This paper presents results of an experimental investigation into the effect of flange geometry on the shear strength of point-loaded, reinforced concrete T-beams. A procedure to normalise the ultimate strength and calculate a concrete contribution is implemented. This is used to discuss the effect of varying the ratio of flange width to web width and the ratio of flange depth to effective depth on the shear strength of a reinforced concrete T-beam. An increase in the ratio of flange width to web width is shown to produce an accompanying increase in the ultimate strength of a reinforced concrete T-beam, providing the ratio of flange depth to effective depth is above a certain minimum value. This increase in shear resistance with an increase in the ratio of flange width to web width continues until the flange is wide enough to allow formation of a failure mechanism whereby the load point punches through the flange.Key words: shear, T-beams, flange, reinforcing, strength, failure mechanisms.
This paper provides an analysis of the strain measurements and distributions obtained from testing two reinforced concrete T-beam specimens for the purpose of assessing the contribution of the flange to the shear strength. The specimens were instrumented throughout the flange and the compressive zone of the web region in order to obtain comprehensive data required for the understanding of shear resistance mechanisms and quantification of the flange contribution to the shear resistance of reinforced concrete T-beams. It was found that the formation of shear cracking results in significant redistributions of strain through the measured region. Redistributions of compressive strains transversely away from the web region and vertically away from the top surface of the flange were observed. The resulting distributions throughout the specimen were highly nonlinear. In light of the results of this investigation, the assumptions made in the application of existing methods available for prediction of the shear resistance of reinforced concrete T-beams are discussed, and proposed improvements to these methods are also discussed.
The new pedestrian and cycleway crossing of the River Mourne in Strabane, Northern Ireland is a slender lightweight cable-stayed structure. The bridge is 96 m long in total, with a main span of 80 m. The bridge is characterised by its inclined main tower, curved in elevation and very slender deck profile. This bridge was designed in such a manner to avoid the use of proprietary damping systems that can be employed to avoid the risk of exceedance of serviceability criteria in similar structures with a view to minimising maintenance costs during the life of the structure. This was achieved using careful dynamic analysis of the structure, wind tunnel testing as well as post-construction testing to validate criteria not explicitly dealt with by the codes of practice. This paper describes analysis and testing undertaken for the dynamic design of this bridge resulting in the client's vision being realised.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.