Behavior of Large Deep Beams Subjected to Monotonic and Reversed Cyclic Shear

An experimental study on eight large reinforced concrete deep beams was performed. The variables were the shear span-depth ratio (a/d = 1.55 or 2.29), quantity of stirrups (0.0 or 0.1%), and type of loading (monotonic or fully reversed cyclic). All members failed in shear before yielding of the longitudinal reinforcement. The provision of only 0.1% of transverse reinforcement significantly decreased crack widths at service load levels and significantly increased the shear strength. For members with stirrups, the load-deformation response measured under monotonic loading provided an excellent envelope to the cyclic response and the shear strength under reversed cyclic loading was not significantly reduced. For the members without stirrups somewhat surprisingly those tested under reversed cyclic loading failed at significantly higher shear forces than their companion, monotonically loaded specimens.