Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology Vol. 2, No.

2, 249-256, June 2004 / Copyright 2004 Japan Concrete Institute 249

Design of Non-Prismatic RC Beams Using Strut-and-Tie Models

Kiang Hwee Tan1

Received 20 October 2003, accepted March 2004

Abstract
This study deals with the application of the strut-and-tie models in the analysis and design of non-prismatic reinforced
concrete beams. Seven beams were designed, fabricated and tested to failure. Test results showed that the ultimate
loads exceeded the design loads for all beams. Non-prismatic beams with a recess through the web performed satisfac-
torily, compared to beams with equivalent transverse rectangular openings. For non-prismatic beams with a recess at
the bottom, an increase in the recess width resulted in a decrease in the stiffness and an increase in the beam deflection.
Non-prismatic beams with a recess in the compression zone performed better with regards to cracking but not deflection,
compared to beams with a recess in the tensile zone. Also, beams strengthened with carbon fibrereinforced polymer
(FRP) plates performed satisfactory with regard to strength; however, the deflection and crack widths increased rapidly
thereafter, leading to a sudden and non-ductile failure of the beam.

1. Introduction not give specific provisions for the design of such

There are many instances where beams can be made
non-prismatic in cross-section along its length. For
example, in modern buildings where utility ducts and
pipes are being accommodated below the floor beams in
the space above the false ceiling, the use of a
non-prismatic beam with a recess would allow these
ducts to pass through the beam, eliminating a significant
amount of dead space [Fig. 1(a)]. This would reduce the
height of each storey, leading to substantial savings in
the material and construction costs.
Similarly, non-prismatic beams could be appropri-
ately used as ground beams [Fig. 1(b)] in residential
up-grading projects, where existing utility pipes often
obstruct the construction of tie beams that connect the
newly constructed columns to existing ones. The use of
non-prismatic tie beams allows the construction to pro-
ceed without the need of relocating these pipes.
A non-prismatic beam in the form of a stepped beam
can also be applied to support a split-level floor [Fig.
1(c)]. This application is commonly found in theatres
and in private housing for aesthetic reasons.
Finally, in buildings that are being retrofitted, there
might be a need to add new service ducts, and this is
often a problem due to limited headroom. In this case,
a recess can be made in the existing beam to accommo-
date the new service ducts. These non-prismatic beams
could then be strengthened by externally bonded rein-
forcement such as fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) rein-
forcement or steel plates [Fig. 1(d)].
The behaviour of non-prismatic beams is very differ-
ent from ordinary prismatic beams, and current codes do
beams. Frequently, actual designs are based on rule of
thumb or are empirical in nature and are not adequately
backed by research findings. As a result, the design may
be too conservative in certain cases while in others,
critical issues may be overlooked.
In view of the above, the present study is carried out
primarily to evaluate the strut-and-tie method as a de-
sign tool for non-prismatic beams. The development
and application of strut-and-tie models for design and
detailing of structural concrete have been described in
detail by Schlaich et al. (1987), Schlaich and Schafer
(1991), Marti (1991), and more recently by ACI
Sub-Committee 445 (Reineck 2002). For the purpose
of the present study, a test programme was carried out
on seven non-prismatic beams. As a secondary objec-
tive, the behaviour of beams with a recess was com-
pared with those with a transverse rectangular opening
in the web, and the effect of recess size and location and
Extension Existing
structure
Column
(c)
(a)
(d)
Column
G.L.
(b)

