Synopsis
Research into in situ reinforced concrete joints has been almost exclusively restricted to the study of their behaviour under seismic loading. Different research workers in different parts of the world have used widely differing cyclic loading patterns and this has led to inconsistencies in the proposals put forward for the design of a joint for shear. Even for single-cycle (static or monotonic) loading, there is widespread disagreement on how a joint should be designed. In this paper. a method is proposed for ultimate shear strength design for joints subjected to monotonic loading which gives reliable predictions for an extensive range of test results. A proposal for predicting the serviceability limit state, or the diagonal cracking strength of a joint, which may be necessary for some designs is also given.
