FRPRCS-8

University of Patras, Patras, Greece, July 16-18, 2007

SHEAR CRACK INDUCED DEFORMATION OF FRP RC BEAMS

Thanongsak IMJAI

Maurizio GUADAGNINI

Kypros PILAKOUTAS

Department of Civil & Structural Engineering, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S1 3JD, UK
Keywords: Shear induced deformation, FRP reinforcement, Diagonal shear crack, Deflection, Crack
width.

INTRODUCTION

The overall behaviour of reinforced concrete is highly affected by localised discontinuities such as
cracking or crushing of the concrete. As a result, the task of defining the magnitude of the components
of deformation associated with each of the individual internal actions and mechanisms (e.g. bending
and shear), as well as any combination thereof, can be a very challenging task. This task can be
complicated even further when FRP reinforcement is used in lieu of the more conventional steel as
higher deflections and wider cracks can be generally expected at comparable load levels.
The equations included in the current design recommendations for calculation of the deflection of
FRP RC beams have been proven to underestimate overall deformations. The shear deflection is
negligible in the calculation of deflections of FRP RC beams in the recent design guidelines, however,
the component of shear cracks induced deflection can be significant when beams are subjected to
high shear loads (i.e. short beams or beams with thin web) [1] or when FRP materials are used as
reinforcement [2]. The lower stiffness of FRP compared to steel could lead to a wider crack width
which can result in larger deflections in structural members.
Previous studies have shown that the deformation behaviour of reinforced concrete beams is
highly affected by the development of shear diagonal cracks and overall deflection can be estimated
accurately only when shear induced deformations are taken into account [3, 4]. However, there is no
standard method used to measure the shear deformation. One of the well-known theories used to
estimate shear deformation is the truss model. The model is based on the geometry and mechanism
of shear resistance of RC beams. The shear deformation computed includes shortening of the
concrete strut and stretching of the vertical ties [1-3, 5]. Experimental measurement of shear
deformations is complicated and various techniques have been attempted including the placement of
transducers PI-gauges on the web surface in the shear span of a beam [1-3, 5] and the laser speckle
method [4, 6].
This study investigates the structural performance of FRP RC beams and discusses the effect of
shear diagonal cracking on the overall deflection behaviour. The work has been carried out as part of
the European funded CRAFT RTD project (CurvedNFR) [7] with the aim of developing materials,
methodology, and manufacturing process for low-cost, curved fibre reinforced plastics (FRPs) for
concrete structures.

EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMME

2.1

Specimen preparation and test set-up

The primary objective of this work was to examine the contribution of transverse reinforcement to
the total shear capacity and investigate the additional deformation due to shear crack induced
deflection. The experimental programme involved six concrete beams reinforced with FRP flexural and
shear reinforcement. All beam specimens were tested in four-point bending and were designed to fail
in shear so as to examine the shear contribution of the thermoplastic links employed in this study and
the additional deformation induced by shear diagonal cracking.
Two different types of GFRP bars (bars E and C in Table 1) were used to reinforce the beams in
flexure whilst shear reinforcement was provided in the form of closed links manufactured in the
laboratory using thermoplastic GFRP strips (bar P) [8]. A ready mixed concrete obtained from a local
supplier was used to manufacture the beam specimens. The specifications of the mix were: concrete
C50 with 10mm maximum aggregate size and cement type OPC with a slump of 50mm. The flexural
reinforcement was designed so as to induce shear failure prior to flexural failure according to current
design recommendations. Different arrangement of the shear reinforcement (i.e. different spacing and
different bend geometry) were tested to investigate the contribution of the transverse reinforcement to
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University of Patras, Patras, Greece, July 16-18, 2007

the total shear resistance and analyse the behaviour of the shear links subjected to a combination of
longitudinal and transversal stresses. The properties of the test specimens are summarised in Tables
1 and 2.
Table 1 Specimens details.
Beam
ID.
TB 1B
TB 2B
TB 3B
TB 4B
TB 5B
TB 6B

Flexural reinforcement
Effective depth
Area
(mm)
(mm2)
402
219
402
219
402
219
429
220
429
220
429
220

f
(%)
1.22
1.22
1.22
1.30
1.30
1.30

Area
(mm2)
60
60
60
60
96
-

Shear reinforcement
Spacing
(mm)
164
109
219
110
132
-

w
(%)
0.24
0.37
0.18
0.36
0.48
-

Table 2 Given mechanical properties of flexural and shear reinforcing elements.

