Shear strength and behavior of RC deep

beams
P.M. Attarde*

Dr. D. K. Parbat

Research Scholar
Lecturer in civil engineering
Govt. Polytechnic
B. N. C. O. E
Nagpur, INDIA
Pusad, INDIA
parbatdk@gmail.com
vattarde75@rediffmail.com
Abstract: The behaviour of deep beam is significantly difference from shallow beam. in deep
beams the plane section does not remain plane after deformation .The main purpose of this
study is to facilate the prediction of deep beams failure. one load Was incrementally applied
and at each load increment new cracks there width and propagates were monitored. In this
paper we study the strength, behavior and crack pattern of RC deep beam.
Keywords: Behavior, RC Deep Beams, Shear Strength.
1.0 INTRODUCTION

C deep beam have many useful application

in buildings structures such as transfer
girders wall footings. Foundation pile caps, floor
diaphragms, bunkers, tanks etc. Particularly the
use of deep beams at lower levels in tall
buildings for both residential and commercial
purposes.
A beam is considered as deep if the depth
of beam is large in relation to span of beam
According To IS 456-2000 a beam is considered
as a deep when the ratio of effective the span to
overall depth L/D is less than 2.0 for simply
supported member and 2.5 for continuous
member. The investigation of their behavior is a
subject of considerable interest in RC structure
researches. The behavior of deep beam
depends on its properties of materials and
strength characteristics. Concrete plays a vital
role in the development of beam and other
structure elements. However, most of the
current design codes were developed using
experimental results based on NSC, therefore
existing cases limits the maximum concrete
strength based on it. These limitations reflect the
lack of research development rather than the
inability of the material to perform its capacity,
thus adequate invention of its behavior in
structural members is highly desirable. It is well
known that concrete is weak in tension and
strong in compression.
The main purpose of this study is to
investigate the performance (i.e., strength and
behaviour)
of
simply
supported
high
performance concrete deep beams. To study the
concept and the theory of deep beams under
* Corresponding Author

different ratios and to understand the concept of

crack and its failure of deep beam subjected to
different types of loading
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
Many investigations have been carried out
for more than three decades. Many researchers
have proposed to various methods to estimate
the strength of deep beams. Even though very
little work is done on High performance concrete
deep beam to predict the strength and behavior
of deep beam. For this research, numbers of
published literatures were studied to get extract
of all. A general review of published literature of
some of investigators on deep beam is briefly
described.
Md M sazaad studied the of behavior of
reinforced concrete deep beam under two-points
loading and the effect of shear reinforcement.
The influence of variation of web reinforcement
spacing on the shear strength of deep R.C.
beam is investigated. The general trend in crack
pattern, the load deflection characteristics and
the mode of failure of deep R.C. Beam under
two-points loading are also investigated. [5].
H S Kim presents experimental studies of
deep reinforced concrete (RC) beam behaviors
under combined axial and bending loads. In
order to investigate the effect of axial loads on
the structural behaviors of the deep RC beams,
specimens are prepared to have different shear
span-to-depth ratios and subjected to axial loads
of 235kN or 470kN. From the experiments,
structural behaviors such as failure modes, loaddeflection relationships, and strains of steel bar
and concrete are observed. [2].

Satadru Das Adhikary, describes the

experimental results of 24 RC deep beams with
and without shear reinforcements under varying
rates of concentrated loading. [7].
Sharan Basava studied that the shear
behavior of RC non flexural deep beams which
are predominant in shear were studied. Acording
to ACI 318-08 deep beams are classified as
shear span todepth ratio less than 2.5, shear
capacity of deep beam was worked out by ACI
parametres considered for the study are l/d
ratios from 0.5 to 1.0 [8].
Abolfazl
Arabzadeh
,
investigated
Experimental and analytical shear strength of
high-strength RC deep beams; a total of sixteen
reinforced
concrete
deep
beams
with
compressive strength in range of 59 MPa to 65
MPa were tested under two-point top loading.
The shear span-to-effective depth ratio was
1.10; all the specimens were simply supported
and reinforced by vertical, horizontal and
orthogonal steel bars in various arrangements.
The test specimens were composed of five
series based on their arrangement of shear
reinforcing. The general behavior of tested
beams was investigated. Observations were
made on mid-span and loading point deflections,
cracks form, failure modes and shear strengths.
The test results indicated that both vertical and
horizontal web reinforcement are efficient in
shear capacity of deep beams, also the
orthogonal shear reinforcement was the most
efficient when placed perpendicular to major
axis of diagonal crack. [1].

