Shear strength of High-strength concrete beams: modeling and design recommendations

In the present paper, the flexural and the shear resistance of high strength reinforced concrete (HSC)beams with longitudinal bars, in the presence of transverse stirrups is analyzed both theoretically andexperimentally. The experimental researches here presented are parts of previous researches carriedout by the author. Researches refer to HSC beams with high percentages of steel bars failing in shearand in flexure. From the analytical point of view, a model based on the evaluation of the resistance contributiondue to beam and arch actions including bond splitting and concrete crushing failure modes isdeveloped and presented. The model was verified against available experimental results and thoserecently obtained by the author. Some of the more recent analytical expressions able to predict the shearand the flexural resistance of concrete beams were mentioned and design considerations are made referringto a ductile design of HSC beams. Finally, design recommendations were derived with the proposedmodel and compared with expressions given in most common codes.