Engineering Structures 196 (2019) 109295

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Engineering Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engstruct

Shear performance analysis of a tapered beam with trapezoidally corrugated T

steel webs considering the Resal effect
⁎
Man Zhoua, , Huiyang Fua, Xiaolong Sua, Lin Anb
a
School of Civil Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, China
b
Department of Civil Earth Resources Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: An experimental study of a tapered beam with concrete flanges and trapezoidally corrugated steel webs (TCSWs)
Resal effect was first performed to investigate the shear performance of a tapered beam with variable cross section.
Tapered beam Remarkably, the authors explain the Resal effect in tapered beams with TCSWs, which can produce both positive
Trapezoidally corrugated steel webs and negative influences on the effective shear forces carried by the TCSWs. The Resal effect is positively cor-
Shear performance
related with the bending moment and inclined angles, and the inclined bottom flange receives a considerable
proportion of the shear force near the supports with larger bending moment due to the Resal effect. Thus, the
traditional calculation hypothesis that the TCSWs bear the entire vertical shear force on the cross section for
prismatic cases is no longer applicable to tapered beams; the shear capacity of the concrete flanges (especially
the inclined bottom flange) should not be considered negligible. Accordingly, a new theoretical formula to
calculate the shear stress in a tapered beam with TCSWs is proposed by considering the Resal effect. The validity
of the proposed formula is verified by comparing the theoretical predictions with the experimental and finite
element (FE) analysis results. In addition, the distribution of shear stress on the top concrete flange, TCSW and
inclined bottom concrete flange and the changing regularity of their respective shear bearing ratios along the
span direction are experimentally and numerically analysed in this study.

1. Introduction proposed a more accurate formula to predict the shear strength of

The prestressed concrete (PC) box girder with trapezoidally corru-
gated steel webs (TCSWs) is a promising new type of steel-concrete
structure that has been widely used in highway bridge construction in
Japan and China. The first composite bridge with TCSWs in Japan was
built in 1993. To date, Japan has the most PC box girder bridges with
TCSWs in the world [1,2]. Compared with the traditional concrete box
girder bridges, PC composite girder bridges with TCSWs have excellent
favourable properties, aesthetic appearance, light deadweight, high
prestressed efficiency and high shear strength. With the development of
design theories and construction techniques, this type of bridges has
stronger competitiveness in the modern long-span bridge construction.
To date, many scholars have extensively studied the shear beha-
viour of both I- and box beams with TCSWs [3–11], but most of their
attention focuses on the prismatic members. Sayed-Ahmed [7] found
that TCSWs provided the most shear strength to the composite section
but hardly contributed to its flexural strength. Moon et al. [12] noted
that the TCSWs were almost in pure shear stress state due to the ac-
cordion effect. Based on the existing experiments, Sause et al. [13]
TCSWs. Huang [14] presented a simple method to simulate the ac-
cordion effect of TCSWs using link-type elements with different stiffness
values in the finite element (FE) model. Through experimental study
and theoretical analysis, Nie et al. [10] devised a simplified formula to
calculate the shear strength of TCSWs and its main affecting factors.
However, most studies only focused on the mechanical performance
of prismatic girders with TCSWs, while very little attention was paid to
that of tapered beams with TCSWs. Some findings, in terms of the shear
behaviour of tapered beams with TCSWs, are listed below, most of
which came from the author’s research team. Zhou et al. [15] found
that the distribution of shear stress in a tapered beam with TCSWs was
quite different from that of a prismatic case. Thus, the authors theo-
retically derived a general formula to calculate the shear stress for the
tapered beam with TCSWs. Zhou et al. [16] proposed a united calcu-
lation formula for the bending deformation of prismatic and tapered
beams with TCSWs by introducing the concept of equivalent inertia
moment. Zhou et al. [17,18] verified that the quasi-plane assumption
was valid in the tapered beams with TCSW by using laboratory ex-
periments and numerical simulations. Trahair and Ansourian [19]

