Evaluation of Shear Strength of RC Beams Without Shear Reinforcement Using Modified Compression Field Theory

For reinforced concrete design and evaluation, the designer needs to compute the shear capacities for members based on their damage state. However, the most popular code-based shear capacity formula for RC frame members (ACI318-14) is not capable of providing such a required demand. Furthermore, for RC members with specific uncommon material properties or loading or very special detailing, code-based formula might not be applicable. The main objective of this paper is to highlight some of the shortcomings of current procedures for shear design of RC members and provide alternatives using finite element modeling. Hence, 120 shear critical rectangular beams without shear reinforcements are modeled through VecTor2 finite element program developed at the University of Toronto based on the modified compression field theory and the disturbed stress field model. The computed results are compared with published laboratory tests and ACI318-14 shear capacity estimations. The VecTor2 finite element simulations can predict the shear strength of reinforced concrete beams with an acceptable accuracy, while the ACI318-14 provisions provide imprecise estimate of shear capacity for some cases.