failure. Hence, shear strength is considered as

an important factor in the design of concrete
deep beams. The very basic ideology of
classifying a concrete deep beam has not
become universally common. The design of
reinforced concrete deep beam for shear which
is adopted by various design codes differs
mainly in classifying RC deep beams.
Different
countries
follow
dissimilar
ideology to define a deep beam in their relevant
code books. However, in this research the
classification of deep beams is based on ACIASCE Committee 445(1998) which states that a
beam with shear span to-depth ratio (a/d) less
than 1.0 as a deep beam and a beam with a/d
exceeding 2.5 as an ordinary shallow beam. Any
beam between these limits (1<a/d< 2.5) is
classified as a short beam.
Deep beam can be defined as a beam
having a ratio of span to depth of about 2 or
less. The applications of deep beams can see in
transfer girder, pile cap, raft beam, wall of
rectangular tank, hopper, shear wall etc. In IS456 (2000) Clause 29, a simply supported beam
is classified as deep when the ratio of its
effective span L to overall depth D is less than
2.Continuous beams are considered as deep
when the ratio L/D is less than 2.5. The effective
span is defined as the centre-to-centre distance
between the supports or 1.15 times the clear
span whichever is less.

3.0 CONCEPT OF DEEP BEAMS

Concrete deep beams carry heavy load
within a very short supported span. In other
words, a reinforced concrete deep beam can be
expressed as a beam having a depth
comparable to the span length. They have wide
applications and are used in foundations works,
tall buildings, offshore structures, etc. The
conceptual changeover from ordinary-beam
behaviour to deep beam behaviour is stated to
be imprecise and has been well explained in a
book written by Kong (1990). He has mentioned
that the transition from an ordinary beam
behaviour to a deep-beam behaviour is
imprecise and is difficult to exactly predict the
point of change in the behaviour. Reinforced
concrete deep beams differ from other beams
primarily in their behaviour to take up the load.
Due to the geometry of deep beams, the failure
in deep beams is totally governed by shear
rather than flexural failure. Before a deep beam
could take up its full flexural strength, diagonal
cracks are formed which tend to cause shear

Fig. 1 Deep beam

An important characteristic of deep beams
is require high shear strength. The greater shear
strength of deep beam is due to internal arch
action. which transfers the load directly to
support their concrete shruts.
The followings are the major difference of
deep beam element compared with simple beam
based on the design assumption, as follows:
a. Two-Dimensional Action, because of the
dimension of deep beam they behave as
two-dimensional action rather than onedimensional action.
b. Plane Section Do Not Remain Plane, the
assumption of plane section remain plane
cannot be used in the deep beam design.
The strain distribution is not longer linear.

c. Shear Deformation, the shear deformation

cannot be neglected as in the ordinary
beam. The stress distribution is not linear
even in the elastic stage. At the ultimate
limit state the shape of concrete
compressive stress block is not parabolic
shape again
The Design is based on the ACI Ultimate
Strength Design Method and applies to those
flexural members having a clear span to depth
ratio of less than 4.0. The flexural reinforcement
is designed taking into account the reduced
lever arm due to the non-linearity of the strains'
distribution.
Deep beams play a very significant role in
design of mega and as well as small structures.
Some times for architectural purposes buildings
are designed without using any column for a
very large span. In such case if ordinary beams
are provided they can cause failure such as
flexural failure.

