CEE 421 – Concrete Structures; School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built

Environment, Arizona State University

SHEAR IN BEAMS – ANALYSIS AND DESIGN USING THE ACI 318 METHOD
A beam resists loads primarily through internal moments M and shears V. In reinforced concrete
design, flexure is considered first, and section dimensions and reinforcement details are arrived at
for the desired moment resistance. Limits are placed on the amounts of flexural reinforcement so
that failure will develop only gradually. The beam is then proportioned for shear (the shear
reinforcement, mainly). Since shear failure is sudden and brittle, the design for shear must ensure
that the shear strength equals or exceeds the flexural strengths at all points in the beam.
Shear Reinforcement
The vertical flexural cracks in a beam are restrained by the horizontal reinforcement, as shown in
Figure (a) below. For an inclined crack, which is typical of those caused by shear, as shown in
Figure (b), a combination of horizontal and inclined reinforcement as shown in Figure (c) or a
combination of horizontal and vertical reinforcement as shown in Figure (d) are required to
restrain the crack. The inclined or vertical reinforcement is called shear reinforcement or web
reinforcement and it may be provided by inclined or vertical stirrups. We will deal with vertical
stirrups in detail.
The design of shear reinforcement necessitates an analysis of the shear stresses, the selection of
stirrup size, and stirrup spacing at different locations in the flexural member such as beams or
slabs.

Dr. Narayanan Neithalath

 CEE 421 – Concrete Structures; School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built
Environment, Arizona State University

Behavior of beams with shear reinforcement (web reinforcement)

Inclined cracking causes the shear strength of the beams to drop below the flexural capacity. The
purpose of shear reinforcement is to ensure that full flexural strength can be developed.
Stirrups do not prevent internal cracks from forming – they just prevent them from
widening.
The figure below shows the forces in a beam with stirrups and an inclined crack.

Vcy – shear in the compression zone; Vay - vertical component of shear transferred across the crack
by aggregate interlock, Vd – vertical component of shear transferred by dowel action of longitudinal
reinforcement.
Vs – shear transferred by tension in the stirrups, will not disappear when the crack opens wider, so
there will be a compression force C1’ and shear force Vcy’ acting on the part of the beam below the
crack. Therefore T2 < T1.
In design, it is difficult to quantify the contributions of Vcy, Vd, and Vay. Hence they are normally
lumped as Vc, referred to as the “shear carried by the concrete” (though this is an incorrect
term, we will use this term for ease).
The nominal shear strength Vn (similar in concept to the nominal moment strength Mn) is given as:
V n = Vc + Vs

Dr. Narayanan Neithalath

 CEE 421 – Concrete Structures; School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built
Environment, Arizona State University

ACI Analysis and Design Procedure

The basic design equation for the shear capacity of slender concrete beams is given as: (ACI 318-14
9.5.1.1)
Vn  Vu
Vu is the shear force due to the factored loads, and  is the strength reduction factor for shear (ACI
318 Section 21.2.1 – value of 0.75 for shear)
Vn is calculated as per ACI 318 – 14, 22.5
Vn = Vc + Vs (ACI 3181-14, 22.5.1.1)
Vc is the shear carried by the concrete and Vs is the shear carried by the stirrups.
For beams, ACI 318-14 (section 22.5.5.1) states that Vc = 2(√f’c)bwd
ACI 318 Section 19.2.4.1 states that  (which accounts for the differences in tensile strengths of
lightweight concrete) should be taken as 1.0 for normal weight concrete and 0.75 to 0.85 for
lightweight concretes.
If Vu exceeds Vc, stirrups must be provided such that Vn  Vu is satisfied. (Remember Vn = Vc + Vs).
In design, this is rearranged as:
Vu
Vs  Vu - Vc OR Vs   Vc

Cross sectional dimensions shall be selected such that Vs shall not be greater than 8(√f’c)bwd (ACI
318 Section 22.5.1.2)

