1. Report No. 2. Govern",ent Acce .. ion No.

FHWA/TX-84/38+248-4F
4. Title and Subtitle
PROPOSED DESIGN PROCEDURES FOR SHEAR AND TORSION
IN REINFORCED AND PRESTRESSED CONCRETE
7. Authorlsl
J. A. Ramirez and J. E. Breen
9. Performing Organization NOllIe and Addre ..
Center for Transportation Research
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas 78712-1075

12. Sponsoring Name and Addre ..
Texas State Department of Highways and Public
Transportation; Transportation Planning Division
P. O. Box 5051
Austin, Texas 78763
1 S. Supple",entory Not ..
TECHNICAL REPORT STANDARD TITLE PAGE
3. Recipient's Catalog No.
S. Report Date
November 1983
6. Performing Organization Code
8. Performing Orgonilotion Report No.
Research Report 248-4F
10. War" Unit No.
II. Contract or Grant No.
Research Study 3-5-80-248
13. Type of Report and Period Covered
Final
14. Sponsoring Agency Code
Study conducted in cooperation wi th the U. S. Department of Transportation, Federal
Highway Administration. Research Study Title: of AASHTO Shear
and Torsion Provisions for Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete"
I 16. Abltract
The object of this study is to propose and evaluate a design procedure for
shear and torsion in reinforced and prestressed concrete beams, with the aim of
clarifying and simplifying current design requirements and AASHTO requirements.
In previous reports in this series a three-dimensional space truss model with
variable angles of inclination of the diagonals was introduced as a design model and
shown by comparison with test data to be a conservative yet more accurate model than
I current ACI/AASHTO design approaches.
The general nature of this variable angle truss model makes it extremely useful
to the designer in treating complex shear and torsion problems. Several examples of
such applications are included in this report. Specific recommendations for incor-
porating such models are presented in language and expressions consistent with the
type of language used in AASHTO Bridge Specifications. Several design examples are
included both to clarify the application of the design model and to provide a
comparison of the reinforcement using both the proposed changes and the current
AASHTO requirements.
17. Key Wardl
19. Socurity Cla .. if. (0' th,. ropa,t)
Unclass ified
Form DOT F 1700.7 ,8.1t)
18. Diltribution Stat_ ... t
No restrictions. This document is
available to the public through the
National Technical Information Service,
Springfield, Virginia 22161.
20. Socu,lt, CI ... ,f. (of thia p.,.o) 21. No. of Pogos 22. Price
Unclassified 270
PROPOSED DESIGN PROCEDURES FOR SHEAR AND TORSION
IN REINFORCED AND PRESTRESSED CONCRETE
by
J. A. Ramirez and J. E. Breen
Research Report No. 248-4F
Research Project 3-5-80-248
"Reevaluation of AASHTO Shear and Torsion Provisions for
Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete"
Conducted for
Texas
State Department of Highways and Public Transportation
In Cooperation with the
U. S. Oepartment of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
by
CENTER FOR TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH
BUREAU OF ENGINEERING RESEARCH
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
November 1983
The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors who
are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented herein.
The contents do not necessar il y reflect the v iews or pol ic ies of the
Federal Highway Administration. This report does not constitute a
standard, specification or regulation.
There was no invention or discovery conceived or first actually
reduced to practice in the course of or under this contract, including
any art, method, process, machine, manufacture, design or composition of
matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, or any variety of
plant which is or may be patentable under the patent laws of the United
States of America or any foreign country.
ii
PRE F ACE
This report is the fourth and final report in a series which
summarizes a detailed evaluation of AASHTO design procedures for shear
and torsion in reinforced and prestressed cocrete beams. The first
report summarized an exploratory investigation of the shear transfer
between joints using details commonly found in segmental box girder
construction. The second report reviewed the historical development of
design procedures for shear and torsion in concrete members as found in
American practice and presented the background and equilibrium
relationships for use of a space truss with variable inclination
diagonals as a design model. The third report in this series summarized
special considerations required for the practical usage of the variable
inclination truss model. It also compared the theoretical capacity as
computed by the truss model to experimental results for a great variety
of previously reported tests as well as the results of tests run in this
program to investigate several variables. This report draws on the
analytical and experimental results presented in the earlier reports.
It uses these results to develop design procedures and suggested AASHTO
Specification procedures for girder shear and torsion. This report also
contains several examples to illustrate the application of the design
cri teria and procedures.
This work is part of Research Project 3-5-80-248, entitled
"Reevaluation of AASHTO Shear and Torsion Provisions for Reinforced and
Prestressed The studies described were conducted at the Phil
iii