Title:
Bearing Capacity of Plain and Reinforced Concrete Loaded over a Limited Area
Author(s):
Tarig Ahmed, Eldon Burley, and Stephen Rigden
Publication:
Structural Journal
Volume:
95
Issue:
3
Appears on pages(s):
330-342
Keywords:
bearing strength; classes of lateral reinforcement; compressive strength; first crack; indirect tensile strength; maximum load; mode of failure
DOI:
10.14359/550
Date:
5/1/1998
Abstract:
This paper presents a detailed study of the effect of different classes of lateral reinforcement on the bearing capacity of concrete blocks. The effect of blocks size on the bearing capacity of concrete is also studied. The results show that increasing the percentage of lateral reinforcement effectively increases the failure bearing stress of the concrete specimens; therefore, it is recommended that a nominal amount of lateral reinforcement be used even when calculations indicate that none are required. The experimental evidence presented in this investigation also shows that the ratio of ultimate bearing stress of large to small concrete blocks can approximately be scaled to 1/S1/4, where S is the scale factor. A mathematical equation to calculate the ultimate bearing capacity in term of area of lateral steel reinforcement is adopted.