Reinforced Concrete Design

Chapter 6: Shear & Diagonal

Tension in Beams)
 Shear And Diagonal Tension in
Beams
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Introduction
 Previous chapter dealt with the flexural strength of
beams
 This chapter presents procedures for the analysis
and design of reinforced concrete sections to resist
the shear forces resulting from externally applied
loads
 Shear And Diagonal Tension in
Beams
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Shear Failure
 Shear failure of RC beam, more properly called
“diagonal tension failure”, is difficult to predict
accurately
 In spite of many years of experimental research and
the use of highly sophisticated computational tools, it
is not fully understood
 If a beam without properly designed for shear
reinforcement is overloaded to failure, shear
collapse is likely to occur suddenly
 Shear And Diagonal Tension in
Beams
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Shear Failure
 Shear And Diagonal Tension in
Beams
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Behaviour of Homogeneous Beams

 Consider the two infinitesimal elements 1 and 2 of
a rectangular beam in Fig a. made of homogeneous,
isotropic, and linear elastic material.
 Fig.b shows the bending stress and shear stress
distributions across the depth of the section
 The tensile normal stress 𝑡 and the shear stress
are the values in element 1 across 1 1 at a
distance from the neutral axis
 Shear And Diagonal Tension in
Beams
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Behaviour of Homogeneous Beams

 From the principles of classical mechanics, the
normal stress and shear stress for element 1
can be written as
– 𝑓 , and 𝑣 Where
– 𝑀 & 𝑉 = bending moment & shear force at section 𝑎1 𝑎1
– 𝐴 = cross-sectional area of the section at the plane passing
through the centroid of element 𝐴1
– 𝑦 = distance from the element to the neutral axis
– 𝑦 = distance from the centroid of 𝐴 to the neutral axis
– 𝐼 = moment of inertia of the cross section
– 𝑏 = width of the beam
 Shear And Diagonal Tension in
Beams
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Behaviour of Homogeneous Beams

 The internal stresses acting on the infinitesimal
element 1 and 2, using Mohr’s circle are as
following:
– 𝑓 𝑣 principle tension

– 𝑓 𝑣 principle compression
 Shear And Diagonal Tension in
Beams
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Behaviour of Homogeneous Beams

Fig. a

Fig. b
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Beams
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Behaviour of RC Beams as Nonhomogeneous

sections
 The behaviour of RC beams differs in that the tensile
strength of concrete is about one-tenth of its
strength in compression
 The compressive stress 𝑐 in element 2 of Fig b
above the neutral axis prevents cracking because
the maximum principal stress in the element is in
compression
 For element 1 below the neutral axis, the maximum
principle stress is in tension; hence cracking ensures
 Shear And Diagonal Tension in
Beams
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Behaviour of RC Beams as Nonhomogeneous

sections
 Because of the low tensile strength of concrete,
diagonal cracking develops along planes
perpendicular to the planes of principal tensile
stress; hence the term diagonal tension cracks
 To prevent such cracks from opening, special
diagonal tension reinforcement has to be provided
 Shear And Diagonal Tension in
Beams
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Diagonal Tension Failure

 In the beams with which we are concerned, where
the length over which a shear failure could occur
(the shear span) is in excess of approximately three
times the effective depth, the diagonal tension failure
would be the mode of failure in shear as shown in
below fig.

 For longer shear spans in plain concrete beams,

cracks due to flexural tensile stresses would occur
long before cracks due to diagonal tension
 Shear And Diagonal Tension in
Beams
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Diagonal Tension Failure

 The principle stress in tension acts at an
approximately plane to the normal at sections
close to supports
 Because of the low tensile strength of concrete,
diagonal cracking develops along planes
perpendicular to the planes of principal tensile
stress; hence the term diagonal tension cracks
 To prevent such cracks, special diagonal tension
reinforcement has to be provided
 Shear And Diagonal Tension in
Beams
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Diagonal Tension Failure

 Trajectories of principal stresses in a homogeneous
isotropic beam
 RC Beams Without Diagonal
Tension Reinforcement
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Modes of Failure of Beams Without Diagonal

Tension Reinforcement
 The slenderness of the beam or its shear
span/depth determines the failure of the plain
concrete beam as shown in below Fig
 The shear span for concentrated load is distance
between the point of application of the load and the
face of the supports
 RC Beams Without Diagonal
Tension Reinforcement
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Modes of Failure of Beams Without Diagonal

Tension Reinforcement
 Basically, three modes of failure or their
combinations are
– Flexural Failure
– Diagonal Tension Failure
– Shear Compression Failure
 The more slender the beam, the stronger the
tendency toward flexure behaviour
 The shear span 𝑐 for distributed loads is the clear
beam span
 RC Beams Without Diagonal
Tension Reinforcement
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Modes of Failure of Beams Without Diagonal

Tension Reinforcement
 Table 6.1 gives expected range values of the shear
span/depth ratio for the different modes of failure
and types of beams
 ACI Code Requirements For Shear
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Basic of ACI Design for Shear

