HKUST Spring 2022 Chapter 3 – Lecture 10

Reinforced Concrete Design

[CIVL 3320]

Dr. Elias DIMITRAKOPOULOS

Associate Professor

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
 reinforced concrete design
motivation

1 2 3 3
1
P P

L/3 L/3 L/3 2

[N]
need to reinforce against
kN
P P tensile failure → steel rebars
(+)
[V]
kN
P (-) P

[M]
kNm (+)
PL/3
2
 outline

shear, bond and torsion

• shear failure of RC beams without shear reinforcement
• shear strength of beams with shear reinforcement
these presentation slides are largely based on:
• the lecture notes of Professor Jun Shang KUANG
• the presentation slides of Professor Andreas KAPPOS
many thanks to both!
 shear, bond and torsion
shear failure of RC beams WITHOUT shear reinforcement

shear in homogeneous beams

homogeneous uncracked beam
1. in mechanics of materials,
the shear stress of homogeneous,
elastic and uncracked beams can be
calculated by (average shear stress)

𝑉𝑄
flexural and shear stresses 𝑣=
𝐼𝑏
acting on elements in shear span where
• 𝑉 = shear force,
• 𝑄 = 𝐴𝑦ത = first moment of area
• 𝑏 = width of the section
• 𝐼 = second moment of area
of the section

4
 shear, bond and torsion
shear failure of RC beams WITHOUT shear reinforcement

P stresses in different segments

• segment 1 (at bottom):
𝑣 = 0, σ = σ𝑚𝑎𝑥 →
2 neutral
3 axis
1 vertical flexural crack
1

section x-x • segment 2 (at neutral axis):

compression 𝑣 = 𝑣𝑚𝑎𝑥 , σ = 0 →
x-x diagonal crack inclined 45𝑜
x-x 2
• segment 3
neutral
(between N.A. and bottom):
axis
combination of
tension 𝑣 ≠ 0 and σ ≠ 0 →
shear stress
axial stress 3 diagonal crack inclined
45𝑜 − 90𝑜
crack orientations

5
 shear, bond and torsion
shear failure of RC beams WITHOUT shear reinforcement

shear in homogeneous beams

and in RC beams
crack versus flexural and
shear stresses for a RC beam
direction of principal tension σΙ
direction of principal compression σΙI
crack orientation vs
flexural and shear stresses
principal stresses on elements in shear span

• principal compressive stress

trajectories in an un-cracked beam

• crack patterns of a RC beam follow

the principal compressive stress
trajectories

6
 shear, bond and torsion
shear failure of RC beams WITHOUT shear reinforcement

P P shear span 𝑎𝑣 is defined as the distance

aV aV between points of zero and maximum
moments
d
𝑎𝑣
L/3 L/3 L/3 shear span/depth ratio
𝑑
• for both distributed and
P P concentrated loading
(+)
[V]
P (-) P • the effective shear span/depth ratio
M=0 is defined
[M] 𝑎𝑣 𝑀
(+) =
𝑑 𝑉𝑑
where 𝑀 = the bending moment and
Mmax = PL/3 𝑉 = the corresponding shear force

7
 shear, bond and torsion
shear failure of RC beams WITHOUT shear reinforcement

types of shear failure

P P
aV aV
• observation:
d
shear cracks are normally inclined cracks →
L/3 L/3 L/3 can form by web-shear cracking
or, more commonly, by
P P flexural-shear cracking, and must develop
(+) before complete shear failure
[V]
P (-) P
• the shear failure mode is dependent largely
M=0
[M] on the shear span-to-depth ratio
(+) 𝑎𝑣 𝑀
=
𝑑 𝑉𝑑
Mmax = PL/3

poll: shear span-to-depth ratio

8
 shear, bond and torsion
shear failure of RC beams WITHOUT shear reinforcement

category
shear span/ shear shear span/depth ratio vs
depth ratio mode failure shear mode of failure
𝑎𝑣
I ≤1 deep beam failure
𝑑 • the shear span/depth ratio
𝑎𝑣 shear-compression failure can be divided into
II 1< ≤ 2.5 4 general categories
𝑑 dowel failure

