• Magazine of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.180-187
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• 1994

Sixteen reinforced concrete beams were tested statically up to failure to investigate the arch action. Major variables were the shear span to depth ratio, steel ratio and existence of stirrups.The arch action in reinforced concrete beams started when flexural cracks appeared at the center of the span. Due to the reduction of internal moment arm length by the development of arch action, the measured steel tension was significantly higher than the calculated. As the shear span to depth ratio arid steel ratio decrease, the arch action in reinforced concrete eams increases. Over the entire length the force in the steel of no web reinforced beams having smaller a /d ratio than 3 was constant because the beams acted as a tied arch.