 The ACI provides design guidelines for shear
reinforcement based on the vertical shear for that
develops at any given cross section of a member
 Although it is really the diagonal tension for which
shear reinforcing must be provided, diagonal tensile
forces or stresses are not calculated
 Traditionally, vertical shear force has been taken to
be good indicator of diagonal tension present
 Shear Reinforcement Design
Requirements As Per ACI Code
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Shear or Web Reinforcement

 The basic rationale for the design of the shear
reinforcement, or web reinforcement as it usually
called in beams, is to provide steel to cross the
diagonal tension cracks and subsequently keep
them from opening
 The web reinforcement may take several forms such
as
– Vertical stirrups
– Inclined or diagonal stirrups
– The main reinforcement bent ends to act as inclined
stirrups
 Shear Reinforcement Design
Requirements As Per ACI Code
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Shear or Web Reinforcement

 The most common form of web reinforcement used
is the vertical stirrup
 This reinforcement appreciably increases the
ultimate shear capacity of a bending member
 Shear Reinforcement Design
Requirements
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ACI Code Provisions for Shear Reinforcement

 For member that are subjected to shear and flexure
only, the amount of shear force that the concrete can
resist is
– 𝑉 =λ𝑥2 𝑓′ 𝑏𝑤 𝑑
– Where
– λ= 1.0 for normal concrete
– λ=0.85 for sand-lightweight concrete
– λ=0.75 for all light weight concrete
 Shear Reinforcement Design
Requirements
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ACI Code Provisions for Shear Reinforcement

 The ACI also permits the use of more refined
equation in replacement of previous Eq, that is
– 𝑉 =1.9λ 𝑓′ 𝑏 𝑑 2500𝜌 𝑏 𝑑 3.5𝑏 𝑑 𝑓′
– Where
– 𝑉 𝜑𝑉 factored shear force, taken d distance from face
of support
– 𝑀 𝜑𝑀 factored bending moment, taken d distance
from face of support
 Shear Reinforcement Design
Requirements
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ACI Code Provisions for Shear Reinforcement

 The design shear force results from the
application of factored loads
 Values of are most conveniently determined
using a typical shear force diagram
 Theoretically, no web reinforcement is required if
– 𝑉 𝜑𝑉
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Requirements
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Resistance or Strength Reduction Factors

Structural Element Factor 𝝋

Beam or slab; bending or flexure 0.90

Columns with ties 0.65

Columns with spirals 0.75

Beams: shear and torsion 0.75

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Requirements
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ACI Code Provisions for Shear Reinforcement

 However, the code requires that a minimum areas of
shear reinforcement be provided in all reinforced
concrete flexural members when ,
except as follows:
– In slabs and footings
– In concrete joist construction as defined in the code
– In beams with a total depth of less than 10 in., or 2.5 times
the flange thickness, or one-half the width of the web,
whichever is greater
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Requirements
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ACI Code Provisions for Shear Reinforcement

 In cases where shear reinforcement is required for
strength or because , the minimum area
of shear reinforcement shall be computed from
– 𝐴 𝑚𝑎𝑥 0.75 𝑓′ ,

– Where
– Av = total cross-sectional area of web reinforcement within
a distance s, for single loop stirrups, Av = 2 As
– As = cross-sectional area of the stirrup bar
– bw = web width = b for rectangular section
– s= center-to-center spacing of shear reinforcement in a
direction parallel to the longitudinal reinforcement
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Requirements
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ACI Code Provisions for Shear Reinforcement

 Shear Reinforcement Design
Requirements
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ACI Code Provisions for Shear Reinforcement

 According to the ACI Code, the design of beams for
shear is based on the following relation:
– 𝜑𝑉 𝑉
– Where
– 𝜑= strength reduction factor
– 𝑉 𝑉 𝑉
– 𝑉 = nominal shear strength provided by reinforcement =
for vertical stirrups

– For inclined stirrups, 𝑉 if α = 45° then

.
– 𝑉
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Requirements
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ACI Code Provisions for Shear Reinforcement

 The design for stirrup spacing can be determined
from
– Required 𝑠 (for vertical stirrups)
.
– and required s = (for 45° stirrups) where 𝑉

– According to the ACI Code, the maximum spacing of

stirrups is the smallest value of
– 𝑆 ,𝑆 , and 𝑆 24 𝑖𝑛.

– If Vs exceed 4 𝑓′ 𝑏 𝑑, the maximum spacing must not

exceed d/4 or 12 in.
 Shear Reinforcement Design
Requirements
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ACI Code Provisions for Shear Reinforcement

 Normally, it is economical and practical to compute
spacing required at several sections and to place
stirrups accordingly in groups of varying spacing.
 Critical Section
– The maximum shear usually occurs in this section near the
support
– For stirrup design, the section located a distance d from the
face of the support is called the critical section
– Sections located less than a distance d from the face of the
support may be designed for the same Vu as that of the
critical section
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Requirements
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ACI Code Provisions for Shear Reinforcement

 Critical Section
– The stirrup spacing should be constant from the critical
section back to the face of the support based on the
spacing requirements at the critical section
– The first stirrup should be placed at a maximum distance of
s/2 from the face of the support, where s equals the
immediately adjacent required spacing (a distance of 2 in.
is commonly used)
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