𝒂𝒗 shear-tension failure • for different members falling

III 𝟐. 𝟓 < ≤𝟔 (diagonal tension failure) into the same category,
𝒅
shear-bond failure the sequence of events and
𝑎𝑣 the nature of the failure are
IV 6< flexural failure
𝑑 approximately the same

9
 shear, bond and torsion
shear failure of RC beams WITHOUT shear reinforcement

𝑎𝑣 • structural behaviour approaches

category I ≤ 1 : deep beam failure that of deep beams
𝑑

• web-shear crack initiates frequently at about

𝑑/3 about the bottom face, and propagates
simultaneously towards the loading and
support points, approximately along a line
joining the loading and support points

𝑎𝑣 𝑉 • it forms as a result of the splitting action

of the compression force transmitted directly
from the loading point to the support
𝑑

• when the crack has penetrated sufficiently

𝑎𝑣 deeply into the concrete zone at the
𝑉 ≤1
𝑑 loading/the support points,
crashing failure of concrete occurs
10
 shear, bond and torsion
shear failure of RC beams WITHOUT shear reinforcement

𝑎𝑣
category I ≤ 1 : anchorage failure
𝑑

• on the other hand,

P P the failure mode may be an anchorage
failure at the end of reinforcement due
to the large tensile force

compression
strut
tension tie

arch action: the inclined compression zone

combined with the longitudinal bottom
reinforcement form a tied arch → the vertical
high compression
here component of the inclined zone can resist shear →
diagonal compression mechanism

anchorage failure of deep beam failure

11
 shear, bond and torsion
shear failure of RC beams WITHOUT shear reinforcement

𝑎𝑣
category II 1 < ≤ 2.5 : shear-compression failure
𝑑

• the diagonal crack (web-shear crack)

forms independently and not as a
development of a flexural crack

• eventually, the diagonal crack penetrates

𝑎𝑣 𝑉
into the concrete compression zone
at the loading point

𝑑
• crashing failure of the concrete occurs
𝑎𝑣
1< ≤ 2.5
𝑉 𝑑

12
 shear, bond and torsion
shear failure of RC beams WITHOUT shear reinforcement

𝑎𝑣
category II 1 < ≤ 2.5 : dowel failure
𝑑

• the member may fail owing to dowel

failure of the longitudinal reinforcement
at the point of inclined crack

𝑎𝑣
1< ≤ 2.5
𝑑

13
 shear, bond and torsion
shear failure of RC beams WITHOUT shear reinforcement

𝑎𝑣
category III 2.5 < ≤ 6 : diagonal tension failure
𝑑

• flexural crack (a-b) is developed before

the compressive force is great enough to
develop web-shear cracks →

𝑎𝑣 𝑉
• then the flexural crack (a-b) nearest the
support would propagate towards loading
𝑑 point, becoming an inclined crack (a-b-c)
known as a flexural-shear crack

𝑎𝑣
𝑉 2.5 < ≤6
𝑑

14
 shear, bond and torsion
shear failure of RC beams WITHOUT shear reinforcement

𝑎𝑣
category III 2.5 < ≤ 6 : diagonal tension failure
𝑑

𝑎
• if 𝑣 is relative low,
𝑑
the diagonal crack (a-b-c) spreads but stops at
j ; the crack widens and propagates along the
level of tension reinforcement (g-h),
destroying the bond between the
reinforcement and the surrounding concrete
𝑎𝑣 𝑉
→ this is the shear-bond failure (which may
also occur in Category II members)

𝑑 𝑎
• if 𝑣 is relative high,
𝑑
the diagonal crack (a-b-c) spreads to e,
𝑎𝑣 splitting the beam into two pieces
𝑉 2.5 < ≤6
𝑑 along an inclined crack (a-b-c-e)

15
 shear, bond and torsion
shear failure of RC beams WITHOUT shear reinforcement

𝑎𝑣
• beams with such a high value of
category IV 6 < : flexural failure 𝑎𝑣
𝑑 usually fail in bending only
𝑑

shear span/ shear

category
depth ratio mode failure
𝑎𝑣
I ≤1 deep beam failure
𝑑
𝑎𝑣 shear-compression failure
II 1< ≤ 2.5
𝑑 dowel failure