1
Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering,
National University of Singapore, Singapore Fig. 1 Examples of Recess Beams: (a) Floor Beams; (b)
E-mail: cvetankh@nus.edu.sg Ground Beam; (c) Stepped Beam; (d) Retrofitted Beam.
250 K. H. Tan / Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology Vol. 2, No. 2, 249-256, 2004
strengthening scheme, on the overall behaviour and
strength of non-prismatic beams was investigated.
2. Analytical considerations
A non-prismatic beam may be divided into regions
known as the beam regions or the B-regions, in which
beam theory, including linear strain distribution across
sections, applies, and other regions termed the disconti-
nuity regions or D-regions. Based on St. Venants prin-
ciple, the D-region extends from the location of discon-
tinuity for a distance equal to the member depth.
In general, the design of a non-prismatic beam begins
with the isolation of the critical D-regions, followed by
the construction of a strut-and-tie model that would
transfer the boundary forces through these D-regions.
The rest of the beam, that is the B-regions, can be de-
signed using the usual procedure for prismatic beams.
On the other hand, the beam could also be designed
using a strut-and-tie model for the entire beam, as
adopted in this study.
2.1 Formulation of strut-and-tie model
The formulation of the strut-and-tie models is based on
the following assumptions:
(1) Strut members are formed by concrete while tie
members are formed by steel or FRP reinforce-
ment.
(2) The strut members have a prismatic width. The
capacity of the strut members is equal to the effec-
tive compressive strength of concrete multiplied by
the available concrete area.
(3) The capacity of the tie members is equal to the
cross sectional area multiplied by the yield or effec-
tive strength of the reinforcement. All tie members
are provided with adequate anchorage and there is
no bond slip of reinforcement.
(4) The joints (nodal zones), where the strut and tie
members meet, do not fail at ultimate.
2.1.1 Design of strut members
The effective compressive strength of the concrete struts
is taken as:
fce = 12fc'
where the product v1v2 is an efficiency factor between 0
and 1. The factor v1 depends on the cracked condition
of the strut member, and for the case where the strut is
cracked longitudinally and is not confined by transverse
reinforcement, v1 is equal to 0.65 (MacGregor 1997).
The factor v2 accounts for the increased brittleness of
concrete as the strength increases, and is given by
2 = 0.55 + 1.25/( fc')1/2
where fc' is the cylinder compressive strength in MPa.
For the case of fc'= 30 MPa, v2 is equal to 0.778; hence,
the value of fce is about 0.5 fc', and was used in the de-
sign of all the strut members for the test beams in this
study.
The required width of the strut is
a = Fs/tfce (3)
where Fs is the force acting on the strut, and t is the
thickness of the member. All struts must fit within the
beam, and must also not overlap. Otherwise, additional
steel reinforcement would be needed to reinforce the
strut so that the required width could be reduced. Such
compression reinforcement must be laterally restrained
to prevent buckling before failure of the beam occurs.
2.1.2 Design of tie members
The required reinforcement for each tie member is cal-
culated from:
Asfy Tn (4)
where Tn is the calculated force for the tie member, As is
the required area of reinforcement and fy is the yield
strength of the steel reinforcement or effective strength
of the FRP reinforcement. For carbon FRP plates, the
plate would debond before the full potential of its ten-
sile strength is reached. Based on a previous study
(Tan 2001), an effective strength of 0.45 times the rup-
ture strength may be used.
2.2 Deflection of beam under service load
The deflection under service load, assumed as the ulti-
mate load divided by a factor of 1.7, is calculated using
the conjugate beam method. To account for cracking, an
effective moment of inertia, Ie, is used, where
Ie = Icr +(Ig - Icr)(Mcr/Ma)3 (5)
in which Mcr and Ma are the cracking moment and
maximum applied moment, respectively, Ig is the gross
moment of inertia, and Icr is the cracked moment of in-
ertia of the section. The cracking moment for a section
is given by
Mcr = (frIg)/y (6)
where y is the distance from the neutral axis to the ex-
treme tensile fibre and fr is the modulus of rupture taken
as equal to 0.12(fcu)0.7 (BS 8110, 1997), where fcu is the
(1) cube compressive strength of concrete. In general, fcu
may be taken as fc divided by a factor of 0.8.
The beam is divided into segments of constant
cross-sections. For each prismatic segment, the maxi-
mum moment is expressed in terms of applied load, P.
This is then substituted for Mcr in Eq. (6) with the re-
spective Ig and y values. The lowest value of P thus de-
rived is the cracking load for the beam.
The conjugate beam is loaded by distributed loads
(2) given by M/EIc where Ic corresponds to the respective
prismatic segment. The bending moment evaluated
from force equilibrium at any section of the conjugate
beam gives the deflection at that section of the actual
beam. The bending moments at critical sections, typi-
 K. H. Tan / Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology Vol. 2, No. 2, 249-256, 2004 251