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: zhouman@csu.edu.cn (M. Zhou).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2019.109295
Received 3 April 2019; Received in revised form 28 May 2019; Accepted 10 June 2019
Available online 29 June 2019
0141-0296/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M. Zhou, et al.
pointed that the distribution of shear stress in tapered web I-beams is
quite different with that of uniform beams, which is mainly influenced
by the vertical components of the inclined flange forces. A nonlinear FE
model with TCSWs was built by Elkawas et al. [20] to investigate the
strength and behaviour of tapered TCSWs with high-strength steels.
Through an FE parametric analysis, Hassanein et al. [21] found that the
increase in TCSW thickness hardly contributed to its ultimate strength.
In this study, the authors originally reveal that the Resal effect exists
in a tapered I-section beam with TCSW based on the model test and FE
simulation, which is the most essential reason for the difference in shear
properties between prismatic and tapered beams with TCSWs. The
traditional assumption that the TCSWs bear the entire vertical shear
force in the section cannot be applied to the tapered cases because the
inclined bottom flange resists a significant part of the shear force under
the Resal effect. Accordingly, the authors have proposed a simple and
effective practical formula to calculate the shear stress in a tapered I-
section beam with TCSWs considering the Resal effect. This method
avoids the complex calculation without loss of accuracy and can be
conveniently used by engineering designers.
2. Calculation of shear stress considering Resal effect
2.1. Resal effect in tapered beams with TCSW
According to the study of Bedynek et al. [22] on the mechanical
performance of tapered steel plate girders with a thin web, the vertical
component of the axial force in the inclined flange plate of the tapered
girder affects the effective shear force that acts on the web. For a ta-
pered beam with TCSWs, due to the accordion effect of TCSWs and the
effect of the variable cross-section, a longitudinal bending moment is
considered to be entirely resisted by the top and bottom concrete
flanges, but the TCSWs no longer bear the total vertical shear force in
the section, which is significantly different from the mechanical per-
formance of the prismatic cases. The main reason for this difference is
that the vertical component of the axial force in the inclined bottom
flange affects the distribution of the shear force in the entire section.
As shown in Fig. 1a, an infinitesimal segment is selected from the
region near the support of a tapered girder bridge with TCSWs, and the
stress resultants of infinitesimal segment dx is shown in Fig. 1b. The top
flange is subjected to tension, the inclined bottom flange is compressed,
and the TCSWs are mainly subjected to shear when the infinitesimal
segment is under the action of the hogging moment and positive
shearing force. With the tapered infinitesimal segment dx as the ana-
lysis object, the hogging bending moment M is equated with a pair of
forces that acts on the centroid of the top and bottom flanges based on
the principle of equal effects. Denote the tension on the top flange and
the compression on the bottom flange as T and C, respectively, as shown
in Fig. 1b.
According to the equivalent of bending moment M and a couple {T,
C}, the distance between the centroids of the top and bottom flanges is
d, and the inclined angle of the bottom flange is β. Thus, a couple that
acts on the centroids of the top and bottom flanges, which is equivalent
by bending moment, can be expressed as:
M 2.3.1. Calculation assumptions
T = C = N ·cos β =
d (1)
The shear carried by the inclined bottom flange mainly comes from the
vertical component of compression, which is denoted as QResal:
QResal = N sin β =
M
tan β
d (2)
The above analysis shows that the vertical component of the com-
pression on the bottom flange shares a part of the shear force QResal in
the section. Unlike the prismatic beam with TCSWs, it is unreasonable
to assume that the TCSWs resist the entire shear force in a tapered
beam. The effective shear force Qcsw on the TCSWs will be reduced
2
Engineering Structures 196 (2019) 109295
accordingly, which can be expressed as:
QTCSW = Q − QResal < Q (3)
Eq. (3) indicates that, in the regions near the support of the girder
bridges with tapered TCSWs, the webs no longer bear the entire shear
force in the section because the inclined bottom flange undertakes a
part of the shear force. This phenomenon is called Resal effect, which
can increase the shear ratio of the inclined bottom flange, change the
effective shear ratio of the TCSWs, and make the vertical shear redis-
tribute over concrete flanges and TCSWs. In the structural design, great
error will be generated if the engineers calculate the shear stress of the
tapered girder bridges with TCSWs using the traditional method, which
ignores the Resal effect.
2.2. Influence of the Resal effect on the shear redistribution
Different sections of a continuous beam bridge are usually subjected
to different directions of the bending moment and shear force under
dead weight and external loads. According to the signs rule of material
mechanics, bending moment M that makes the fibres at the bottom of
the beam in tension is positive or negative; the shear force that rotates
clockwise around the separator is positive or negative. Specifically, four
different internal force combination forms are caused by different di-
rections of M and Q, as shown in Fig. 2. The combined forms are as
follows: negative moment & positive shear, negative moment & nega-
tive shear, positive moment & positive shear, and positive moment &
negative shear.
Because only a small part of shear force is carried by the horizontal
top flange (usually not more than 10% of the total shear) [17,18], the
total shear force Q is approximately equal to the vector sum of shear
force QResal carried by the inclined bottom flange and effective shear
force QTCSW borne by the TCSWs, which can be expressed as:
Q ≈ QRe sal + QTCSW (4)
According to Eq. (4), if Q and QResal are in the same direction, the ef-
fective shear force QTCSW will reduce, and the Resal effect reduces the
shear ratio borne by the TCSWs, which is defined as the positive Resal
effect; if Q and QResal are in opposite directions, the effective shear force
QTCSW will increase, and the Resal effect increases the shear ratio borne
by the TCSWs, which is defined as the negative Resal effect. Based on
the above analysis, the Resal effect on the shear condition of TCSWs
considering four types of internal force combinations is summarized in
Table 1.
Table 1 shows that the influence of Resal effect on the shear ratio of
TCSWs is closely related to the consistency of the acting directions of Q
and QResal. If the acting direction is consistent, the Resal effect is posi-
tive; otherwise, it is negative. The Resal effect greatly influences the
redistribution of shear force between concrete flanges and TCSWs; the
change regulation of the shear ratio of TCSWs along the span direction
can be quantitatively revealed, and the shear force transfer behaviour
in the composite section can be investigated based on the Resal effect.
2.3. Shear stress calculation considering the Resal effect
(1) The structure is in an elastic working state, and the material obeys
Hooke's law.
(2) The axial stiffness of TCSWs is neglected due to the accordion effect.
The top and bottom flanges withstand the bending moment, while
the webs only bear the shear force [3,21].
(3) The shear carried by the top flange is very small, which can be
considered negligible without losing accuracy [17,18].
(4) The shear stress on the TCSWs is uniformly distributed along the
height direction [15].
M. Zhou, et al. Engineering Structures 196 (2019) 109295

