27-Mar-20

Limit State Method -

Design of Flexural Members for Shear

Principal Stress Trajectories

____ Principal tensile stresses
------ Principle compression stresses

τ f2

fx
Diagonal
f1 Crack

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Cracking in RC Beams

Potential Crack Pattern

Types of Cracks
For simply supported beam under uniformly distributed load, three types of cracks are
identified.
1. Flexural cracks: form at the bottom near mid span and propagate upwards
2. Flexure shear cracks: form at bottom due to flexure and propagate due to both
flexure and shear
3. Web shear cracks: form near neutral axis close to support and propagate inclined to
the beam axis

Pic Source: NCHRP Report 549 (2005)

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Shear Failure
Shear failure can be prevented by adding steel perpendicular
to direction of propagation of shear cracks

Flexure Shear Cracks Shear Failure

(shear failure without shear reinforcement will
normally occur at an angle 30˚ to the horizontal)

Failure due to shear is sudden as compared to failure due to flexure 5

Components of Shear Resistance

Behavior of RC members under Shear (including combined loads with other loads) is
very complex due to
1. Non-homogeneity of materials
2. Presence of Cracks and Reinforcement
3. Nonlinearity in Material Response

Components of shear resistance at a flexure shear crack:

Notations:
V = Vcz + Vay + Vd + Vs
Vcz = Shear carried by un-cracked concrete
Vay = Vertical component of shear resistance due to aggregate interlock
Vd = Shear resistance due to dowel action
Vs = Shear carried by stirrups (if any)
Magnitude and relative value of each component change with loading stage, material and
geometric properties and extent of cracking.

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Components of Shear Resistance

Aggregate interlocking across tension-shear cracks
Aggregate interlock is one of the shear-resisting
mechanisms of structural concrete. Because the strength
of the hardened cement paste and transition zone in most
concretes is lower than the strength of the aggregate
particles, cracks intersect the cement paste along the
edges of the aggregate particles. Thus, the aggregate
particles, extending from one of the crack faces,
interlock with the opposite face and resist shear
displacements. The aggregate interlock shears depend on
the surface roughness of the cracks, the aggregate type,
and the displacements across the cracks

Dowel Action (Reinforcement)

Dowel action is defined as the capacity of reinforcing

bars to transfer forces perpendicular to their axis. Higher
percentage of longitudinal steel in the beams enhances
the capacity of the section in shear through dowel action.
For example, use of mild steel will result in higher
percentage of longitudinal steel as compared to use of
HYSD bars for design in flexure. 7

Components of Shear Resistance

• Prior to flexural cracking, the applied shear is resisted almost entirely by the un-cracked
section (Vcz = V)
• At the commencement of flexural cracking, there is distribution of stresses, and some
interface Va and dowel action Vd develop
• At the stage of diagonal tension cracking, the shear reinforcement intercepts the cracks
and it undergo a sudden increase in tensile strain and stress. All major mechanisms are
effective at this stage.

• Higher the percentage of tension reinforcement (because of use of mild steel or

providing more flexure reinforcement than required) contributes to enhanced dowel
action Vd
• Higher the percentage of tension reinforcement (because of providing more flexure
reinforcement than required) controls the propagation of flexural cracks and
contributes to increasing the depth of NA, and there by the depth of uncracked
concrete in compression. This enhances the contribution of Va and Vcz

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Nominal Shear Stress

For prismatic members of rectangular (or flanged section) the code Cl-40.1 uses the term
nominal shear stress τv defined at the ultimate state as follows:

Vu
v 
where
bd
Vu = factored shear
b = width of the beam (bw for flanged beam)
d = effective depth

τv is merely a parameter intended to aid design and to control shear stresses in RC; it does
not actually represent the true average shear stress (distribution of shear stress in RC is
quite complex)

The total ultimate shear resistance VuR at any section of the beams is given by:

ultimate shear resistance of the concrete

ultimate shear resistance of the shear reinforcement 9

Design Shear Strength of Concrete, τc

• The shear resistance Vuc of concrete at ultimate limit state is made up of all the
components Vcz, Vay and Vd

Vuc  Vcz  Vay  Vd

• Although the relative magnitudes of these components vary with the stage of loading
and the state of cracking, for simplicity, their aggregate value Vuc is assumed to be
constant, and obtainable from the design strength of concrete τc as:

• For computing the values of τc it is assumed that the diagonal cracking strength in shear
is reached whenever the principal tensile stress in the neutral axis of a flexurally cracked
beam reaches the tensile strengths of concrete.
• The design shear strength of concrete, τc serves a dual purpose
• It serves as a measure on the shear carried by beams without shear reinforcement
• It serves as a measure of the shear carried by concrete in a member with shear
reinforcement

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Factors contributing to Ultimate shear resistance

• From a design viewpoint, suitable shear reinforcement has to be designed if the factored
shear Vu exceeds Vuc, i.e.

