Experimental and analytical research on the influence of the shear span ratio on the maximum shear strength of hollow circular R/C cross sections

This paper investigates a particular problem encountered in the design of reinforced concrete elements of circular hollow cross sections. Such problems still appear to be unclear, due to the fact that the current codes deal, al most exclusively, with the design of rectangular cross sections and no specific provisions are given for other cross sections. Hence, the design of such members is being dealt with either poor methods or with the use of methods that normally apply to rectangular cross sections. Specifically, the research deals with the influence of the shear span ratio on the maximum shear strength of reinforced concrete members with circular hollow cross sections. Six reinforced concrete specimens having a circular hollow cross section have been tested. lt was attempted to verify the accuracy of the proposed analytica(model, which estimates the shear strength for circular hollow R/C cross sections. The study was mainly focused on the shear span ratio, which is the dominant factor in the design of structural elements under shear loading. It is useful to be noted that R/C elements of thin hollow circular cross section are used in the case of bridge piers