Determination of inclination of strut and shear strength using variable angle truss model for shear-critical RC beams

This paper attempts to determine the inclination of the compression strut within variable angle truss models for RC beams loaded in shear-flexure through a proposed semi-analytical approach. A truss unit is used to analyze a reinforced concrete beam, by the principle of virtual work under the truss analogy. The inclination of the compression strut is then theoretically derived. The concrete contribution is addressed by utilizing the compatibility condition within each truss unit. Comparisons are made between the predicted and published experimental results of the seventy one RC beams with respect to the shear strength and the inclined angle of the compression strut at this state to investigate the adequacy of the proposed semi-analytical approach.