Vu  Vus  Vuc

• The shear resistance required from the shear reinforcement is given by:

Vus  Vu  Vuc  ( v   c )bd

• As the quantities Vu, and Vuc, are known, the normal design procedure will involve the
determination of the shear reinforcement for resisting the shear force Vus

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Truss Analogy

In a simple truss, the upper and lower chords are in compression Blue Tension
and tension respectively; the diagonal members, called web Red Compression
members, are alternately in compression and tension.

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Truss Analogy
Action of vertical and inclined (stirrups) shear reinforcement may be described by the
analogous truss action.

Asv= area of one

stirrup (considering all
legs)
sv= spacing b/w
stirrups

Vus  (vertical component of tension per stirrup)  (number of stirrups)

d (cot   cot  )
Vus  0.87 f y Asv sin  
sv
Assuming diagonal cracks  =45 and the case with vertical stirrups   90
d
Vus  0.87 f y Asv
sv

Spacing of stirrups required for a given  v and Asv

d 0.87 f y Asv
0.87 f y Asv   v   c  bd  sv 
sv b  v   c  13

Design Shear Strength With Shear Reinforcement

Shear reinforcement, also known as web reinforcement may consist of any one of the
following systems:
• stirrups perpendicular to the beam axis;
• stirrups inclined (at 45° or more) to the beam axis; and
• longitudinal bars bent-up (usually, not more than two at a time) at 45° to 60° to the beam
axis, combined with stirrups.

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Types of shear reinforcement

Shear reinforcement must be anchored in

compression zone of concrete and is usually
hooped around longitudinal tension
reinforcement.

Limiting Ultimate Shear Resistance

• The yielding of the shear reinforcement at the ultimate limit state is essential to ensure a ductile
failure (with ample warning). However, such a failure will not occur if the shear reinforcement
provided is excessive.
• If the total shear reinforcement exceeds a certain limit, it is likely that the section becomes stronger
in diagonal tension compared to diagonal compression. Hence, a shear-compression failure may
occur even before the shear reinforcement has yielded. Such a situation is undesirable due to the
brittle nature of the failure; moreover, it turns out to be uneconomical, in much the same way as
over-reinforced beams.
• In order to prevent such shear-compression failures and to ensure yielding of the shear
reinforcement at the ultimate limit state, the Code (Cl. 40.2.3) has indirectly imposed a limit on the
resistance Vus, by limiting the ultimate shear resistance VuR:

VuR ,lim   c,maxbd

• Thus, if the calculated nominal shear Vu at a beam section exceeds the limit VuR,lim, the design
should be suitably revised, either by:
• improving the grade of concrete (thereby raising τc,max)
• increasing the dimensions of the beam (thereby, lowering τv)

Under no circumstances even with shear reinforcement

shall the nominal shear stress τv exceeds τc,max given in  v   c,max
Table 20 of IS:456. 16

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Minimum shear reinforcement

When τv does not τc (design shear strength of concrete) given in Table 19 of IS456, minimum
shear reinforcement in the form of stirrups shall be provided such that:

Asv 0.4

bsv 0.87 f y
where
Asv = total cross-sectional area of stirrup legs effective in shear.
sv = stirrup spacing along the length of the member.
b = breadth of the beam or breadth of the web of flanged beam
fy = characteristic strength of the stirrup reinforcement in N/mm2 which shall not be taken greater than
415N/mm2

When τv exceeds τc given in Table 19, shear reinforcement shall be provided in any of the following
forms:
• Vertical stirrup
• Bent-up bars along with stirrups
• Inclined stirrups
Shear reinforcement shall be provided to carry a shear force equal to (𝑉𝑢 − 𝜏𝑐 𝑏𝑑)

Minimum reinforcement is required to improve the ductility of the

member and to preclude failure due to shear.
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Critical section for shear design

• When a heavy concentrated load is introduced within the distance 2d from the face, then
the face of the support becomes the critical section.

Vu

2d

Heavy load within 2d

• When the effect of transverse compression from the reaction is absent, as in a suspended
beam or beam connected to side of another supported beam, the critical section should
be taken as the face of the support

Vu

Face of support in tension

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Critical section for shear design

• In designing for flexural shear, the critical sections are the ones where shear force is
maximum and/or cross section area is minimum.
• The maximum shear force usually occurs in a flexural member at the face of the support.
• When a support reaction introduces transverse compression in the end region of the
member, the shear strength of this region is enhanced, and inclined cracks do not
develop near the face of the support.
• In such a case the code Cl-22.6.2.1 allows a section located at a distance d from the face
of the support to be treated as the critical section.

