EVALUATING AND PROPOSING PREDICTION MODELS OF SHEAR CRACK WIDTH IN CONCORETE BEAMS

Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive review on the available prediction models in the literature to es-timate shear crack width in reinforced and prestressed concrete members by comparing shear crack open-ings calculated from prediction model with those obtained from seven experimental investigations to eva-luate their accuracy together with effectiveness of factors considered. As a result of this study, the models for the prediction of shear crack spacing and width in reinforced and prestressed concrete beams are proposed. The proposed models show a better correlation with all the test results compared to the other prediction models. The models can predict both average and maximum shear crack width and are applicable to fatigue loading.