviour of reinforced concrete dapped-
end beams
Lu, Lin and Yu
predicting the shear strength of dapped-end beams with a/d . 1
will be examined. The precision of the SST model, the strut-and-
tie model of ACI 318-08 (ACI, 2008) and the PCI approach (PCI,
1999) is gauged by the available test results.
Experimental study
This study tested 24 reinforced concrete dapped-end beams: 12
were subjected to vertical load only and 12 were subjected to a
combination of vertical and horizontal loads. Variables considered
in the tests were the shear span-to-depth ratio, the compressive
strength of concrete and the horizontal load.
Specimen details
As shown in Figure 1, dapped-ends were formed on opposite ends
of 3600 mm long rectangular cross-sectional beams, and the
length of the left-hand nib and right-hand nib were 300 mm and
600 mm respectively. The typical reinforcement details of the
specimen are shown in Figure 1. The reinforcement of the left
nibs with a/d < 1 comprises main bars and horizontal stirrups
(Figure 1). However, the reinforcement of the right nibs with
a/d . 1 comprises main bars, horizontal stirrups and vertical
stirrups (Figure 1). Specimens 1 and 2 were designed to be
subjected to the vertical load only, as shown in Figure 1(a), while
specimens 3 and 4 were designed to be subjected to a combina-
tion of vertical and horizontal loads, as shown in Figure 1(b). The
configurations of the main bars, horizontal stirrups, vertical
stirrups and hanger bars in each specimen are listed in Table 1.
The main bars of dapped-ends consisting of 3 #7 straight bars, as
shown in Table 1, were welded to steel plates (180 3 115
3 10 mm) at the ends of the nibs to prevent local bond failure
(Figure 1). The horizontal and vertical stirrups all used #3 closed
stirrups, while the hanger bars used #4 closed stirrups. As shown
in Table 1, the specimens in this study contained three classes of
compressive strength of concrete. The dimensions of the dapped-
ends are also shown in Table 1.
Details of the main body of the test beams are shown in Table 2 and
Figures 1 and 2. The main bars of the main body of the test beams
consisted of 6 #6, 6 #7 and 6 #8 straight bars. Shear reinforcement
was provided within the middle and end span of the main body of
the test beams to prevent premature failure. The dimensions of the
main body of the test beams are also listed in Table 2, in which the
shear span a is measured from the centre of the support to the
centre of the hanger bars (Figure 2), as defined by the PCI (1999).
The reinforcement properties used in this study are listed in Table
3. The deformed bars of #3, #4 and #7 adopted in the horizontal
and vertical stirrups, hanger bars and main bars of dapped-ends
have yielding strength of 419, 505 and 517 MPa respectively.
Three classes of concrete strength were used (27.7, 48.5 and
60.6 MPa) and the properties of the concrete are shown in Table 4.
Testing procedure
During the test, the strains in the main bars, hanger bars, horizontal
stirrups and vertical stirrups of the dapped-end were measured at
 Magazine of Concrete Research Behaviour of reinforced concrete dapped-
Volume 64 Issue 9 end beams
Lu, Lin and Yu

3600
αb αb
45 175 80 9064 #4@70 44 45
#3@150 355 #3@150 #3@100 70 #3@90 285

#3@61
#3@90
300
300

d
D

D
b b

Specimen 1 Specimen 2
(a)

3601
αb αb
45
45 165 90 8054 #3@80 #3@200 432 #3@200 #3@100 4470 #3@54 285

#3@61
#3@90
300
300

d
D

b b

Specimen 3 Specimen 4
(b)

Figure 1. Typical specimen designed to be subjected to:

(a) vertical load only; (b) combination of vertical and horizontal
loads. Dimensions in mm

gauge locations 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively (Figure 2) using electrical
resistance gauges. The dapped-ends were independently tested by
supporting the beam through the dapped-end at one end of the
beam and under the beam bottom face at the opposite end. The
typical test arrangement is shown in Figure 3. After testing one
dapped-end, the damage was mostly confined to the region of that
dapped-end (Mattock and Chan, 1979). It was therefore possible to
turn the beam end-for-end and test the other dapped-end.
Displacement was measured using a dial gauge connected to the
bottom of the beam, as shown in Figure 3. Both surfaces of
dapped-ends tested were whitewashed to aid observation of crack

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 Magazine of Concrete Research Behaviour of reinforced concrete dapped-
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Lu, Lin and Yu

Specimen Main bars Horizontal stirrups Vertical stirrups Hanger bars f c9 : MPa b: mm d: mm h: mm