Fig. 1. Analysis model of the Resal effect in a tapered beam with TCSWs.

2.3.2. Approximate formula derivation approximately uniformly distributed along the height direction [15].
To facilitate the discussion, a tapered I- beam with concrete flanges Thus, the average shear stress on TCSWs is:
and TCSWs is selected as the analysis object as shown in Fig. 3a, and an
infinitesimal tapered segment dx (Fig. 3b), which is cut from the ta- QTCSW Q − QRe sal Qd − M tan α
τTCSW = = =
pered beam, is selected as the analysis element. Bending moment M on h 0 b0 h 0 b0 h 0 b0 d (7)
the cross section is equivalent to a couple {T, C}, as shown in Fig. 3c.
Fig. 3d shows the parametrized dimensions of the tapered I-beam with From the above derivation, we know that the inclined bottom concrete
the TCSW. The widths of the top and bottom flanges are b2 and b1, the flange resists a considerable part of the shear force in the tapered beam
thickness values of the top and bottom flanges are t2 and t1, the beam with TCSW. Under the Resal effect, the shear bearing ratios of concrete
height is h, the height of the TCSW is h0, and the web thickness is bo. flanges and TCSW will constantly change with the internal force state of
The centroid distance between the top and bottom concrete flange is d. the cross section. The effectiveness of the proposed formula to calculate
Based on the vector decomposition of compression N and equiva- the shear stress of the TCSW will be verified by the laboratory experi-
lence of bending moment M, the shear force QResal carried by the in- ment and FE simulation as follows.
clined bottom concrete flange is:
M 3. Laboratory experiment
QRe sal = C tan α = tan α
d (5)