Bar

Type of
composite

E
C
P

Eurocrete
ComBAR
Plytron

Cross
section
(mm)
13.5
16
3x10

Youngs
Modulus
(GPa)
45
60
28

Ultimate
stress
(MPa)
700
1000
720

Ultimate
strain
()
17000
17000
19000

Type of resin
thermosetting
thermosetting
thermoplastic

The beam specimens had a rectangular cross-section of 150x250 mm with a clear span of 2300
mm. Each beam was subjected to two consecutive phases of testing and shear failure was induced
successively in the two spans. Strain gauges were located on the flexural reinforcement within the two
shear spans of each beam to monitor the development of shear cracks. A strain gauge was also
located at the mid-span where the maximum strain caused by pure flexure was expected. Typical
arrangement of strain gauges for flexural reinforcement is shown in Figure 2. Strain gauges were also
attached on selected shear links to capture the strain development due to the formation and opening
of diagonal shear cracks. Three strain gauges were attached along the bottom corner of one of the
links: at the beginning of the bend, inside the bend and after the bend, to monitor the strains
transferred across the bent portion of the link (Figure 2). The shaded zones shown in Figure 2 indicate
the locations where shear failure was deemed to occur. When side A of a beam was being tested
(phase I), the opposite side (side B) was strengthened along the shaded zone with steel strips to
prevent the development of excessive diagonal cracks. The overall deflections were measured at each
load increment using Linear Variable Differential Transducers (LVDTs) positioned at mid-span, under
the point-loads and at every 256 mm along the shear span. Two additional LVDTs were placed on the
top-face of each of the beam supports to allow for the calculation of net deflection. The arrangement of
LVDTs that was used in both phases of testing is shown in Figure 3.
In the first testing phase, the load was applied manually in displacement control mode (in
increments of approximately 5 kN). At each loading step, cracks were marked and the width of
selected cracks was measured using a hand held micrometer every 5 or 10 kN depending on the
expected load capacity of the beam. The specimens were unloaded to 1 kN and then loaded up to the
load level that induced a value of strain in the flexural and shear reinforcement considered to be
critical for the beam. The critical value of strain considered in this testing series was based on the
maximum sustainable strain expected to develop in both FRP flexural and shear reinforcement prior to
shear failure, as proposed by Guadagnini et al. [9]. The loading was stopped when both the flexural
and shear strains exceeded the value of 0.005. In testing phase II, each of the beam specimens was
tested up to failure and, similarly to phase I, a loading cycle was performed at 40 kN. The beam
specimens were designed to fail due to rupture of the FRP stirrups as a result of diagonal shear
cracking.

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University of Patras, Patras, Greece, July 16-18, 2007

Fig. 1 FRP reinforcements.

Fig. 2 Typical arrangement of the strain gauges on the flexural and shear reinforcements.

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University of Patras, Patras, Greece, July 16-18, 2007

Fig. 3 Test set-up and the external instrumentation for phase II.