𝑎𝑣 shear-tension failure
III 2.5 < ≤6 (diagonal tension failure)
𝑑
shear-bond failure
𝑎𝑣
IV 6< flexural failure
𝑑

16
 shear, bond and torsion
shear failure of RC beams WITHOUT shear reinforcement

mechanisms of shear transfer

consider a typical cracked beam in bending and shear,
which is reinforced with longitudinal steel against
bending

local crushing • the shear force is transmitted through

(i) the cracked beam by a combination of
3 mechanisms:
local crushing i. dowel action of longitudinal steel,
ii. aggregate interlock, and
iii. shear stress in uncracked concrete

uncracked
concrete

neutral axis
(ii) (iii)

17
 shear, bond and torsion
shear failure of RC beams WITHOUT shear reinforcement

shear resistance
in uncracked 𝑉
concrete 𝑉𝑐𝑧
mechanisms of shear transfer

aggregate
interlock 𝑉𝑎 • the external shear force V is considered to be
resisted by the combined action of 𝑉𝑐𝑧 , 𝑉𝑎 and 𝑉𝑑

𝑉 = 𝑉𝑐𝑧 + 𝑉a + 𝑉𝑑
dowel action 𝑉𝑑

which is carried in the approximate proportions:

concrete
diagonal • compression zone shear 𝑉𝑐𝑧 = 20 to 40%,
𝑉𝑐𝑧 compression
crack • aggregate interlock 𝑉a = 35 to 50%, and
𝑉𝑎
• dowel action 𝑉𝑑 = 15 to 25%
steel
𝑉 𝑉𝑑 tension

poll: mechanisms
18
 shear, bond and torsion
shear failure of RC beams WITHOUT shear reinforcement

design concrete shear stress

concrete
diagonal • the shear force carried by the concrete is
𝑉𝑐𝑧 compression
crack 𝑉𝑐 = 𝑉𝑐𝑧 + 𝑉a + 𝑉𝑑
𝑉𝑎
steel • the design concrete shear stress
tension (nominal concrete shear stress)
𝑉 𝑉𝑑
where 𝑏𝑣 is the beam width for shear
𝑉𝑐
𝑣𝑐 =
𝑏𝑣 𝑑
𝑏𝑣 = 𝑏 for rectangular sections
𝑏𝑣 = 𝑏𝑤 for flanged sections

• an accurate analysis for the shear strength

of the concrete, 𝑣𝑐 , is ΝΟΤ possible

• the problem is only solved by establishing

the strength of concrete
in shear from test results

19
 shear, bond and torsion
shear failure of RC beams WITHOUT shear reinforcement

design concrete shear stress

• HKConcrete2013 [clause 6.1.2.5(c)]:

the design concrete shear stress 𝑣𝑐 is modified from that in BS8110 and given by
1/3 1/4
100𝐴𝑠 400 1
𝑣𝑐 = 0.79
𝑏𝑣 𝑑 𝑑 𝛾𝑚
where
• 𝛾𝑚 = 1.25
100𝐴𝑠
• should not be taken as greater than 3
𝑏𝑣 𝑑
400 1/4
• should
NOT be taken as less than
𝑑
1.00 for members with shear reinforcement providing minimum links, and
0.67 for members without shear reinforcement
• for 𝑓𝑐𝑢 > 25 𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 , values of 𝑣𝑐 may be multiplied by 𝑓𝑐𝑢 /25 1/3

