Reinforced Concrete Corbels Shear Test: The Triangular-Truss Method Evaluation

Abstract

In this paper, five reinforced concrete double-corbel specimens with the same designed bearing capacity are produced according to the triangular-truss method (TTM) in GB 50010-2010. Corbels with different dimensions and reinforcement configurations are obtained by separately varying the concrete compressive strength and shear span. The differences in the mechanical performance and load-bearing capacity of the corbels are compared to evaluate the accuracy and rationality of the TTM under specific variables. Then, the accuracy in predicting the load-bearing capacity of GB 50010-2010, ACI 318-19, EC 2, CSA A23.3-04, the softened strut-and-tie method, and the Russo strut-and-tie method is compared. The results show that the safety factor (ratio of the actual bearing capacity to the designed bearing capacity) of the TTM is increased from 1.419 to 1.718 when the concrete strength is improved from 20.8 MPa to 65.3 MPa; the safety factor of the TTM is increased from 1.414 to 1.859 when the shear span–depth ratio is increased from 0.25 to 0.67. Compared to GB 50010-2010, ACI 318-19, and EC 2, the predictions of CSA A23.3-04 for corbels are closer to the test values. The safety level of codes GB 50010-2010, ACI 318-19, and EC 2 is essentially the same; both the SSTM and the Russo STM are accurate in the predictions.