Abstract
Reinforced concrete deep beams have many useful applications in building structures such as transfer girders, wall footings, and foundation pile caps. Particularly, the use of the deep beams at the lower levels in tall buildings for both residential and commercial purposes has been increased rapidly because of their conveniences and economical efficiencies. Generally, this system consists of two types of deep beams. One is a beam that is directly resisting vertical load from columns and walls. The other type resists the shear force transferred from the transverse deep beams which are subjected to vertical loads directly. The shear strength of this type of beams cannot be predicted by conventional shear strength equations because of the different loading conditions and internal stress transfer mechanisms. The purpose of this study is to experimentally investigate the shear transfer mechanisms of "Indirectly Loaded Deep Beam". The test results showed that the "Indirectly Loaded Deep Beams" had the almost identical shear strengths with the directly top-loaded deep beam. However, as the shear span to effective depth ratio of transverse beam was increased as 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5, the deflection at maximum load was increased 1.23, 1.67, and 2.17 times respectively. If the system consists of two perpendicular deep beams with same depth, the shear behavior of indirectly loaded deep beams can be explained using the three dimensional strut and tie model with a stress transfer node in a joint region.