As : mm2 Ah : mm2 Av : mm2 Avh : mm2

1 3 #7 1161.2 2 #3 285.3 — — 7 #4 1773.5 60.6 220 269 300

2 3 #7 1161.2 3 #3 428.0 3 #3 428.0 4 #4 1013.4 60.6 230 274 305
3 3 #7 1161.2 2 #3 285.3 — — 6 #4 1520.2 60.6 220 269 300
4 3 #7 1161.2 3 #3 428.0 5 #3 713.3 3 #4 760.1 60.6 222 274 305
5 3 #7 1161.2 2 #3 285.3 — — 5 #4 1266.8 60.6 220 269 300
6 3 #7 1161.2 3 #3 428.0 3 #3 428.0 3 #4 760.1 60.6 230 279 310
7 3 #7 1161.2 2 #3 285.3 — — 5 #4 1266.8 27.7 225 279 310
8 3 #7 1161.2 3 #3 428.0 3 #3 428.0 3 #4 760.1 27.7 230 284 315
9 3 #7 1161.2 2 #3 285.3 — — 5 #4 1266.8 27.7 225 271 302
10 3 #7 1161.2 2 #3 285.3 3 #3 428.0 3 #4 760.1 27.7 229 284 315
11 3 #7 1161.2 2 #3 285.3 — — 5 #4 1266.8 27.7 220 269 300
12 3 #7 1161.2 3 #3 428.0 4 #3 570.6 3 #4 760.1 27.7 235 284 315
13 3 #7 1161.2 2 #3 285.3 — — 7 #4 1773.5 48.5 220 269 300
14 3 #7 1161.2 3 #3 428.0 3 #3 428.0 4 #4 1013.4 48.5 230 279 310
15 3 #7 1161.2 2 #3 285.3 — — 5 #4 1266.8 48.5 228 271 302
16 3 #7 1161.2 3 #3 428.0 4 #3 570.6 3 #4 760.1 48.5 230 277 308
17 3 #7 1161.2 2 #3 285.3 — — 7 #4 1773.5 60.6 222 399 430
18 3 #7 1161.2 3 #3 428.0 5 #3 713.3 4 #4 1013.4 60.6 230 394 425
19 3 #7 1161.2 2 #3 285.3 — — 5 #4 1266.8 60.6 227 392 423
20 3 #7 1161.2 2 #3 285.3 3 #3 428.0 3 #4 760.1 60.6 228 389 420
21 3 #7 1161.2 2 #3 285.3 — — 7 #4 1773.5 48.5 220 384 415
22 3 #7 1161.2 3 #3 428.0 3 #3 428.0 4 #4 1013.4 48.5 225 393 424
23 3 #7 1161.2 2 #3 285.3 — — 5 #4 1266.8 48.5 220 389 420
24 3 #7 1161.2 2 #3 285.3 3 #3 428.0 3 #4 760.1 48.5 220 394 425

Table 1. Details of dapped-ends

development during testing. At each load increment, the test data
were captured by a data logger and automatically stored.
Test results
As shown in Figure 4, shear action in the dapped-ends led to
compression in a diagonal direction and tension in a perpendicular
direction. The first diagonal tension crack originated at re-entrant
corner A at about 20% of ultimate load. As the load increased, a
flexural crack was formed in the sagging region at the interface
between the nib and the full-depth beam, and a number of diagonal
cracks were then formed and extended in the nibs (Figure 4).
However, dapped-ends did not fail immediately due to the
occurrence of diagonal cracks. Following diagonal cracking, the
concrete between the diagonal cracks can be represented as a
concrete compression strut. The external shear is assumed to be
transferred by the concrete compression strut, and the possible
failure modes will be diagonal crushing failure and flexure failure.
The curves labelled M, H, V and T in Figure 5 represent the
shear force plotted against average strain measured in the
main bars, horizontal stirrups, vertical stirrups and hanger bars
respectively. Figure 5(a) shows the typical shear force plotted
against steel strain for dapped-ends failed by flexure. As can
be seen, the strain of the main bars of specimen 2 dapped-
end increases rapidly beyond the yielding strain of the
reinforcing bar at about 80% of the ultimate strength (Figure
5(a)). The strain of the hanger bars of specimen 2 dapped-end
increases rapidly beyond the yielding strain of the reinforcing
bar before the ultimate state is reached (Figure 5(a)). It can
be seen that the strains of the vertical and horizontal stirrups
of the dapped-end of specimen 2 are beyond the yielding
strain of the reinforcing bar at the ultimate state (Figure 5(a)).
The typical shear force plotted against steel strain for dapped-
ends failed by diagonal crushing is presented in Figure 5(b).
It can be seen the strains of the main bars, hanger bars and
horizontal stirrups are all below the yielding strain of the
reinforcing bars at the ultimate state.
As shown in Table 5, 24 reinforced concrete dapped-ends were
tested. Seven failed by diagonal crushing and the others by
flexure failure. The failure mode of dapped-ends with a/d . 1 is
dominated by flexure failure (Table 5). The failure mode of
dapped-ends being subjected to a combination of vertical and
horizontal loads is dominated by flexure failure, except for the
dapped-end of specimen 9, which failed by diagonal crushing
(Table 5).

