Influence of width on shear capacity of reinforced concrete members

Code provisions for one-way shear assume a linear relation between the shear capacity of a reinforced concrete member and its width. For wide members subjected to a concentrated load, an effective width in shear should be introduced. To study the effective width and the influence of the member width on shear capacity, a series of experiments was carried out on continuous one-way elements of different widths. The size of the loading plate, the moment distribution at the support, and the shear span-depth ratio were varied and studied as a function of the member width. The effective width can be determined by using a 45-degree load-spreading method from the far side of the loading plate to the face of the support. This proposed effective width is easy to implement, yet gives good results in combination with code provisions.