Flexural and shear cracks

Torsion
Torsion
Torsion
Shearing Stresses Due to Torsion in Uncracked Members
Torsion
Shear and torsion interaction in a
box and a solid cross section
 Torsional Shear Stresses
in a Bridge Cross Section, Using Thin-Walled Tube Theory
Thin-walled tube analogy and space truss analogy.
For design purposes, the center portion of a solid beam can conservatively
be neglected. This assumption is supported by test results reported in
Therefore, the beam is idealized as a tube.

Torsion is resisted through a constant shear flow q (force per unit length of
wall centerline) acting around the centerline of the tube as shown
 Shear stresses in a thin-walled tube. (From [7-2] Popov, E. P., Mechanics of Materials, SI Version, 2/e © 1978,
p. 80. Reprinted by permission of Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.)

The torsional shear force acting on the length

ds of wall is q ds. The perpendicular distance
from this force to the centroidal axis of the tube
is r, and the moment of this force about the axis
is rq ds, where r is measured from midplane of
the wall because that is the line of action of the
force q ds. Integrating around the perimeter
gives the torque in the tube (q is constant)

The shaded triangle has an area of rds/2 Thus,

rds in Eq. is two times the area of the shaded
triangle. The shear flow q is given as q = tτ.
is two times the area enclosed by the C/L of wall thickness. This area is referred to as
the area enclosed by the shear flow path, A0 For the tube cross section the area,
A0 is including the area of the hole in the center of the tube. From equilibrium of
:external torque T and internal stresses

where t is the wall thickness at the point

where the shear stress, τ is due to torsion
 Distribution of torsional shear stresses in a
circular bar and in a square bar.

In a bar with a rectangular cross section, however, the torsional stresses

vary from a maximum at the middle of the long sides of the rectangle to
zero at the corners
Principal stresses and cracking due to
pure torsion.
Cracking due to Principal Stresses
Shear stresses and cracking due to
pure torsion.
Thin-walled tube analogy and space truss analogy.

The maximum torsional shear stress occurs where the wall thickness is the least.
(Study the example 7.1 in the text book)

This model for the torsional strength of beams combines the thin-walled tube
analogy with the plastic-truss analogy for shear

Both solid and hollow members are considered as tubes. Once torsional cracking
occurred, the concrete in the center of member has little effect on the torsional
strength of the cross section. This produces an equivalent tubular member.
Thin-walled tube analogy and space truss analogy.

Torsion is assumed to be resisted by shear flow, q, around the perimeter of the

member as shown in Fig. a The beam is idealized as a thin-walled tube. After
cracking, the tube is idealized as a hollow truss consisting of closed stirrups,
longitudinal bars in the corners, and compression diagonals approximately centered
on the stirrups, as shown in Fig. b. The diagonals are idealized as being between
cracks that are at an angle generally taken as 45° for reinforced concrete.

Lower Limit on Consideration of Torsion

Torsional reinforcement is not required if

torsional cracks do not occur. In pure
torsion, the principal tensile stress, is
equal to the shear stress, at a given
location. Thus, from for a thin-walled tube,
Thin-walled tube analogy and space truss analogy.

Solid Section

To apply this to a solid section, it is necessary to define the wall thickness and
enclosed area of the equivalent tube prior to cracking. ACI Code Section 11.5.1
is based on the assumption that, prior to any cracking, the wall thickness, t, can
be taken equal to where is the perimeter of the concrete section
and is the area enclosed by this perimeter. The area, enclosed by the
centerline of the walls of the tube is taken as

Thus, from for a solid section

Torsional Cracking and Threshold Torsion
 Torsion of thin walled section

The resulting expression for threshold torque in a thin-walled hollow section is

Members with Axial Forces

Area of Stirrups for Torsion

A cracked beam subjected to pure torsion can be modeled as shown below. The
beam is idealized as a space truss consisting of longitudinal bars in the corners,
closed stirrups, and diagonal concrete compression members that spiral around the
beam between the cracks.
The height and width of the truss are y0 and x0 which are approximately equal to
the distances b/w the centers of the longitudinal corner bars.

The angle of the cracks is which initially is close

to 45°, but may become flatter at high torques.
Forces in stirrups.