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 Magazine of Concrete Research Behaviour of reinforced concrete dapped-
Volume 64 Issue 9 end beams
Lu, Lin and Yu

Specimen Main bars Shear reinforcement b: mm H: mm a: mm

End Middle

1 6 #7 #4@70 mm #3@150 mm 220 600 170

2 6 #7 #3@100 mm #3@150 mm 230 600 340
3 6 #6 #4@80 mm #3@200 mm 220 600 170
4 6 #6 #3@100 mm #3@200 mm 222 600 340
5 6 #6 #4@100 mm #3@200 mm 220 600 170
6 6 #6 #3@120 mm #3@200 mm 230 600 340
7 6 #6 #4@100 mm #3@200 mm 225 600 170
8 6 #6 #3@100 mm #3@200 mm 230 600 340
9 6 #6 #4@100 mm #3@200 mm 225 600 170
10 6 #6 #3@100 mm #3@200 mm 229 600 340
11 6 #6 #4@100 mm #3@200 mm 220 600 170
12 6 #6 #3@120 mm #3@200 mm 235 600 340
13 6 #7 #4@70 mm #3@150 mm 220 600 170
14 6 #7 #3@100 mm #3@150 mm 230 600 340
15 6 #6 #4@100 mm #3@200 mm 228 600 170
16 6 #6 #3@120 mm #3@200 mm 230 600 340
17 6 #8 #4@70 mm #4@150 mm 222 600 245
18 6 #8 #3@80 mm #4@150 mm 230 600 490
19 6 #7 #4@100 mm #3@150 mm 227 600 245
20 6 #7 #3@120 mm #3@150 mm 228 600 490
21 6 #8 #4@70 mm #4@150 mm 220 600 245
22 6 #8 #3@100 mm #4@150 mm 225 600 490
23 6 #7 #4@100 mm #3@150 mm 220 600 245
24 6 #7 #3@120 mm #3@150 mm 220 600 490

Table 2. Details of the main body of the test beams

The measured shear strengths (Vdv,test ) of each specimen obtained Proposed model
in the tests are summarised in Table 5. The results show that the Figure 10 shows the loads acting on the dapped-end and the force
shear strength of dapped-ends increases with an increase in transmission mechanisms of the proposed SST model. By consid-
concrete compressive strength. Table 5 also shows that the shear ering the distances between force couples (Figure 10), the relation-
strength of dapped-ends increases with decreases in shear span- ship between vertical and horizontal shears can be expressed as
to-depth ratio and horizontal load.
Vdv jd

The observed vertical load–displacement relationships for the 24 1: Vdh a
specimens are shown in Figure 6 where it can be seen that the
curves of specimens 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 17 and 21 are steeper
than those of the other specimens. Figure 7 shows the effect of where Vdv is the vertical shear force, Vdh is the horizontal shear force
the compressive strength of concrete on the vertical load– and jd is the length of the lever arm from the resultant compressive
displacement relationship of dapped-ends. Both the stiffness and force to the centroid of the flexural reinforcement. According to the
the ultimate vertical load of dapped-ends increase with compres- linear bending theory, the lever arm jd can be estimated as
sive strength. Figure 8 shows the effect of horizontal load on the
vertical load–displacement relationship of dapped-ends: both the kd
2:
jd ¼ d 
stiffness and ultimate vertical load of dapped-ends decrease with 3
an increase in horizontal load. Figure 9 shows the effect of shear
span-to-depth ratio on the vertical load–displacement relationship
of dapped-ends: the smaller the shear span-to-depth ratio of where d is the effective depth of the dapped-end, kd is the depth
dapped-ends, the larger the stiffness and ultimate vertical load of of compression zone at the section and coefficient k can be
dapped-ends. defined as

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 Magazine of Concrete Research Behaviour of reinforced concrete dapped-
Volume 64 Issue 9 end beams
Lu, Lin and Yu

Shear
Hanger bar reinforcement
Vertical stirrup
Horizontal
stirrup

Gauge 7, 8
Gauge 5, 6
αb

d/2 d/3
d d/3 45°
d/3

a/2

a Main bar of
Gauge 3, 4 dapped-end
Gauge 1, 2 Main bar of beam

600 mm 1350 mm

Figure 2. Reinforcement and strain gauge layout

db : mm Ab : mm2 fy : MPa fu : MPa Remark

#3 9.53 71.33 419 594 Horizontal and vertical stirrups

#3 9.53 71.33 502 751 Shear reinforcement of beams
#4 12.70 126.68 505 765 Hanger bar and shear reinforcement of beams
#6 19.10 286.52 516 724 Main bar of beams
#7 22.20 387.08 517 731 Main bar of beams and dapped-end beams
#8 25.4 506.71 518 729 Main bar of beams