cally, at the high-moment end of recess and under the 800 400 800 P 1000
load were thus calculated for the conjugate beam and B A B
the higher value gives the maximum deflection.
ST-1 ST-2, 2R
ST-3
A
3. Test programme
150 B 3000 B 150
Seven beams with dimensions shown in Fig. 2 were
designed, fabricated and tested to failure. Beams ST-1, 600 800 600 P 1000
ST-2 and ST-3 each had a recess in the tensile zone (that B
is, at the bottom) of the beam with widths of 400 mm, C
800 mm and 1200 mm respectively, with the center of ST-2T
recess at 1,000 mm from one support. They were de- C B
signed to take a load of 204 kN, 132 kN and 90 kN,
respectively, applied at one-third span length from the 400 600 500 P 500 600 400
other support. B A
C
Beam ST-2T was designed with a recess in the com-
pression zone (that is, at the top) at also 1,000 mm from ST-4 A
one support to take a load of 132 kN, applied at C B
one-third span length from the other support. Beam P/2
ST-4 had two recesses, one at the top and the other at 650 650 400 650 650
the bottom and ST-5 was designed as a stepped beam. A B
Both beams were designed for a total load of 150 kN, as P/2
ST-5
a point load at the mid-span for Beam ST-4, and as two C
A
point loads, one each at the mid-length of the upper and
lower stepped regions, for Beam ST-5. B C
Beam ST-2R was meant to simulate a beam that was 200 mm
200 mm
strengthened with externally bonded carbon FRP plates
after a recess has been introduced. The geometry of 220mm 200 mm
ST-2R was the same as that of beam ST-2. The internal (140mm
for ST-5) 400mm
steel reinforcement of ST-2R was first designed assum- (500mm
ing a solid beam carrying a load of 89 kN. This rein- A-A for ST-5) 220mm
forcement was curtailed at the faces of introduced recess (140mm
for ST-5)
and was welded to steel plates that lined the recess.
The strengthened beam was designed with external car- B-B C-C
bon FRP plates to transfer the forces over the recess so
Sections
that the beam would carry the original design load of 89
kN. Fig. 2 Dimensions of Test Beams (all dimensions in mm).
The strut-and-tie-models for the test beams are pre-
sented in Figs. 3(a) to (d), with the solid lines indicating carried out on three specimens of each bar size and the
the tie members and the dotted lines representing strut results are presented in Table 1.
members. The reinforcement was designed accord- The carbon FRP plates had a thickness of 1.2 mm and
ingly to resist the forces in the tie members, derived width of 100 mm. They were stiff in the longitudinal
from force equilibrium at the nodes. Typical rein- direction, having a high tensile modulus of 150 GPa, but
forcement layout is shown in Fig. 4. Nominal links weak in the transverse direction. The plate has a low
were provided in accordance with code requirements. density of 1.6 g/cm3. Properties of the carbon FRP
plates and the epoxy mortar are shown in Table 2.
3.1 Materials The plates were cut to the required length and width
The concrete mix was designed for a 28-day cylinder using an ordinary cutting blade. The concrete surface
compressive strength of 30 MPa. Ordinary Portland was ground and cleaned of dust and loose particles be-
cement, natural sand and crushed granite of 10 mm fore the plates were bonded to the beam using the epoxy
maximum size were mixed in the ratio of 1 : 1.32 : 1.98 mortar.
by weight. The watercement ratio was 0.45 and the
cement content was 495 kg/m3. To increase workability, 3.2 Preparation of test beams
a superplasticizer was added at a dosage of 0.3 kg per A wooden prismatic formwork was used. The recess
100 kg of cement to give a slump of about 150 mm. was formed by attaching rectangular boxes of the re-
Mild steel bars designated R6 and R8, and high yield quired dimensions into the formwork. The inner surface
deformed bars designated T10, T13, T16, T20 and T25, of the formwork was oiled to facilitate demoulding.
were used as internal reinforcement. Tensile tests were Six 100 mm cubes were cast for each beam. The beam
252 K. H. Tan / Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology Vol. 2, No. 2, 249-256, 2004