Thus, the effective shear force QTCSW carried by the TCSWs can be In the above sections, a practical formula to calculate the shear
obtained: stress in a tapered beam with TCSWs considering the Resal effect is
proposed. To verify the applicability of the proposed formula and
M evaluate the influence of Resal effect on the shear behaviour of tapered
QTCSW = Q − QRe sal = Q − tan α
d (6)
beams with TCSWs, a laboratory experiment of a tapered beam with
Because the TCSWs are very thin, the shear stress on the TCSWs is concrete flanges and TCSWs is first performed.

Top slab Top slab Top slab Top slab Fig. 2. Different combination forms of
M+ǻM Q M+ǻM Q M+ǻM M+ǻM the bending moment and shear force.
M Q M M MQ
TCSWs TCSWs TCSWs TCSWs
Q Q
s lab Q s lab Q s lab s lab
Bo ttom Bo ttom Bo ttom Bo ttom

3
M. Zhou, et al. Engineering Structures 196 (2019) 109295

Table 1
Resal effect on the shear condition of TCSWs considering different internal force combinations.
Internal force combination Internal force equivalence Q QResal Q and QResal relations Shear bearing ratio Effects
Orientation Orientation

Positive Positive Same Decrease Positive

(+) (+)

Negative Positive Opposite Increase Negative

(−) (+)

Negative Negative Same Decrease Positive

(−) (−)

Positive Negative Opposite Increase Negative

(+) (−)

3.1. Specimen design
As shown in Fig. 4, the test beam is designed as a simple supported
tapered I-beam with a cantilever under two point loads to achieve
different internal force combinations. The length of the test beam is
5.4 m with a cantilever of 1.6 m, so the span of the simply supported
part is 3.8 m. The top and bottom flanges are 0.4 m wide, and their
thicknesses linearly increase from 0.1 m to 0.12 m. The height of the
specimen presents the parabolic change from 0.8 m at the left support
section to 0.53 m at the free end and 0.4 m at the right support section.
The detail dimensions of the specimen and reinforcement of the top and
concrete flanges are shown in Fig. 4.
As shown in Fig. 4, a 1:5-reduced-scale model of the standard
TCSW-1600 is adopted in the test, which has a wavelength of 320 mm
and a wave height of 44 mm. The TCSWs are 5 mm thick, and it has a
horizontal folding angle of 30.6° with an internal diameter of 75 mm.
More specific parameters in terms of materials of TCSWs are listed in
Table 2.
3.2. Specimen preparation
The TCSW was produced in a factory and assembled with top and
bottom concrete flanges at a construction site. The concrete flanges and
TCSWs are connected by a Perofbond Leiste (PBL) shear connector. C50
concrete was used to pour the top and bottom flanges. As shown in
Fig. 5, the detailed process of specimen preparation is as follows:

P Top flange
dx P

Bottom flange Support

TCSWs Support (a)

dx dx b2
T t2
Top flange Top flange
Top flange
Q Q
QTCSW b0
M
TCSWs TCSWs N d TCSWs
hx hx QResal h0 h
Į
ge
ge flan C
flan tom
tom Bot
Bot Bottom flange t1
ȕ ȕ
b1

(b) (c) (d)

Fig. 3. Calculation model for shear stress in a tapered beam with TCSWs.

