TITLE NO.

66-24

CODE PREVIEW PAPER

Background to material being considered
for the next ACf Building Code

Proposed Changes in Shear Provisions

for Reinforced and Prestressed

Concrete Beams*

By JAMES G. MACGREGOR and JOHN M. HANSON

Major additions and changes in the design pro- essentially unchanged in the proposed provisiOns
visions for shear and diagona I tension, proposed for the 1970 Code. These assumptions are re-
for incorporation in the revised ( 1970) ACI Build- viewed.
ing Code, are presented. To serve as background,
the basic assumptions of the shear design pro-
visions of the ACI Building Code (ACI 318-63) PROPOSED ADDITIONS AND CHANCES IN
are reviewed. The proposals include a minimum SHEAR DESIGN PROVISIONSt
web reinforcement provision, a revised design pro-
cedure for reinforced concrete beams under axial 1.1-Ceneral reinforcement requirements
tension and axial compression, and a simplified 1.1.1-A minimum area of shear reinforcement
alternate design procedure for prestressed con-
crete beams. Several design illustrations which use Av not less than (50 psi) b's/fy shall be provided
this alternate procedure for prestressed concrete in all reinforced and prestressed concrete flexural
beams are included. members except:
Keywords: axial loads; beams (supports); diag- 1. Slabs and footings.
onal tension; prestressed concrete; reinforced con-
crete; shear strength; structural analysis; structural 2. Concrete joist floor construction.
design; web reinforcement. 3. Beams where the total depth does not ex-
ceed 2.5 times the thickness of the flange
• HOGNESTADt HAS PRESENTED and discussed the
or one-half the width of the web.
proposed ultimate strength shear design provi-
sions for the 1970 ACI Building Code. These pro- 4. Where v,. is less than one-half of Vc·
visions have been reviewed by ACI-ASCE Com- This requirement may be waived if it is shown
mittee 426. They have not yet been adopted, and by test, including realistic longitudinal tensile
revisions will probably take place during further forces simulating effects of restrained shrinkage
review by ACI Committee 318.
The more important additions and changes in *This paper was prepared in conjunction with the work of
ACI-ASCE Committee 426, Shear and Diagonal Tension.
these proposed provisions for shear design of re- tHognestad, Eivind, "Proposed Provisions for 1970 ACI Build-
ing Code, Chapter 17 -Shear and Torsion," Third Draft, Com-
inforced and prestressed concrete beams are pre- mittee Correspondence, June 14, 1968.
tOnly those paragraphs have been taken from the above foot-
sented and explained in this paper. The principal note which present important additions or changes, or which are
necessary for the clarity of this paper. The majority of the para-
assumptions on which the shear design provisions graphs pertaining to shear design, which are unchanged or only
slightly changed from the 1963 Code, are omitted. Notation is
of the 1963 ACI Building Code 1 are based remain listed at the end of this paper.

276 ACI JOURK~l/ APRIL 1969

and creep, that the required ultimate flexural and
shear capacity can be developed when shear re-
ACI member James G. MacGregor is professor of civil en-
inforcement is omitted. gineering, at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Currently he is a member of the control groups of ACI-ASCE
1.1.2-Shear reinforcement may consist of: Committee 426, Shear and Diagonal Tension; and ACI-ASCE
1.1.2.1-Welded wire fabric with principal Committee 441, Reinforced Concrete Columns. Professor Mac-
Gregor is one of the two Canadian delegates to CEB and is a
wires located perpendicular to the axis of the member of the CEB Commission on buckling.
member and spaced not further apart than one-
ACI member John M. Hanson is principal research engineer,
half the depth 0.5t of the member. Structural Research Section, Research and Development Divi-
sion, Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Illinois. He is a
1.2-Uitimate shear strength member of ACI Committee 215, Fatigue of Concrete, and ACI-
ASCE Committee 426, Shear and Diagonal Tension. Dr. Hanson
1.2.1-The nominal ultimate shear stress v,. shall did his undergraduate work at South Dakota State University,
and has received graduate degrees from Iowa State University
be computed by: and lehigh University. He has several years of experience with
consulting engineering firms, and is a registered engineer in
(1-1) Colorado. He ioined PCA in 1965.

For reinforced concrete members, d is the dis-

tance from the extreme compression fiber to the
centroid of the longitudinal tension reinforce- 1.4-Stress v c for normal weight prestressed con-
ment. For prestressed concrete members, d is the crete members
same distance or 0.8 t, whichever is greater. 1.4.1-For members having an effective pre-
1.3-Stress Yc for normal weight reinforced con- stress at least equal to 40 percent of the tensile
crete members strength of the flexural tension reinforcement,
1.3.1-The nominal shear stress carried by the unless a more detailed analysis is made in accord-
concrete Vc shall not exceed 2cf>yfc' unless a more ance with Section 1.4.2, the nominal shear stress
detailed analysis is made in accordance with Sec- carried by the concrete Vc shall not exceed:
tion 1.3.2. For members subjected to axial load,
Vc shall not exceed values given in Sections 1.3.3- Vc = -
cf> ( 0.6yfc' + 700 M
Vd) (1-7)
1.3.4.
1.3.2-The nominal shear stress Vc shall not ex- but Vc need not be taken as less than 2cpyfc' nor
ceed: shall Vc be greater than 5cpyfc.
1.4.1.1-When applying Eq. (1-7), d shall
Vc = cf>( 1.9yfc' + 2500 Pw ~) (1-2) be taken as the distance from the extreme com-
pression fiber to the centroid of the prestressing
nor shall Vc exceed 3.5cf>yfc'. V and Mare the total tendons.
shear and bending moment at the section consid-
ered, but M shall not be less than Vd in flexural 1.4.2-The shear stress Vc shall be taken as the
members. shear causing inclined cracking, which may be
1.3.3-For members subjected to axial compres- computed as the lesser of vci and Vcw:
sion, M' shall be substituted for M in Eq. (1-2),
and M' shall be permitted to have values less than Vci = cf> [ 0.6yfc' +Vd + (~;:criM,)J (1-8)
Vd:
but not less than 1.7cpyfc',
M' = M- N (4t 8d) (1-3) where Mer= (IIyt) (6yfc' + fpe- fd).
Alternatively, Vc may be computed by:
Vcw = cf> [ 3.5yfc' + 0.3fpc + :,d] (1-9)
(1-4)
Vc = 1-0.0008 NIAg 1.4.2.1-When applying Eq. (1-8) and (1-
However, Vc shall not exceed: 9), d shall be taken as the distance from the ex-
treme compression fiber to the centroid of the
Vc = 3.5cpyfc' y1 + 0.002 N I Ag (1-5) prestressing tendons, or 0.8t, whichever is greater.
The quantity N I Ag shall be expressed in psi.
1.5-Design of shear reinforcement
1.3.4-For members subjected to significant
axial tension, web reinforcement shall be de- 1.5.1-For both reinforced and prestressed mem-
signed to carry the total shear, unless a more de- bers, the required area of shear reinforcement
tailed analysis is made using: perpendicular to the longitudinal axis shall be
computed by:
Vc = 2cp (1 + 0.002 N lAg) vfc' (1-6)
_(V,-Vc)b's
where N is negative for tension. A v- cpfy (1-10)

