Download or read book The Torsional Strength of Rectangular Reinforced Concrete Beams Subjected to Combined Loading written by Arthur Edward McMullen and published by . This book was released on 1967 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The primary objective of this investigation was to study the behavior of reinforced concrete beams subjected to combined loading with particular regard to their behavior at failure. The experimental phase of this investigation consisted of testing 34 reinforced concrete beams. Twenty two beams were subjected to various combinations of bending and torsion and twelve were subjected to various combinations of bending, torsion and shear. All beams had a nominal cross section of 6" x 12" and a nominal concrete strength of 5000 psi. Both longitudinal and transverse reinforcement in various combinations was provided in all beams. The testing equipment that was designed and fabricated for this investigation permitted independent application of the twisting and transverse loads. The ratio between the twisting moment and the bending moment could be changed at any time during a test. All beams were tested to failure by applying the load in a series of increments. Each increment consisted of increasing to a predetermined level the transverse load or the twisting load or both, depending on the type of test. In the cases where both types of load were applied in the same increment, the transverse load was applied first. Twenty nine beams were subjected to loads such that for any one test the ratio of twisting moment to bending moment at the end of each increment was a constant. For the other five beams this ratio was different at the end of each increment and four of these beams were subjected to various sequences of load. Based on the observations made in the experimental phase of this investigation three idealized failure surfaces have been presented, two of which were first suggested by Lessig. Equations for the ultimate torsional strength of a beam based on each of the three failure surfaces have been developed and their method of solution has been presented. These equations have also been simplified and an interaction diagram consisting of three straight lines has been presented along with the applicable equations. The correlation between the experimental results of 109 beams and the theoretical results obtained from both the simplified analysis and the more comprehensive analysis has been given. Of these beams, 34 are the beams tested in this investigation and 75 are beams that have been tested by other investigators. The observations and test results indicate that reinforced concrete beams that are subjected to bending, torsion and moderate amounts of transverse shear can fail by three different modes. These modes of failure are characterized by the formation of a hinge adjacent to one face of the beam and yielding of the reinforcement adjacent to the face opposite to the hinge. The modes of failure predicted by the analysis agree with the observed modes of failure.