Postdiction of the Flexural Shear Capacity of a Deep Beam Without Stirrups Using NLFEM

A recent contest of shear tests modelling was carried out in 2019. Teams from universities and consultancies around Europe were invited to predict the shear capacity of two reinforced concrete beams. The basics of the numerical models were to be set up according the Dutch NLFEM Guideline RTD 1016–1:2017. In the contest, two reinforced...

Stop Criteria for Flexure for Proof Load Testing of Reinforced Concrete Structures

Existing bridges with large uncertainties can be assessed with a proof load test. In a proof load test, a load representative of the factored live load is applied to the bridge at the critical position. If the bridge can carry this load without distress, the proof load test shows experimentally that the bridge fulfills the requirements of the...

Extended Strip Model for slabs subjected to load combinations

The loads that are used for the assessment of existing reinforced concrete slab bridges are the self-weight, superimposed loads, and distributed and concentrated live loads. As such, the shear capacity of reinforced concrete slabs under a combination of distributed and concentrated live loads is a topic of practical relevance. For slabs...

Recommendations for proof load testing of reinforced concrete slab bridges

Proof loading of existing bridges is an option to study the capacity when crucial information about the structure is lacking. To define the loading criteria for proof load testing, a review of the literature has been made, finite element models of existing viaducts have been made, and on these viaducts, proof loading tests have been carried out....

Plastic model for asymmetrically loaded reinforced concrete slabs

Most methods for the design and analysis of reinforced concrete slabs for punching are based on experiments on slab-column connections, reflecting the situation in building slabs. Slab-column connections with unbalanced<br/>moments have also been studied in the past. Experiments indicate that the accuracy of models for asymmetrically loaded...

Beam Experiments on Acceptance Criteria for Bridge Load Tests

Loading protocols and acceptance criteria are available in the literature for load tests on buildings. For bridges, proof load tests are interesting when crucial information about the structure is missing, or when the uncertainties about the structural response are large. The acceptance criteria can then be applied to evaluate if further loading...

Proof load testing of the viaduct De Beek

Proof load testing can be a suitable method to show that a bridge can carry the required loads from the code without distress. This paper addresses the preparation, execution, and analysis of a proof load test on a four-span reinforced concrete solid slab bridge, viaduct de Beek. The bridge has one lane in each direction, but was restricted to a...

The shear capacity of reinforced concrete members with plain bars

Assessment of the capacity of the existing infrastructures has become more relevant in the recent years. With regard to the concrete bridges, the shear capacity of a large amount of existing concrete slab bridges reinforced with plain (smooth) bars are of concern. However, it was argued that the shear formula that is currently adapted in the...

Investigation of v min based on experimental research

This paper presents an experimental research program aiming at assessing the current code provisions of vmin. A large test series was carried out, by varying the reinforcement ratio and loading conditions, the minimum average shear stress that can cause shear failure of a specimen with different depth, concrete strength is determined. The three...

Ruytenschildt Bridge: Field and laboratory testing

A large number of existing reinforced concrete solid slab bridges in the Netherlands are found to be insufficient for shear upon assessment. However, research has shown additional sources of capacity in slab bridges, increasing their total capacity. Previous testing was limited to half-scale slab specimens cast in the laboratory. To study the...