TEST RESULTS

Due to the limitation of the space provided, only selected results from test phase II are presented
in the following.
3.1 Capacity and failure behaviour
The test results are summarised in Table 3 in terms of ultimate load at failure (Pmax), ultimate
deflection at mid-span (max) and maximum flexural crack width (i.e. crack 1 in Figures 6 and 7) for the
beams tested in the second phase of the experimental programme. The mode of failure observed for
all of the beam specimens was shear diagonal failure (Figure 4). Furthermore, the integrity of the FRP
strips at the corner region was inspected after the beam has failed (Figure 5). The measured ultimate
capacities of the beams tested in phase II ranged between 58 to 133 kN.
Table 3 Summary of results.
Beam ID.
TB 1B
TB 2B
TB 3B
TB 4B
TB 5B
TB 6B

Pcr
(kN)
64.4
66.5
60.4
65.0
72.7
-

Pmax
(kN)
79.1
131.4
73.8
118.6
133.7
58.1

ACI 440.1R-06
(kN)
54.8
63.8
50.3
60.0
69.0
33.3

max
(mm)
20.5
41.2
24.3
45.4
48.2
16.8

w (crack 1)
(mm @ P)
0.35 @ 60
0.50 @ 80
0.25 @ 60
0.35 @ 60
0.45 @ 60
0.29 @ 50

During the experiments, strains in the flexural and shear reinforcement were monitored along with
net deflections and crack width of both flexural and shear cracks. The experimental values obtained
from the tests confirmed that the thermoplastic strip (bar P in Figure 1) can be successfully used as
shear reinforcement for concrete structures both to offer adequate shear resistance at ultimate limit
state and to effectively control diagonal crack widths at serviceability limit state (see Table 3).
Although, as expected, failure of the links in the region of the bend was observed in most of the tests
(see for example Figures 3 and 4), this occurred at a load value that was always considerably higher

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University of Patras, Patras, Greece, July 16-18, 2007

than the ultimate load predicted by the current design recommendations (for example see Table 3 for
ACI 440.1R-06) [10].

Fig. 4 Diagonal tension failure of beam TB 3B.

Fig. 5 Detail of the rupture of the links in the region of the bend (Beam TB 4B).
During both phases of testing, the crack behaviour of the beam specimens was closely monitored.
Figures 6 and 7 show the crack patterns observed for two of the test beams. In general, at the
maximum load, more cracks appeared in beams reinforced with bar C (for example Beam TB 2B) than
in beams reinforced with bar E (for example Beam TB 4B). The larger number of cracks in the first set
of beams can be attributed to the development of a more distributed bond along the flexural
reinforcement (see Figure 6).

FRPRCS-8

University of Patras, Patras, Greece, July 16-18, 2007

Fig. 6 Complete crack pattern for beam TB 2B.

Fig. 7 Complete crack pattern for beam TB 4B.

3.2 Mid-span deflection
The load and mid-span deflection curves for specimens TB 2B and TB 4B are shown in Figure 8. It
is shown that deflection of the beam specimens before diagonal cracking occurs can be efficiently
predicted by using Eq. (1) which is included in Eurocode 2 [11].
2
2

M
M
= cr g + 1 cr cr

M
M

(1)

where is the total deflection, g is the uncracked-state deflection, cr is the cracked-state deflection,
is the duration or repetition of load factor (1.0 for short term loading), Mcr is the cracking moment and
M is the applied moment.

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University of Patras, Patras, Greece, July 16-18, 2007