ACI JOURNAL I APRIL 1969 277

 REVIEW OF 1963 ACI SHEAR DESICN of similar figures presented by several authors. 2 -~
PROVISIONS For ajd ratios greater than about 6, flexural fail-
Two important assumptions were made in the ures occur prior to inclined cracking. For a/ d
derivation of the 1963 ACI Code provisions for the ratios less than about 3, Vu exceeds Vc. In this
shear capacity of reinforced and prestressed con- range, test beams have some reserve capacity
crete beams. The first assumption is that the ulti- after inclined cracking. However, for the practical
mate shear capacity Vu of a beam without web re- range of ajd ratios from about 3 to 6, Vu can be
inforcement can be taken equal to the inclined assumed equal to Vc. In this range, beams without
cracking shear, V 0 • In tests, the difference between web reinforcement fail suddenly when inclined
Vu and Vc depends on several variables. The most cracking develops.
significant of these is probably the ratio of flex- The second assumption is that, in a beam with
ural stress to shear stress. This ratio is a function web reinforcement, the shear carried by the web
of the M/Vd ratio. In laboratory tests on rela- reinforcement Vu' is equal to the ultimate shear
tively small beams, the M/Vd ratio is equal to the V,. minus the inclined cracking shear Vc as given
distance a between the support and the closest by:
load point divided by the effective beam depth, d.
Fig. 1 shows the variation in inclined cracking (1)
shear and ultimate shear of beams without web
This assumption is illustrated in Fig. 2, where
reinforcement as the shear span to effective depth
the shear carried by vertical stirrups in a rein-
ratio ajd is varied. This figure is an idealization
forced concrete beam is compared to the applied
shear. If all the applied shear were carried by
stirrups, it would be represented by the dashed
line. In tests of reinforced and prestressed con-
SHEAR FAILURES FLEXURAL FAILURES
crete beams, however, the shear carried by the
stirrups is less than the applied shear, as shown
by the solid line. There is little or no stress in the
stirrups until inclined cracking develops at the
SHEAR
shear V c· Following inclined cracking, the stress
in the stirrups increases with further increase in
:--- the applied shear, such that a line representing
the shear carried by the stirrups is essentially
parallel to the applied shear line, but below it.
0 3 6 9 Thus, Eq. (1) closely approximates the distribu-
M tion of shear at ultimate load. Comparisons
old =vd similar to Fig. 2 have been presented by several
authors. 5-7
Fig. !-Comparison of inclined cracking shear and ulti- These two assumptions, which form the basis of
mate shear for reinforced concrete beams without web
reinforcement the shear design provisions in the 1963 Code, also
apply to changes proposed for the 1970 Code. In
the design of a beam for shear, the following
three steps are therefore required:

1. Compute Vc, a measure of both the inclined

/ cracking shear and the shear carried by the con-
crete after inclined cracking.
STIRRUP / 2. Compute the shear carried by the stirrups
SHEAR / using Eq. (1) and proportion the stirrups for this
/ shear. This is done using the traditional truss
analogy equations in the 1963 Code.
/ 3. Check whether the area of the stirrups ex-
/ ceeds minimum requirements. If not, provide
/ minimum stirrup reinforcement.
These same three steps are followed in the de-
Vc sign of both ordinary reinforced and prestressed
concrete members. The primary difference be-
APPLIED SHEAR tween designs for these types of members is the
Fig. 2-Relationship between shear carried by stirrups way in which the inclined cracking shear Vc is
and applied shear computed.

278 ACI JOURNAL I APRIL 1969

Inclined cracking in concrete beams of flexural cracking in a prestressed beam and in
Inclined cracking which develops in reinforced three reinforced concrete beams subjected to axial
or prestressed concrete beams can be classified as tension, axial compression, and no axial force. All
either web-shear cracking or flexural-shear crack- four beams were assumed to have the same
ing, as shown in Fig. 3. Web-shear cracks occur 6 x 12-in. (15.2 x 30.5-cm) cross section. The prop-
before flexural cracking has occurred in their erties given to these beams are listed in Table 1.
vicinity. Flexure-shear cracks occur after flexural The average compressive stress on the axially
cracking has occurred, often as a continuation of loaded beam was the same as that of the pre-
one of the flexural cracks. These two types of stressed concrete beam. Both the prestressed con-
cracks and the variables affecting their develop- crete beam and the reinforced concrete beam
ment are discussed more fully in Reference 8. without axial load have the same ultimate mo-
Web-shear cracking is fairly unusual. However, ment capacities.
it may occur near the supports of highly pre- The reinforced concrete beam with no axial
stressed beams with thin webs. It may also occur force cracks at a moment of about 5.5 ft-kips
near the inflection points or bar cut-off points of (5.3 m-kgf). When the cracks develop, they im-
continuous reinforced concrete beams subjected to mediately grow to about 15 percent of the beam
axial tension. height. As the applied moment increases, the
Shear cracking in reinforced and prestressed cracks continue to grow in height, rapidly at first,
concrete beams generally falls into the flexure- and then more slowly. After the reinforcement
shear classification. Flexure-shear cracks begin as
flexural cracks, extending more or less vertically
into the beam. When a critical combination of
flexural and shear stresses develops in an element
close to the top of the crack, the inclined crack
forms.
The rate of transformation of the initiating
flexural crack into a flexure-shear crack is af- I. WEB- SHEAR CRACKS
fected by several things which, for simplicity, will
be combined into the following two factors:
(a) The rate of growth and the height of flex-
ural cracks in a region where shear exists.
(b) The magnitude of the shear stresses acting
near the tops of flexural cracks.
To consider the first factor, Fig. 4 shows the 2. FLEXURE-SHEAR CRACKS
results of an analytical study of the development Fig. 3-Types of inclined cracks

