Alternative Strut and Tie Model for Reinforced Concrete Deep Beams

Abstract

This paper presents a simple strut and tie model to calculate the shear strength of reinforced concrete deep beams. The proposed model assumes that the shear strength is the algebraic sum of three strength components: concrete diagonal strut, vertical stirrups, and horizontal web reinforcements. The contribution of each strength components was calibrated with the test results of 305 deep beams compiled from previous studies with wide range of geometrical and material properties. The predictions of the proposed model were compared with those of the current codes of practice (ACI-318-14 and ASHTOO 2014) and those of existing model in the literature. Comparisons revealed that the proposed model provided better predictions than other models. The mean of predicted strength to test of the proposed model, the ACI-318-14 model, the ASHTOO 2014 model were 0.98, 0.79, and 0.75, respectively. The corresponding standard deviations were 0.17, 0.28, and 0.49, respectively.