Fig. 8 Comparison of the mid-span deflection between test results and theoretical predictions.
However, the observed deflection is significantly higher than that predicted by Eq. (1) after the
initiation of shear cracking. The occurrence of shear diagonal cracks would lead to an additional
component of deformation, which is here referred to as shear crack induced deformation. In this study,
the load that induced shear diagonal crack is obtained by considering the value of strain mobilised in
the stirrups. No contribution of the stirrups to the total shear resistance of the beam was considered
before the incidence of diagonal cracking. The load level that causes the first diagonal cracking was
then defined as diagonal cracking strength, Pcr (see Table 3).
3.3 Strain in the flexural and shear reinforcement
Figure 9 shows the distribution of strain along the flexural reinforcement of beam TB 4B at
selected load increments. It can be seen that a large increase in strain was initially recorded by strain
gauge 57, which was located at the mid span of the beam, as a result of the opening of a flexural
crack. At the load of 65 kN, shear cracks developed in the shear span (side B) and caused an
increase in strains in the longitudinal bar (e.g. strain gauge 43). The additional curvature produced by
the induced strain associated with diagonal cracking can cause an extra vertical deformation in
addition to the deflection due to pure bending of the beam. Figure 10 shows the variation of strains in
the shear reinforcement for the same beam on side B. As can be seen from Figure 10, strains in shear
reinforcement increase rapidly after formation of the diagonal cracks at the load of 65 kN. It can be
clearly noted that the load level associated with the initiation of diagonal cracking was well captured by
various strain gauges located in the shear span. Once the diagonal cracks took place, the strain
gauges adjacent to the cracks were mobilised and the strain level increased rapidly up to failure.

Fig. 9 TB 4B - Distribution of strains along the flexural reinforcement.

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University of Patras, Patras, Greece, July 16-18, 2007

Fig. 10 TB 4B - Distribution of strains in the shear links.

3.4 Effect of longitudinal reinforcement
The deformation response of beam specimens TB 2B and TB 4B indicates the effect of
longitudinal reinforcement on shear deformation. The longitudinal reinforcement ratio is 1.22% and
1.33% for beam TB 2B and TB 4B respectively. As seen in Figure 11, at equivalent load levels,
specimen TB 2B exhibits less deflection when compared to TB 4B. This is due to the higher flexural
reinforcement stiffness (i.e. Efrp f) of bar C compared to bar E which results in smaller axial
deformation and hence reduces flexural and shear deformation.

Fig. 11 Effect of longitudinal reinforcement content on beam deflection.

3.5 Effect of web reinforcement
In order to examine the effect of shear reinforcement content on shear deformation, beams TB 4B, TB
5B, and TB 6B are compared. All of these beam specimens have the same longitudinal reinforcement
type and reinforcement ratio. The shear reinforcement of specimens TB 4B and TB 5B was 0.36% and
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University of Patras, Patras, Greece, July 16-18, 2007

0.48% respectively, whilst no shear reinforcement was provided for specimen TB 6B. As shown in
Figure 12, after the diagonal crack took place (i.e. at P=65 kN for TB 4B and 73 kN for TB 5B) the total
deflection of specimens TB 4B and TB 5B is almost the same up to a load of 110 kN where another
diagonal crack develops in beam TB 4B causing a rapid increase in overall deflection. Using higher
shear reinforcement contents in the shear span leads to a reduction of shear deformation at the same
load level. This is because the stirrups can prevent shear cracks from opening. The ultimate shear
deformation of specimen TB 5B is 20 percent of its total deformation. This is lower than the ultimate
shear deformation estimated for specimen TB 4B, which amounts to about 30 percent of its total
deformation.

Fig. 12 Effect of shear reinforcement content on beam deflection.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the experimental investigation conducted on a series of beam tests presented in this
paper, the following observations can be drawn:
Before shear diagonal cracking, deflections in beams reinforced with FRP reinforcement can
be accurately predicted using Eurocode 2. After diagonal cracking occurs, deflection of FRP
RC beams is significantly greater than that estimated according to Eq. (1).
The experimental results obtained in this study provide strong evidence that the additional
component of deflection is due to the development of shear cracks.
The use of a flexural reinforcement with a higher flexural reinforcement stiffness can reduce
flexural and shear induced deflection.
Beams with a higher shear reinforcement content result in a higher shear capacity and
reduced shear deflection.
The occurrence of additional deformation can become an issue whenever FRP RC elements
are designed to resist high shear loads as the component of shear crack induced deflection
can affect their serviceability.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to acknowledge the financial assistance of the European Union for the Marie
Curie Research Training Network En-Core, and the CRAFT RTD project CurvedNFR.

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University of Patras, Patras, Greece, July 16-18, 2007

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