---REINFORCED CONCRETE
75 ---PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

AXIAL TENSION
PERCENT OF
BEAM HEIGHT 50 NO AXIAL LOAD

0 5 10 I~ 20 25 30 35 40
MOMENT, ft:-kips
Fig. 4--Relationship between moment and flexural crack height

ACI JOURNAL I APRIL 1969 279

 TABLE I - PROPERTIES OF BEAMS PLOTTED IN FIG. 4
Concrete Steel Effective Calculated
cylinder yield Axial prestress ultimate
Reiniorcement strength stress force force moment
ratio f,', fv. N, Fsc, Mtu,
Type of beam • p psi ksi kips kips ft-kips
Reinforced concrete 0.015 (3000 45 0 - 34.8
Reinforced concrete- 0.015 3000 45 -7.2 - 33.0
Axial tension
Reinforced concrete - 0.015 3000 45 +27.0 - 39.3
Axial compression
Prestressed 0.0028 5000 250t - 27.0 34.8
concrete
*The effective depth d of all beams was 10.8 in. (27.4 em)
tUltimate stress f,, rather than yield stress.
Note: To convert psi to kgf/cm 2 , multiply by 0.0703.
To convert ksi to kgf/cm 2 , multiply by 70.3.
To convert kips to kgf, multiply by 453.6.
To convert ft-kips to m-kgf, multiply by 0.958.

yields, the cracks grow with little change in initiating flexural crack. These shear stresses will
moment. tend to be high if the shear force is large when
In the compression beam, the axial force acts to the flexural crack starts. This situation will occur
delay the formation of flexural cracks. At failure in beams with small a/d ratios and thin webs.
the cracks have not extended quite as far into the These stresses will also tend to be high if the
beam, since the compression zone must be larger flexural crack extends deeply into the beam so
to provide the additional compression force that very little uncracked concrete remains above
needed for equilibrium. In the beam subjected to the crack. This will occur in beams with low steel
axial tension, the cracks have extended somewhat percentages.
higher at failure. Otherwise, the behavior is simi- As a result of the flexural cracking behavior
lar to that of the other two beams. just described, the shear and flexural stresses at
In the case of the prestressed concrete beam, the top of the initiating flexural crack rapidly
the prestressing force acts to delay flexural crack- become critical in a prestressed concrete beam.
ing. Consequently, the moment at cracking is Consequently, in these beams the inclined crack
about five times that required to crack the rein- develops soon after the flexural crack has formed.
forced concrete beam with no axial force. Once In a reinforced concrete beam, the initiating flex-
the crack forms, however, it immediately grows ural crack starts at a lower applied shear and
to almost 50 percent of the beam height. At this grows much more slowly than in the prestressed
height, the beam attains equilibrium under the concrete beam. Largely as a result of this, a con-
cracking moment. siderable increment of load is required to trans-
The differences in the rate of growth and in the form a flexural crack in a reinforced concrete
height of the flexural cracking in these four beam in to an inclined crack. This is true even
beams is affected by both the axial force or pre- when axial loads are present.
stress and by the percentage of longitudinal rein- Code equations for Vc-Reinforced concrete beams
forcement. Of these two, the latter is more im- Because of the difference in inclined cracking
portant. Prior to flexural cracking, a tensile force behavior for prestressed concrete and reinforced
is developed in the concrete at the bottom of the concrete beams, investigators have approached the
beam. When the beam cracks, the tension force in inclined cracking problem in different ways.
the reinforcement must increase by the amount For reinforced concrete beams, the large load
that was carried by the concrete. With a rela- increment between flexural cracking and inclined
tively high steel percentage as normally found in cracking led Morrow and ViesF to estimate the
a reinforced concrete beam, the crack does not principal tensile stresses in an element located at
have to progress very far before the steel strains the top of a flexural crack in a region of com-
develop the required tension force. In a pre- bined bending and shear. As shown in Fig. 5 (a),
stressed concrete beam, the steel prcentage may an element at this location is acted on by a shear
be much lower. Therefore, a much larger steel stress v given by:
strain and hence a much larger crack height is
required to reach equilibrium. This variable is
(2)
discussed more fully elsewhere. 9 • 10
The second general factor affecting the rate at where cl is a constant, v is the shear force, b' is
which the initiating flexural crack develops into the web width, and d is the effective depth. The
an inclined crack is the magnitude of the shear element is also subjected to a flexural tension f
stresses acting in the vicinity of the top of the given by:

280 ACl JOURNAL I APRIL 1969

 --- T

(a) ELEMENT AT TOP OF A ( b) BEAM SECTION WITH

FLEXURAL CRACK AXIAL FORCE

Fig. 5-Force systems used in derivation of inclined cracking equations for reinforced concrete beams

