Print this page Print this page

Shear Strength of Reinforced Concrete Beams per ACI 318-02

Jose-Miguel Albaine, M.S., P.E.


Course Outline

In addition to meeting flexural requirements, beams must be safe against premature failure due to diagonal tension in the concrete as a result of shear and longitudinal flexural stress. Tension stresses are of particularly concern in view of the low tensile strength of concrete. These tension stresses are not only limited to the horizontal bending stresses which are caused by bending alone. Tension stresses of various inclinations and magnitudes, resulting from shear alone (at the neutral axis) or from combined action of shear and bending, are present in all parts of a beam and can affect its integrity if not adequately provided for.

This course will cover the basic concepts of design of shear strength and shear reinforcement for nonprestressed reinforced concrete beams, based on the new criteria specified in the latest edition of the American Concrete Institute (ACI), Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete ACI 318-02, (herein referred as ACI 318).

The topics included are: shear stress based on linear stress distribution, shear strength of beams with and without shear reinforcement, lower and upper limits of shear reinforcement, critical section for shear strength calculation, and ACI 318 code provisions for shear strength of beams. The course will cover beams of intermediate and slender lengths only. The effect of axial force on shear strength, deep beams, brackets and corbels, torsion, shear friction, shear transfer for two-way slab and prestressed beams are not in the scope of this course.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

This course will assist professional engineers, architects, and designers who want to learn the latest specification regarding the shear strength of nonprestreesed reinforced concrete beams and slabs. After completion of course you should be able to:

Course Content

The course content is in a PDF file (172 KB) Shear Strength of Reinforced Concrete Beams per ACI 318-02. You need to open or download this document to study this course.


Course Summary

This course has covered the basic principles related to the design of shear reinforcement and requirement for nonprestressed reinforced concrete rectangular beams using the latest edition of the Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete ACI 318-02.

The items discussed in this lecture included the principle of shear strength as it relates to diagonal tension cracks, evaluation of shear strength for concrete beams and the lower and upper bound of shear strength requirement, design of shear reinforcement, critical sections for shear reinforcement, and the new ACI 318 code provisions for shear strength of nonprestressed concrete beams.


Related Links

For additional information related to this subject, please visit the following websites or web pages:

www.ACI.com (American Concrete Institute)

www.ASCE.com (American Society of Civil Engineers)

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

Take a Quiz


DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDHonline.com or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered professional engineer. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.