4
M. Zhou, et al. Engineering Structures 196 (2019) 109295

5400

400 1200 2400 1200 200

Load reaction frame Load reaction frame

Jack-1 Top Jack-2
Sensor B flange A Sensor C

400
530

800
Corrugated C
A steel webs
Bottom 400
B flange
Cantilever structure Simply supported structure
400 Support
Support

400 400 400

25 25 25

8@200 8@200 8@200

20 100

180
60 180

12 12
12

400
12 12
400 800

8@100 8@200

120
800

25
C-C
12 12 12
100 20

240

320
8@200 8@200
86

r=7
5

44
25 25
A-A B-B 86 5 74 86 74

Fig. 4. Dimensions of a test beam (unit: mm).

Table 2 from left to right, where calculation sections A-C are located on the
Material parameters of the 1:5-scale standard TCSW-1600. cantilever, and calculation sections D-G are located on the supported
Fabrication processes: cold roll forming, sand blasting, rust removal, surface
span. The strain data were automatically collected by the computer
roughening and anti-rust coating data acquisition system (TDS-530). The loading procedure is controlled
by the incremental method, which is jointly controlled by the force
Steel type Q345d Tensile strength 300 MPa control mode and displacement control mode. This study mainly ana-
Shear strength 175 MPa Elongation 32.5%
lyses the elastic shear behaviour of the tapered beam specimen with
Modulus of elasticity 2.06 × 105 MPa Folding angle 30.6°
Wave height 44 mm Wave length 320 mm TCSWs, so the authors focus on analysing the collecting data during the
Inclined sub-panel 74 mm Flat sub-panel 86 mm elastic stage. The loading devices, data acquisition device and detailed
length length measuring point layout schemes are shown in Figs. 6 and 7.
Internal diameter 75 mm Thickness 5 mm

4. Finite element model

manufacture and install the framework (Fig. 5a); assemble the re-
inforcement in the bottom flange (Fig. 5b); stick the strain gauges
To compare with the experimental results and evaluate the accuracy
(Fig. 5c); pour the bottom flange and maintain it for 7 days (Fig. 5d–e);
of the proposed theoretical formula (Eq. (7)), a three-dimensional FE
install top framework and assemble the reinforcement with strain
model of the test specimen is established by the ABAQUS program, as
gauges (Fig. 5f); and pour the top flange and maintain it for 14 days
shown in Fig. 8. The concrete flanges are simulated with C3D8R solid
(Fig. 5g). The specimen was subsequently transported to the laboratory
elements, while the thin TCSWs are simulated with S4R shell elements
and prepared for the test.
in the FE model. Both concrete and steel are assumed to be homo-
geneous materials in the FE model, as the girder is in the elastic stage
3.3. Loading and measurement under a small applied load. The elasticity modulus of the concrete
flanges and TCSW are 3.45 × 1010 N/m2 and 2.06 × 1011 N/m2, and
As shown in Fig. 6, the loading system consists of two rigid reaction their Poisson's ratios are selected as 0.2 and 0.3, respectively. The
frames, two 100-ton hydraulic jacks, force sensors and a hydraulic servo surface-based shell-to-solid coupling is adopted to connect the solid
controller. These two jacks are controlled by the same hydraulic servo concrete flanges with the shell TCSW. A uniform pressure was applied
system to realize loading in synchronism. Seven groups of strain ro- on the rigid blocks to avoid local stress concentration.
settes were arranged along the height of each calculation section to
investigate the shear behaviour of the tapered beam specimen with
TCSWs. As shown in Fig. 6a, the calculation sections are labelled A-G