400 1200 400 1000 R8 links at 75 mm

P 2 T20 2 T16
2 T16 2 T16 2 T20
160
180

2 T20 2 T10 2 T10

P/3 2P/3 2 T25 2 T25 2 T25
2 T10
(a) ST-1 +1 T10 (a) ST-4
[similar for ST-2, 3, 2R (after introduction of recess)]
R8 links at R8 links at R8 links at
50 mm 2 T16 200 mm 50 mm
600 800 600 1000 2 T20 1 2 T13
1,3 2
P
2 T16
2 T20 + 1T13
160 4 3 2,4
180 2 T16 + 1 T10
2 T16 2 T20 + 1 T13
P/3 2P/3 (b) ST-5
(b) ST-2T R8 links at 70 mm
2 T16 50 mm width 50 mm
400 600 500 500 600 400
P
Steel
160 2 T20
Plate
100 70 mm
180 50 2 T20
mm
mm
P/2 P/2 (c) ST-2R
(c) ST-4
Fig. 4 Typical Reinforcement Details of Test Beams.
2000 1000
cushion the applied pressure on the plates.
P
3.3 Test instrumentation and procedure
340 All test beams were simply supported over a span of 3.0
m and tested under a one-point load except Beam ST-5,
P/3 2P/3 which was tested under two point loads. The strains in
the internal steel bars, external carbon FRP plates and
(d) ST-2R (Before introduction of recess)
concrete surface were monitored using electrical resis-

650 650 40 650 650 Table 1 Steel Properties.

P/2 Mild Steel High Tensile Steel
140 Type (Round) (Deformed)
P/2 300
Designa-
R6 R8 T10 T13 T16 T20 T25
300 tion
140 Actual
P/2
Diameter 6.0 8.0 9.7 12.8 15.3 19.6 24.1
(e) ST-5 P/2 (mm)
Crosssec-
Fig. 3 Strut-and-Tie Models for Test Beams. tion Area 28.3 50.3 78.5 129 183 302 454
(mm2)
Yield
and the cubes were stripped off the moulds after one day. strength 296 346 478 489 532 552 458
fy (MPa)
Then they were placed under damp hessian for about a Ultimate
week before being left in the laboratory under ambient Strength 393 433 571 584 617 684 670
conditions. The beams were also whitewashed for easy (MPa)
identification of cracks. Youngs
Modulus 188 160 159 187 165 184 186
For beam ST-2R, holes, 12 mm in diameter and 50 E (GPa)
mm deep, were drilled through the beam and the carbon Strain at
FRP plates after bonding the latter. These holes were Yield, y
1.58 2.16 3.01 2.62 3.22 3.71 2.49
vacuum cleaned to remove the dust and metal bolts ( x 10-3
mm/mm)
were inserted and subsequently tightened with nuts, to
fasten the carbon FRP plates. Washers were used to
 K. H. Tan / Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology Vol. 2, No. 2, 249-256, 2004 253

