Strength and behavior in shear of reinforced concrete deep beams under dynamic loading conditions

Research on reinforced concrete (RC) deep beams has seen considerable headway over the past three decades; however, information on the dynamic shear strength and behavior of RC deep beams under varying rates of loads remains limited. This paper describes the experimental results of 24 RC deep beams with and without shear reinforcements under varying rates of concentrated loading. Results obtained serve as useful data on shear resistance, failure patterns and strain rates corresponding to varying loading rates. An analytical truss model approach proves its efficacy in predicting the dynamic shear resistance under varying loading rates. Furthermore, three-dimensional nonlinear finite element (FE) model is described and the simulation results are verified with the experimental results. A parametric study is then conducted to investigate the influence of longitudinal reinforcement ratio, transverse reinforcement ratio and shear span to effective depth ratio on shear behavior. Subsequently, two empirical equations were proposed by integrating the various parameters to assess the dynamic increase factor (DIF) of maximum resistance under varying rates of concentrated loading.

► Effects of wider range of loading rates on dynamic shear behavior of RC deep beams.
► Experimental investigation of RC deep beam with and without shear reinforcements.
► Verification of experimental results with truss model and FE simulation results.
► Empirical equations are proposed to predict the dynamic increase factor of maximum resistance.