(3)

where C 2 is another constant, M is the moment, p

is the longitudinal reinforcement ratio, j is the
ratio of the distance between the centroid of com-
pression and the centroid of tension to d, and b is
the flange width. In Eq. (3) the tension in the
concrete is assumed to be a function of the
parameters that are used in computing the stress
in the longitudinal reinforcement. The shear Fig. 6--Eiement at center of gravity of cross section of
stress at inclined cracking Vc was determined from prestressed concrete beam
the expression for the principal tension stress in
this element, which was semi-empirically re- For j = %, Eq. (6) reduces to Eq. (1-3), which
duced11 to Eq. (1-2); it is identical to Eq. (17-2) is Eq. (17-3) of the 1963 ACI Code. In addition,
of the 1963 ACI Code. ACI Committee 326 suggested that Vc should not
There are three significant variables in Eq. (1- exceed the value given by Eq. (1-5), which also
2). These are the tensile strength of the concrete is the same as in the 1963 ACI Code.
represented by yfc' the steel percentage Pw, and Recent analyses of the inclined cracking load 9 •10
the moment to shear ratio M/Vd. suggest that the tension stress f in the element
When an axial force is superimposed on a rein- shown in Fig. 5 (a) will remain relatively un-
forced concrete beam, the axial force is assumed changed when axial loads are applied, since it
to affect the tension stress f in the element in the must be close to the tensile strength of the con-
same manner as it affected the stress in the ten- crete. These analyses suggest that the primary ef-
sion reinforcementY If the equilibrium of the fect of axial load is to change the shearing stresses
beam section shown in Fig. 5 (b) is considered, in this element by changing the height of the
the internal and external moments may be sum- flexural cracks in the member.
med about the resultant of the compression force
Code equations for Vc-Prestressed concrete beams
C to give:
As previously discussed, for prestressed con-

M-N G- d + jd) = pjbd 2 f 8 (4)

crete beams the load increment between flexural
cracking and inclined cracking is relatively small.
As a result, investigators have assumed that the
where N is the axial force, tis the over-all height,
flexure-shear cracking capacity Vci is equal to the
and fs is the stress in the steel. From Eq. (3) and
sum of the live load shear required to cause an
( 4), ACI Committee 326 (now 426) assumed that:
initiating flexural crack at a distance d/2 from the
section under consideration, the additional shear
M-N !_ - d + jd]
~jbd 2
required to transform the flexural crack into an
j = C3fs = C3 [ (5) inclined crack, and the dead load shear. These
shears are given, respectively, by the three terms
where C 3 is another constant and all other terms
in the following equation:
are as previously defined. For simplicity of nota-
tion, an equivalent moment M' was derived,
where:

M' = M-N (~ - d + jd) (6)

ACI JOURNAL I APRIL 1969 281

 However, Vci need not be taken less than Provision for minimum web reinforcement
1.7b'dv'fc'. Mer is the flexural cracking moment In the 1963 ACI Code there is no minimum web
and Ml and Vl are the live load moment and shear. reinforcement provision for reinforced concrete
Eq. (7) is the same as Eq. (26-12) of the 1963 ACI
beams when Vu is less than V 0 • However, there is a
Code. It was developed by So zen and Hawkins 1 c
minimum web reinforcement provision for pre-
from tests of prestressed concrete beams 13 •14 car-
ried out at the University of Illinois. stressed concrete beams given by Eq. (26-11). This
equation is related to the flexural capacity and
Web-shear cracking occurs when the principal
the geometry of the prestressed concrete member
tensile stresses reach the tensile strength of the
concrete in some element near the neutral axis, as by Asfs' and y'd/b', respectively. Thus a designer,
the one shown in Fig. 6. This element is acted on proportioning a beam to carry a given ultimate
by a shear stress Vcw and a normal stress due to moment, can increase the web width and thereby
prestressing fpc· From a Mohr's circle it can be decrease the minimum amount of stirrup rein-
shown that the tensile strength of the concrete ft' forcement.
will exist in the element when Vc 1c, the shear Minimum web reinforcement restrains the
stress causing web-shear cracking, reaches the growth of inclined cracking, thereby increasing
value given by the expression: ductility. This provides a warning in situations
where the sudden formation of inclined cracking
(8) may otherwise lead directly to failure. Such rein-
where ft' is the tensile strength of the concrete forcement is of great value if a member is sub-
and fpc is the stress at the centroid of the cross jected to an unexpected tensile force or to other
section due to prestressing. If ft' is assumed equal unforeseen loadings.
to 3.5y'fc', Eq. (8) becomes: The proposed provision for minimum web rein-
forcement in Section 1.1.1:
Vcw = 3.5 v'fc' ~1 + fpc/3.5 V fc' (9) Av = (50 psi) b'sffv

Mattock simplified this to obtain the web-shear [Av = (3.5 kgf/cm2 ) b'sffv]
cracking capacity Vc,c as given by: applies to both reinforced and prestressed con-
crete beams. This provision is similar to a former
Vcw = (3.5y'f/ + 0.3fpc) b'd + Vp (10) requirement for prestressed concrete beams which
In this expression, the term VP accounts for any appeared in the 1958 ACI-ASCE Committee 323
component of the prestress acting transversely to report. 1 s In this report, the minimum area of shear
the axis of the beam. Eq. (10) is the same as Eq. reinforcement was equal to 0.0025 b's. Assuming
(26-13) of the 1963 ACI Code. It is also similar to the yield strength of the stirrup reinforcement
Eq. (1-5) in this paper. Both Eq. (10) and Eq. varies between 40,000 and 60,000 psi (nom. 1200
(1-5) form the upper limit to the shear strength and 1800 kgf/cm~), it may be seen that Section
of beams subjected to axial loads, and presum- 1.1.1 requires from one-half to one-third of the
ably both apply to inclined cracking which de- minimum shear reinforcement suggested by the
velops before the member cracks in flexure. Committee 323 report. In general, Section 1.1.1
will require more minimum shear reinforcement
for building-type prestressed concrete beams, and
DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED ADDITIONS AND
CHANGES less for bridge-type beams, than Eq. (26-11) of
the 1963 ACI Code.
In the preceding section it is shown that the
When minimum web reinforcement is used, Eq.
1963 ACI shear design provisions are similar for
(1-10) can be written as:
reinforced and prestressed concrete beams, except
for the way in which the inclined cracking shear Vu = Vc +</>50 psi (vu = V 0 + </> 3.5 kgf/cm 2 )
is computed. The various equations for inclined (11)
cracking shear differ because the behavior of No further web reinforcement is required un-
these types of beams is different. The revisions less the magnitude of Vu exceeds that given by Eq.
proposed for the 1970 ACI Code do not change the (11).
basic design procedures. There are, however, sev-
eral additions and simplifying changes, primarily Provisions for axially loaded reinforced concrete
beams
in the way that the various inclined cracking
shears are computed. These revisions are discussed In the 1963 ACI Code, the design of beams sub-
in the balance of this paper. jected to shear and moment combined with axial

