Effect of using swimmer bars on the behavior of normal and high strength reinforced concrete beams

Shear failure of RC beams is often sudden and catastrophic. The shear cracks progress rapidly without warning, and the diagonal cracks are considerably wider than the flexural cracks. In this study, two types of shear reinforcement are used, traditional stirrups and swimmer bars. Swimmer bar system is a new type of shear reinforcement defined as inclined bars welded to longitudinal top and bottom bars. High strength concrete is a more brittle material than normal strength concrete, and the cracks that form in high strength concrete will propagate more extensively than in normal strength concrete. Ten beams are tested, and the main variables investigated were two different shapes of swimmer bars in addition to traditional stirrups, number of swimmer bar planes, and compressive strength of concrete. The test results will be presented and discussed in order as deflection, ultimate loads, ultimate shear stress, cracking stress and failure modes. Moreover, shear strain is calculated.