The lead-off paper in this issue by Vecchio and Shim is an "Experimental and analytical reexamination of classic concrete beam tests', conducted by Bresler and Scordelis some 40 years ago. The writers compare and discuss certain aspects of behavior between the original tests and a nominally identical set of beam tests conducted by the writers. Next, Bernardo and Lopes present an experimental study that investigates "Neutral axis depth versus flexural ductility in high-strength concrete beams." It is found that the relationships and limits for the evolution of the neutral axis established for normal-strength concrete are also valid for high-strength concrete. The influence of four types of secondary reinforcement for temperature and shrinkage on the "Strength and performance of fiber-reinforced concrete composite slabs" is presented by Roberts-Wollmann et al. It is shown that the type of secondary reinforcement does not significantly influence the failure mode, crack propagation, and load-deflection behavior. The relationship between local behavior of coupling beams and global behavior of coupled wall systems is examined in "Parametric study of coupled wall behavior--Implications for the design of coupling beams" by Harries et al. This study provides numerous insights into the adequacy of ACI-318 code provisions for coupling beams. Griffith et at. present the results of static and dynamic tests on unreinforced brick panels subject to out-of-plane loading in "Experimental investigation of URM walls in flexure." An empirical force-displacement relationship is proposed for use in a linearized displacement-based analysis using the substitute structure method.
展开▼