Table 2 Properties of CFRP System. 4. Test results and discussion

Carbon FRP Plates Epoxy mortar
Colour Black Colour Comp. A: White The crack patterns shown in Fig. 5 for six of the beams,
Comp. B: Black corresponded well with the orientation of the tie mem-
Comp. A + B: bers in the strut-and-tie model, shown in Fig. 3. It was
Light grey also observed that the strains in the longitudinal steel
Tensile > 2400 MPa Mix ratio Comp. A : Comp. bars were very close to the predicted values, and the
strength B=3:1 measured strains and hence stresses followed closely the
(by wt. or vol.) general trend predicted by the proposed strut-and-tie
Modulus of > 150000 MPa Static 12800 MPa
model.
elasticity E-modulus
Breaking 1.4 % Open time 30 minutes (at
A unique crack pattern was observed for beam ST-1
strain 35 C ) above the recess, indicating the presence of arch action
Apparent 1.6 g/cm3 Density 1.77 kg/lit. (A + over the recess [Fig. 5(a)]. The first crack appeared as
density B) a diagonal crack at the high moment end of the recess
Temperature > 500 C Coef. of 9 x 10-5 per C for beams ST-3 [Fig. 5(b)], ST-4 [Fig. 5(d)] and ST-2R
resistance expansion (-10 C to [Fig. 5 (f)], but as a flexural crack at the recess for the
+40 C) beams ST-2 and ST-2T [Fig. 5(c)]. As for the beam
Shelf life Unlimited (no Shelf life 1 year in original ST5 [Fig. 5(e)], the first crack appeared as a diagonal
exposure to packaging at crack at the corner below the upper stepped portion of
direct sunlight) +5 C to 25 C
the beam.
The cracking loads are indicated in Table 3. As the
beam surface of beam ST-2R was covered by carbon
tance strain gauges. The vertical deflections of the test FRP plates, the observation of cracks was only possible
beams were measured using linear variable displace- at the later stages of loading when the cracks had
ment transducers. Crack widths were measured using a propagated above the plates. Therefore, the recorded
hand-held microscope having a accuracy of 0.02 mm. cracking load of beam ST-2R was much higher than the
The loads on the beam were applied in increments. At other beams. According to BS 8110 (1997), the maxi-
every load increment of 1 kN or a deflection increment mum crack width under service loads should not exceed
of 1 mm, strain gauge readings and transducer dis- 0.3 mm. It is clear from Table 3 that this is satisfied in
placements were recorded. After the first crack has all beams except for beam ST-2, and in particular beam
occured, the development of cracks was marked and the ST-5.
maximum crack widths were measured at every 20 kN The maximum deflection occurred at the middle of
load increment. Finally, the ultimate load and the mode the recess for beams ST-1, ST-2 and ST-3, at the high
of failure were noted. moment end of the recess for beam ST-2R and ST-4 and

ST-2T
ST-1 ST-3

(a)
(a) (b)
(b) (c)
(c)

ST-5 ST-2R
ST-4

(d)(d) (e)
(e) (f)
Fig. 5 Appearance of Test Beams After Failure.
254 K. H. Tan / Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology Vol. 2, No. 2, 249-256, 2004

Table 3 Test Results.

fc Pcr, test Pcr, pred s,test s,pred max,s Pu,test Pu,design Pu,test /
(MPa) (kN) (kN) (mm) (mm) (mm) (kN) (kN) Pu,design
ST-1 51.9 7.5 12.7 8.2 4.6 0.15 259 204 1.27
ST-2 42.5 28.0 10.2 5.6 5.0 0.35 220 132 1.67
ST-2T 36.5 15.0 7.8 7.5 5.4 0.14 156 132 1.18
ST-2R 39.2 50.0 6.6 7.0 8.4 0.09 95 89 1.07
ST-3 48.0 9.7 8.0 5.7 5.0 0.14 152 90 1.69
ST-4 42.3 17.3 8.5 8.3 3.8 0.14 188 150 1.25
ST-5 37.0 12.6 9.6 17.0 9.1 0.76 133 150 0.89
Note: fc = concrete cylinder compressive strength;
Pcr = cracking load; Pu = ultimate load;
s = maximum deflection under service load;
max,s = maximum crack width under service load.

at the mid-span for beam ST-5. Table 3 shows that the
maximum service load deflections for all the test beams
were less than span/350 or 20 mm (BS 8110 1997) ex-
cept for beam ST-2R.
Beam ST-2 failed in flexure at the section directly
under the applied load. Beams ST-2T, ST-3 and ST-4
failed in flexure with the crushing of concrete at the
high moment end of the recess whereas ST-1 failed by
concrete crushing at the top of the arch that developed
above the recess. ST-2R failed by debonding of the
carbon FRP plates from the concrete surface and ST-5
failed by steel yielding at the connection between the
upper and the lower stepped regions.
4.1 Comparison of test results with design val-
ues
The test results are compared with the design or pre-
dicted values in Table 3. The predicted cracking loads
are in general less than the test values, except for beam
ST-1. This is because the first cracks were diagonal
cracks originating from the corners of recess whereas
the prediction assumed a flexural crack. The predicted
service load deflections are also less than the observed
values, indicating that further refinement of the calcula-
tion method is necessary.
Excluding ST-5, the ratio of the observed to design
ultimate loads varies from 1.07 to 1.69, with an average
of 1.29 and standard deviation of 0.21. The main reason
for the higher observed ultimate strength is that the
strut-and-tie method gives a lower bound solution, al-
though the higher concrete strength compared to the
design strength of 30 MPa might have some effect.
Beam ST-5 did not satisfy both the ultimate strength
and serviceability requirements, due to premature fail-
ure. This was the result of a detailing error for the di-
agonal bars, which had not been sufficiently anchored.

