Effectiveness of diagonal shear reinforcement on reinforced concrete short beams

In the study, an experimental and numerical study is performed to investigate the efficiency of diagonal shear reinforcement (DSR) on reinforced concrete (RC) short beams. For this purpose, 7 RC short beam specimens were tested under a 4-point loading, and a numerical study is conducted by using finite element method. Additionally, the efficiency of addition of DSR to specimens is observed in the experimental study together with the increase in stirrup spacing. Analysis results are compared in terms of load-displacement behavior and failure modes. As a result of the study, a significant improvement both in shear and displacement capacities of the RC short beams are achieved along with addition of DSR in short beams. Moreover, it is deduced from the numerical results that increasing both the diameter and yield strength of DSR makes a significant contribution to the shear capacity and ductility of shear critical RC members.