Structural idealization for deep beams with web openings: further evidence

Further experimental evidence is produced to support a simple structural idealization for predicting the shear strength of reinforced concrete deep beams with web openings. The further tests were carried out on 17 normal-weight concrete beams, including a large beam of 3040 kN ultimate load. The exact analysis of deep beams with web openings presents formidable problems. However, the experiments have confirmed that the strength and serviceability of such beams are governed mainly by a small number of identifiable variables, and that for design purposes the proposed structural idealization could prove a useful new tool. A worked example is given in Appendix 1.