282 ACI JOURNAL I APRIL 1969

tensiOn or compressiOn was based on Eq. (1-2), In the compression region, Eq. (1-2), (1-3) and
(1-3), and (1-5). An illustration of the application (1-5) form a lower bound on the test data and no
of Eq. (1-2) and (1-3) to a 6 x 12-in. (15.2 x 30.5- change is proposed in these equations. However,
cm) beam with an effective depth of 10.8 in. (27.4 again because these equations are difficult to ap-
em) is shown in Fig. 7. The lower solid line cor- ply, it is proposed that designers be allowed the
responds to a condition where the concrete option of computing Vc for members subjected to
strength equals 5,000 psi (nom. 350 kgf/cm2 ) , the combined shear and axial compression from Eq.
ajd ratio equals 5, and the longitudinal steel ratio (1-4). This equation is also plotted with a dashed
equals 0.005. The upper solid line corresponds to a line in Fig. 7 and forms a reasonable lower bound
condition where the concrete strength equals
2,500 psi (nom. 175 kgf/ cm 2 ), the aj d ratio equals
2, and the longitudinal steel ratio equals 0.03.
fs
• =f-I .>04
- •
s
fs
0 =-<0
fI 4
N/Ag,kgf /cm 2 •
s
50 25 0 25
NOTE: STRENGTH REDUCTION FACTOR 4> ~ 1.0 ..• •
.. 6
0 0

EQ. (1-5)

•
PROPOSED '
EQ.0-60~. ' • '\ 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
I '-,
1000 Vd
COMPRESSION TENSION " - ,
M~
000
1
500 -500
AXIAL STRESS= N/Ag, psi Fig. 8-Aiternate equation for computing Yc for pre-
stressed beams
Fig. 7-Effect of axial load on inclined cracking shear
stress

Thus, the shaded band between these lines ap- to the data shown. However, Eq. (1-4) may be
proximately represents the range of Eqs. (1-2) unconservative for small values of p and large
and (1-3) for axially loaded reinforced concrete M/Vd ratios. This matter is under further investi-
beams. Data from tests of beams and gation. The value of Vc computed from Eq. (1-4)
frames 1 •2 •11 •15 - 17 * have also been plotted in Fig. 7. should not exceed the value given by Eq. (1-5).

In the tension region, Eq. (1-2) and (1-3) are Provisions for prestressed concrete beams
unconservative compared to some of the test data In the 1963 ACI Code provisions for prestressed
plotted in this figure. In addition, it should be concrete beams, the shear carried by the concrete
noted that there is virtually no reduction in the Vc is taken equal to the lesser of the two values
allowable shear stress until the average tensile given by Eqs. (7) and (10) for flexure-shear and
stress exceeds about 300 psi (nom. 20 kgf/cm). web-shear cracking, respectively. In the proposed
For this reason, and because Eq. (1-2) and (1-3) revisions, Eq. (7) is converted to a nominal stress
are difficult to apply to beams subjected to com- basis and modified to Eq. (1-8).
bined shear and axial tension, it is proposed that
The only change of Eq. (1-8) from Eq. (7) is a
they be replaced in the 1970 ACI Code by Eq.
simplification of the term which predicts the
(1-6). This equation is plotted with a dashed line
in Fig. 7.
*Personal communication from A. H. Mattock, Mar. 1968.

ACI JOURNAL I APRIL 1969 283

 shear causing the formation of the initiating flex-
ural crack, by removal of the d/2 term. In Eq. (7)
the shear carried by the concrete was estimated
by computing the flexural cracking load at a point
14 STRAIGH T d/2 toward the reaction from the section being in-
7/16-IN. vestigated. In Eq. (1-8), the shear carried by the
STRAND~ "0
- concrete is more conservatively estimated by com-
puting the flexural cracking load at the section

-I\ '-----
being investigated.
There is no change proposed in Eq. (10), other
than conversion to a nominal stress basis, which
leads directly to Eq. (1-9).
Alternate procedure for computing V 0 -As an
1~10" alternate to Eq. (1-8) and (1-9), a simplified
I

CROSS SECTION method of computing Vc is proposed, as given by

Eq. (1-7). The use of this equation is limited to
NOTE: To convert in. to em, multiply by 2.54 members having prestress equal to 40 percent of
To convert ft to em, multiply by 30.48 the tensile strength of all of the flexural rein-
To convert ft -kips to m-kgf, multiply by 0. 958 forcement. When using this equation, Vc need not
be taken less than 2<f>yfc' and shall not be greater
t d As Mu than 5<f>yfc'.
PRESTRESS Ag
in. in percent ft -kips Eq. (1-7) is a simplified and generally conser-
vative approximation of Eq. (1-8). The lower
LIGHT 48 37 0.16 878 limit of 2<f>yf/ is greater than the lower limit of
MODERATE 32 24 0.25 514 1.7<f>yfc' for Eq. (1-8), but Eq. (1-8) has no re-
striction on the amount of prestress in the rein-
HEAVY 24 18 0.36 350 forcement.
The upper limit of 5<f>v'fc' serves as a restriction
Fig. 9-Shear design of inverted T-beams, </> = 0.85 on Vcw· In a member with straight strand, the pro-
posed upper limit is less than V 0 u;, assuming that
fc' equals 5,000 psi (nom. 350 kgf/cm 2 ) and fse
equals 100 ksi (nom. 7000 kgf/cm 2 ), or 0.4 of 250
ksi (nom. 17,500 kgf/cm 2 ), the tensile strength of
ASTM grade strand, whenever the ratio of steel
area to cross concrete area is greater than 0.35
percent. Thus it should be conservative in most
designs. Assuming an extremely low reinforce-
ment ratio of 0.10 percent, the upper limit is 27
percent greater than Vcw·
Comparison of Eq. (1-7) with test data-Eq.
(1-7) is compared in Fig. 8 with test data of pre-
stressed beams failing in shear and containing no
web reinforcement. The majority of the data was
obtained from tests conducted at the University
of Illinois, 13 with additional data from tests con-
ducted at Lehigh University. 19 - 21 These data in-
clude members with a wide range of prestress and
concrete strengths. In comparing Eq. (1-7) with
test data, 4> was assumed equal to one.
In Fig. 8, the solid points represent test results
for members with an effective prestress equal to
or greater than 0.4 fs'. The open points are for a
L 3L
4 8 prestress less than 0.4 fs'. These data include sev-
eral tests where there was no prestress. It may be
DISTANCE FROM SUPPORT,L=30ft ( 9.1m)
seen that only two beams with an effective pre-
Fig. 9 (cont.)-Shear design of inverted T-beams, stress of more than 0.4 fs' failed at a shear stress
</>=0.85 less than that predicted by Eq. (1-7).

