The shear friction aggregate interlock resistance across sliding planes in concrete

Abstract

Shear friction or aggregate interlock behaviour across sliding planes in concrete is a well-established area of research used in numerical modelling and in the understanding of shear failure. Much of the research has been done on initially cracked planes. In this paper, both the shear stress (τN) and the crack separation (hcr) of the shear friction parameters for both initially cracked and uncracked concrete sliding planes are quantified mathematically in terms of the displacement (∆) of the sliding plane, the compressive strength of the concrete (fco) and the normal stress (σN) across the sliding plane. A bound to these generic shear friction parameters (τN, hcr, ∆ and σN) for both initially uncracked and cracked concrete is also developed.