Volume 10, No. 3, 2016
Received: 2016/06/09, Accepted:
Authors:
Mohammed Shukri Al-Zoubi;
Abstract:
This study evaluates the shear capacity of reinforced concrete (RC) membrane elements subjected to pure inplane
shear stresses at different levels of loading. These elements are shown to fail in four different modes. A
model is proposed for the shear capacity of these membrane elements that can be computed by direct simple
expressions without the need to any iterative process as is usually the case in existing models. Failure in these
membrane elements is generally preceded by the formation of two or more major critical cracks assumed
herein to propagate in a direction normal to the principal tensile stresses in the concrete. At each stage of
loading, the major critical cracks are shown to open at an optimum angle that corresponds to the least
shearing resistance to external loading. Major cracks as well as ultimate shear capacity of RC membrane
elements are shown to occur when the contribution of the x-reinforcement to resist shear stresses is equal to
that of the y-reinforcement. Experimental results of tests on RC membrane elements subjected to pure inplane
shear stresses obtained from literature are used to validate and compare the proposed model with
existing models. Examples are provided for the computations of shear capacity by the proposed model for the
different modes of failure.
Keywords:
Reinforced concrete, Membrane element, Yield, Shear capacity, Critical cracks, Modes of failure