Proposed revision on CIRIA design equation for normal and high strength concrete deep beams

Abstract

The popularity of high strength concrete in the construction industry propels the need for a revision in the current shear design equations for deep beams in EC2. This paper proposes shear design equations that are applicable for both normal and high strength concrete beams. The comparison study involves a total of 151 beams, out of which 24 were the ‘ideal’ beams. The idea of simulating ‘ideal’ beams using finite element modelling (FEM) was to provide more data points in a controlled manner to benchmark the proposed shear design equations. Additionally, parametric variations are introduced in the FEM simulation. It is noteworthy that the proposed shear design equations adequately predict the ultimate shear strengths of deep beams of various shear span-to-depth ratios (0·27–2·70), main reinforcement contents (1·23–5·80%), web reinforcement contents and concrete grades (covering both normal and high strength concrete from 25–100 MPa).