Mechanism of improvement in the shear performance of RC beams due to multiple small transverse openings

This paper evaluated the improvement effect of multiple small circular transverse openings (diameter is 1/10 of member height) on the shear performance of RC beams without shear reinforcement and explained the shear resistance mechanism, using three dimensional Rigid-Body-Spring-Method (3D RBSM). First, 3D RBSM was employed to reproduce the shear loading test on the RC beams with multiple small circular transverse openings, and the contributions of beam and arch actions to the shear resistance at each loading stage was evaluated. The analytical load-deflection relationship and cracking behavior were in good consistent with the experiment, and it was noted that the connecting line of the opening centers (line of openings) could control the path of critical diagonal crack, and transfer the failure mode of one of the beams from the diagonal tension pattern to the shear compression pattern. Moreover, the shear strength and ultimate deflection of this beam with openings were significantly improved due to the increase in the shear resistance contribution of arch action. Furthermore, the analysis of additional cases with three transverse openings at each shear span were conducted aiming to explore the possibility that a proper setting of openings can reliably improve the shear performance of RC beams. The line of openings was on a straight line and passed through the loading point at the same side, and the main parameter was set as the angle of the line of openings to beam axis (25°-50°). As a result, the role of the transverse openings in improving the shear performance was confirmed and the corresponding mechanism was explained based on the investigation on the beam and arch actions and crack behaviors.