The shear flow q converted into shear forces acting on the four walls of the tube
The total shear force due to torsion along each of the top and bottom sides of
the truss is
Summing moments about one
0 corner of the truss, we find that the
internal torque is
Forces in stirrups.
A portion of one of the vertical sides is shown
in Fig.
The number of stirrups intersected is a
function of the stirrup spacing s and the
horizontal projection of the inclined
surface. From vertical equilibrium:

Replacing V2 with and taking T equal to the nominal

torsion capacity Tn, gives
Longitudinal Reinforcement for Torsion

The longitudinal reinforcement

must be proportioned to resist the
longitudinal tension forces that
occur in the space truss.

The shear force V2 can be replaced with a diagonal compression force D2,
parallel to the concrete struts and an axial tension force, N2 given by

For a rectangular member, as

shown the total longitudinal force is

Replacing Tn
Maximum Shear and Torsion
A member loaded by torsion or by combined shear and torsion may fail by
yielding of the stirrups and longitudinal reinforcement or by crushing of the
concrete due to the diagonal compressive forces.

A serviceability failure may occur if the inclined cracks are too wide at service
loads. The limit on combined shear and torsion in ACI Code Section 11.5.3.1
was derived to limit service-load crack widths,

Crack Width Limit

As was explained in Section 6-5, ACI Code Section 11.4.7.9 attempts to guard
against excessive crack widths by limiting the maximum shear, that can be
transferred by stirrups to an upper limit of
Crack Width Limit
In a hollow section
the limit is given by
Web crushing limit
Failure can also occur due to crushing of
the concrete in the walls of the tube due
to the inclined compressive forces in the
struts between cracks.
This sets a higher limit on the stresses than do Eqs. For crack width.
The diagonal compressive force in a vertical side of the member shown in Fig is
given by

The resulting
The resulting compressive stress due to torsion is
compressive stress due to torsion is

The diagonal compressive stresses due to shear

may be calculated in a similar manner as
Web crushing limit

For a solid section, adding via square root

should not exceed the crushing strength of the

cracked concrete in the tube
Collins and Mitchell have related fce to the strains in the longitudinal and
transverse reinforcement in the tube. For longitudinal and transverse strains,
equal to the yield strain of Grade-60 steel.
Setting fcd = fce we
get
Equilibrium and Compatibility Torsion
Figure RHS shows three examples of equilibrium torsion. When
a reinforced concrete member is subject to torsion only, or to
flexure combined with shear, the stiffness
of that member will decrease after cracking.
The reduction in torsional stiffness after cracking is much larger
than the reduction in flexural stiffness after cracking. If the
torsional moment Tu in a member cannot be reduced
by redistribution of internal forces in the structure, that member
must be designed for the full torsional moment Tu (11.5.2.1).
This is referred to as “equilibrium torsion.”

If redistribution of internal forces can occur, as in indeterminate

structures, the design torque can be reduced. This type of
torque is referred to as “compatibility torsion.”
Members subject to compatibility torsion need not be designed
for a torque larger than the product of the cracking torque times
the strength reduction factor φ. For cases ofcompatibility torsion
where Tu > φTcr the member can be designed for φTcr only,
provided redistribution of internal forces is accounted for in the
design of the other members of the structure
Examples of Aoh.
Anchorage of closed stirrups. (From [7-12].)
Design of Beams for Torsion
The floor framing in the operating rooms in a hospital building consists of reinforced
concrete beams 18″ × 24″ deep that support precast concrete planks as shown in
Figure below. The clear span of the beam is 27 ft between columns. The planks are
10 in. deep with 2-in. topping and supports stud wall partitions that weigh 10 psf and
mechanical/electrical equipment that weigh 5 psf. The weight of the precast planks is
70 psf. The centerline to centerline span of the planks is 30 ft on the left-hand side of
the beam and 24 ft on the right-hand side of the beam.

Design the beam for torsion and shear assuming normal weight concrete (i.e.,
lambda = 1.0) and f ′ c = 4000 psi. Assume the beam has already been designed for
bending. The live load for hospital operating rooms is 60 psf.