Table 3. Properties of reinforcement

Design strength: Actual strength: Water/cementitious Slump: Coarse aggregate: Unit weight:
MPa MPa material ratio mm mm kg/m3

27.6 27.7 0.41 180 200 2309

48.3 48.5 0.32 250 150 2362
69.0 60.6 0.28 250 130 2470

Table 4. Properties of concrete

3: k ¼ [(nr)2 þ 2nr]1=2  nr As  (N u = f y )
4:
r¼
bd

where n is the modular ratio of elasticity and r is the ratio of

flexural tensile reinforcement. where As is the area of main reinforcement, Nu is the horizontal
tension load, fy is the yield strength of main reinforcement and b
The ratio of flexural tensile reinforcement r can be defined as is the width of the dapped-end.

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 Magazine of Concrete Research Behaviour of reinforced concrete dapped-
Volume 64 Issue 9 end beams
Lu, Lin and Yu

Pu  
jd
Ł ¼ tan 1
1000 mm L2 ⫽ 1900 mm 700 mm 5: a

Nu The effective area of the diagonal strut Astr can be estimated as

6: Astr ¼ ts bs

Pu L2 L1
Vdv,test ⫽ where ts is the thickness of the diagonal strut and bs is the width
L1
of the diagonal strut, which can also be taken as the width of the
Figure 3. Testing arrangements for dapped-end beams dapped-end.

The thickness of the diagonal strut depends on its end condition

provided by the compression zone at the critical section for
αb
flexure. It is intuitively assumed that
kd
d h 7: ts ¼ [(kd)2 þ (ab )2 ]1=2
jd

H
where ab is the width of hanger bar zone (Figures 1, 2 and 4).
Nc Nc
Vdv Vdv The horizontal mechanism consists of one horizontal tie and two
flat struts (Hwang et al., 2000). The horizontal tie is made up of
α horizontal stirrups. When computing the area of the horizontal tie
Ath , it is roughly assumed that horizontal stirrups within the
Figure 4. Typical failure in dapped-ends tested
centre half are fully effective, while the rest are at 50%
effectiveness (Hwang et al., 2000). If the horizontal stirrups are
uniformly distributed in two-thirds of the effective depth closest
to the main bars, then Ath ¼ 0:8Ah , where Ah is the area of the
800
horizontal stirrups. The vertical mechanism consists of one
600
Vdv,test: kN

V T H M vertical tie and two steep struts (Hwang et al., 2000). The vertical
400 tie is made up of vertical stirrups. The area of the vertical tie Atv
is computed in the same way as that of the horizontal tie. If the
200
vertical stirrups are uniformly distributed within the shear span,
0 then Atv ¼ 0:75Av in which Av is the area of the vertical stirrups
0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27
(a) within the shear span.
800
T
600 H M Evaluation of shear strength
Vdv,test: kN

According to Lin et al. (2003), the diagonal compression strength

400
of dapped-ends can be estimated from
200
0 8: Cd ¼ (K h þ K v  1) f c9 Astr
0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27
Strain (⫻10⫺3)
(b)
where Cd is the predicted diagonal compression strength, Kh is
the horizontal tie index, Kv is the vertical tie index, f c9 is the
Figure 5. Typical shear force plotted against steel strain:
compressive strength of concrete and  is the softening coefficient
(a) specimen 2 (b) specimen 7
of concrete in compression.

The horizontal tie index can be estimated as (Lin et al., 2003)

Figure 10 shows the proposed SST model, which is composed of
diagonal, horizontal and vertical mechanisms (Hwang et al., Ath f yh
2000). The diagonal mechanism is a diagonal compression strut K h ¼ 1 þ (K h  1) < Kh
9: Fh
whose angle of inclination Ł is defined as (Hwang et al., 2000)

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 Magazine of Concrete Research Behaviour of reinforced concrete dapped-
Volume 64 Issue 9 end beams
Lu, Lin and Yu

Specimen a/d f c9 : MPa Pu : kN Nu : kN L1 : mm L2 : mm Vdv,test : kN Failure modea