5
M. Zhou, et al.
Fig. 5. Specimen manufacturing process.
5. Comparison and analysis
5.1. Distribution of shear stress along the section height
The shear stress distribution along the depth of each calculation
section (A-G) is shown in Fig. 9; the left side presents the results of
sections A-C in the cantilever, and the right side presents the results of
sections D-G in the simply supported span. It indicates that the FE
model is feasible and exact by comparing the FE simulation results with
experimental data. It found that the shear stress borne by the TCSWs is
evenly distributed along the height direction of each calculation section
in the test beam, and the shear stress on the top flange is quite small
except for calculation sections A and G near the concentrated forces.
The shear stress on the inclined concrete flange is relatively large,
especially for sections C and D with larger bending moment. In addi-
tion, the shear stress on the bottom free surface of the inclined concrete
flange is not zero, which is quite different from the distribution laws of
the prismatic beams. This phenomenon is mainly caused by the Resal
effect: the inclined bottom flange carries a considerable part of the
Fig. 6. Loading devices and data-collecting system.
6
Engineering Structures 196 (2019) 109295
shear force in the section under the hogging bending moment. Ad-
ditionally, the shear stress on TCSW has not reached a maximum near
the support due to the Resal effect. Thus, although the cross section
near the support bears the maximum bearing bending moment and
axial force, it is not the most critical section for the shear design of the
TCSWs in a tapered beam due to the Resal effect.
With the increase in hogging bending moment from section A to C
on the side of the cantilever, the shear stress on the TCSW gradually
decreases; the average shear stresses on the webs of sections A-C are
5.75 MPa, 5.91 MPa, and 4.21 MPa. In the cantilever sections, the ad-
ditional vertical shear force caused by the bending moment on the
bottom tapered flange is consistent with the total shear force, so the
Resal effect is positive to reduce the shear bearing ratio of TCSWs. The
influencing degree of the Resal effect increases with the increase of
hogging bending moment and tapered angles from calculation sections
A to C. While from sections D-F on the simply supported side, the shear
stress borne by the TCSW gradually increases gradually with the de-
crease of hogging bending moment, and the average shear stress on the
webs of sections D- to F is 1.72 MPa, 3.14 MPa, and 4.87 MPa. Although
M. Zhou, et al. Engineering Structures 196 (2019) 109295

Reaction beam
Top flange Loading
TCSW distribution beam
Hydraulic jack

Bottom flange

Floor Concrete support

(a) Loading device
5400
523 320 320 960 640 640 640 1157 200

400
530

800

A B C D E F G
Concrete flange
400

TCSWs

(b) Arrangement of strain gauges in each calculation section

Fig. 7. Position of each calculation section.

the additional shear force on the inclined concrete flange is reduced
from section D to F with the decrease in bending moment and tapered
angles, the Resal effect remains positive to reduce the effective shear
forces carried by the TCSWs for the consistent directions of additional
shear force QResal on the inclined flange and total shear force Q in the
section. Section F is a turning point where the bending moment is 0.
Thus, the beam segment from section F to G is subjected to the sagging
bending moment and positive shear force. The top flange is in com-
pression, and the inclined bottom flange is in tension; the additional
shear force QResal on the inclined flange caused by the sagging moment
is opposite to the total shear force Q in the section. Hence, the Resal
effect is negative, which increases the ratio of shear force borne by the
TCSWs.
5.2. Distribution shear stress along the longitudinal direction
The longitudinal distribution of average shear stresses on the top
concrete flange, TCSWs and bottom concrete flange obtained from the
FE simulation is shown in Fig. 10a–c. Generally, the average shear
stresses on the horizontal top flange is mostly small along the long-
itudinal direction except in the regions near the concentrated forces and
supports, which indicates that the Resal effect has a very small influ-
ence on the shear stress on the top flange. This result also explains the
rationality of neglecting the small effect of the shear stress on the top
concrete flange in the proposed method. However, the distribution of
shear stresses carried by the TCSW and inclined bottom flange are
greatly influenced by the Resal effect. Specifically, when the influence
degree of the Resal effect increases from section A to the left support,
the average shear stress on the TCSW gradually decreases, while the
average shear stress on the inclined bottom flange constantly increases.
Thus, the shear force carried by the inclined flange increases, and the
Resal effect is positive to reduce the effective shear force that acts on
the TCSW. The Resal effect gradually reduces from section D to F. The
average shear stress on the TCSW continually increases, while the
average shear stress on the inclined bottom flange gradually decreases.
In this region, the Resal effect helps to reduce the effective shear force
resisted by the TCSW; however, this positive effect is reduced with the
decreasing bending moment.
5.3. Verification of the analytical formula
The experimental and theoretical results of the average shear stress