300 250 160

250 140 ST-3
200 ST-2
R1 ST-1 120
Load (kN)

200
150 100
150 R3 80
Service Load R5
100 100 Service Load 60 Service Load
40
50 50
20
0 10 20 30 40 50 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Deflection (mm) Deflection (mm) Deflection (mm)
(a) Deflection Characteristics
250 250 140
ST-1 120 ST-3
200 R1 200 ST-2 R5
Load (kN)

100
150 150 R3
Service 80
100 Load 100 60 Service Load
Service Load
50 40
50
20
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
Maximum Crack Width Maximum Crack Width Maximum Crack Width
(b) Cracking Characteristics
Fig. 6 Beams with Recess vs. Beams with Opening.
 K. H. Tan / Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology Vol. 2, No. 2, 249-256, 2004 255

300 250 250

(a) (c) ST-2 (e)
250 ST-1
ST-2 200 200 ST-2
Load (kN)

200 ST-2T
150 150
ST-3
150
100 Service Load 100 ST-2R
100
50 50 50

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0 20 40 60 80
Deflection (mm) Deflection (mm) Deflection (mm)

250 250 250

(b) ST-1 (d) (f)
ST-2 ST-2
200 200 200 ST-2
Load (kN)

150 150 150

ST-3 ST-2T
100 100 Service Load 100
ST-2R
50 50 50

0
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
Maximum crack width Maximum crack width Maximum crack width

Fig. 7 Effect of Recess Width and Location, and Beam Strengthening.