have strength controlled by shear. On the other

hand, their strength is likely to be significantly
greater than predicated by usual equations.
Special design methods account for these
differences. Stresses in deep beams can be
studied using the methods of two dimensional
elasticity, such as finite element analysis or finite
strip method. Plane sections before bending
remaining plane after bending does not hold
good for deep beams. Significantly warping of
the cross-sections occurs because of high shear
stresses, consequently flexural stresses are not
linearly distributed, even in the elastic range
Shear strength of deep beams may be as
much as 2 to 3 times greater than that
predicated
using
conventional
equations
developed for members of normal proportions.
For deep beams, however a significant part of
the load is transferred directly from the point of
application to the supports by diagonal
compression strut.

4.0 SHEAR STRENGTH OF RC DEEP BEAM

The shear behavior of deep beams is very
complex and there is still no agreement on the
role of size effect in shear due to lack of
information Deep beams are classified as no
flexural member in which plane section do not
remain plane in bending. Therefore the principle
of still analysis developed for slender beams are
neither applicable nor adequate to check the
strength of deep beam.
An important characteristic of deep beams
is require high shear strength. The greater shear
strength of deep beam is due to internal arch
action. which transfers the load directly to
support their concrete shruts.
5.0 BEHAVIOUR OF RC DEEP BEAM
During there service life, RC strength in
various beams may be subject to various types
of dynamic loading in terms earthquake, blast &
impart.
The global safety of exist or never general
depends on resistance of internal & external RC
structure to above non framed dynamic loading.
the main objective is improve the understanding
of response a RC deep beam under wide range
of loading rates measurement of strain at mid
span, failure patterns etc.
The behavior of deep beams is significantly
different from that of beams of more normal
proportions, requiring special consideration in
analysis, design and detailing of reinforcement.
Because of their proportions, they are likely to

Fig.2: Deep beams carrying concentrated

loads
The reinforcement of deep beams differs
from that of normal beams. The main flexural
steel is placed near the tension edge, as usual,
although because of the greater depth of the
tension zone it may be advisable to distribute
such steel over, the bottom third of the member.
As per I. S. 456-2000, flexural steel is placed
within a zone of depth equal to (0.25D-0.05L)
adjacent to the bottom face of the beam where
D is the overall depth and L is the effective
span.
5.1 Factors Influencing Shear Behaviour in
RC Deep Beams:Based on the review made on earlier
research work done on deep beams, one can
infer that the vital parameters that control the
shear strength in deep beams are:
a. Effective depth ( d )
b. Width of the beam ( b )
c.

Effective span ( le )

d. Shear span ( a )
e. Cylindrical compressive strength of concrete
f.

Yield
strength
reinforcement

of

horizontal

web

g. Yield strength of vertical web reinforcement

h.

Reinforcement ratio of main tension bars (

)

The structural behaviour of deep beams

has been proved to be different when compared
with slender or short beams. One of the
important parameters controlling this change is
its shear span to effective depth (a/d) ratio
which depends on the depth of the beam. Since
this ratio is small in deep beams, there is a
significant change in the strain distribution
across the deep beams depth. This variation of
strain is non-linear and is not seen in ordinary
slender beams. Shear deformation which is
insignificant in ordinary beams is considered to
be substantial in deep beams and hence it
cannot be ignored as this factor is also
associated with the depth and effective span of
the beam. It has been proved by many
researchers that the width of the deep beam
increases its stiffness and shear strength and
reduces the lateral buckling. 25 Considerable
amount of work has been done under the title
size effect of reinforced concrete deep beams.
Studies on the effect of web reinforcement
strength on the shear carrying capacity of
beams have been carried out by many
researchers. Web reinforcement of different type
of materials, shapes and orientation has been
experimentally tried in deep beams in many
earlier works
6.0 MATERIALS USE IN DEEP BEAMS
6.1 Cement:
Ordinary Portland cement 53 grade with
specific gravity of 3.15 was used.
6.2 Fine Aggregate:
The fine aggregate used in this
investigation was cleanriver sand passing
through 3.75mm sieve with specificgravity of
2.65 and Fineness modulus of sand 2.25 was
used.
6.3 Coarse Aggregate:
Crusher Coarse aggregate of 20mm
procured from local crusher with specific gravity
is 2.6 and fineness modulus of 6.1 was used.
6.4 Water:
The potable water available in college
campus was used for mixing and curing of