Pressure Block
Top C3D8R integration
flange point
Pressure Block

CSWs
y

z x Bottom S4R
(y=0;z=0) Support flange integration Support
point (y=0)

Fig. 8. FM model of the test beam.

7
M. Zhou, et al. Engineering Structures 196 (2019) 109295

PL
+ Inflection point
-
Bending moment distribution 1
2 PL
y 3 P +
3
-
- P Shear force distribution 1
3 P
P P
A B C M D E F G x
o

Shear Stress/MPa
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
0.0

0.1

0.2
0.3
Depth/m

0.4

0.5
A
B
0.6 C
0.7

0.8
(a) Shear stress distributions of the calculation sections A to C
Shear Stress/MPa
-5.0 -4.0 -3.0 -2.0 -1.0 0.0 1.0
0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3
Depth/m

0.4 G
F
0.5
E
0.6
D
0.7
0.8
(b) Shear stress distributions of calculation sections D to G
Fig. 9. Distribution of shear stress for each calculation section.

on the TCSWs of each calculation section and their corresponding cal-
culation errors are shown in Table 3. The calculation error of the
average shear stress on the TCSW between the formula calculations and
the experimental data is mostly less than 16%. However, the relative
error of the shear stress on section A reaches 41.39% due to the effect of
the local concentrated force. The primary reason is that the top slab
bears a considerable shear force in the regions near the concentrated
force in the experiment, while the shear capacity of the top flange is
ignored in the theoretical calculation. Generally, the calculated values
of the shear stress by the proposed formula are slightly larger than the
actual values with the shear capacity of the top concrete flange ne-
glected. Thus, the calculation of shear stress on the TCSW using the
proposed formula has made the structural design safer without loss of
accuracy. The calculation accuracy of the proposed formula can satisfy
the general requirement of engineering precision because its calculation
errors are in an acceptable range.
5.4. Shearing ratio of concrete flanges and TCSWs
Based on the FE model, the resultant shear forces in concrete flanges
and TCSWs can be obtained by defining free body cuts on the solid
element surface in ABAQUS. Thus, the shear bearing ratios of the top
flange, TCSWs and bottom flange can be calculated accordingly by
creating series of free body cross sections along the span, as shown in
Fig. 11.
Fig. 11 shows that the shear force ratio of the horizontal top con-
crete flange is relatively small with an average proportion less than
15% in most regions. Hence, most of the shear force in the section is
carried by the TCSW and the inclined bottom concrete flange. Both
shear bearing ratios of the TCSW and the inclined bottom concrete

8
M. Zhou, et al. Engineering Structures 196 (2019) 109295

Fig. 10. Longitudinal distribution of shear stress on the concrete flanges and TCSW.

flange are greatly influenced by the Resal effect, but they have opposite
variation trend of shear bearing ratio. Specifically, the shear bearing
ratio of the TCSW decreases from section B (66.7%) to the left support
(45.8%) in the cantilever with the enhanced Resal effect; then, it gra-
dually increases from the left support to section F (70.5%) in the simply
supported side with the Resal effect. Thus, we cannot assume that the
TCSW bears all or substantially all of the shear force in the section in a
tapered beam, especially the support regions with larger bending mo-
ment. In addition, although the support regions suffer the maximum
bending moment and shear force, they are not the most critical sections

9
M. Zhou, et al. Engineering Structures 196 (2019) 109295

Table 3
Comparison of experimental and theoretical results of shear stresses on TCSWs.
Analysis sections Cantilever side Simply supported span

