Abstract
Reinforced Concrete (RC) discontinuity regions (D-regions), such as dapped ends, can represent vulnerable zones in existing RC structures since they can exhibit a brittle failure mechanism. In common design practice, the ultimate strength of D-regions is assessed through Strut and Tie (S&T) models. Current design codes recommend two resistant mechanisms for dapped ends but do not provide information about the identification of steel bars involved in the resistant mechanism when the reinforcement is formed by distributed bars. An experimental campaign on dapped-end beams with various reinforcement layouts, including configurations without diagonal bars or with one or multiple layers of diagonal bars, has been carried out at the Structures and Material Testing Laboratory of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in Florence. Results allow for identifying the influence of different reinforcement layouts on the crack pattern at the Service Limit State (SLS) and on the post-peak response. Both the strain on bars and the crack opening displacements are investigated until failure. The work highlights that layouts with distributed diagonal bars reduce the crack widths at the SLS compared to other configurations, increase the ductility, and allow for the timely detection of damaged dapped ends during in situ inspections.
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