1 0.63 60.6 1015 0 2380 1900 811 DC

2 1.24 60.6 711 0 2570 1900 526 F
3 0.63 60.6 886 132 2390 1900 704 F
4 1.24 60.6 618 98 2570 1900 457 F
5 0.63 60.6 868 0 2390 1900 690 DC
6 1.22 60.6 500 225 2570 1900 370 F
7 0.61 27.7 795 0 2390 1900 632 DC
8 1.20 27.7 456 0 2570 1900 337 F
9 0.63 27.7 692 134 2390 1900 550 DC
10 1.20 27.7 486 96 2570 1900 359 F
11 0.63 27.7 618 0 2390 1900 491 DC
12 1.20 27.7 471 173 2570 1900 348 F
13 0.63 48.5 986 0 2380 1900 787 DC
14 1.22 48.5 699 0 2570 1900 517 F
15 0.63 48.5 787 209 2390 1900 626 F
16 1.23 48.5 508 163 2570 1900 375 F
17 0.61 60.6 1472 0 2335 1660 1046 F
18 1.24 60.6 898 0 2600 1660 573 F
19 0.63 60.6 1133 198 2345 1660 802 F
20 1.26 60.6 728 188 2600 1660 465 F
21 0.64 48.5 1243 0 2335 1660 884 DC
22 1.25 48.5 883 0 2600 1660 564 F
23 0.63 48.5 890 215 2345 1660 630 F
24 1.24 48.5 721 157 2600 1660 460 F
a
DC, diagonal crushing failure; F, flexure failure

Table 5. Test results

where absence of the vertical tie and Fh is the balance amount of

horizontal tie force.
1
Kh  The vertical tie index can be estimated as (Lin et al., 2003)
10: 1  0:2(ªh þ ª2h )

Atv f yv
K v ¼ 1 þ (K v  1) < Kv
14: Fv
2tanŁ  1
11:
ªh ¼ but 0 < ªh < 1
3
where

1
12: Fh ¼ ªh (K h  f c9 Astr ) cos Ł Kv 
15: 1  0 2(ªv þ ª2v )
:

3:35
¼ < 0:52 2cotŁ  1
13: ( f c9 )1=2 16:
ªv ¼ but 0 < ªv < 1
3

where K h is the horizontal tie index with sufficient horizontal

stirrups, fyh is the yield stress of horizontal stirrups, ªh is the 17: Fv ¼ ªv (K v  f c9 Astr ) sin Ł
fraction of horizontal shear transferred by the horizontal tie in the

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 Magazine of Concrete Research Behaviour of reinforced concrete dapped-
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Lu, Lin and Yu

1600 Specimen 1: N u ⫽ 0 kN, f ⬘c ⫽ 60·6 MPa,

1400 Specimen 3: N u ⫽ 132 kN, f ⬘c ⫽ 60·6 MPa,
Vertical load: kN

1200 Specimen 7: N u ⫽ 0 kN, f ⬘c ⫽ 27·7 MPa

1
1000 3 5 Specimen 9: N u ⫽ 132 kN, f ⬘c ⫽ 27·7 MPa
7
800 9
2 4 11 1200
600 6 10 12
400 8
1
200 1000
0 3
0 8 16 24 32 40 48 56 64 72 80 88
7
(a) 800

Vertical load: kN
1600 9
17
1400 21 600
Vertical load: kN

1200
13 19
1000 23
18 22
800 15 400
20 24
600 14
16
400
200
200
0
0 8 16 24 32 40 48 56 64 72 80 88
0
Displacement: mm 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36
(b) Displacement: mm

Figure 6. Vertical load–displacement relationships for the 24 Figure 8. Effect of Nu on vertical load–displacement relationships
specimens studied

Specimen 3 f ⬘c ⫽ 60·6 MPa, N u ⫽ 132 kN Specimen 7: a/d ⫽ 0·61, f ⬘c ⫽ 27·7 MPa,

Specimen 9 f ⬘c ⫽ 27·7 MPa, N u ⫽ 134 kN Specimen 8: a/d ⫽ 1·20, f ⬘c ⫽ 27·7 MPa,
Specimen 4 f ⬘c ⫽ 60·6 MPa, N u ⫽ 98 kN Specimen 13: a/d ⫽ 0·63, f ⬘c ⫽ 48·5 MPa
Specimen 10 f ⬘c ⫽ 27·7 MPa, N u ⫽ 96 kN Specimen 14: a/d ⫽ 1·22, f ⬘c ⫽ 48·5 MPa
1000 1200

900 3
13
1000
800

700 9 7
800
Vertical load: kN

Vertical load: kN

4
600 14
500 10 600

400 8
400
300

200
200
100

0 0
0 8 16 24 32 40 48 0 8 16 24 32 40 48 56
Displacement: mm Displacement: mm

Figure 7. Effect of f c9 on vertical load–displacement relationships Figure 9. Effect of a/d on vertical load–displacement relationships

