Title:
Justification of ACI 446 Proposal for Updating ACI Code Provisions for Shear Design of Reinforced Concrete Beams
Author(s):
Zdenek P. Bažant, Qiang Yu, Walter Gerstle, James Hanson, and J. Woody Ju
Publication:
Commentary Reference
Volume:
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
601-610
Keywords:
shear failure; size effect; reinforced concrete
DOI:
Date:
9/1/2007
Abstract:
Due to a relatively large amount of experimental evidence and recent scientific advances, it is now generally recognized that, to ensure adequate safety margins, the size effect for designing reinforced concrete beams against shear failure must be incorporated into ACI code provisions. A purely empirical approach is impossible because the available test data, mostly obtained on small beams, need to be extrapolated to much larger beams for which tests are scant or nonexistent. Arguments for an improved code formulation are summarized, and verification by a database compiled by Joint ACI-ASCE Committee 445 is reviewed.