Experimental Study on the Shear Capacity of Concrete Slabs

The requirements for the load-carrying capacity of bridges have increased significantly due to rising traffic loads in the last decades [1]. Furthermore, the design concept of the German codes [2-6] has changed, which leads to higher calculative amounts of shear reinforcement in concrete superstructures. Therefore, a large part of consisting concrete bridge decks in Germany is built with less than the current calculative amount of shear reinforcement. Currently, a research project on the shear capacity of reinforced concrete slabs without shear reinforcement is being carried out at the Institute of Structural Concrete at RWTH Aachen University. The paper presents the results of the first eight shear tests on members with different width between 0,5 m and 3,5 m, in order to investigate the effective width contributing to the shear resistance. The final step of the project will be the modification of the existing design methods based on the new test results.