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 Magazine of Concrete Research Behaviour of reinforced concrete dapped-
Volume 64 Issue 9 end beams
Lu, Lin and Yu

a a/2 a/2 Cd

kd/3 Fv
C
Vdv 2kd/3 Fh
jd/2
⫺D
Vdh
jd/2
θ Vdv
T

Nu

Vdh
Vdv

v
d
r
Compression strut
θ
h Tension tie

Figure 10. SST model for dapped-ends

where K v is the vertical tie index with sufficient vertical stirrups,

θ f ⬘c f vh f yv A str A th A tv
fyv is the yield stress of the vertical stirrups, ªv is the fraction of
vertical shear transferred by the vertical tie in the absence of the
horizontal tie and Fv is the balance amount of vertical tie force.
2 tan θ ⫺ 1
γh ⫽ where 0 ⭐ γh ⭐ 1 and γh ⫽ 0 for Ath ⫽ 0
3
The solution algorithm for Cd is summarised in Figure 11. 2 cot θ ⫺ 1
γv ⫽ where 0 ⭐ γv ⭐ 1 and γv ⫽ 0 for Atv ⫽ 0
3
The shear strength of the dapped-ends according to diagonal
crushing failure can be calculated as
1 1
Kh ⫽ Kv ⫽
18: Vdv,calc ¼ Cd sin Ł 1 ⫺ 0·2(γh ⫹ γ 2h ) 1 ⫺ 0·2(γv ⫹ γ 2v)

where Vdv,calc is the predicted shear strength.

3·35
ζ⫽ ⭐ 0·52
In the proposed model, the predicted shear strength should be less (f ⬘c) 1/2
than the shear force according to the flexural strength of the
dapped-end and the tensile strength provided by the hanger bars.
The predicted shear strength of the dapped-end according to
Fh ⫽ γhKhζf ⬘c A str cos θ Fv ⫽ γvKvζf ⬘c A str sin θ
flexure failure can be determined from

M n  Nu (h  d)
19:
Vdv,calc ¼ Athfyh Atvfyv
a Kh ⫽ 1 ⫹ (Kh ⫺ 1) ⭐ Kh Kv ⫽ 1 ⫹ (Kv ⫺ 1) ⭐ Kv
Fh Fv

where Mn is the nominal moment strength of the dapped-end and

Cd ⫽ (Kh ⫹ Kv ⫺ 1)ζf ⬘c A str
h is the overall depth of the dapped-end.

The nominal moment strength of the dapped-end can be Figure 11. Flow chart showing solution procedure
estimated from

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 Magazine of Concrete Research Behaviour of reinforced concrete dapped-
Volume 64 Issue 9 end beams
Lu, Lin and Yu

 
As f y strength ratio, which is defined as the ratio of the measured
M n ¼ As f y d :
20: 1 7 f c9 b strength to the calculated strength. The test-to-theory comparisons
of 44 dapped-ends are presented in Table 6 to examine the
validity and accuracy of the proposed model, the strut-and-tie
The shear force according to the tensile strength provided by the model of ACI 318-08 (ACI, 2008) and the PCI approach (PCI,
hanger bars can be estimated as 1999). Table 6 shows that the mean of the measured-to-calculated
strength ratio is 1.20 with a coefficient of variation (CoV) of 0.11
21: Vdv,calc ¼ Avh f yvh for predictions using the proposed model. For predictions using
the ACI strut-and-tie model, the mean of the strength ratio is 1.53
with a CoV of 0.13; for predictions using the PCI approach, the
where Avh and fyvh are the area and the yield strength of hanger mean is 2.50 with a CoV of 0.42.
bars respectively.
According to the experimental results of this study, the major
Experimental verification factors influencing the shear strength of dapped-ends are the
The test results from 44 specimens were employed to verify the shear span-to-depth ratio a/d, the compressive strength of con-
proposed model. Of these 44, 24 were dapped-ends tested in this crete f c9 , the vertical stirrup parameter rv f yv , the horizontal
study while 20 were dapped-ends with a/d < 1 tested previously stirrup parameter rh f yh and the horizontal load parameter Nu /bd.
by Mattock and Chan (1979) and Lu et al. (2003) As shown in Table 6, both the proposed model and the strut-
and-tie model of ACI 318-08 consistently predict the shear
The accuracy of the proposed model is evaluated in terms of a strength of dapped-ends with various parameters. More conser-

Specimen a/d f c9 : rh f yh : rv f yv : r fy: Nu /bd: Vdv,test : Vdv,test =Vdv,calc