.284 ACI JOURNAL I APRIL 1969

 4'-o"

=o d = 46.7-in.
• I at center

e.G. s.~------r
1'-7!.2 40 Strand, 'lis-in. Dia.
CROSS SECTION
NOTE: C.G.S. Deflected upward at 10 It either side
CROSS SECTION centerline to d=40.3 in. at the supports.
To convert in. to em. multiply by 2.54
To convert It to em, multiply by 30.48

NOTE: To convert in. to em, multiply by 2.54

To convert ft to em, multiply by 30.48
To convert ft -kips to m-kgf, multiply by 0.958 50

40
NO. OF d As Mu
PRESTRESS
STRAND As ft-kips
v,
psi 30 v,
in. percent 2
kgf/cm
LIGHT 8 II 0.28 137 --~ 20
MODERATE
HEAVY
12
16
10
9
0.42
0.56
178
205

0 L
-................._
't (PROPOSED --
EQ. 1-7)- - - -

L 3L L
Fig. 10-Shear design of double T-beams, cp = 0.85 8 4- 8 2
DISTANCE FROM SUPPORT,L=75 ft (22.9m)

Fig. 11-Shear design of AASHO-PCI girder spanning

75 ft, cp = 0.85

400 LIGHT PRESTRESS 30

Vc( ACI 318-63) 20

12

~~--~-+--+--+--+-=+~0

30 10
v,
v, kgf/cnt
psi Vc(ACI 318-63) 20
8
Vd
M
-d- 6
~-4--~--~--+--1---+--~~o L
30
4
20

10 2

o~~--~L---L--~L--~~L__L~

8 4 0 L L 3L L
DISTANCE FROM SUPPORT, L=30 ft (9.1m) 8 4 8 2
DISTANCE FROM SIMPLE SUPPORT, x
Fig. 10 (cont.)-Shear design of double T-beams,
cp = 0.85 Fig. 12-VdfM for uniformly loaded beams

ACI JOURNAL I APRIL 1969 285

Design illustrations using Eq. 0-7) of 30 ft (9.1 m). As shown in Fig. 10, the compari-
The proposed Eq. (1-7) has been applied to de- son between the proposed Vc and that calculated
signs of inverted T -beams, double T -beams, and according to the 1963 Code is good for the light
!-section bridge girders. These design examples prestress case. The proposed value of Vc becomes
are illustrated in Fig. 9, 10, and 11, respectively. increasingly conservative for the moderate and
Comparisons are made between Vc as computed heavy prestress case. It is significant, however,
from Eq. (1-7) and an equivalent Vc computed that even for the heavy prestress case, only mini-
from Eqs. (7) and (10), which are the provisions mum web reinforcement is required.
of the 1963 Code. For the !-section bridge girder in Fig. 11, a
For the inverted T-beams and doubleT-beams, Type III AASHO-PCI composite girder spanning
three different cases, corresponding to light, mod- 75 ft (22.9 m) and carrying an H20-S16-44 high-
erate, and heavy prestress, were considered. In the way loading was considered. This same girder
inverted T-beam, these different cases were ob- was used as a design example by Preston. 23 The
tained by varying the depth of the section while ultimate shear stress V 11 was based on a system of
holding the number of prestressing strand con- loads which would develop the ultimate flexural
stant. This design was taken from Reference 22. capacity of the member, and is therefore substan-
In the double T -beam, the section was held con- tially higher than produced by the H20-S16-44
stant and the number of strand was varied. Ef- loading multiplied by the standard AASHO load
fective depth d; reinforcement ratio, As! A 0 ; and factor. It may be seen that the proposed value of
ultimate flexural capacity M 111 are given for each Vc is much less than the value of Vc based on the
case. The concrete strength f c' was assumed equal 1963 Code, and thus very conservative.
to 5000 psi (nom. 350 kgf/cm 2 ) in all of the It therefore appears that the proposed Eq. (1-7)
examples. has the greatest application to typical building
In Fig. 9, the inverted T -beam was considered members. It will be less applicable to bridge
to be uniformly loaded and simply supported over girders and other special members where a com-
a span of 30 ft (9.1 m). For the moderate and plete design is generally required.
heavy prestress case, Vc computed from Eq. (1-7),
as shown by the dashed line, is close to Vc accord- Design aid for Eq. 0-7)
ing to the 1963 Code, as shown by the lighter solid
line. For the case of light prestress, the proposed For simply supported uniformly loaded beams,
equation is somewhat less conservative than the the Vd/M ratio in Eq. (1-7) becomes a simple
1963 Code. However, in all three cases Vc is greater function of the span length L, and may be deter-
than the shear stress V 11 required to develop the mined from:
flexural capacity M 1u at midspan. Thus in every
case only minimum web reinforcement is re- Vd d(L- 2x)
(12)
quired. M = x(L-x)
The double T -beam was also considered as uni-
formly loaded and simply supported over a span where x is the distance from the section being in-
vestigated to the support. Values of Vd/M as a
function of d/L and x are shown in Fig. 12. Con-
sequently, Eq. (1-7) and its upper and lower
500.--.---.---.---,--.---,---,--, limits can be presented as shown in Fig. 13 for
uniformly loaded beams with a concrete compres-
f~=5000 psi sive strength of 5000 psi (nom. 350 kgf/cm 2 ).
400 (Nom. 350 kgflcm
2
)
30
Since minimum web reinforcement will be re-
~ vc =5 tb-fic '--tb_=o_._8_5--------~ quired in most designs, shear design by Eq. (1-7)
300 simply involves showing that V 11 less cf> 50 = 42.5
vc, -~=~ 20 vc· 2 psi (2.98 kgf/cm 2 ) for the minimum web rein-
psi kgflcm
I forcement, is less than the value of Vc obtained
200 20
from Fig. 13.
I 1 vc=2tb~
25 ~.....::::.---.::,__-L-_ _ _ _ ___,10