concrete. The cast specimen was cured in water

tank by complete immersion.
6.5 Steel fiber:
Steel fiber used in this investigation was
supplied by STEWOLS INDIA (P) Ltd., Nagpur,
Maharashtra State, India and their properties are
Fiber type : Hooked end type
Diameter : 0.45mm
Length of fiber : 25mm
Aspect ratio : 55.55
Tensile strength : 1250 MPa
Young's modulus : 200GPa
Cost : Rs.70/Kg
6.6 Polypropylene fiber:
Polypropylene
fiber
used
in
this
investigation RECRON 3S made by Reliance
India Ltd., and their properties are such as
Type : Micro fibers
Length of fiber : 12mm
Tensile strength : 690 MPa
Young's modulus : 5000 MPa
Cost : Rs.60
7.0 CRACKS AND FAILURE OF DEEP BEAM
7.1 Deep Beam vs. Sectional Behaviour
Typically, reinforced concrete members are
designed to resist shear and flexural forces
based on the assumption that strains vary
linearly at a section. Referred to as the Bernoulli
hypothesis or beam theory, the mechanical
behavior of a beam is commonly defined by
assuming that plane sections remain plane. The
region of a structure where the Bernoulli
hypothesis is valid is referred to as a B-region (B
standing for beam or Bernoulli). In B-regions, the
internal state of stress can be derived from the
sectional forces before and after the concrete
cracks. Therefore, the design of these regions is
often referred to as a sectional design. A deep
beam design must be treated differently than a
sectional design because the assumptions used
to derive the sectional theory are no longer valid.
A deep beam is a member whose shear spanto-depth, a/d, ratio is relatively small such that
nonlinear shearing strains dominate the
behavior. Typically, a region of a beam with an
a/d ratio less than 2.0 to 2.5 is considered to
behave as a de beam; whereas, a region of a
beam with a greater a/d ratio is assumed to
behave according to sectional principles. For

example, the beam shown in Figure 3 has an

a/d ratio of approximately two to the right of the
concentrated load and five to the left of the load.
The left side of the beam (Section A-A) contains
a B-region and stresses can be determined
according to sectional methods. The right side of
the beam (Section B-B) is considered a deep
beam region. Shear strains dominate the
behavior and beam theory cannot be used to
determine the internal state of stress.

7.2 Shear failure in deep beams :

In deep beams, significant part of load is
transferred
to
support
directly through
compression struts formed between load and
support points. This mechanism of transferring
load leads to the type of failure that is most
common in deep beams. The deep beams fail
by widening of diagonal shear cracks and
crushing of concrete. These cracks are
schematically shown in Fig.3 and fig 4 B2, is
initiated by diagonal cracks which appear along
compression strut trajectories from support to
load points. shear and diagonal cracks appear
between 46% and 92% of failure load. These
types of cracks appearonly between load and
support points.

Fig.3: Stress trajectories in B-regions and

near discontinuities (D-regions).
Nonlinear strain distributions are often
caused either by abrupt changes in geometry or
abrupt changes in loading. These regions of
discontinuity are referred to as D-regions (D
standing for discontinuity or disturbance). An
elastic stress analysis suggests that the
localized effect of a concentrated load or
geometric discontinuity will attenuate about one
member depth away from the discontinuity (St.
Venants Principle). For this reason, D-Regions
are assumed to extend one member depth from
the load or discontinuity. Figure 2.0 illustrates
the location of Bregions and D-regions in a
typical simply supported beam loaded at a single
point. Due to the nonlinearity of strains and
inelasticity of concrete, a general theory of
behavior is complicated to derive in a D-region.
As a result, designers typically employ either
empirically derived design methods or a
hypothetical truss model such as a strut-and-tie
model (STM).