MPa MPa MPa MPa MPa kN
SST ACI PCI

This study
1 0.63 60.6 2.02 0.00 10.14 0.00 811 1.02 1.41 4.14
2 1.24 60.6 2.85 2.29 9.53 0.00 526 1.20 1.41 1.20
3 0.63 60.6 2.02 0.00 7.91 2.23 704 1.07 1.39 3.59
4 1.24 60.6 2.95 3.96 8.26 1.61 457 1.26 1.46 1.26
5 0.63 60.6 2.02 0.00 10.14 0.00 690 1.08 1.20 3.52
6 1.22 60.6 2.80 2.29 5.85 3.51 370 1.37 1.55 1.37
7 0.61 27.7 1.90 0.00 9.56 0.00 632 1.36 1.83 3.63
8 1.20 27.7 2.75 2.29 9.19 0.00 337 1.00 1.43 0.88
9 0.63 27.7 1.96 0.00 7.65 2.20 550 1.25 1.63 3.18
10 1.20 27.7 1.84 2.30 7.75 1.48 359 1.10 1.53 1.05
11 0.63 27.7 2.02 0.00 10.14 0.00 491 1.10 1.49 2.87
12 1.20 27.7 2.69 2.99 6.40 2.59 348 1.19 1.45 1.19
13 0.63 48.5 2.02 0.00 10.14 0.00 787 1.08 1.70 4.19
14 1.22 48.5 2.80 2.29 9.36 0.00 517 1.18 1.60 1.19
15 0.63 48.5 1.94 0.00 6.34 3.38 626 1.16 1.46 3.28
16 1.23 48.5 2.82 3.06 6.86 2.56 375 1.20 1.36 1.21
17 0.61 60.6 1.35 0.00 6.78 0.00 1046 1.17 1.67 4.47
18 1.24 60.6 1.98 2.65 6.62 0.00 573 1.27 1.42 1.27
19 0.63 60.6 1.34 0.00 4.52 2.23 802 1.36 1.63 3.41
20 1.26 60.6 1.35 1.61 4.64 2.12 465 1.55 1.70 1.55
21 0.64 48.5 1.42 0.00 7.11 0.00 884 1.11 1.82 4.07
22 1.25 48.5 2.03 1.63 6.79 0.00 564 1.28 1.70 1.28
23 0.63 48.5 1.40 0.00 4.51 2.51 630 1.14 1.35 2.89
24 1.24 48.5 1.38 1.66 5.12 1.81 460 1.42 1.54 1.42
Mean 1.21 1.53 2.42
CoV 0.11 0.10 0.52
( continued)

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 Magazine of Concrete Research Behaviour of reinforced concrete dapped-
Volume 64 Issue 9 end beams
Lu, Lin and Yu

Specimen a/d f c9 : rh f yh : rv f yv : r fy: Nu /bd: Vdv,test : Vdv,test =Vdv,calc

MPa MPa MPa MPa MPa kN
SST ACI PCI

Mattock and Chan (1979)

1A 0.59 33.6 0.84 0 1.89 0.00 144 1.30 1.80 2.25
1B 0.59 30.5 1.67 0 6.54 3.79 191 1.34 1.65 2.10
2A 0.59 33.0 1.67 0 2.85 0.00 178 1.36 1.47 1.89
2B 0.59 30.9 1.69 0 6.54 3.16 169 1.27 1.27 1.84
3A 0.59 37.0 1.62 0 2.83 0.00 216 1.33 1.80 2.30
3B 0.59 31.6 1.78 0 6.95 3.56 177 1.04 1.24 1.84
4A 0.59 31.6 1.58 0 2.83 0.00 189 1.16 1.58 2.10
4B 0.59 29.4 1.70 0 6.95 3.56 177 1.05 1.24 1.92
Mean 1.23 1.50 2.03
CoV 0.11 0.16 0.09
Lu et al. (2003)
1 0.56 34.0 1.95 0 7.39 0.00 561 1.14 1.46 3.57
2 0.59 62.6 1.95 0 7.39 0.00 705 1.13 1.56 4.01
3 0.59 69.2 1.95 0 7.39 0.00 713 1.14 1.58 3.96
4 0.89 34.0 1.95 0 7.39 0.00 360 1.01 1.10 2.29
5 0.83 62.6 1.95 0 7.39 0.00 513 1.18 1.49 2.91
6 0.81 69.2 1.95 0 7.39 0.00 521 1.19 1.48 2.89
7 0.52 33.7 1.95 0 5.08 0.00 458 1.06 1.38 2.92
8 0.54 62.6 1.95 0 5.08 0.00 599 1.37 1.85 3.40
9 0.54 69.2 1.95 0 5.08 0.00 642 1.47 1.98 3.57
10 0.83 33.7 1.95 0 5.08 0.00 291 1.00 1.27 1.85
11 0.85 62.6 1.95 0 5.08 0.00 351 1.19 1.55 1.99
12 0.85 69.2 1.95 0 5.08 0.00 392 1.32 1.73 2.18
Mean 1.18 1.54 2.96
CoV 0.12 0.16 0.25
Total mean 1.20 1.53 2.50
Total CoV 0.11 0.13 0.42