Dead Load
10 in. plank + 2 in. topping = 95 psf
Mechanical and electrical = 5 psf
Stud wall partitions = 10 psf

Total dead load, D = 110 psf

Floor live load (operating room), L = 60 psf

Design of Beams for Torsion

Tributary Widths (TW) of Beam

TW (due to the 30ft span hollow core plank) = 30 ft/2 = 15 ft

TW (due to the 24ft span hollow core plank) = 24 ft/2 = 12 ft

Eccentricity of the Hollow-Core Plank Load

The maximum uniform torsional loading will occur due to checkerboard or partial
loading on the hollow core slabs in which the full design live load is assumed on the
30-ft-span hollow-core slab and one-half of the design live load is assumed on the
24-ft-span hollow core slab. The maximum torsion will be considered together with
the corresponding maximum uniform vertical load that occurs at the same time.
The maximum factored uniform The corresponding maximum factored
torsional load is uniform vertical load is
Design of Beams for Torsion
factored torsional moment, Tu, the factored shear, Vu, and the factored bending
moment, Mu:
Assuming 2 layers of reinforcement, d = 24 in. - 3.5 in. = 20.5 in.
For torsion and shear, use a reduced span commencing at d from the face of the
beam supports.
This reduced span is
Maximum design torsional moment,

Maximum design shear that occurs at the

same time as the maximum torsion is
The reinforcement required to resist the bending moment is assumed to have
previously been designed
The concrete shear strength is
Torsion can be neglected if the factored torsional
moment is less than or equal to the concrete
torsional strength, that is, if Tu<0.25*phi*Tcr,
where the concrete torsional strength is
Design of Beams for Torsion
Because Tu = 13.1 ft.-kips > 8.8 ft.-kips, this beam must be designed for torsion.
This is equilibrium torsion as redistribution of internal forces is not possible because
the torsional moment is required to maintain equilibrium. The member thus must
be designed for the full torsional moment, Tu
Check the limits of the member cross section using ACI Code Equation (11-18) to
prevent crushing of the diagonal concrete compression struts:

Effective depth, d = 24 - 3.5

in. (assuming 2 layers of
rebar) = 20.5 in.
Design of Beams for Torsion
The limits on the beam cross-sectional
dimensions using ACI Equation (11-18):

Thus, the diagonal concrete

compression struts are not crushed and
the size of the beam is adequate to
resist the torsional moments.

Determine the required torsional stirrup area, At/s, the stirrup area required for
shear, Av/s, and the total stirrup area required for combined shear and torsion, Avt/s.
Design of Beams for Torsion
Using No. 4 stirrups, Avt (2 legs) = 2 (0.2 in.2) = 0.4 in.2, the spacing of the stirrups
required to resist the maximum combined shear and torsion is calculated as
Therefore, use No. 4 closed stirrups at 8-in. on
center. The shear and torsion are at their max
values at the face of the beam support and
decrease linearly to zero at the midspan of the
beam; the stirrup spacing thus can be varied
Additional Longitudinal Reinforcement
From ACI Equations (11-22) and (11-24) the
additional longitudinal reinforcement is
calculated as

Therefore, the required

additional longitudinal
steel is Al= 1.75 in.2
Design of Beams for Torsion
This additional longitudinal reinforcement should be distributed at the corners of the beam but
the spacing between these bars should be no greater than 12 in. Where the spacing exceeds
12 in., provide additional longitudinal bars at the midwidth or middepth of the beam as
required. This longitudinal reinforcement is in addition to the reinforcement required to resist
the bending moments on the beam. If the additional reinforcement is concentrated on the top
and bottom layers, therefore, the total areas of the top and bottom longitudinal reinforcement
in the beam are calculated as

However, for the beam in this example, the

spacing of the longitudinal reinforcement
will exceed the maximum 12 in. because
the center-to-center distance between the
top and bottom rebars is approximately 18
in. The additional longitudinalreinforcement
should thus be distributed as follows:
Design of Beams for Torsion

The minimum diameter of the longitudinal reinforcement

is the largest of the following:

or ¼ in. (controls)
Cantilever beam—Example 7-2 Text Book
Cross section of a cantilever beam—Example 7-2.
Joist floor—Example 7-4.
Moments, shears, and torques in end span of edge beam—
Example 7-4.
Reinforcement in edge beam—Example 7-4.