A B C D E F

① Experimental data (MPa) 5.75 5.91 4.21 1.76 3.14 4.88

② Proposed formula (MPa) 8.13 6.46 4.85 2.04 3.57 5.65
|② − ①|/① × 100% 41.39% 9.30% 15.20% 15.90% 13.69% 15.77%

in the shear design. It is remarkable that the ratio of the inclined bottom to the tapered cases. Accordingly, a new practical calculation for-
concrete flange, which bears the shear force, increases from section A to mula to calculate the shear stress in the tapered beams with TCSW
the left support with the enhanced Resal effect, and the ratio even is proposed considering the Resal effect. The reliability and prac-
reaches 53.2% in the root section near the left support. Therefore, the ticality of the proposed formula are demonstrated in comparison
shear capacity of the inclined bottom concrete flange should be con- with the experiment data and the FE simulation.
sidered in the tapered beams with TCSWs due to the Resal effect, which (3) The experimental and FE analyses of a tapered beam with TCSWs
significantly affects the effective shear force that acts on the TCSWs. show that the shear stress borne by the TCSW is evenly distributed
along its height, and the shear stress on the horizontal top concrete
6. Conclusion flange is quite small; however, the shear stress on the inclined
bottom concrete flange is relatively large, especially in the regions
In this study, the shear performance of a tapered beam with TCSW with larger bending moment. Additionally, the shear stress on the
has been investigated through experimental and numerical analyses. TCSW has not reached a maximum near the support due to the
The main conclusions of the study are as follows: Resal effect. Therefore, although the cross section near the support
bears the maximum bearing bending moment and axial force, it is
(1) The existence of the Resal effect in a tapered beam with TCSWs was not the most critical section for the shear design of TCSWs in a
experimentally and numerically verified for the first time in this tapered beam due to the Resal effect.
study, which is a major factor that contributes to the difference in (4) For a tapered beam with TCSWs, the shear bearing ratio of the top
shear performance between the prismatic and tapered beams with concrete flange is relatively small and has an average proportion of
TCSWs. Additionally, the Resal effect can positively and negatively less than 15%, which indicates that the Resal effect on the shear
influence the effective shear force carried by the TCSW depending bearing ratio of the top concrete flange is very small. Thus, most of
on different combinations of internal forces. The influence degree of the shear force in the section is carried by the TCSW and the in-
the Resal effect on a tapered beam with TCSWs mainly relates to the clined bottom concrete flange. Both shear bearing ratios of the
amplitude of the bending moment and tapered angles. TCSW and the inclined bottom concrete flange are greatly influ-
(2) With the Resal effect, the inclined bottom concrete flange resists a enced by the Resal effect, but their shear bearing ratios have op-
significant part of the shear force in the support sections with larger posite variation trends. In addition, we cannot assume that the
bending moment, and the effective shear force carried by the TCSW TCSWs bear all or a substantial amount of the shear force in the
is greatly reduced. Thus, the traditional assumption that the TCSW section in a tapered beam, especially in the support regions with
bear all or most of the shear force in the section is no longer suitable larger bending moment. The shear capacity of the inclined bottom

PL
+ Inflection point
-
Bending moment distribution 1
2 PL
y 3 P +
3
-
- P Shear force distribution 1
3 P
P P
A B C M D E F G x
o

Distance x (mm)
100%
Stress concentration region

Stress concentration region

Support affected region

Support affected region

75% TCSWs
Shear ratio

50%
Bottom flange

25% Top flange

0%
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000

Fig. 11. Shear bearing ratio of concrete flanges and TCSWs.

10
M. Zhou, et al.
concrete flange should be considered in tapered beams with TCSWs
due to the Resal effect.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (Grant 51808559). The authors also express their
gratitude for the funding provided by the Natural Science Foundation of
Hunan Province (Grant 2019JJ50770). Their financial support is
gratefully acknowledged.
Appendix A. Supplementary material
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2019.109295.
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