Table 6. Comparison of tested and calculated shear strengths of

dapped-end beams

vative but scattered predictions are obtained from the PCI
approach.
The test-to-theory comparisons use parametric study to further
assess the suitability of the proposed model, the ACI strut-and-
tie model and the PCI approach to dapped-ends. Table 6 shows
the effect of a/d on shear strength predictions for 44 dapped-
ends. Both the proposed model and the ACI strut-and-tie model
consistently predict the shear strength of dapped-ends with a/d
ratios between 0.52 and 1.25. However, greater scattering is
found for the PCI predictions. Table 6 also shows the effect of
f c9 on shear strength predictions for 44 dapped-ends. Both the
proposed model and the ACI method consistently predict the
shear strength of dapped-ends with f c9 between 27.7 and
69.2 MPa. Once again, a greater scattering is found for the PCI
predictions. The effect of rv f yv on shear strength predictions for
44 dapped-ends is also shown in the table, with the proposed
model and the ACI method consistently predicting the shear
strength between 0 and 3.96 MPa. A greater scattering is again
found for the PCI results.
Table 6 also shows the effect of the horizontal stirrup
parameter rh f yh on shear strength predictions. The proposed
model and the ACI method consistently predict the shear
strength of dapped-ends with rh f yh between 0.84 and
2.95 MPa; a greater scattering is found for PCI predictions.
Similar results are found for the effect of the horizontal load
parameter Nu /bd on shear strength predictions, with the pro-
posed model and the strut-and-tie model consistently predicting
the shear strength of dapped-ends with Nu /bd between 0 and
3.79 MPa. Once more, greater scattering is seen in the PCI
predictions.

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 Magazine of Concrete Research
Volume 64 Issue 9
Conclusions
This study tested 24 reinforced concrete dapped-ends, 12 being
subjected to vertical load only and 12 to a combination of vertical
and horizontal loads. The extension of the SST model (Lin et al.,
2003) for predicting the diagonal compression strength of
dapped-end beams with a/d . 1 was examined. According to the
test results in this study (Table 5) and the comparison of
predictions by the proposed model, the strut-and-tie model of
ACI 318-08 (ACI, 2008) and the PCI approach (PCI, 1999)
(Table 6), the following conclusions can be drawn.
j The shear strength of dapped-ends increases with an increase
in concrete compressive strength. The shear strength of
dapped-ends increases with decreases in shear span-to-depth
ratio and horizontal load.
j The smaller the shear span-to-depth ratio, the greater the
stiffness and the ultimate vertical load of dapped-ends. Both
stiffness and ultimate vertical load of dapped-ends increase
with increasing compressive strength of concrete but decrease
with an increase in horizontal load.
j The proposed model can consistently predict the shear
strength of dapped-ends with different shear span-to-depth
ratios, concrete compressive strengths, vertical and horizontal
stirrup parameters and horizontal load. More conservative but
scattered predictions are obtained from the PCI approach
(PCI, 1999).
Acknowledgements
This research was partially sponsored by the National Science
Council of the Republic of China under project NSC 96–2221-E-
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Behaviour of reinforced concrete dapped-
end beams
Lu, Lin and Yu
163–001. The authors would like to express their gratitude for
this support. Hwa-Ju Kim (a former graduate student of the
Department of Construction Engineering at National Taiwan
University of Science and Technology) gave valuable support in
the experiments on 24 reinforced concrete dapped-end beams.
Susanna Yang (secretary of the Department of Interior Design at
China University of Technology) kindly improved the English in
this paper.
REFERENCES
ACI (American Concrete Institute) (2008) ACI 318–08: Building
code requirements for structural concrete and commentary
(ACI 318R-08). American Concrete Institute, Farmington
Hills, MI, USA.
Hwang SJ, Lu WY and Lee HJ (2000) Shear strength prediction
for deep beams. ACI Structural Journal 97(3): 367–376.
Lin IJ, Hwang SJ, Lu WY and Tsai JT (2003) Shear strength of
reinforced concrete dapped-end beams. Structural
Engineering and Mechanics 16(3): 275–294.
Lu WY, Lin IJ, Hwang SJ and Lin YH (2003) Shear strength of
high-strength concrete dapped-end beams. Journal of the
Chinese Institute of Engineers 26(5): 671–680.
Mattock AH and Chan TC (1979) Design and behavior of dapped-
end beams. PCI Journal 24(6): 28–45.
PCI (Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute) (1999) PCI Design
Handbook: Precast and Prestressed Concrete. Precast/
Prestressed Concrete Institute, Chicago, IL, USA.
Yang KH, Ashour AF and Lee JK (2011) Shear strength of
reinforced concrete dapped-end beams using mechanism
analysis. Magazine of Concrete Research 63(2): 81–97.
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