That is, the diagonal bars indicated by 2-2 and 3-3 in
Fig. 4(b) should have been extended to the bottom and
top edges of the beam, respectively, so as to effectively
control cracking at the re-entrant corners of the beam.
4.2 Comparison of beam performance
The beams are first compared with beams with an
opening in place of the recess. Next, the effect of re-
cess width is investigated using the results of ST1, ST-2
and ST-3. The effect of recess location across the beam
depth is examined using the results of ST-2 and ST-2T.
Finally, beam ST-2R is compared with beam ST-2 to
investigate the effect of strengthening.
4.2.1 Recess vesus web opening
Beams ST-1, ST-2 and ST-3, are compared to Beams R1,
R3 and R5, respectively, which were tested by Mansur
et al. (1985). The latter beams had the same overall
cross-section dimensions, beam span and were designed
to carry the same ultimate load under the same test
set-up as ST-1, ST-2 and ST-3. The only difference
between the two groups of beams is that instead of a
recess, R1, R3 and R5 each had an opening through the
web at mid-depth, having the same dimensions and lo-
cation along the beam as the recess in ST-1, 2, and ST-3
respectively.
As shown in Figs. 6(a), the load-deflection character-
istics of beams ST-1, ST-2 and ST-3 are similar to those
of beam R1, R3 and R5 respectively. The maximum
service load deflections are similar for each pair of
beams. Figs. 6(b) show the load versus maximum
crack width relations for the beams. Beams with a re-
cess had smaller crack widths at service load and hence,
more desired cracking characteristics than beams with
an opening.
All beams with a recess exhibited a ductile failure.
Beams R3 and R5 both failed with the crushing of con-
crete on the top and bottom faces of the chord members
at the high and low moment ends of the opening respec-
tively, while Beam R1 failed at the solid section under
the applied load. As beams R1, R3 and R5 were tested
using a load-control actuator, the post-peak behaviour
could not be obtained.
It is concluded that the provision of recesses offers an
alternative solution to openings, and such beams per-
form satisfactorily with respect to deflection, cracking
and ultimate load behaviour.
4.2.2 Effect of recess width
The load-deflection characteristics of Beams ST-1, ST-2
and ST-3, with recess widths of 400 mm, 800 mm and
1200 mm, respectively, are compared in Fig. 7(a). All
three beams have recesses at the same location at the
bottom of the beam. The maximum deflection oc-
curred at the middle of the recess for ST1 and ST-3, and
under the load for beam ST-2. The service load deflec-
tion decreases with an increase in the recess width.
The load versus maximum crack width curves are
compared in Fig 7(b). The maximum crack widths of
Beams ST-1, ST-2 and ST-3 under the service load are
0.14 mm, 0.35 mm and 0.15 mm respectively. The
larger value for Beam ST-2 is probably due to the failure
occurring under the applied load whereas it occurred at
the high moment end of the recess in ST-1 and ST-3.
256 K. H. Tan / Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology Vol. 2, No. 2, 249-256, 2004
4.2.3 Effect of recess location
Beams ST-2 and ST-2T had the same recess width of
800 mm. The recess is located in the tensile zone for
Beam ST-2 but in the compression zone for Beam ST-2T.
The deflection characteristics of Beams ST-2 and ST-2T
are compared in Fig. 7(c). The deflection at the service
load for Beam ST-2T was larger than for ST-2, with
values of 7.50 mm and 5.61 mm respectively.
The load versus maximum crack width curves are
compared in Fig. 7(d). The maximum crack widths
under the service load are 0.14 mm and 0.35 mm for
Beams ST-2T and ST-2 respectively. Thus, the provi-
sion of the recess in the compression zone offers better
cracking characteristics but less desired deflection
characteristics, compared to recess in the tensile zone.
4.2.4 Effect of strengthening
Beams ST-2 and ST-2R had exactly the same dimen-
sions. Beam ST-2R was designed as a truncated beam
that was subsequently strengthened with externally
bonded carbon FRP plates. Beam ST-2, on the other
hand, had been designed from the beginning to accom-
modate the recess and was reinforced by internal steel
reinforcement bars only. However, the design loads
were different, being 132 kN and 89 kN respectively for
beams ST-2 and ST-2R. The deflection characteristics
are compared in Fig. 7(e), which gives the service load
deflections as 7.0 mm and 5.6 mm for ST-2 and ST-2R
respectively. The load versus maximum crack width
relations shown in Fig. 7(f), give the crack widths at the
service loads as 0.35 mm and 0.09 mm, respectively, for
beams ST-2 and ST-2R. Beam ST-2R failed in a sudden
manner, losing its load carrying capacity once the
debonding of carbon FRP plates occurred. On the other
hand, beam ST-2 failed in a ductile manner.
5. Conclusion
Strut-and-tie models were presented to design the rein-
forcement for non-prismatic reinforced concrete beams.
Seven beams designed using these models were fabri-
cated and tested. Recess width and location, and
strengthening scheme, were considered. The test re-
sults were compared with design values and the effects
of these parameters on the strength and behaviour of
beams were discussed in detail. Also, the performance
of the beams was compared to similar beams with web
openings.
The following conclusions may be drawn from the
investigations carried out:
1. The strut-and-tie method of design was shown to be
suitable for application in non- prismatic beams as (a)
the crack pattern and measured strains in the rein-
forcement agreed with the strut-and-tie model; (b) the
strut-and-tie model gives lower bound values for the
ultimate load; and (c) the method offers a simple and
straightforward solution that is based on established
principles to an otherwise complicated problem.
2. Non-prismatic beams with a recess exhibit compara-
ble performance to beams with a transverse rectangu-
lar opening with respect to deflection and cracking
characteristics, and ultimate load behaviour.
3. For non-prismatic beams with a recess in the tensile
zone, an increase in the recess width results in smaller
ultimate load, higher cracking load and smaller ser-
vice load deflection.
4. Beams with a recess introduced and subsequently
strengthened with carbon FRP plates performed sat-
isfactory with regard to strength, deflection and crack
width. However, the failure tends to be non-ductile
and sudden.
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