Experimental study on shear behavior of reinforced concrete beams with web horizontal reinforcement

In determining the shear capacity of reinforced concrete beams, current codes do not provide any calculation method to evaluate the influence of web horizontal reinforcement, although they exist as structural reinforcements (or skin reinforcement). The present paper comprises results of 11 reinforced concrete beams in an effort to investigate the influence of web horizontal reinforcement on the shear behavior of reinforced concrete beams. The primary design variables are the shear-span-depth ratio, different reinforcement ratio of stirrups and web horizontal reinforcement. Influence of web horizontal reinforcement on crack patterns and failure mode was studied. It was found that web horizontal reinforcement can increase the shear capacity of the beams and restrain growth of inclined cracks effectively. Test results are very valuable, as very few references of shear tests can be found focusing on the effect of web horizontal reinforcement on the shear capacity of the beams.