The horizontal projection of the crack is taken as “d”. The force in the stirrups is Avfyt (where fyt is
the yield strength of transverse reinforcement and Av is the area of the stirrups).
If s is the stirrup spacing, the number of stirrups intersected by the crack is d/s. Assuming that all
the stirrups yield at failure, the shear resisted by the stirrup is:
Av f yt d
Vs  (ACI 318-14, 22.5.10.5.3)
s
Using the equation for Vs,

Dr. Narayanan Neithalath

 CEE 421 – Concrete Structures; School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built
Environment, Arizona State University

Av f yt d
s
Vu
 Vc

This equation applies only to vertical stirrups.
Determination of Maximum Vu
The critical section for shear can be assumed to be at a distance d from the face of the
support. (ACI 318 Section 9.4.3.1, 9.4.3.2).
Spacing limits for shear reinforcement
Stirrups can resist shear only if they are crossed by an inclined crack. Hence ACI 9.7.6.2.2,
10.7.6.5.2 states that maximum spacing of vertical stirrups be not greater than d/2 or 24 in,
whichever is smaller.
Vu
If Vs =  Vc exceeds 4(√f’c)bwd, the maximum allowable stirrup spacing are reduced to half of

those described earlier (ACI 318 – 9.7.6.2.2, 10.7.6.5.2). That is, for vertical stirrups, the spacing is
the smaller of d/4 or 12 in.
Types of shear reinforcement
ACI 318 sections 22.5.10.5.1, 22.5.10.5.2, 22.5.10.6.1
a) Stirrups or ties perpendicular to the axis of the member (most common type of web
reinforcement)
b) Welded wire reinforcement with wires located perpendicular to the axis of the member
c) Spirals, circular ties, hoops
d) Stirrups making an angle of 45o or more with longitudinal tension reinforcement
e) Longitudinal reinforcement with bent portion making an angle of 30o or more with
longitudinal tension reinforcement
f) Combination of stirrups and bent longitudinal reinforcement
Minimum web reinforcement
ACI 318 Section 9.6.3 requires a minimum amount of web reinforcement if the applied shear force
Vu exceeds (0.5Vc). That is, shear reinforcement is not required if Vu  Vc/2.
This condition need not be applied for the following cases:
a) Footings and solid slabs
b) Concrete joist construction
c) Hollow core units with specifications as given in 7.6.3.1, 9.6.3.1, 10.6.2.1 of ACI 318
d) Beams with h  10 in
e) Beam integral with slabs with h not greater than 24 in, and not greater than the larger of
2.5hf, and 0.5bw

Dr. Narayanan Neithalath

 CEE 421 – Concrete Structures; School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built
Environment, Arizona State University

f) Beams with steel fiber reinforced concrete with concrete strength not greater than 6000
psi, h not greater than 24 in, and Vu not greater than .2(√f’c)bwd.
If Vc/2 < Vu < Vc, minimum area of shear reinforcement is needed (ACI 318 Section 9.6.3.1)
The minimum web (shear) reinforcement Av,min is given as (ACI 318 – 9.6.3.3):
bw s
Av, min = 0.75 f ' c ; but not less than
f yt

bw s
Av, min = (50 psi)
f yt

Location of maximum shear for design of beams

ACI 318 Section 9.4.3.2 – sections located less than a distance d from the face of the support may be
designed for the same shear Vu as that computed at a distance d.
This is permitted only when the following criteria are met:
a) Support reaction, in the direction of applied shear, introduces compression into the ends of the
member
b) Loads are applied at or near the top of the beam
c) No concentrated load occurs at a distance “d” from the support

The shaded regions of the shear force diagram below shows the values of V u to be used in design for
the beam shown.

Dr. Narayanan Neithalath

 CEE 421 – Concrete Structures; School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built
Environment, Arizona State University

Some other cases where the Section 9.4.3.2 has to be applied are shown below.

Dr. Narayanan Neithalath

 CEE 421 – Concrete Structures; School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built
Environment, Arizona State University

Shear Envelopes for Design

Dr. Narayanan Neithalath