• 𝑓𝑐𝑢 should not be taken as greater than 80 𝑁/𝑚𝑚2

poll: 𝑣𝑐
20
 shear, bond and torsion
shear failure of RC beams WITHOUT shear reinforcement

design concrete shear stress 𝑣𝑐 [HKConcrete2013 Table 6.3]

effective depth 𝒎𝒎
𝟏𝟎𝟎𝑨𝒔
125 160 175 200 225 250 300 ≥ 400
𝒃𝒗 𝒅
𝒗𝒄 𝑵/𝒎𝒎𝟐
≤ 0.15 0.45 0.43 0.41 0.40 0.39 0.38 0.36 0.34
0.25 0.53 0.51 0.49 0.47 0.46 0.45 0.43 0.40
0.50 0.67 0.64 0.62 0.60 0.58 0.56 0.54 0.50
0.75 0.77 0.73 0.71 0.68 0.66 0.65 0.62 0.57
1.00 0.84 0.81 0.78 0.75 0.73 0.71 0.68 0.63
1.50 0.97 0.92 0.89 0.86 0.83 0.81 0.78 0.72
2.00 1.06 1.02 0.98 0.95 0.92 0.89 0.86 0.80
≥ 3.00 1.22 1.16 1.12 1.08 1.05 1.02 0.98 0.91

21
 shear, bond and torsion
shear failure of RC beams WITHOUT shear reinforcement

design shear stress

• if the design shear force is V, the design shear stress is

𝑉
𝑣=
𝑏𝑣 𝑑
• for a beam with web reinforcement,
the shear resistance may be regarded as being made up of the sum of
the concrete resistance 𝑣𝑐 and
the web reinforcement resistance 𝑣𝑠 , i.e.
𝑣 = 𝑣𝑐 + 𝑣𝑠

22
 outline

shear, bond and torsion

• shear failure of RC beams without shear reinforcement
• shear strength of beams WITH shear reinforcement
 shear, bond and torsion
shear strength of beams WITH shear reinforcement

• the complementary shear stress gives rise to

diagonal tensile and diagonal compressive stresses

• taking a simplified view, concrete is weak in tension, and shear failure

is then caused by a failure in diagonal tension with cracks of 45o

• shear reinforcement should be provided by bars that cross the cracks

theoretically, either vertical links (stirrups) or inclined bars will serve this purpose

24
 shear, bond and torsion
shear strength of beams WITH shear reinforcement

types of shear reinforcement in beams

(1) links (stirrups)

open stirrup closed stirrup

(with 135o / 90 o hoop) (2) bent-up bars (inclined bars)
anchorage
cracks inclined cracks
𝑑
𝑠𝑏 𝑠𝑏
𝑑

25
 shear, bond and torsion
shear strength of beams WITH shear reinforcement

types of shear reinforcement in beams

links plus
bent-up bars (3) combination system
(links + bent-up bars)

bent-up bar hang-up bar

• the design shear force is resisted by

shear in concrete and shear in steel:
side bar k (stirrup) longitudinal bar
𝑉 = 𝑉𝑐 + 𝑉𝑠
where the shear resistance of the
reinforcing bars in beam concrete
𝑉𝑐 = 𝑣𝑐 𝑏𝑣 𝑑

26
 shear, bond and torsion
shear failure of RC beams WITHOUT shear reinforcement additional material

there are several models postulated for

compression describing the way the post-cracking mechanisms
zone
combine to provide the shear resistance:
𝑎1
𝑎2 𝑑 • beam action, whereby the “concrete
𝑉𝑑2 𝑐 cantilevers” between adjacent cracks resist
𝑎1
the forces (M, V, N) at their origin by
aggregate interlock, dowel action and flexural
2 1
𝑉𝑑1 resistance of the cantilevers

• arch action, whereby the inclined compression

zone combines with the longitudinal bottom
reinforcement to form a tied arch →
arch action develops after the resistance of the
concrete teeth has practically disappeared, i.e.
subsequent to breakdown of bond in the
tension zone of the member, and it occurs at
the expense of slip →
this might impose heavy demands on the
anchorages of the longitudinal bars
27
 shear, bond and torsion
design of R/C members for shear (ULS) additional material
basic assumptions
• contrary to what happens with flexure, no generally accepted method
covering all aspects of shear design is available to date
• Eurocode 2, along with most other current codes
(exception: the Canadian Code), adopts a combination of:
• purely empirical models (such as the one used for the design of
members without shear reinforcement)
• various versions of the truss model, which is the one most widely used,
although not necessarily the most rigorous one
• previous versions of EC2 and many other codes (e.g. ACI 318), included the
following three values of design shear resistance:
• VRd1 = design shear resistance of a member without shear reinforcement
• VRd2 = maximum design force that can be carried without crushing of the
compressive struts of the “truss”
• VRd3 = design shear resistance of a member with shear reinforcement
(taken as the sum of ‘concrete’ and stirrup/link contribution)

