A sectional method to account for shear enhancement in point-loaded nonslender members
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Abstract
In nonslender members, significant vertical compressive stresses occur by the loading and support conditions. Sectional models, which ignore the beneficial effects of these vertical compressive stresses underestimate the shear strength of such members. In this study, a simple expression is derived to calculate the vertical compressive stress at mid-depth of point-loaded nonslender beams and shear design provisions in the fib MC2010 are extended to account for the shear enhancement in nonslender members by considering this compressive stress in the equilibrium conditions. ACI-DAfStb evaluation databases of shear tests on point-loaded simply supported reinforced concrete members with and without stirrups are employed to evaluate the accuracy of this proposed sectional analysis method. Results show that including vertical compressive stresses in the fib MC2010 sectional shear design procedures greatly improved the accuracy of shear strength predictions for point-loaded nonslender members.
