Behaviour and Capacity of Lightweight Aggregate Concrete Beams with and without Shear Reinforcement

Abstract

The main disadvantages of lightweight aggregate compared with normal weight concrete are its brittleness at the material level in compression and uncontrolled crack propagation. This experimental investigation consists of five beams with lightweight concrete with Stalite as aggregate. Main goals were to investigate behaviour and capacity of the beams with and without shear reinforcement subjected to four-point bending test and compare those results with previous experimental work. The main test parameters were the shear span ratio (a/d) and amount of the shear reinforcement. Existing standards underestimate shear capacity because they do not differ between shear span (a). Tested beams were more ductile than expected, and cracking was similar as for normal weight concrete beams. According to this experimental investigation, the shear capacity in beams without shear reinforcement should be based on inclined cracking loads.