Fig.5: Crack pattern for beam B2.

7.3 Compression failure of deep beams
The other possible failure mode in deep
beams is explosion of concrete in compression
zone.It happens when the strain incompression
zone exceeds the ultimate strain. This failure
pattern is rare because concrete in compression
may not reach the ultimate strain due to the
beam height. In all tested HSSCC deep beams,
the highest strain in extreme compression fibre
was recorded as 0.002.
Occurrence of this phenomenon is in
accordance with the plasticity theory which
assumes theyielding of all steelreinforcement
before compression failure. In this case the
failure capacity of tensile reinforcement is higher
compared with compression area.
8.0. CONCLUSION

Fig 4: Typical crack pattern of deep beams

According to previous studies, it can be

said that, an important characteristic of deep
beam require high shear strength. The greater
shear strength occurs due to arch action.

The reinforcement of deep beams differs

from that of normal beams. The main flexural
steel is placed near the tension edge.
The modes of failure in reinforced concrete
deep beam are influenced by the beam size. As
the depth of beam increases, the crack width
also increases.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my profound
gratitude and great appreciation to my guide Dr.
D. K. Parbat for his encouragement, valuable
advice, constructive suggestions, tireless
guidance and enduring patience throughout this
study
References
[1] Abolfazl Arabzadeh, Reza Aghayari, Ali Reza
Rahai, Investigation of experimental and
analytical shear strength of reinforced
concrete deep beams, International Journal
of Civil Engineering, vol.9, No.3, Sep2011, pp
208-214
[2] H.S. kim, M. S. Lee, and Y. S. Shin,
Structural Behaviours of Deep RC Beams
under Combined Axial and Bending Force,
The Twelfth East Asia-Pacific Conference on
Structural Engineering and Construction.
[3] IS 456:2000 , Indian Standard Code of

Practice Plain and Reinforced Concrete, IS

456:2000-. Bureau of Indian Standards,
ManakBhavan, New Delhi, India.
[4] Mohammad
M.,
MohdZaminJumaat,
Mohammed Jameel, Hamid Badiee, Arul M.S.
Arumugam, Ductility and performance
assessment of high strength self compacting
concrete (HSSCC) deep beams , An
experimental
investigation,
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Engineering and Design 250 (2012) 116 124

[5] Md M Sazzad, M MYounusAli, S M NizamudOoulah, Study of behaviour of reinforced

concrete deep beam under two points loading
and the effect of shear reinforcement, 27th
Conference on our world in concrete &
structures: 29 - 30 August 2002,
[6] N.

Krishna Raju. Advanced reinforced

concrete design, CBS Publications

[7] Satadru

Das
Adhikary,
Bing
Li,
kazunoriFujikake, Strength and behaviour in
shear of reinforced concrete deep beams
under dynamic loading conditions , Nuclear
Engineering and Design 259 (2013) 14 28

[8] Sharan Basava, Shear strength prediction of

non flexural RC deep beams using various
approaches,
International
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vol.1, Issue 3, 08 Apr 2014, pp 116-122
Authors Biography
P. M. Attarde obtained PG
from Pune University. His area
of specialization is structural
Engineering. He has Published
05
research
papers
in
International Journals & 10
papers
in
international
conferences. Is a life member of various
professional bodies,
Dr. D. K. Parbat obtained PG
from GSITS indore and doctoral
degrees
from
Amravati
University.
His
area
of
specialization
is
civil
engineering . He has Published
22
research
papers
in
International Journals & 34 papers in
international conferences. He Is a life member of
various professional bodies, Editorial Board
Member of various International Journals. He is
awarded as a best teacher by Govt. of
Maharashtra during year 2012-13.