Fracture Mechanics Model Applied to Shear Failure of Reinforced Concrete Beams without Stirrups

摘要

A fracture mechanics model for the flexural - shear failure of rein - forced concrete beams without stirrups is presented. A phenome - nological study shows that flexural - shear failure is triggered by the propagation of a splitting crack at the level of the longitudinal reinforcement. Assuming that the ultimate shear load is reached when the splitting crack starts to propagate, a predictive model is developed. The critical lad is obtained considering the energy balance of the system during splitting crack propagation.