100 I SUMMARY
30
The ACI design provisions for the shear capac-
ity of reinforced and prestressed concrete beams
0 L .h. l.1. are discussed in this paper.
8 4 8
Additions and changes proposed for the 1970
DISTANCE FROM SIMPLE SUPPORT, x
ACI Building Code include a minimum web rein-
Fig. 13-Shear stress v c for uniformly loaded prestressed forcement provision, a revised design procedure
concrete beams as calculated by Eq. ( 1-7) for reinforced concrete beams under axial tension

286 ACI JOURNAL I APRIL 1969

and compression, and a simplified alternate de- 14. MacGregor, J. G.; Sozen, M. A.; and Siess, C. P.,
"Strength of Prestressed Concrete Beams with Web Re-
sign procedure for prestressed concrete beams.
inforcement," ACI JouRNAL, Proceedings V. 62, Dec.
Several design illustrations are included. In gen- 1965, pp. 1503-1519.
eral, the proposed changes lead to simpler but
slightly more conservative designs. 15. Baldwin, J. W. Jr., and Viest, I. M., "Effect of
Axial Compression on Shear Strength of Reinforced
Concrete Frame Members," ACI JouRNAL, Proceedings
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS V. 55, Nov. 1958, pp. 635-654.
The authors wish to acknowledge the helpful
16. Diaz de Cossio, R., and Siess, C. P., "Behavior and
comments of Dr. Alan Mattock, Dr. Frederic Roll, Strength in Shear of Beams and Frames without Web
and several other members of ACI-ASCE Com- Reinforcement," ACI JouRNAL, Proceedings V. 56, Feb.
mittee 426. 1960, pp. 695-735.

17. Elstner, R. C., and Hognestad, E., "Laboratory ln-

REFERENCES vestigation of Rigid Frame Failures," ACI JouRNAL,
1. ACI Committee 318, "Building Code Requirements Proceedings V. 53, Jan. 1957, pp. 637-668.
for Reinforced Concrete (ACI 318-63)," American Con-
crete Institute, Detroit, 1963, 144 pp. 18. ACI-ASCE Committee 323, "Tentative Recom-
mendations for Prestressed Concrete," ACI JouRNAL,
2. Morrow, J., and Viest, I. M., "Shear Strength of Re- Proceedings V. 54, Jan. 1968, pp. 546-578.
inforced Concrete Frame Members Without Web Rein-
forcement," ACI JouRNAL, Proceedings V. 53, Mar. 1957, 19. Walther, R. E., and Warner, R. F., "Ultimate
pp. 833-869. Strength Tests of Prestressed and Conventionally Rein-
3. Mattock, A. H., Discussion of "Shear Strength of forced Concrete Beams in Combined Bending and
Reinforced Concrete Frame Members Without WebRe- Shear," Report No. 223.18, Fritz Engineering Labora-
inforcement" by J. Morrow and I. M. Viest, ACI JouR- tory, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Sept.
NAL, Proceedings V. 53, Dec. 1957, pp. 1352-1354. 1958.
4. Kani, G. N. J., "Basic Facts Concerning Shear Fail- 20. McClarnon, F. M.; Wakabayashi, M.; and Ekberg,
ure," ACI JouRNAL, Proceedings V. 64, June 1966, pp. C. C. Jr., "Further Investigation Into the Shear
675-692. Strength of Prestressed Concrete Beams Without Web
5. Leonhart, F., and Walther, R., "The Stuttgart Shear Reinforcement," Report No. 223.22, Fritz Engineering
Tests, 1961," Beton-und Stahlbetonbau (Berlin-Wilm- Laboratory, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsyl-
ersdorf), V. 56, No. 12, 1961, and V. 57, No. 2, 3, 6, 7, and vania, Jan. 1962.
8, 1962. Also, Translation No. 111, Cement and Concrete 21. Hanson, J. M., and Hulsbos, C. L., "Overload Be-
Association, London, 1961. havior of Pretensioned Prestressed Concrete !-Beams
6. Richart, F. E., "An Investigation of Web Stresses in with Web Reinforcement," Highway Research Record
Reinforced Concrete Beams," Bulletin No. 166, Univer- 76, Highway Research Board, 1965, pp. 1-31.
sity of Illinois Engineering Experiment Station, Urbana,
June 1927. 22. "Design Data for Simply Supported Prestressed
Beams in One-Story Buildings," Portland Cement As-
7. Bruce, R. H., "An Experimental Study of the Ac- sociation, Chicago, 1965.
tion of Web Reinforcement in Prestressed Concrete
Beams," PhD Thesis, University of Illinois, Urbana, 23. Preston, H. K., Practical Prestressed Concrete,
Sept.·1962. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1960, 340 pp.
8. Bresler, B., and MacGregor, J. G., "Review of Con-
crete Beams Failing in Shear," Proceedings, ASCE, V.
93, ST1, Feb. 1967, pp. 343-372. APPENDIX
9. Krahl, N. W.; Khachaturian, N.; and Siess, C. P., NOTATION
"Stability of Tensile Cracks in Concrete Beams," Pro-
ceedings, ASCE, V. 93, ST1, Feb. 1967, pp. 235-254. a distance from beam reaction to concentrated
10. MacGregor, J. G., and Walters, J. R. V., "Analysis load= M/V
of Inclined Cracking Shear in Slender Reinforced Con- gross area of section
crete Beams," ACI JoURNAL, Proceedings V. 64, Oct. area of longitudinal tension reinforcement
1967, pp. 644-653.
total area of web reinforcement within a dis-
11. ACI-ASCE Committee 326, "Shear and Diagonal tance s measured parallel to the longitudinal
Tension," ACI JoURNAL, Proceedings V. 59, No. 1, Jan. reinforcement
1962, pp. 1-30; No. 2, Feb. 1962, pp. 277-333; and No. 3, b width of beam compression flange
Mar. 1962, pp. 353-395.
b' width of beam web
12. Sozen, M. A., and Hawkins, N. M., Discussion of C compression force in concrete
"Shear and Diagonal Tension" by ACI-ASCE Commit-
tee 326, ACI JoURNAL, Proceedings V. 59, Sept. 1962, pp. Ct, C2, Ca = constants
1341-1347. d effective depth of beam
13. Sozen, M. A.; Zwoyer, E. M.; and Siess, C. P., f flexural stress on concrete element
"Strength in Shear of Beams Without Web Reinforce- fc' 28 day compressive strength determined from
ment," Bulletin No. 452, University of Illinois Engineer- 6 x 12-in. (nom. 15 x 30-cm) cylinders
ing Experiment Station, Urbana, 1959. fpc stress at centroid due to prestressing