Face of support in compression

Vu
Vu Vu

d
d d

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6 m c/c
EXAMPLE 6.1 (Pillai & Menon)
The simply supported beam in Example 5.1 is provided with web 230 mm
reinforcement of 8 mm plain bar U-stirrups at a uniform spacing of 200 mm,
as shown in the Fig. Check the adequacy of the shear design. If necessary, Superimposed DL= 5 kN/m
revise the design. Distributed LL= 10 kN/m

Example 5.1: A rectangular RC beam, located inside a building in a coastal

town, is simply supported on two 230mm and 6m (centre to centre) apart
masonry walls. The beam has to carry, in addition to its own weight, a
distributed live load of 10 kN/m and a dead load of 5 kN/m. Design the
beam section for maximum moment at midspan. Assume Fe415 steel.

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6 m c/c
EXAMPLE 6.1 (Pillai & Menon)
230 mm
The simply supported beam in Example 5.1 is provided with web
reinforcement of 8 mm plain bar U-stirrups at a uniform spacing of 200 mm,
as shown in the Fig. Check the adequacy of the shear design. If necessary,
revise the design.

Example 5.1: A rectangular RC beam, located inside a building in a coastal

town, is simply supported on two 230mm and 6m (centre to centre) apart
masonry walls. The beam has to carry, in addition to its own weight, a
distributed live load of 10 kN/m and a dead load of 5 kN/m. Design the
beam section for maximum moment at midspan. Assume Fe415 steel.

wu  28.1 kN/m
M u ,max  126 kN-m
( M uR )3 bars  131 kN-m
( M uR )2 bars  73.5 kN-m (although actual is 80.8 kN-m)

6 m c/c
EXAMPLE 6.1 (Pillai & Menon)
230 mm
The simply supported beam in Example 5.1 is provided with web
reinforcement of 8 mm plain bar U-stirrups at a uniform spacing of 200 mm,
as shown in the Fig. Check the adequacy of the shear design. If necessary,
revise the design.

Example 5.1: A rectangular RC beam, located inside a building in a coastal

town, is simply supported on two 230mm and 6m (centre to centre) apart
masonry walls. The beam has to carry, in addition to its own weight, a
distributed live load of 10 kN/m and a dead load of 5 kN/m. Design the
beam section for maximum moment at midspan. Assume Fe415 steel.

Load in this part of

the beam span gets
transferred to
support through
direct strut action

Critical
section for
shear

Shear due to Critical section for moment

full dead load
and live load ‘Envelope’ shear force diagram
on entire span Shear due to full dead load
(load and live load on half the span
combination 1) 22
(load combination 2)

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EXAMPLE 6.1 (Pillai & Menon)

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EXAMPLE 6.1 (Pillai & Menon)

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Shear Strength Requirements for Curtailment (Cl. 26.2.3)

• To safeguard against the development of diagonal tension cracks, the tension steel
should not be terminated unless any one of the following three requirements is satisfied:
• The shear at the cut-off point does not exceed two-thirds of the shear resisting
capacity of the section.
• Excess stirrups are provided over a distance of 0.75d from the cut-off point having
an area Asv and a spacing sv such that:
0.5bw sv d
Asv  sv 
fy 8 b

where βb is the ratio of the area of bars cut off to the total area of the bars at the
section.
• For 36φ and smaller bars, the continuing bars provide at least twice the area
required for flexure at the cut-off point and the shear does not exceed three-fourth
of the shear resisting capacity of the section.

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EXAMPLE 6.1 (Pillai & Menon)

• Check shear strength at bar cut-off point

Check if the third

condition satisfied,
if it is satisfied no
need to provide
excess shear
reinforcement

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Shear in Slab
Experimental studies have shown that slabs and shallow beams fail at loads corresponding
to a nominal stress that is higher than that applicable for beams of usual proportion.
Moreover, the thinner the slab, the greater is the increase in shear strength. In recognition
of this, the Code (Cl. 40.2.1.1) suggests an increased shear strength, equal to kτc for ‘solid
slabs’ (i.e., not including ribbed slabs), the multiplication factor k having a value in the
range 1.0 to 1.3, expressed as follows:

where D is the overall depth of the slab in mm.

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EXAMPLE 6.2 (Pillai & Menon)

Slabs, in general, do not require shear reinforcement, as the depth provided (based on
deflection criteria) is usually adequate to meet shear strength requirements. Verify this in
the case of the one-way slab of Example 5.2.

Example 5.2: Design a one-way slab, with clear span of 4 m, simply supported on 230 mm
thick masonry walls, subjected to a live load of 4 kN/m2 and a surface finish of 1 kN/m2.
Assume Fe415 steel. Assume that the slab is subjected to moderate exposure conditions.

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At critical Section

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Extra

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