28
 shear, bond and torsion
shear strength of beams WITH shear reinforcement

tension

𝑑
links
𝑏 (stirrup)
𝑉

shear resistance with links (stirrups) – the 45o truss model

• the design and analysis for shear are based on the concept of an analogous truss

29
 shear, bond and torsion
shear strength of beams WITH shear reinforcement
poll: truss model
𝑑 tension

𝑑
links
𝑏 (stirrup)
compression
𝑉 (compression strut)

shear resistance with links (stirrups) – the 45o truss model

• the links are spaced at a distance = 𝒅, so that the diagonal concrete compression
members are at an angle of about 45ο, which generally agrees with the experimental
observations of the cracking of reinforced concrete beams close to the supports

• the web bars are considered to form the tension members of the truss,
while the struts in the concrete constitute the compression members
30
 shear, bond and torsion
shear strength of beams WITH shear reinforcement

shear resistance with links (stirrups) – the 45o truss model

• shear resistance of the cross-section with vertical links is 𝑉 = 𝑉𝑐 + 𝑉𝑠

• shear resistance of the concrete is 𝑉𝑐 = 𝑣𝑐 𝑏𝑣 𝑑

• shear resistance of vertical links (stirrups) is 0.87𝑓𝑦𝑣 𝐴𝑠𝑣

where 𝐴𝑠𝑣 is the cross-sectional area of links

• when the link spacing 𝑠𝑣 is

𝑑
𝑠𝑣 < 𝑑, the number of links 𝐴𝑠𝑣
crossing a 45o diagonal crack 𝑉𝑠 = 0.87𝑓𝑦𝑣 𝑑
𝑑 𝑑 𝑠𝑣
= , 𝑉𝑠 is modified as
𝑠𝑣

• the shear resistance of the

cross-section with vertical 𝐴𝑠𝑣
𝑉 𝑠𝑣 𝑠𝑣 𝑉 = 𝑣𝑐 𝑏𝑣 𝑑 + 0.87𝑓𝑦𝑣 𝑑
links is
𝑠𝑣

31
 shear, bond and torsion
shear strength of beams WITH shear reinforcement

shear resistance with links (stirrups) – the 45o truss model

• the shear resistance of the cross-section 𝐴𝑠𝑣
𝑉 = 𝑣𝑐 𝑏𝑣 𝑑 + 0.87𝑓𝑦𝑣 𝑑
with vertical links is 𝑠𝑣
𝐴𝑠𝑣
• the design shear force 𝑉 is rewritten as 𝑣 − 𝑣𝑐 𝑏𝑣 𝑑 = 0.87𝑓𝑦𝑣 𝑑
𝑠𝑣

• for design, this equation is expressed as: 𝐴𝑠𝑣 𝑣 − 𝑣𝑐 𝑏𝑣

=
where 𝐴𝑠𝑣 /𝑠𝑣 may be considered as a link ratio 𝑠𝑣 0.87𝑓𝑦𝑣

• link sizes are usually from 8 mm to 16 mm diameter,

and they may be of mild steel (in Hong Kong)
to minimise the radii of bends
𝐴𝑠𝑣
𝑠𝑣
values for 2 legs of
link reinforcement
(𝑚𝑚2 /𝑚𝑚)

32
 shear, bond and torsion
shear strength of beams WITH shear reinforcement

shear resistance with links (stirrups) – the 45o truss model

• the shear resistance of a link/stirrup is determined

𝐷2 𝑚𝑚2
by the number of legs (e.g. 2) of the link reinforcement 𝐴𝑠𝑣 = 2 π
4 𝑚𝑚

𝐴𝑠𝑣
𝑑 0.87𝑓𝑦𝑣
2
crack

link
(stirrup)

33