ACJ JOURNAL I APRIL 1969 287

fs = stress in steel Sinopsis-Resume-Zusammenfassung
fsu stress in prestressing reinforcement at ultimate
fs' tensile strength of prestressing reinforcement Cambios Propuestos en las Provisiones de Cortante
ft' tensile strength of concrete para Vigas de Concreto Refor:z:ado y Presfor:z:ado
f'!i yield strength of reinforcement Se presentan adiciones y cambios notabl~s en las
disposiciones de disefio para cortante y tension
Fse effective prestress force diagonal, propuestas para ser incorporadas en el
j ratio of distance between centroid of compres- Reglamento de las Construcciones del ACI (1970)
sion and centroid of tension to the depth d in revisado. Para servir como antecedente, se revisan las
working stress design suposiciones basicas de disposiciones para el disefio a
L span length cortante del Reglamento de las Construcciones del ACI
(318-63). Las propuestas incluyen una disposicion
M moment at a section minima para refuerzo en el alma, un procedimiento de
Mer flexural cracking moment disefio revisado para vigas de concreto reforzado bajo
tension y compresion axiales, y un procedimiento
Mtu ultimate moment in flexural failure
simplificado de disefio alterno para vigas de concreto
Mt moment due to live load presforzado. Se incluyen varios ejemplos de disefio los
M' = effective moment in an axially loaded section cuales usan este procedimiento alterno para vigas de
concreto preforzado.
N axial load in a section, positive if compression
p longitudinal reinforcement ratio, As/bd
Propositions de Changement dans les Previsions de
Pw longitudinal reinforcement ratio, Aslb'd Cisaillement pour Poutres en Beton Arme et
s spacing of web reinforcement measured paral- Precontraint
lel to longitudinal reinforcement Les additifs et changements majeurs dans les dessins
t overall beam depth previsionnels poqr des tensions de cisaillement et
diagonales proposes pour incorporation dans le standard
T tension force in steel reinforcement
de construction de l'ACI (1970) sont presentes. Pour
v nominal shear stress = V /b'd servir de support les previsions de base au cisaillement
Vc nominal shear stress at inclined cracking du code de construction de l'ACI (ACI 318-63) sont
Vclb'd passees en revue. Cette proposition inclus un minimum
d'armature par nervurage, une revision du procede de
Vci shear stress at flexure-shear cracking dessin pour poutres en beton arme sous tension axiale
Vcw shear stress at web-shear cracking et compression axiale, et un autre procede de selection
simplifie pour poutres en beton precontraint. Plusieurs
Vu nominal ultimate shear stress
dessins illustrant se procede simplifie pour poutres en
Vu' nominal shear stress carried by web -reinforce- beton precontraint sont inclus a cet expose.
ment at ultimate load = Vu'lb'd
V shear at a section Vorschlage fur eine Anderung der Vorschriften :z:ur
Vc shear at inclined cracking Bemessung von Stahlbeton- und Spannbeton-Balken
Vd dead load shear gegen Schub
Vt live load shear Wesentliche Zusatze und Anderungen fiir die
Bemessung gegen Schub und Hauptzugspannungen, die
Vp vertical component of the effective prestress
in einer iiberarbeiteten Form der ACI Vorschriften
force at the section considered 1970 Beriicksichtigung finden sollen, werden diskutiert.
Vu shear at ultimate load Als Einflihrung werden die Grundannahmen, die zu
V u' shear carried by web reinforcement at ultimate den derseitigen Bemessungsvorschriften gegen Schuh
load in der ACI Vorschrift (ACI 318-63) fiihrten,
zusammengefasst. Die Vorschlage schliessen auch einen
x distance from simple support to section being Minimalwert fiir die Biigelbewehrung ein; ebenso wird
investigated eine revidierte Entwurfsmethode fiir Stahlbetonbalken
</> capacity reduction factor unter axialem Zug und axialem Druck und eine
vereinfachende Entwurfsmethode flir vorgespannte
Balken diskutiert. Verschiedene Entwurfsbeispiele
werden gegeben, bei welchen diese neuen Vorschllige
Received by the Institute Nov. 3, 1967. auf die Bemessung von vorgespannten Balken
PCA R/D Ser. 1384-1 angewendet werden.

288 ACI JOURNAL I APRIL 1969